Other travelers we met spoke of Isla Mucura as paradise on earth. Lobsters come out of the locals ears, the beaches are filled with soft white sand, water in colors of blue you could never imagine. And there are no tourists.
After a 6 hour bus ride (we missed our stop) and one night in a random village, we arrived to the island looking for Wilbert.
Wilbert and Lina put us up in a basic hut riding high on stilts next to the sea. We stayed 3 days in quiet paradise, enjoying the small isolated beach, snorkeling and eating fresh fish. The sounds of the sea lulled us to sleep at night.
It was a perfect place to enjoy the warm carribean waters and relax.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Taganga Loving
Taganga was by far our favorite spot in Colombia, mainly for all the things there is to do there (I joke). We dived every morning for 6 days, had lunch and passed the afternoons at the beach. Such a busy day. We were in fact so busy that we stayed 12 days.
We wandered Taganga on our daily routines, getting to know the people in the community, eating at our favorite restauraunts and drinking a minimum of 1 fresh fruit juice a day. Our airy hotel room overlooked the village and the football field that was it´s pumping heart.
Our diving expereince was exceptional. We chose a small dive shop called Vida Marina to do both our open water and advanced Padi certifications. The dive masters were professional and all but 1 is a marine biologist. Our instructors made us feel safe, comfortable and made sure we had fun in the water. By the end of 6 days we had done 12 dives, including a dive at 110 feet, a shipwreck dive and a night dive.
We loved Taganga. The laid back vibe and sense of community we felt there was relaxing. We made new friends, had a couple good parties, a few filet mignons and left fat, well rested and happy.
Taganga is:
The stillness of the bay, with the sun shining down showing off it´s brilliant blues.
The soft sway of fishing boats at the edges of lapping waters.
Sounds of Colombian music mixed with the sweet smell of salt.
Finally, we forced ourselves to move on and spent 2 days in the Parque National Tayrona, this time on the beaches. Diving, we had already been exploring the reefs of the national park. In the park we slept in hammocks and swam in blue waters.
Now it was time to head south.
We wandered Taganga on our daily routines, getting to know the people in the community, eating at our favorite restauraunts and drinking a minimum of 1 fresh fruit juice a day. Our airy hotel room overlooked the village and the football field that was it´s pumping heart.
Our diving expereince was exceptional. We chose a small dive shop called Vida Marina to do both our open water and advanced Padi certifications. The dive masters were professional and all but 1 is a marine biologist. Our instructors made us feel safe, comfortable and made sure we had fun in the water. By the end of 6 days we had done 12 dives, including a dive at 110 feet, a shipwreck dive and a night dive.
We loved Taganga. The laid back vibe and sense of community we felt there was relaxing. We made new friends, had a couple good parties, a few filet mignons and left fat, well rested and happy.
Taganga is:
The stillness of the bay, with the sun shining down showing off it´s brilliant blues.
The soft sway of fishing boats at the edges of lapping waters.
Sounds of Colombian music mixed with the sweet smell of salt.
Finally, we forced ourselves to move on and spent 2 days in the Parque National Tayrona, this time on the beaches. Diving, we had already been exploring the reefs of the national park. In the park we slept in hammocks and swam in blue waters.
Now it was time to head south.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Fishing in Taganga
We arrived to the fishing village of Taganga, 5 kilometers from Santa Marta, around 9am. Sun, sand and carribean waters!
We took off a day later with local fisherman to practice our skills learned fishing in the amazon. Turns out you dont even need a pole to catch fish. =) We just tossed in a line with some fish on the end and viola! We hooked plenty.
People in Taganga do not go hungry- there is a mountain of fish and the fisherman told us that what we caught was normal, if not on the smaller side.
People in Taganga do not go hungry- there is a mountain of fish and the fisherman told us that what we caught was normal, if not on the smaller side.After we spent the morning and most of the afternoon fishing we stopped off at a coral reef to snorkel and swim. Then we headed to the village to find someone to cook us some fish! We ate our catch with a view of the sea. We gave most of the catch to the local fisherman and kept 5 different types in the freezer for a fish party later this weekend.
12 hours in a refrigerated truck
The 12 hour bus ride from San Gil to Santa Marta took 10 years off my life.
Colombian´s are wonderful torturers and have many different methods I have not yet seen in my young adult life. Like putting the air conditioning on max when it is around 95F outside. Or having a transistor radio blasting for 12 hours, kinda like being in a tour bus but without all the useful tidbits of information. I will not forget the torture of going 80 kilometers and hour around curvy roads with the driver taking into deep consideration that once you are in a comfortable position he simply could not let you stay that way.
We arrived to Santa Marta red eyed and cranky. I swore to the universe and my god that would be my last overnight bus of this trip. Thankfully it will.
Colombian´s are wonderful torturers and have many different methods I have not yet seen in my young adult life. Like putting the air conditioning on max when it is around 95F outside. Or having a transistor radio blasting for 12 hours, kinda like being in a tour bus but without all the useful tidbits of information. I will not forget the torture of going 80 kilometers and hour around curvy roads with the driver taking into deep consideration that once you are in a comfortable position he simply could not let you stay that way.
We arrived to Santa Marta red eyed and cranky. I swore to the universe and my god that would be my last overnight bus of this trip. Thankfully it will.
It´s Like Eating Ants
After one more day in Bogota (to visit the amazing Botero exhibit!) we headed north to Villa de Leyba, a small colonial village. 
Cuy (Guinea Pig) betting in Bogota. Guess which plastic hut the pig will end up in!
Villa de Leyba is sleepy and relaxing, with cobblestone streets and friendly locals. There is tons of hiking around the area but we got rained out and opted for afternoon naps instead.
2 days later and a 5 hour bus ride north took us to San Gil, the adventure capital of Colombia- that is if you are ready to fork over thousands of pesos. We decided instead to pay 4 bucks to get into the local park and make our own adventure. 
The next day, while waiting for our night bus, we took a short ride to the national monument village of Barichara. Say that fast 3 times, it´s fun. Barichara was an excellent place to wander, with beautiful scenery and colonial architecture. Even in the rain it was fun to spend a few hours exploring the town.
We also tried the local cuisine, hormigas tostadas. Fat butted, herb eating ants that are toasted and salted. After paying 10,000 pesos for a jar (that is about 5 bucks) we decided- they taste just like eating ants.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Manizales, Colombia
5-29-09
After crepes and a bottle of wine we kicked off our first night in Manizales at a club- where we shared a little table with our little bottle of potent anis flavored Aguardiente. We smiled as friendly Colombians came over to chat with us and offer timbal lessons, which none of us completly succeeded in tapping with just enough emotion. Then we gaped at the dancers, as even the chubby men swayed just perfectly to the music. I think dancing is something you are born with in this country.
The highlight for us was when the police stormed the place, shut down the music and made the men gather in the middle of the dance floor to be searched. Elodie and I could not stop laughing (maybe it was the aguardiente) and had to bite our lips because we could see by the looks the police were giving us, this was not a laughing matter. It was just too stereotypial Colombia to be taken seriously. When the police felt they had installed enough fear, they stormed out and the party resumed within seconds, as if nothing had happened. Alrighty then.
The next day we took off in taxi, bus and another bus to Guayabal where we wanted to tour a coffee hacienda. It turned out to be a fantastic tour- well organized and we learned about Colombian methods of growing.
It is a beautiful hacienda and well worth the entire trip to Manizales. http://www.haciendaguayabal.com/
After the tour, they served us an elegant lunch in the main house and we chatted about Presidente Uribe and the FARC with a Colombiano in our group.
In the past 7 years Colombia has just opened up to tourism. It is because of Uribes strict security measures that tourists can even be in the country. Colombianos themselves were not safe traveling before then. It is apparent in Manizales, a wonderful place to visit, that they are just getting set up for tourism. Taxi drivers do not even know where the only 2 hostels in the city are located.
Our last day was spent in combat playing paintball in the local park. That night we taxied it up to a thermal bath and enjoyed our last night with Elodie and Paul.
The next day it was back to Bogota to check out the Botero museum and then off to Villa de Leyba, making our way north to the carribean coast.
After crepes and a bottle of wine we kicked off our first night in Manizales at a club- where we shared a little table with our little bottle of potent anis flavored Aguardiente. We smiled as friendly Colombians came over to chat with us and offer timbal lessons, which none of us completly succeeded in tapping with just enough emotion. Then we gaped at the dancers, as even the chubby men swayed just perfectly to the music. I think dancing is something you are born with in this country.
The highlight for us was when the police stormed the place, shut down the music and made the men gather in the middle of the dance floor to be searched. Elodie and I could not stop laughing (maybe it was the aguardiente) and had to bite our lips because we could see by the looks the police were giving us, this was not a laughing matter. It was just too stereotypial Colombia to be taken seriously. When the police felt they had installed enough fear, they stormed out and the party resumed within seconds, as if nothing had happened. Alrighty then.
The next day we took off in taxi, bus and another bus to Guayabal where we wanted to tour a coffee hacienda. It turned out to be a fantastic tour- well organized and we learned about Colombian methods of growing.
It is a beautiful hacienda and well worth the entire trip to Manizales. http://www.haciendaguayabal.com/
After the tour, they served us an elegant lunch in the main house and we chatted about Presidente Uribe and the FARC with a Colombiano in our group.
In the past 7 years Colombia has just opened up to tourism. It is because of Uribes strict security measures that tourists can even be in the country. Colombianos themselves were not safe traveling before then. It is apparent in Manizales, a wonderful place to visit, that they are just getting set up for tourism. Taxi drivers do not even know where the only 2 hostels in the city are located.
Our last day was spent in combat playing paintball in the local park. That night we taxied it up to a thermal bath and enjoyed our last night with Elodie and Paul.
The next day it was back to Bogota to check out the Botero museum and then off to Villa de Leyba, making our way north to the carribean coast.
Bogota, Colombia
5-27-09
We arrived at dusk, with dimming views of the cordillera oriental that borders the immense city of Bogota.
Our friends who we traveled with in Uyuni, Bolivia were also in Bogota (pure universal coincidence), we met up and decided to leave the next night with them to the cafetera region. But that still left one full day to explore Bogota.
The four of us wandered around la Candelaria and historic Bogota, passing through the immense Plaza Bolivar, the catedral and around the Presidential Palace. We were stoped various times by military police who had a look in our bags. There were parts of the sidewalk you could not walk on. As we passed the gates where cars shuttle through, we witnessed a car being inspected. They had mirrors to look under the car and 2 dogs circled the car- I was too intimidated to take a picture, it was unreal to me. It was suffucating to be around so many military police with arms tightly around cold machine guns.
After lunch at the famous fast food restauraunt, El Corral (yes, better than McDonalds), we took the Teleferico up to Monserrate and breathed in amazing views of Bogota.
It was fun to be with friends again- after seeing strangers day after day. That night we climbed into our first Colombian bus and headed off on our 8 hour journey to Manizales.
We arrived at dusk, with dimming views of the cordillera oriental that borders the immense city of Bogota.
Our friends who we traveled with in Uyuni, Bolivia were also in Bogota (pure universal coincidence), we met up and decided to leave the next night with them to the cafetera region. But that still left one full day to explore Bogota.
The four of us wandered around la Candelaria and historic Bogota, passing through the immense Plaza Bolivar, the catedral and around the Presidential Palace. We were stoped various times by military police who had a look in our bags. There were parts of the sidewalk you could not walk on. As we passed the gates where cars shuttle through, we witnessed a car being inspected. They had mirrors to look under the car and 2 dogs circled the car- I was too intimidated to take a picture, it was unreal to me. It was suffucating to be around so many military police with arms tightly around cold machine guns.
After lunch at the famous fast food restauraunt, El Corral (yes, better than McDonalds), we took the Teleferico up to Monserrate and breathed in amazing views of Bogota.
It was fun to be with friends again- after seeing strangers day after day. That night we climbed into our first Colombian bus and headed off on our 8 hour journey to Manizales.
What have we been up to the past month?
Apologies, fell off the grid for a month. We made our way from northern Peru, back down to the south and up to Colombia, all in a span of 2 weeks.
After our 4 days in the jungle, we returned to the city of Iquitos for a few days where we relaxed, ate some good food and made new friends. We returned to the jungle a few days later to stay with a shaman at a healing center. It was here we drank a medicinal plant called Ayahuasca:
Ayahuasca is considered by many of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon to be the Mother of All Medicines. The medicine reaches deep into the body’s systems and cleanses and energizes. It often provides a powerful kinesthetic and visionary journey and opens the mind and body to information pertinent to your life awareness. Most come away with a life altering experience.
It was a life altering experience and a deeply personal one. Please let Greg or I know if you want to know more, we are happy to share our personal adventure.
Picture with the shamans at the Refugio del Altiplano
Arriving back in Iquitos after another 3 days in the jungle, we flew to Tarapoto, northern Peru. (The only way out of Iquitos is on a plane or a boat). In Tarapoto we learned that Gregs grandmother was very ill and was in the hospital. We decided to cancel our final leg of Peru, which would have us far away from secure internet and phone connections. We left the next day for Lima.
Over the next couple days, staying in close contact with Lille, we found that Gregs Mamy was improving and sent back home. Also during this time, I found out that my grandmother was also in the hospital. By the end of the week, to our great relief, both our grandmothers were back at home and recovering.
We are grateful.
Since we were by an international airport and wanted to stay out of rural Peru - we pushed up our arrival to Colombia. Next stop, Bogota.
After our 4 days in the jungle, we returned to the city of Iquitos for a few days where we relaxed, ate some good food and made new friends. We returned to the jungle a few days later to stay with a shaman at a healing center. It was here we drank a medicinal plant called Ayahuasca:
Ayahuasca is considered by many of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon to be the Mother of All Medicines. The medicine reaches deep into the body’s systems and cleanses and energizes. It often provides a powerful kinesthetic and visionary journey and opens the mind and body to information pertinent to your life awareness. Most come away with a life altering experience.
It was a life altering experience and a deeply personal one. Please let Greg or I know if you want to know more, we are happy to share our personal adventure.
Picture with the shamans at the Refugio del AltiplanoArriving back in Iquitos after another 3 days in the jungle, we flew to Tarapoto, northern Peru. (The only way out of Iquitos is on a plane or a boat). In Tarapoto we learned that Gregs grandmother was very ill and was in the hospital. We decided to cancel our final leg of Peru, which would have us far away from secure internet and phone connections. We left the next day for Lima.
Over the next couple days, staying in close contact with Lille, we found that Gregs Mamy was improving and sent back home. Also during this time, I found out that my grandmother was also in the hospital. By the end of the week, to our great relief, both our grandmothers were back at home and recovering.
We are grateful.
Since we were by an international airport and wanted to stay out of rural Peru - we pushed up our arrival to Colombia. Next stop, Bogota.
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