Flying from Medellin to Bogota where I had a layover on my way to Santa Marta- the flight is gorgeous and worth the kink in the neck!
Here are a few snaps from my time spent wandering these incredible and massive Colombian cities. I’ve been sick my whole time in South America so I haven’t been able to see or do near as much as I had hoped, but what I have seen has been pretty incredible. Enjoy! Continue reading
After being bed ridden in Medellin for several days, the itch to move on had become unbearable, despite my illness. It was time to get out! The bus up to Santa Marta would have taken me 24 hours, and since I was on a tight time schedule (and wouldn’t trust my bowels for 24 hours on a bus!) I booked a flight for a decent price with Avianca, a huge airline in Colombia. I arrived in the morning and while I waited for my room to be ready, slipped into the pool at the Dreamer hostel where I was staying. The cool pool was refreshing and kept the fever at bay. I decided I was going to tackle heading into Tayrona National Park even though I felt awful. I wanted to see a little of this beautiful country and didn’t want a little illness to stop me. So I packed a day bag, grabbed 5 litres of water and began my adventure into the park.
I was seething with excitement at being reunited with my good friend Anthony in Colombia as we had made plans to travel together through South America for the next three and a half months. Many moons ago, we hatched plans to meet in South America when were were both back in Yellowknife working for the City. Our friendship blossomed over endless talks of travel and alas we decided on meeting in Colombia in May. Continue reading
My tuk tuk pitched out into traffic and jolted to a stop at the first set of lights. As it turned green, the motorcycle beside us lurched into a cat wheel, shooting ahead of us, the scooter next to him bolted after him, and our tuk tuk picked up the rear, gears grinding, engine struggling as it coughed to life and chugged through the intersection. Each gear shift was a screeching protest from the stressed engine. We puttered across the bridge and made our way from Santa Elena into the beautiful and quaint Flores. Cobblestone streets in abysmal disrepair took over for the pavement and we bumped our way along to my hostel, Los Amigos. Continue reading
Ah Semuc Champey, the treasure of Guatemala. How many times did I Google you and stare in wonder at your picturesque beauty? Too many to count. You were the main reason I returned to Guatemala. How could I say I traveled this beautiful country if I had not rested my eyes on the fabled Semuc Champey, meaning ‘where the river hides beneath the earth’.
As I write this, I’m sitting in my rustic little ‘A’ frame thatch-roofed hut. The front end, opposite the door and where my bed is positioned, has a three foot high railing and that is all- it’s left entirely open. The rain is hammering down, the torrents coming down in waves, thunder is reverberating in the distance and the occasional flash of lightening sends a blaze of light into the hut. It smells of wet jungle – moist vegetation and damp earth. I sit shrouded in the opaque protection of my bug net and once again I am astounded that this is my life. Continue reading
After the laid back life on the Island on Ometepe, we wanted to head to the coast and get some beach time. A friend had told us about a place called Playa Gigante on the coast that had some good surfing, something we were also excited to try out. We took the ferry back across Lake Nicaragua and were blessed with a remarkable sunset as our farewell. Continue reading
It was a sad goodbye that we paid Laguna de Apoyo. We all packed up our bags, and some of us our hangovers and regrets over lost phones. It was time to move on yet again.
Ometepe island was the one major destination in Nicaragua that seemed to come up again and again from other travellers. It was the must see/do of the country. Thus, we all had rather high expectations heading there. We made our way by shared taxi to the port town of San Jorge, near Rivas. We walked down the pier heading towards what looked like a safe and reputable ferry. Continue reading
Laguna de Apoyo is a crater lake located a short distance away from Granada, and was one of the hot spots that was mentioned to us over and over again. A friend from home had even messaged me and told me I absolutely had to go there as it was her favorite place in all of Nicaragua, so I was pretty excited to get there. We took a short 45 minute shuttle ride; our bus meandered up the hills to climb the old volcano and then winded back down to reach the lake that filled the old crater. Our hostel was called Paradiso and was a sister hostel to Oasis so I knew to expect good things, but I was totally blown away. Continue reading
BorealBlonde 