December 11-14, 2007
Day 804-807
I stayed at Eduardo's place again for a few days in Bucaramanga. I finally got to see his famed gallery of native artwork lots of exact copies of ancient pottery, statues, gold jewelery, and even a red… Read More: I Love it When a Plan Comes Together »
December 9-10, 2007
Days 802-803
El Cocuy National Park Trip Day 6-7
I started my bus trip back to Bucaramanga, but met a girl named Rosita who invited me to visit her family in a small town called Tipacoque. It sounded like an interesting side trip, so I went along and… Read More: Smalltown Colombian Life »
December 8, 2007
Day 801
El Cocuy National Park Trip Day 5
I was up at dawn again and started walking as soon as possible to avoid the daily bad afternoon weather. Today, however, was cloudy and rainy from the beginning. At one point, the freezing rain was driving so hard into my face… Read More: A Rainy, Snowy Lagoon »
December 7, 2007
Day 800
El Cocuy National Park Trip Day 4
I got up at first light today and left the relative comfort of my tent for the freezing cold conditions outside. Last night's rain turned into a sheet of ice that covered the fly of my tent this morning, and I had… Read More: Drunk with Pleasure »
December 6, 2007
Day 799
El Cocuy National Park Trip Day 3
Everyone I talked to yesterday, including the park ranger, the refuge owner, and the owner of my hotel told me that the milk truck left at 5:30 in the morning, and could drop me off near the refuge. I began looking for… Read More: The Early Milk Truck »
December 5, 2007
Day 798
El Cocuy National Park Trip Day 2
I took the first bus out of Soata this morning at 7:00 AM. It was another terrific journey as we went higher and higher to the point where I caught my first glimpse of snow in Colombia. But the trip felt a… Read More: Guican, One Day Late »
December 4, 2007
Day 797
El Cocuy National Park Trip Day 1
I was up early this morning and got a taxi to the bus station in time to catch the 6:00 AM bus to Malaga. It was a long ride over beautiful terrain where we constantly headed up and down the area's peaks… Read More: Trouble on the Road »
November 30-December 3, 2007
Day 793-796
Eduardo, ever the Renaissance man, informed me that he was taking classes in poetry at the local university. I went with him to a recital, and was subsequently forced to read a poem to everyone in Spanish in which I didn't understand half the words. During the recital… Read More: My Worst Illness Yet »
November 29, 2007
Day 792
My next destination after adventurous San Gil was Bucaramanga, set near the Andes on the way to Venezuela. There wasn't much there in the way of tourism, but Manisha, the Indian girl I met in Manizales, recommended that I meet a friend of hers who lived in B-town. Ana… Read More: The J Peterman of Colombia »
November 28, 2007
Day 791
The adventure activity of the day today was rafting. I met up with a couple of Aussies named Adam and Nick that I met yesterday on the waterfall, and we headed out in a van to the Suarez River near San Gil. On the way, we… Read More: Rule Number Two: Don't Drown »
