While it has been a while since we´ve updated this blog, its not ALL due to pure laziness. The fact is, while most hostels have internet, its not free to use. The other excuse is that we are always wondering around and doing something so blogging is not exactly the first thing on our minds.
Anyway, there is so much to write about since Bogota. This is a perfect time to mention that we wont be typing out great chunks of text. Its better to give a light description, focusing on the general feel and experiences, supplemented with pictures (hopefully).
Villa de Leyva
Our drive to Villa de leyva was a pretty scenic 4 hour drive from Bogota. Our adventure started at the bus "terminal". We arrived at the end of the line, getting off our bus, not really knowing where to catch the next bus to Villa de leyva. After walking around in circles and looking like typical lost tourists, a local took pity on us. He explained that bus tickets needed to be purchased from the men wearing ties, looking all official. So far, we have found that most places operate in similar fashion. At first it looks really disorganized, with people yelling everywhere, guys running in all directions, but its actually really organized.
Villa de leyva was an amazing little town. While we didnt actually have the time to explore it, it had an amazing small-town feel. The streets were line with cobbelstones and the houses were repainted in glorious white and blue. We found that this little place had an amazing array of touristy places to visit. Pictures will be available via flicker, but our exploration of the place led us to the Penis Park, a clay house and random blue pools in the middle of a desert. The second day was spent exploring the amazing watefalls about 20 minutes out of town. One of the waterfalls was atelast 50 meters in height and shielded a cave. Apparently, if we took the old trail up, next to the waterfall, we could have explored an old burial cave. The second waterfall was easier to approach. We ended up having lunch at the very top of the waterfall, looking out into the massive, sprawling valley infront of us.
We stayed in a hostel called "Colombian Highlands" and was our first camping experience. We found that we really enjoyed camping as its kind of like a home-away-from-home. The people at the hostel were really chill, and the very open kitchen area with hamacs provided lots of opportunities for socialising.
While we wanted to stay longer in Villa de leyva, we really want to hit the the Caribean cost. Hence, after two really entertaining nights, we left for San Gil.
San Gil
San Gil had the feel of an old industrial town. The one notable thing were the really steep streets, steep enough to make you want to put on your rock climbing shoes and setup a belay line at the top.
We stayed in El Papillon, a family run hostel with lots of house rules. Our tent, joined the multitude of other tents setup in their backyard. So far, its one of our favourite hostels. Not only did they have amazing coffee, prepared by the owner, but he also made amazing, nut clustered bread.
One of our major problems with Colombia so far is the lack of good bread and cheese. It appears that all the bakeries that we have so far encountered follow the same receipe. The bread is usually soft, white and very fluffy; not enough to sustain a pair of hungry backpackers. The cheese lacks any sort of flavour. Parmesan and even Motzarella, all taste like each other and everything else.
But, enough of that. San Gil is known as the adventure capital of Colombia. So we couldnt leave the place without experiencing atelast a little of what it had to offer. We booked a Cannyoning tour through our hostel. It was a small tour consisting of us two, an aussie couple and the tour guide with his girlfriend. In a nutshell, our adventure started with us entering a cave and crawling through very little spaces while looking out for bats. The cave system was amazing. One of the caves was filled with clay. Needless to say, we stripped as far as was comfortable and proceeded to frolic in the clay; splashing water and building clay kangaroos :)
Getting out of the cave involved climbing over a mini waterfall.
Once outside in the warm sun, we had a number of absailing sessions; one down a 30m rockface and the other a 15m waterfall.
We have lots of pictures off that day and will be putting pictures up eventually.
That out of the way, we felt that it was time to head to the Caribean host, in a 12 hour bus ride to Santa Marta and eventually to Taganga.
Part 2 will be coming shorty.
Map Key
A: Bogota
B: Villa de leyva
C: San Gil
D: Taganga
E: Tayrona National Park
F: Cartagena
View Larger Map
Anyway, there is so much to write about since Bogota. This is a perfect time to mention that we wont be typing out great chunks of text. Its better to give a light description, focusing on the general feel and experiences, supplemented with pictures (hopefully).
Villa de Leyva
Our drive to Villa de leyva was a pretty scenic 4 hour drive from Bogota. Our adventure started at the bus "terminal". We arrived at the end of the line, getting off our bus, not really knowing where to catch the next bus to Villa de leyva. After walking around in circles and looking like typical lost tourists, a local took pity on us. He explained that bus tickets needed to be purchased from the men wearing ties, looking all official. So far, we have found that most places operate in similar fashion. At first it looks really disorganized, with people yelling everywhere, guys running in all directions, but its actually really organized.
Villa de leyva was an amazing little town. While we didnt actually have the time to explore it, it had an amazing small-town feel. The streets were line with cobbelstones and the houses were repainted in glorious white and blue. We found that this little place had an amazing array of touristy places to visit. Pictures will be available via flicker, but our exploration of the place led us to the Penis Park, a clay house and random blue pools in the middle of a desert. The second day was spent exploring the amazing watefalls about 20 minutes out of town. One of the waterfalls was atelast 50 meters in height and shielded a cave. Apparently, if we took the old trail up, next to the waterfall, we could have explored an old burial cave. The second waterfall was easier to approach. We ended up having lunch at the very top of the waterfall, looking out into the massive, sprawling valley infront of us.
We stayed in a hostel called "Colombian Highlands" and was our first camping experience. We found that we really enjoyed camping as its kind of like a home-away-from-home. The people at the hostel were really chill, and the very open kitchen area with hamacs provided lots of opportunities for socialising.
While we wanted to stay longer in Villa de leyva, we really want to hit the the Caribean cost. Hence, after two really entertaining nights, we left for San Gil.
San Gil
San Gil had the feel of an old industrial town. The one notable thing were the really steep streets, steep enough to make you want to put on your rock climbing shoes and setup a belay line at the top.
We stayed in El Papillon, a family run hostel with lots of house rules. Our tent, joined the multitude of other tents setup in their backyard. So far, its one of our favourite hostels. Not only did they have amazing coffee, prepared by the owner, but he also made amazing, nut clustered bread.
One of our major problems with Colombia so far is the lack of good bread and cheese. It appears that all the bakeries that we have so far encountered follow the same receipe. The bread is usually soft, white and very fluffy; not enough to sustain a pair of hungry backpackers. The cheese lacks any sort of flavour. Parmesan and even Motzarella, all taste like each other and everything else.
But, enough of that. San Gil is known as the adventure capital of Colombia. So we couldnt leave the place without experiencing atelast a little of what it had to offer. We booked a Cannyoning tour through our hostel. It was a small tour consisting of us two, an aussie couple and the tour guide with his girlfriend. In a nutshell, our adventure started with us entering a cave and crawling through very little spaces while looking out for bats. The cave system was amazing. One of the caves was filled with clay. Needless to say, we stripped as far as was comfortable and proceeded to frolic in the clay; splashing water and building clay kangaroos :)
Getting out of the cave involved climbing over a mini waterfall.
Once outside in the warm sun, we had a number of absailing sessions; one down a 30m rockface and the other a 15m waterfall.
We have lots of pictures off that day and will be putting pictures up eventually.
That out of the way, we felt that it was time to head to the Caribean host, in a 12 hour bus ride to Santa Marta and eventually to Taganga.
Part 2 will be coming shorty.
Map Key
A: Bogota
B: Villa de leyva
C: San Gil
D: Taganga
E: Tayrona National Park
F: Cartagena
View Larger Map
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