What happened.....

Where did it go? Three months seems such a long time, and it does seem an age since I boarded my flight to Kuala Lumpur, but it also seems to have passed in a flash. Indonesia already seems like a dream, and New Zealand a distant memory.

On my travels I have met some amazing people, interesting, generous, kind, humble, funny, proud, a whole mixture of characters. My travels have taken me from seas, lakes and rivers to mountains, rolling hills, sand dunes, volcanoes and glaciers, and I have experienced Muslim, Hindu, Batak, Maori, Catholic, exiled African and colonial Spanish cultures. I have even heard bagpipes in both Dunedin and Bogota! I have danced (well attempted to) with the traditional dancers in all three countries, and eaten food and fruits that I have never tasted before, and will probably never remember their names - although I will remember the roasted ants in Colombia!

I have loved getting up each day knowing that it will be different from the last, not having to stress about meeting other peoples' expectations, and feeling quite liberated that you can let people know your hopes and dreams without any fear of being judged, because you were unlikely to see them again!

Some more statistics:

Written: 61 postcards

Flights: 17 (and one helicopter flight)

Currencies: 5

Pairs of shoes discarded: 4

Pairs of shoes purchased: 2

Boat journeys: 14

Ice creams consumed: too many to count!

Hobbit holes visited: 34

Catastrophic inner tube failures: 1

Animals seen: lots! Orang Utans, monkeys, seals, penguins, dolphins, whales and a whole host of birds

Handbags purchased: 2

Distance driven in New Zealand: 4,700km

Facials: 2, Pedicures: 3, Massages: quite a few!

Root canal procedures: 1

The whole point of the trip was to venture to new places, and experience new things. I think it will take me a while to process everything and realise how much I have done. Perhaps on some random rainy day in February it will hit me, but maybe it will be more subtle than that.

What will I miss:

The constant changing scenes, changing people and changing experiences

I have had breakfast made for me every day for 11 weeks! And I have not ironed a thing!

Tropical fruit

The sense of excitement and expectation of things to come

Spring - especially noticeable in New Zealand

The sun!

What I will not miss:

The constant packing of my suitcase. With the exception of Cartagena (5 nights) and Nusa Dua (4 nights) I have been moving every day or couple of days.

Long haul flights - eugh!

It will be nice to not have to choose from a menu for a while, and be able to make my own food (a very First World and spoilt grumble I agree)!

So there we are. The adventures have, sadly, come to an end. Whilst it is awesome being home and catching up with everyone I not sure that the reality has sunk in yet! Of course having met so many other travellers and swapping travel stories I now have ideas of brand new destinations that need investigating. It is just a question of which country to put at the top of my list.......

And I can't end without mentioning a big huge thank you to my gorgeous Gramps, who made so many of my dreams come true. XXXX

Contrasts of Colombia

Well my two weeks in Colombia have provided me with various snapshots of the country and I have to say that I loved it. The country is all about its people. With the exception of Cartagena, everywhere we went we were, as tourists, a rarity. Given the well documented troubles most countries have advised against travel here, but at no point did I feel threatened. As a result people were so pleased to see us, even if our Spanish was in short supply. But we always managed to communicate and end up with smiles and laughter. 

There are definitely contrasts between the various climates, and altitudes. They call Bogota "the fridge" and Cartagena "the oven"! They are fairly self sufficient with the crops that they grow, and obviously have great mineral supplies. Also they are the only country in South America with coasts on both the Pacific and the Caribbean. Bogota is a very cosmopolitan city, and as long as you stay in the right areas and remain vigilant (just like London or any other big city) then you are fine.

It is apparent that they have suffered a lot from the crime and corruption of the past and they are trying hard to progress past that point. As a result they are eager for everyone to encourage visitors to the country, and to be honest for a traveller that wants to go a bit off the beaten track, and has a smattering of Spanish I couldn't recommend it highly enough.

High points:

Tramping through the Cocora Valley - despite the rain!

Villa de Leyva - wandering the streets and our beautiful hotel just made the visit magical

Cartagena - just such a vibrant city

What I will miss:

The smiles and the happiness of the people

The colonial architecture

Hot chocolate!

What I will not miss:

Their need, in the south, to have cheese with everything! I mean, hot chocolate and cheese?! Really!!

My embarrassment at my lack of Spanish. Epic linguistic fail.

Trying to convert pesos - it was just one currency too far!!!!

One last trip.....

Some of the group had already headed off in various directions on early flights, but a few of us headed back into Bogota for the morning. We had grand plans but the traffic put paid to most of them as it took us 50 minutes to negotiate the traffic jams and get to Plaza de Bolivar. 

We had been told about the Police Museum. All males in Colombia are required to undertake one year of military service, and those in the police force can opt to act as guides around the museum. But they were all too shy to take an English group! One ended up being forced into it and he was so shy, bless him! It was actually really interesting, and in a beautiful building that until 2 years ago had been the police headquarters. 

There was quite a lot about Pablo Escobar, the most notorious of the drug cartel lords. He had actually handed himself in to the police and then paid off the powers that be to allow him to be imprisoned in a prison he had built! There he was visited by all of his family, friends, and sports stars, and he had 24 hour cocktail service! When he realised he was to be moved to the army prison he legged it, but was eventually tracked down by the police, despite having cosmetic surgery to change his appearance, and shot dead in 1993!

Fascinating stuff! There was also a mural depicting the history of the police force, as well as collections of firearms, historical uniforms, details of up to date gadgets etc.

Given the ticking clock, we then only had time for one last Colombian hot chocolate and one of their delicious sweets, before again taking our lives in our hands and subjecting ourselves to one more taxi ride. Thankfully he didn't crash the car until seconds after we had jumped out!!!!

It was an emotional farewell to Leon our tour guide. He is rightly proud of his country and instilled the same enthusiasm in us all. Humble, funny, and with a great understanding of British humour, he has really helped us make some fabulous memories.

His final task was to deliver the last of us to El Dorado International airport, which he duly did about 5 hours ago. As I type this I am already at 33,000ft, just having passed over Caracas, and I have mixed emotions...... 

Adios Cartagena

We have all loved Cartagena. It's the most vibrant, bustling, colourful, hot and steamy city, full of photo opportunities, excitement, noise and delight.

The last morning was spent in Gethsemani, an area on the wrong side of the city walls, so the proper Cartagena. It was grimey and unloved but still fascinating, we specially the graffiti.

We passed one square that paid recalled to the slave trade that was prevalent in the city. There were even still metal rings in the floor where the slaves were chained to.

One street, known as Thin Alley, for obvious reasons, used to be the local drug centre of the city. Now cleaned up we loved its use of the ordinary plastic bag to create a simple and effective decoration!

As the temperature was getting a bit much we headed back through the clock tower gate, into the walled city and to ice cream heaven! More walking round, a visit to the Museo del Oro (another gold museum!), more heat, and then a drink stop was required. I had eyed up the Sofitel, a grand looking building that needed investigating. It didn't disappoint! An oasis of lush green calm, in a courtyard alive with hummingbirds, and two Botero sculptures!

Before I knew it the time had come to check out of our hotel, Hotel 3 Banderas. Well positioned between Plaza Madrid and Plaza San Diego it was a cool haven amidst the frenzy, and the fact that the gates were always locked to ensure no undesirables entered just added to the fun!

The flight back to Bogota was uneventful, and before we knew it we all complained that we were too cold!!! We had left 35C and arrived to 20C.  I suspect I will completely shrivel up when I hit the UK.

To celebrate our last night in Colombia I went with a couple of the girls to a tapas bar at the end of the street. 

You can't swim in mud....

Up early to avoid the crowds we drove an hour out of Cartagena to the Totumo Volcano. It is a volcano in the loosest sense of the word, more of a vent! This vent is filled with volcano mud that is more than 2 km deep. They say that bathing in the mud will make you look 10 years younger!

We all had visions of some huge caldera, so were somewhat taken aback to see this.....

You put your bathers on and gingerly climbed the stairs to the top where you found a well with mud! At this point I was at the front, but looking down at the mud, about 20 foot below, knowing how deep it was, and seeing the rather crude ladder in I must admit to being somewhat nervous, and I made Leon go in first! Then I slowly climbed down and immersed myself in thick gelatinous mud. It's true you can't swim in mud. In fact you can't do much! So you lie back and then the locals "shove" you across the surface! They massage in the mud and pull you when you need to move! At one point I was just suspended in a frog like position, fully supported. It was one of, if not the most, weirdest experiences of my life! 

Then comes the trauma of extracating oneself, without the weight of the mud pulling down your bikini bottoms and at the same time hauling yourself back up a ladder that was covered in mud. I could have been taking part in Its a Knockout!

After climbing back down the mount you head, looking quite frankly like a monster from the deep, past a row of cafés to the lagoon. As soon as you arrive you are grasped by the local women who throw water at you, get you to sit down in the merky water and whip of your bathers! Modesty is obviously not high on their priorities here! So I had a naked bath surrounded by 3 blokes!

I needed a fresh coconut juice to recover!

The afternoon was a much more civilised affair. A wander through the streets of the Walled Town and a spot of shopping!

The Walked Town is such a vibrant place, and there is a photo opportunity around every corner. I even nipped back as the sun was going down, and the locals tend to congregate on the street to grab a few more shots.

As our it was our last night in Cartagena Leon had organised for us to be picked up by horse and cart and taken around the streets before dropping us off for dinner. It's a very touristic thing to do, but then I am a tourist, and when in Cartagena...!

After dinner some of us decided to head to the Havava Club, THE club for salsa. It felt quite naughty leaving the city walls and heading out but when we got there it was closed! A guy called Raymond introduced himself and told us what an awesome night it is at the club (just to rub it in!) but he did point us in the direction of another one. Sadly there were not many people in there (3 actually) but we had a beer, listened to the music, and enjoyed the view!

New experiences for everyone....

A week before I arrived in Colombia I had an email from Explore advising that the program had been changed. Today was the day that a new destination was on the itinary. One that even the tour guide had not been too. However to be honest I did not care! After my two cocktails I was suffering bad and just wanted to sleep on the bus!

We headed 2 hours out of Cartagena towards the Maria Hills, and the town of San Jacinta. Until relatively recently even Colombians avoided the area, as it was run by the paramilitary and the drug cartels. The 22,000 people suffered a lot of violence and corruption, and are only just recovering. 

They are about to open a small archeological museum to display artefacts found in the region dating back to 4000BC. It has not been completed yet but we were given a personal tour by the professor in charge.

We then headed through the streets to meet a lady who had a weaving cooperative in her house. Traditionally all of the women wove, whilst the men farmed, but during the troubles men took to weaving too as they could do it at home out of the way of danger. The local handicraft is hammocks, and they can take 2 weeks to make. They live off a minimum wage of about $250 a month,

Her kitchen was something else!

 

The professor had then lined up the local children (who are now on holiday) to perform some of their local folk dances. They were very shy, they had never performed to anyone but their families before. Unfortunately all the photos are on my other camera! The dances were all about flirting, and the children also played the drums and local wind pipes.

After a quick and basic lunch of chicken soup it seemed wrong not to buy a hammock to help the local economy! How will I get it home?!

An hours bus journey and we arrived in San Basilio Palenque. With just over 2,000 people this village is on the UNESCO list because it was established by ex-slaves who originated from African and managed to fight off the Spanish. They are noticeably African looking, and they have their own language and traditions. Marriage outside the village was discouraged although this is now changing and they were spared some of the problems with the drug cartels because no one could infiltrate the village without standing out!

We were invited into a local house for coffee and sweets before heading to another village hall for more dancing. I must admit that a couple of us decided it must be the kind if day the Queen gets!

Unlike the children earlier in the day these dancers were super energetic and quite raunchy! Beyonce would have been hard pushed to compete!

We wandered around the village and seemed to be the centre of much attention! We were even introduced to the local superstar, a man in his 80's who has won a Grammy and been on an international tour, but lived in the humblest of houses. He decided that he had to have his photo taken with me, as I had "winked" at him! I believe that may be code for "now we are married"!!!

By the time we got back to Cartagena we were all quite frazzled so a quick dinner in the neighbouring square seemed ideal, but if course we had forgotten the go-slow attitude here! Luckily before we started to chew the table in desperation a random group of locals showed up and started dancing! It truly was a dance-tastic day!

It's a hard life.....

Well we thought it was an early start but obviously we had forgotten about Colombian time, slow, slower and stop! 3 of us had decided to spend the day on one if the 28 Los Rosarios islands and our bus driver was an hour late!

We thought we were getting a ferry but it turned out to be a glorified speedboat with 2 outboard motors. We got a great view of the new town that is all skyscrapers, and the naval base, with various frigates and 2 submarines. The easiest route out of the harbour is not possible because the Spanish built an underwater wall to help protect the city so you have to sail around the island of Tierra Bomba. At the entrance to the sea there are two forts, one on each side, at different heights so that they don't hit each other!

An hour later and we were in the Caribbean being dropped off on Isla del Sol. It was a question of picking a sunbed, deciding which side to fry first, and how many swims to fit in! I even managed a quick massage! All too quickly we had eaten lunch, swung in the hammock and were being picked up to go home. After all that chilling I could barely keep my eyes open on the boat ride home!

A quick shower at the hotel and we joined the others for a cocktail at sunset. We headed to Cafe del Mar, an open air cafe on the ramparts of the wall that surrounds the city. It was heaving, but great fun, and after the first Long Island Iced Tea it seemed rude not to order another one!

What I had missed was that I was ordering off the "really" strong collection and by the end of my second one I was completely sozzled! All of the sun, sea air and cocktails just hit me! I had to weave my way back to the hotel and passed out fully clothed on my bed!

Check out the frizz!

Tourist honeypot.....

Well after the relative peace and quiet around the rest of Colombia we have hit the tourist honeypot that is Cartagena. The city attracts large numbers of Colombian tourists, Latin American tourists and also a large number of international cruise ships.

The day started with a bit of orientation. Founded in 1533 by the Spanish conquerors as a main port to various minerals, plants and people between Latin America, Africa and Europe. It was a major trading port for gold and silver, it was also one of only two ports authorised to trade in slaves. All of this activity necessitated the building of defences and massive fortified walls. The old city is now designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

We headed up to Convent de la Popa which has the best views of the city, even if the convent is somewhat underwhelming!

Then it was a rush to fit in the San Felipe Fort before all of the other hoards of tourist arrived.

We were beginning to realise just how hot the city is. Even the locals were complaining!!

A quick walk to familiarise ourselves with the streets of Cartagena and then we were all in need of a break from the heat.

I decided to head to La Boquilla, the local beach near the fishing village. All if the buses, motorbikes and cars use the beach as a roadway. On one side is the sea and the other is full of palm covered shacks selling lunch and trying to drown out the music if it's neighbours! Honest the sound levels were ridiculous!

In order to get some peace and quiet we jumped into some wooden canoes and were punted around the lagoon for a while. There was a fair amount of wildlife but I just found it all a tad creepy!

Back on the beach and how could I refuse to dip my toes in to the Caribbean for the first time!

Whilst enjoying a refreshing coconut drink a lady tried to sell us some of her homemade sweets. One by one we all capitulated! They were made from coconut, nuts, arequipe and lots of sugar, but were divine!

Some of us girls headed out that evening for dinner and found ourselves on the roof of one of the cafés. It was so lovely, despite the lack of service!, to sit there and not need a cardigan, and just enjoy the rooftop views.

We missed the riots....

We said goodbye to two of our group today as they had to fly home and deal with a family matter. Poor things. So we had a bit of time at the finca in the morning to chill and try and photograph all of the birds. Colombia has the most diverse bird life in the world, and they have some fabulous ones, none of which I know their names!

Stopped at one of the roadside fruit markets and tasted loads of divine fruit, but again I have forgotten what each one is called. Maybe I have reached information overload?!

Armenia, the capital city of the coffee region, was obviously affected by the 1999 earthquake. Unfortunately they have rebuilt very 1960's looking concrete buildings, so it is not massively attractive, but we wandered around the High Street, and looked at the new (hideous) cathedral! I did like the statue of force though.

At least the Quimbaya Gold Museum was more pleasing on the eye, the building and the artefacts! It is interesting that the indigenous people of South America, Egypt and China all used to bury their leaders with artefacts (and often living relatives) to help them in their next life.

I have not mentioned the Jeep Willys! After the 2nd World War the Colombians bought a whole load of ex-military vehicles off the Americans. They have been lovingly restored, and pimped, and they regularly have competitions to see who can get the most people in one, and various other things. You see them all over the region.

The afternoon was to be spent travelling back from Armenia, via Bogota to Cartagena. After the traumas of the last trip we heard that the day after there had been riots at Bogota Airport and the President, and the police, had stepped in to restore order. Luckily our 4 hour connection was fairly ordered, was as ordered as anything can be in South America!

Out of sheer boredom I had found a Dunkin Donuts and decided to dunk one in a hot chocolate! It was an absolute taste sensation, but about 10 minutes later I felt so sick!!!

We arrived in Cartagena at about 11pm and I realised that it was already, officially, 1st December in the UK. The month of the Buble! The rest of the bus groaned when I decided to treat them to a little bit of "Jolly Holly Christmas", but I know they will weaken.....!

The clue is in the name.....

Given that we were in the "Coffee Triangle" it is only right and fitting to visit a coffee plantation so we headed to La Morelua coffee farm. Most of the farms are fairly small in Colombia and sell their beans to cooperatives. They have been receiving low prices recently so generally grow at least one other crop, plantains, avocados etc.

From 5kg of coffee beans picked they end up with 1kg of roasted beans. The pickets earnt about $12 a day. A lot if the coffee trees are planted very close together on fairly steep hills, so it's not glamorous, and no machines are used.

We were then shown the process which turns the picked bean into a roasted bean! Two young lads sat at a table hand picking the best beans, meeting the expert who mixes the beans and knows how long to roast them for, showing us "cupping" - taste testing, and then the barista showing us how to make coffee. It was really interesting. Who knew that espresso is the weakest coffee in caffeine terms?!

After lunch by the river at Beunavista we headed off for a trek up the nearby hill to wander through the plantations. It was flipping hot and slow work! They are hoping to diversify into ecotourism and have built a 150m long spiral bamboo bridge. It was some feat of mathematics! It has taken them 7 years!

Next stop was Pijao, high up in the hills it was the epicentre of the 1999 earthquake. It is only a small village but has been rebuilt. We headed to one of the local bars. Tiny it just about squeezed us in. There was a table of 2 guys and a girl already there and they wanted to know who we were, so introductionswere  made. Turned out it was the girls birthday, so we sang Happy Birthday to her, one of the guys insisted on buying all of our drinks, he phoned his son in Chicago to tell him, and then he started insisting that we drank his Aguadiente. It is translated as "Firewater" which I suppose was the clue, but with a kick if anise. I couldn't get out without taking 3 shots!

The other noteworthy (or not) point of the bar was that the toilets were covered in porn! Really not what I was expecting, especially one photo of Osama doing something questionable to Mr George W Bush! Cheeky!