The Andes run up the length of South America. Starting at the bottom, the mountain range separates the countries of Chile and Argentina, pass through Bolovia, Peru, Ecuador and as they reach Colombia split into three sections.

Chingaza national park is located in the eastern Cordillera of the Andes, about a 4hr drive from Bogota. It is a Paramos landscape, effectively a high altitude sponge that gets just 1 month of dry season each year. The unique Frailejón plant species grow here. They look a bit like succulents and feel like soft donkey ears. It is also home to the specalted bears (no sitings for us unfortunately), ~200 bird species and the beautiful orchid.

On our hike, we experienced cloud filled valleys and a boggy track underfoot.

The lakes in the park are a sacred place of workshop for the native culture. It was a place of rituals, where the people would cover themselves in gold dust and bathe in the Lagunas as well as make offerings to the gods.At the peak of our climb we were blessed with a siting of Laguna Siecha.

Sadly agriculture is overtaking these landscapes, like many around the world.

Finally time for me to leave Bogota. We stopped off for lunch at the quaint town of Villa de Levya. Founded in 1572 the town has been left mostly unchanged for the last 400yrs due to being off the main trade routes. We only had an hour to cram in some souveigner shopping and savoured a delicious lunch overlooking the main square.

Onto San Gil, the adventure capital of Colombia. The morning of our first day was spent white water rafting down the river. On my raft, 4 out of 5 of us fell into the rapids fairly early on. We realised it was a good thing we went for the grade 2-3 rafting rather than level 4-5. Lots of fun travelling down this gorgous river with jungle growing either side.

Afternoon was more adventure activities, 3m rock jump into river, rope course, dry absail, rappeling down a waterfall, zip lining across canyon and a giant swing.

The following day I decided I hadn’t had enough adrenaline so I did a bungy jump. Tallest in South America at 140m. The ride out to the small platform suspended in the middle of the canyon was stunning. Black headed vultures circled overhead riding the thermals. They had to countdown twice but I successfully jumped.

Next stop was the picture perfect town of Barichara for some rest, relaxation and tequila.

Stunning drive through Chicamocha Canyon to catch our flight to Medellin.

Enjoyed a bike tour through Medellin in the pouring rain. There have been many projects around the city to try and bring pleasant spaces through zen gardens, squares, and an efficient and clean metro system.

Comuna 13 street tour was a highlight for me. I’ve tried to capture the main takeaways.

The community is notorious for it’s very violent history with paramilitary (far right) and guerrilla (far left) conflict in the area and violent organised crime. The district’s location is ideal for crime as it leads directly to the main highway providing easy transport for trafficking illicit goods.

Many innocent lives were lost in the paramilitary and guerrilla conflicts with numbers being grossly underestimated. Most famous being Operation Orion. The second biggest mass grave in Latin America can be found here.

The stories of innocent locals thought to be supporting the Guerrillas being put on a death march through the street. Pulled out of their homes and walked around the street before being shot over drain by the football field. Children growing up in these neighbourhoods have violence in their history. The area used to be divided up into districts with invisible boundaries which you would be killed for crossing.

A peace agreement was signed in just 2017 and the paramilitaries put down their weapons. Present day the organised crime is less violent and more underground.

There was a mayor with a vision to improve life in these neighbourhoods by using infrastructure and education to change kids mentality. Projects were put in place to give the local people something to be proud of and look forward to. Outdoor escalators were installed to reduce stairs required to climb; creative projects for children; and provide role models through street art, dance and hip hop culture.

It has gone from being the most dangerous place in the world in the 1980s/90s to a transformation success story. The local people want to share the true story and talk openly about the history while remaining hopeful for a tranquil future.

Chimba is slang for the best thing ever. Better than the english equivalent of cunt being such an insult.

Takeaway is to value whatever you’ve got. I felt a real community spirit. The doors of homes were open, music blasting and kids playing in the street.

We also did a day trip out to Guatape and El Peñol. It is a man made reservoir for a hydroelectric dam that powers 20% of Colombia. Surrounding area was flooded and some towns were relocated. There is a big rock to climb for views. The two towns are fighting over rock ownership with Guatape trying to spray paint their name on the rock but only getting G and partial U.

Early flight to Cartagena: a historic port town on the Caribbean coast where gold from South America was traded through. Walled historic centre, colourful buildings, Juliet balconies, sunset cocktails, bustling streets, salsa dancing and emerald shops.

Bus ride up the Caribbean coast to Santa Marta.

My overall impression so far is Colombians are happy to see foreigners visiting their country which has a 50 yr history of civil war. They hope travellors will take back a good impression and challenge some stereotypes. I have encountered many friendly locals and felt like I got off the overbeaten tourist trail.

Time to start the lost city trek to Ciudad Perdida. Wish me luck. . .

Back to Quito with it’s bustling city life and cold climate.

I joined a street art tour through the La Florista district. The district has a strong community that have banded together to create more liveable spaces, turning street parks into green areas and seating. They have also started buying what would be an over priced house for a family and turning them into co working spaces to prevent being overrun by touristy restaurants and bars. There were plenty of boutique cafes and an indie cinema with vibes reminding me of Wellington or Melbourne. We stopped for some delicious chocolate tasting, yum!

The district is full of street art. Big street art festivals used to be run here and there are a lot of commissioned pieces however, the current mayor has banned street art which has caused a rise in graffiti. A lot of the pieces contain social commentary covering spiritual connection to nature, violence against women, identity and having a voice.

The temporal nature of street art is part of what makes it interesting. Also the ability to bring colour and character to an otherwise drab space.

There are local and travelling graffiti crews that have their own marks. There are sites of graffiti battles, where people will continue to draw over each other.

I also visited the national musuem. A modern building with interesting art work, Incan artefacts, sculptures depicting Ecuadorian life and a large section about the importance of establishing a museum.

“A museum is more than a depository of heritage. It is a medium that disseminates social memory. In addition it plays a key role in cultural heritage since it leads the visitor to ponder on the past from the analysis if current problems “

Now this wouldn’t be a backpacking trip across South America without some very long bus journeys. Total travel time from Quito to Bogota was about 35hrs.

I opted to take a private shuttle across the border to Ipiales. Driver and I ran out of conversational Spanish about 15min into the 5hr journey but google translate helped us along. We stopped for coffee and biscuits. The biscuit was like a savoury shortbread and the coffee was very sweet.

There were a lot of people around the border crossing, majority would be Venezuelan refugees. I felt very grateful for my NZ passport. It allowed me to get in what seemed like a fast lane rather than being left in a cage like corridor with the large number of Venezuelan refugees. I felt the collective pain of many desperate looking people. It was quite confronting to see UNICEF tents. Observed families walking up the road carrying tattered suitcases on their heads. Young children on their shoulders and prams full of belongings. Noticed people hitching a ride on trucks back towards the border, sitting on top or between the cab and trailer.

Once I was across the border it distinctly felt like a different country. I think this was mostly due to the style of buildings and roads. From Ipiales it is as ~22hr bus ride to Bogota.

A major downside of travelling on your own is your backpack must come everywhere with you. Trying to fit through the turnstiles to get to the bathroom at the bus station is hard.

The following photo is actually from Argentina a couple of years ago. I’m not sure why I’m sharing this embarrassing photo other than I feel it captures overnight bus rides nicely.

Photo credit to Abbey.

The scenery was really beautiful: deep valleys, forest and waterfalls. The steep cliff sides made me a bit nervous about Colombia’s geo-engineering standards. For those who have been asking there is a toilet on board (I may have chosen the windiest part of the journey to use it). The bus stopped at rest stops for snack breaks, dinner and breakfast.

Arriving in Bogota, the bus drives through the rougher side of the city. Confronted with heaps of rubbish, crazy traffic, people everywhere and shanty buildings. The city is vast and sprawling with not many tall buildings, surrounded by green mountains. Bogota seems to have more attitude than Quito.

I stayed in the historic district in a hostel with a great view from the roof top, nightly salsa classes, yoga in the courtyard and delicious shared dinners (Ajiaco is Colombian soup made with corn and potato, served w rice and avocado).

I went on another graffiti tour. Colombia certainly has an interesting political history. The tallest tower here in Bogota has been left half built because of corruption during the building process. It is only partially occupied and not very earthquake safe.

Apparently the homeless sort through the cities rubbish to separate out the recycling to get some money.

I also went on a cycle tour. There is such a contrast between the different neighbourhoods we passed through, historical quarter, business district, rich houses with tree lined streets and the red light district. On Sundays the main street is closed off to cars and everyone bikes through the city which was fun. We visited the central park where there was a bunch of people doing Zumba. At the end of the tour we played Tejo, a national sport in Colombia. Lead discs are thrown at a mud board with the aim to blow up one of the triangular packets of gun powder. All while drinking beer of course. It was very loud and lots of fun.

I also visited Museo Botero, mostly filled with works by famous Colombian artist Botero who likes to paint and sculpture everything chubby.

Made the decision to walk the 1500 steps up Cerro Monserrate rather than take the convenient cable car. The 1700km2 of city sprawl was an impressive site.

Felt like I had to experience the nightlife at least once so joined in Gringo Tuesday. It used to be a language exchange but is now mostly a big party at a multi level club which the hostel ran a bus out to. Strange mix of electronic music and old dance bangers overlaid with a Colombian rhythm.

I’m now making my way up the country with first stop San Gil.

Wild and spectacular natural landscapes with an abundance of unique and friendly wildlife, how could you not fall in love?

I flew into San Cristobal Island from Guayaquil. It is a sleepy fishing port with seals everywhere. They make a delightful sound akin to someone vomitting. I stayed at an air bnb with a local family. They were lovely but my conversational spanish needs a lot of work.

I went for a walk to the Centre de Interpretation which gave some background info on the archipelago.

The islands are the tops of enormous submarine mountains with younger islands forming in the west and older islands being submerged in the east.

The incredible marine biodiversoty observed is the result of the oceanic currents that meet here. The cold Humboldt current from the south brings nutrient rich water to feed marine life while the warm waters from the Panama current provides a tropical marine ecostystem. From the west, the Cromwell current brings the cold nutrient rich water to the surface. The cold current is what brings penguin this far north. Let me tell you, it is strange to see a penguin sitting on a rock with a cactus in the background.

Past the info centre is a path around a peninsula with lots of cactus and some gorgeous bays to swim at. It was here that I saw my first marine iguana!

Following day I went on a 360° boat tour around the island. Best stop was the impressive Kicker rock. Saw lots of fish but I was disappointed that there were no hammerheads (might have been the only one). After the boat trip had a few cervezas and watched the sun go down at Playa Mann.

I enjoyed being out on the water so much I decided it was worth forking out the money for a cruise. Luckily I was able to grab one last minute (heavily discounted but still hurt the travel budget). So the following day I caught the Ferry to Santa Cruz.

Puerto Ayora is the biggest town in The Galapagos and most tourist ships will stop here. One of the streets is filled with tables and chairs at night for a food market. I had one of many delcious ceviche meals here.

Cruise was on Yolita yacht run by G Adventures. It was a nice size at only 16 people. Lovely bunch, all from affluent countries. I did bring down the average age quite substantially. Cruise route went around the islands to the east.

Most days consisted of 2 snorkel trips and either a dry landing at a rocky point or a wet landing on the beach to go for a walk.

First snorkel was down the side of Seymour Island. Saw lots of fish! Snorkel was followed by a walk on the island to observe nesting birds and other wildlife.

Land iguanas which are yellow and brown (compared to marine iguanas which are black). They like to feed on the cactus.

Lava lizards, often seen doing pushups. Females have the yellow-red colouring on the neck.

Friget birds, very graceful flyers because their bones are hollow and very light. They don’t have enough oil in their feathers to dive into water for food. In order to eat they steal off other birds. Watched them harass the beautiful topic birds, pulling them by the tails and trying to make them drop their catch. The male friget bird has the big red gourd which he inflates to try and attract a female, does a shimmy motion to show it off. Takes him ~3 hrs to inflate so can often see them flying around with it half inflated.

Blue footed boobies are hilarious. They have big puffy faces because, unlike the friget birds, they are excellent at dive bombing into the water for fish so require extra cushioning behind their eyes. The males feet will go a bright blue colour when he is catching plenty of fish. He uses the colour of his feet to attract the female, proving he could provide enough food for their offspring. He does a weird waddle as a courtship dance to show off the colour of his feet. If he successfully attracts a female, in the following days if he has a hard time getting food and looses some blue colouring, the female is able to end the pregnancy in utero and go find a better partner. Ruthless. If they successfully have an egg to lay, they make a nest out of a circle of guano (bird shit). It does not look the cosiest.

Palosanto, the holly tree. Smells amazing and is burned in homes to keep away mosquitos and clear bad energy.

Overnight we motored down to kicker rock (second visit for me!) Sunrise behind the rock was stunning. This time round I saw turtles and sealions diving for food. We went for a fun panga ride (little inflatable boats) through the tunnel.

Also stopped off at a gorgeous bay, Cerro Brujo. I am loving the colour combination of white sand beaches, sparkling turquoise water and black volcanic rocks.

In the afternoon headed to Lobos Island, more snorkelling with playful sealions. It feels like they are swimming directly for your face but swerve away at the last moment.

From the boat, when we were moving there would often friget birds flying overhead. In the evenings, turtles in the water and at night sharks alongside the boat. One night there was a sealion swimming along with us for a long time like a dolphin would.

Following day was my favourite, Española Island. It is the oldest in the archipelago and the southern most point. In the morning we went to Gardner Bay. Lots of sea lions lazing on the beach. Snorkelled out around the rock and saw a few rays.

Our next snorkelling trip was probably the best. Heaps of sealions, I watched one play fetch with a shell for a while, dropping it and chasing after it. Plenty of colourful fish, octopus hiding in rock crevices, lobster, sea urchines and a few soft corals.

Our afternoon walk was at Punta Suáraz. We saw many more birds, the most exciting was the mighty Albatross! Largest wing span of any bird at 2m, they really are turkeys of the sky. They look too heavy to be good fliers and require a run up to take off. Punta Suáraz is the only spot this species of albatross nest. They come here to lay eggs and then the young will fly all the way to Peru for 5 years or more before returning to court a partner. There is an elaborate courtship of beak clacking. Once a partner is found they mate for life and always come back to the same nest. Albatross walk their egg around, science isn’t sure why. Occasionally one will crack and is abandoned, we saw evidence of this.

Following day took us to Santa Fe. There were many tall cactus. They grow high enough to be out of reach of land iguanas and tortoise. The lower half will shed it’s spikes and grow a bark like trunk. Pale land iguanas are also found here.

Waiting to be picked up on the beach we collected a bunch of small plastic pieces. Good reminder to be concisous of plastic use. I’d like the beaches to stay white, not speckled with blue green and red plastics.

Last snorkel for the cruise. Saw four sea turtles up close and lots of big schools of colourful fish. I discovered there are small fish that will nibble at you if you swim down too close.

Motored up to Plazas Inlet for a spectacular walk along a clifftop. Rocks at the spot where we disembarked were white and shiny. Apparently this is from sealions buffing their shit into the rock surface. Plenty of land iguanas and more tall cactus. Replantation project to repopulate young cactus, land iguanas are too hungry and eating all the young cacti. Lots of birds flying over and nesting on the cliff. Nocturnal gull which can see well enough to fish at night. Often fly over shop at night. Further round the cliff was the sealion “bachelor pad”. Male sealions that were unsuccessful at competing with the alpha male of the colony come here to recuperate.

Last day with my cruise people, disembarked at Puerto Ayora and visited the tortoise wildlife breeding centre. I was amazed by the size difference between the tiny baby tortoise and the ancient fully grown ones. Older tortoise have less rings on their shell as they expand as they grow. Old George is a preserved specimen, the last of his species stored in a cold room. We also met Diego who has had over 2000 offspring in an effort to help repopulate his species. Apparently tortoise sex takes ~8hrs.

After the cruise I caught the ferry over to Isabela Island, the youngest and largest in the Galapagos. I fell in love with Puerto Villamil. The streets are all sand and the town has a long sandy beach. Hostel I stayed in was right on the beach and the deck was covered in marine iguanas! Hammocks at the bar were the perfect spot to have a cocktail and watch the sun go down.

I made a friend and we hired bikes and went to the Wall of Tears. It is the remnants of a wall prisoners who were sent here built. We climbed up to a lookout with gorgeous views over the island. There were lagoons with flamingos, a lava tunnel and an extensive network of mangroves.

Following day we hired kayaks and went out to some islands just off the port. It was here we saw penguins (so cute!) and plenty of turtles. Fun fact, males have the bigger tails to protect their two pronged penis.

Concha Perla is a great snorkelling spot you can walk to from the port. It is a nice sheltered lagoon. Visibility wasn’t great due to a big swell but I have already been so lucky with this trip!

Back to Santa Cruz and the stunning Tortuga Bay for my last swim in the glorious place.

I read the Power of Now by Ekhart Tohle while in the Galapagos. It has been sitting on my kindle for a while and think this was a perfect place to dive in and practise presence. Can highly recommend.

Flew back to the mainland, exploring Quito for a few days and then onto Colombia!

Hope this post contains enough facts to satisfy Poppa’s curiosity✌

The “gringo” party town of Ecuador, seems a strange place for me to spend a week. There is a street called “Calle de los Cockteles”. I was attracted to the fabulous Spanish school and good surf break rather than the party scene (although I can highly recommend the frozen Mojitos). Despite the touristy backpacker vibes and dirty streets I rather like this spot. It is relaxed easy travel. I am appreciating the councils efforts at home to control stray cats and dogs.

Spanish lessons have been challenging but enjoyable and worthwhile. I have a lot of vocabulary to learn. The hostel here has been very friendly with a lot of group dinners and discussing lessons.

The school also runs surf lessons out to the quieter neighbouring beach Olon. I have noticed some progress and moved onto a smaller board!

Continue reading “Montanita 🍻🏖🌊” →

Greetings from Quito, Ecuador. The first stop in my 5 month trip around South America. Took three flights and some rather long airport layovers but I am very excited to be here.

Quito is a sprawling city along a valley up in the Andes at 2850m elevation. Yesterday I tagged along with a charming British couple for a trip in a cable car up to the TelefériQo view point at a whopping 4100m. The air felt very thin and even a small amount of up hill walking left me mildly dizzy and out of breathe. It made swinging on the swing set more thrilling than usual.

We then ventured to the massive gothic church which was only built in 1926. There are turtles, iguanas and other animals in place of gargoyles. The modern clock faces looked particularly out of place.

It is currently the rainy season so mornings are usually clear and a spectacular thunderstorm rolls through in the afternoon.

Tomorrow I head for Montanita on the coast for some Spanish lessons (much needed) and surfing. From there I will head for the Galapogas (much excitement). Then it’s back to Quito before heading up to Colombia. Rough plan is a about month in each country: Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Chile.