Gringolandia

I am staying in the part of town here in Quito known for its foreign population. And I have to say that it is quite weird to be surrounded by so many foreigners. The Old Town is where it is at in terms of sightseeing and museums but the New Town (where I am now) is the place for nightlife....apparantely. I wouldn´t really know since I have been at home nice and early the two nights that I have been there.

The first night I tried to go out with a girl from my dorm but, it being Sunday, our choices were limited. And last night I was alone in the dorm... poor me! I went out for dinner and got the usual bad service seemingly reserved for women who dine alone then went home and watched a film. It was fine.

Today I got up and went to the Teleferiqo (cable car to you and me). I started to walk there but soon realised that the area I was walking through was a little different from Gringolandia and I stuck out like a sore thumb. So I jumped into a cab for the rest of the way and was pleased that I had done so when I realised that the rest of the walk was up hill. Ha!

The ride starts at 9,680 ft above sea level and by the time you have reached the top of the mountain you are a heady 13,287 ft above sea level or about 4,100m. There are signs everywhere reminding you how high you are and so not to run. It is exhausting being that high. I walked along the ridge for a while but was soon totally out of breath- and for once all those around me were the same.

I watched the planes taking off from Quito airport until my body realised that height= cold. And I wasn´t wearing the thickest of shirts. My ears were hurting from the wind and the battery was running out on my camera. It seemed time to go.

Quito is a strange city in as much as it is only 4km across and 22km long. It sits in a valley and is surrounded by mountains and volcanos. I am explaining this rather than showing you photos because the PC that I am using has decided not to recognise my camera. Very annoying.

I think that I will stay in Quito until Friday and then head back for a second helping of Otavalo market. I will try and get back across the border on Saturday afternoon, if I can.

It is so strange to think that two weeks today I will be back in Blighty! I have already arranged to go straight from the airport to the pub to catch up with a few folk but I know that it will all be a little surreal. That is why the people I am meeting in the pub are mostly Colombians, ease myself back into London life gently..

and I have a question.. what did people play on panpipes before the Sound of Silence was written?

Photos from Ecuador

OK, unfortunately I haven´t brought my other memory card out with me but here are some photos from San Agustin and Quito.

This was taken on the jeep safari the other day



As was this, just one of many horse and carts on the roads in Huila



We met some kids near a waterfall and they loved having their photos taken



This kid more than the others



This is my favourite statue, it looks a little bewildered and I know how it feels



This is the view from my glorious hammock at Casa Francois



me



Then we got to Ecuador and Otavalo. Where people still wear traditional dress



I loved pretty much everything I saw on the market



more hammocks



Then we arrived in Quito







Where there are still folk in traditional dress too



I should be going to the Equator tomorrow, I should have gone today but didn´t make it. My stomach has been a little dodge since changing countries again. Maybe it also feels that we are being a little unfaithful to Colombia by sneaking off to Ecuador in the early hours of Saturday morning.

I am still trying to decide what to do. Juan made me an iternary before Christmas but, short of jetting off to the Caribbean, I have pretty much ticked off everything on the list. I have to be back in Colombia soon and back in Bogota for my last weekend on 9th March. Apart from that there is no rush.

There are a few things that I missed on the rush to Ecuador so I have to go back and do those. But the route back is basically retracing my steps for a week or so. Hum, I will let you know

Helen in Charge

Finally I have met someone who speaks less Spanish than me, which feels pretty good, at last! So I am doing things, buying tickets and asking questions without feeling that everyone is sighing at my slow progress through the sentences.

That said, other things have changed too. For starters... I am no longer in Colombia! Wow! I am in Ecuador. It has been a bit of a mad rush to get here because we wanted to hit the market in Otavalo this morning. We is me and a French guy, Eric, who I bumped into just after buying my bus ticket in San Agustin a couple of days ago.

We left San Agustin and went back down that nightmare road for the best part of six hours. Then onto a bus to Pasto for another five hours. Then Ipìales for a couple of hours. And finally reached the actual border at 11.30 last night.... an hour and a half after immigration closed.. carajo!

So we booked into a hostel for the night and got up at 5.35AM THIS MORNING! Yikes! Not my idea, as you can imagine. We crossed into Ecuador shortly after seven am. The stamp was also as disappointingly non-flamboyuant as the Colombian one.

Then straight into a taxi to the bus terminal and onto a bus to Otavalo. And SHOPPING!!!!!!

I bought stuff. I am happy:)

The arts and crafts here in Ecuador are shedloads better than in Colombia (sorry, Colombianos) and it is a bit weird as the currency here in US dollars.... to a point. The notes are the same but the coins are Ecuadorian centavos and US cents... which still bug me... what the hell is a ´dime´and how dare they write such nonsense on a coin???

I spent money. My bag is much heavier. I have a blanket made of alpaca. Does life get any better??

We left our bags in a hotel at the corner of the market and when we had shopped and dropped we got onto another bus to Quito.. the capital. Man, it is high here- about 3,000m above sea level or something ridiculous. But at least I have an excuse for being out of breath all the time.

Back to Colombia in a couple of days though. Then I will give you photos. And perhaps you will give me comments!

La Niña Linda

I know that I should have got it together a bit earlier this morning but if you were faced with the choice of walking or lying in a hammock, overlooking a beautiful valley, watching the hummingbirds hoover around the welcoming open mouths of colourful flowers, what would you have done?

I have never seen hummingbirds in the wild before and an intriguing sight they are too. The butterflies around them were twice their size. Fantastic.

I am in San Agustin today. I left Popayan yesterday morning on a bus. Well, I say bus but it was more like a bucking broncho. The roads between Popayan and San Agustin don´t really know the meaning of the word ´sealed´. But we made it in just over five hours which was not bad. I had made the mistake of buying a bottle of water at the bus terminal and drinking freely from it before getting on the bus.

Big mistake but the time bomb was set and sure enough, two hours into the journey and things weren´t even as comfortable as they had been.

Four hours in and we bucked our way off the road and stopped at a cafe... I leapt out of the bus and by the time I had made it around the back of the bus all the male passengers were relieving themselves anywhere they could. It was reassuring to know that I hadn´t been the only one suffering in silence. I, however, used the bathroom.

I am staying in Casa Francois which is fantastic. It is owned and seeminly built by a crazy French guy. I was the only one there last night so I stayed in the dorm. But dorm is not really word enough to describe the place. It is a hexagonal building made of bamboo overlooking the valley with bottles pressed into the walls to let light in. In the place are three double beds but only one hammock swinging on the balcony. Lucky there was only me then!

Today, when I finally dragged mysefl away from Casa Francois and the hammock, I went to the Parque Archeologica. San Agustin is famous for its pre-Columbine statues which litter the valley and surrounding hills. They were carved by a people which had long since disappeared by the time the conquisadores appeared to claim the land for Spain.

The statues are an intriguing bunch of men, women, shagging monkeys and general weirdness, all perched in absolutely gorgeous landscapes. Man, do I have some great photos for you once I make it to somewhere the internet isn´t powered by hamsters running round in their wheels.

I am on an all day jeep tour tomorrow... then moving on on Friday. See you then!

Rumba

It is Monday morning and I am preparing to leave Cali after a weekend here in the Colombian capital of salsa.



I arrived on Thursday, moved to a new hostel on Friday, went out on Friday night. On Saturday I went to the zoo with a girl from the hostel and later met up with Juan Pablo and Andrea. Juan Pablo was unfortunate enough to have been my student in London for a couple of months before Christmas but he seems to have forgiven me enough to take me out and show me Cali. And Andrea is his adorable girlfriend.

But first, the zoo. Cali Zoo is pretty sweet if you happen to like zoos, which I do. I know, they were not PC for so long but then people discovered that they weren´t actually poking the lions with sticks and painting extra stripes on the zebras and were, in fact, a handy way of people getting close to animals that they would never see walking down the streets of Essex.

Cali Zoo concentrates mainly on Colombian species which makes it more interesting. Admittedly if London Zoo did this then you would be faced with cages of grumpy looking badgers and pissed off foxes. But here that means monkeys and parrots galore (don´t forget the Amazon region of the country) and more butterflies than it would be wise to shake a stick at.





The zoo straddles the river and it is a pretty cool place to hang out for a couple of hours. It was a hot day and typically we arrived at siesta time. The tiger was sitting in its pool, up to its neck in water, strange rodents that I didn´t know the name of in English were doing likewise.

In fact it was only the tortoises moving and they seemed to be involved in a pretty slow act of shagging the shell off each other.

After the zoo we went back to the hostel and awaited the arrival of Juan Pablo and Andrea.



They took me to a salsa club and, bless them, didn´t even try very hard to make me dance. The club, Rumbavana, was full of youngsters but there is something about dancing salsa which makes people seem very grown up to me.





The club shut at three but undeterred we followed the typical caleño party style of simply finding another place to go. The next place, Eliptica, was an open air dance floor playing house music to the stars. Located on the top of a hill it gave some great views over the city too.



We stayed there until the lights turned on sometime after four. I made it to bed at quarter to five.

Sunday saw me hitting the mall with two girls from my dorm, in search of shoes. I love being a girl sometimes! None of us bought shoes though I was pretty damn close. I love new shoes and the idea of having a pair that I bought in Colombia (though the same are for sale in the UK) so that I could look down at my feet and sigh wistfully about my days in deepest darkest South America was pretty alluring. Instead we went to the cinema.

Hum, we selected an American movie, Babel, on the understanding that it hadn´t been dubbed into Spanish. What we didn´t know was that, given that a third of the movie is set in Mexico and a third in Tokyo (with Spanish subtitles) there was no need to have dubbed it. Tested my Spanish to the max it has to be said and the three of us still don´t really agree on the ending of the Tokyo story.

After the movie, Juan Pablo and Andrea picked me up again and we had a bite to eat and saw the cats of Cali.

The original cat, El Gato del Rio, sits next to the river with a smart look on his face. And no wonder since he is currently surrended by a feline harem decorated by Colombian artists in a best kitty competition. Good stuff.











All too soon it was time to go back to the hostel. Poor Juan Pablo had to work today so no late night dancing for us. It was great to have my tour guides in Cali and good to see that a month away from England hasn´t affected their English.

I have only one regret in Cali and that is that I hardly saw any big fake boobs at all. I don´t know if this is because it was too hot here (22 degrees at three am for starters) so the owners of the boobs have to stay home with them packed in ice to stop them melting or what. But I did see more than enough in Medellin and the occassional pair here.

As for the debate about which city has the most beautiful women, Cali or Medellin, I have to admit that I am still just looking at the fellas...

Mamita

I might not have danced last night but I still left the club with the barman´s phone number...I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!!!!

And here are a couple more photos that didn´t make it on here yesterday for one reason or another



Botero´s bird of peace in Medellin. The first one was partially destroyed by a bomb so they have put a new one next to it.



From the top of El Peñol



City walls of Cartagena

More Photos

You know that I have hundreds more photos than I will ever post on here for you guyds. And not because they are ´naughty´ones. But today it is a rainy Friday morning in Cali and I am waiting for my washing to dry.. hum.. so I will fill the time with giving you more photos.

So here are another couple from Cartagena







A girl on La Playa Blanca


The Virgin Mary in the harbour at Cartagena



The old town from the boat



Terrified dog at the fiesta in Cartagena



The view from El Peñol near Medellin



El Peñnol, you can see the steps which we climbed, over 650 of the little blighters

View of Medellin from the bus terminal

The balcony at the Black Sheep Hostel in Medellin, great place for lazy afternoons

Resting man

Manizales

The reassuring sign that there has been no deaths or accidents recently on the buses

Plantation House hostel in Salento, weirdly attracts more female visitors than male

The horses that we should have ridden rather than go on another trek(!)

Wax palms

A bridge(?)

Wax palms

Chivas in Cocora

Everyone relieved to see the jeep again

Bustling metroplis of Salento

The town´s main form of transport

A beer in Salento

The citizens of Salento

Cowboys!

And that is more than enough, I think!

Have a great weekend, particularly those of you celebrating any kind of new year this weekend.. enjoy the fireworks!

Oh, and happy wedding day, Sam and Barclay!! All the best!

Old and new

It is funny that you can spend a day with someone and still miss them. Here are Linda and Fernando, now in Ecuador, who I met in Medellin



I am now in Cali, leaving behind the gorgeousness of Salento. I spent three days in Salento, about forty minutes outside Armenia. I went there with two Canadians that I had met in Medellin and again in Manizales. By the time that we were leaving the Mountain House in Manizales it seemed silly not to just get the same bus.



We arrived into an empty Plantation House hostel but it had filled up by the time that we came back from dinner. And people seemed to be plotting a five hour hike the next day. How I get myself into these things I just don´t know!

But I was up with the others the next day and bundling into the back of a jeep



We went to Cocora Valley to look at some wax palms, really big palm trees. We set off on the hike together but I dropped out at 3.5km and made a leisurely stroll back to the meeting point. The rest of them went on for another two or so kms before turning back. It was only when we all got back that we saw the map with the arrow pointing the other way... ah well, the scenery was fantastic





All very nice and the walk back by myself was good. Until I decided not to risk the shaky bridge that I had crossed on my hands and knees the last time and decided to wade across instead. And fell in. You have never seen anyone move so quick to get their camera out of the way before it hit the water. Bag was saved but self was soaked from top to bottom.

I was trying to decide whether I could get away with not telling anyone when the others started reappearing. Ah well.

A couple of us went out that night to paint Salento red. We met some weird looking locals who wanted to dance salsa. Having trodden all over some poor boy´s feet on Saturday night I declined and looked after the drinks instead.

And the next day I went to PANACA with the Canadian couple. I can´t remember exactly what it stands for but it is something to do with agricultural. It was a weird place. If I say to you that the racing pigs were the most normal part you might begin to understand.



These pigs were friendly but didn´t race.

Here is Fran riding a cow



It was that kind of place really. Fun but really weird.



Then it started to rain. Having been wet for hours the day before I elected to buy a raincoat there and then.

And off we went to the rodeo. The donkeys and horses were all housed under the seats but didn´t want to miss out on the attention



And finally we went back to Salento, shuttle bus from PANACA to Quimbaya (without enough time to go to the Britain disco bar, shame), bus from Quimbaya to Armenia and bus from Armenia to Salento. And collapse into the hostel and the welcoming paws of the hostel kitten.

Today I got up and came to Cali. So I am in Cali now. I checked into the hostel and came out. That is all I have to say right now.

Leaving my heart in Manizales

I have loved being here in Manizales. Mainly because I finally got to go out dancing! Hooray for me... and we were adopted by some Colombian students eager to tell us that Manizales was the best city in Colombia and to welcome us to the country in general



And it turns out that I was allowed to take one of them home with me. I didn´t want to be greedy so I just took the small one



On a slightly different note, every town in Colombia has a Plaza Bolivar with a statue of the Liberator in it. But Manizales has a slightly different way to portray this national hero



naked with a condor head. I like it!

Fighting the hangover and lack of sleep yesterday I went to Chinchina to see a coffee plantation. It was very tranquil and beautiful. Here is one of the many photos I took

Coffee Break

I did it, I left Medellin. I didn´t stay for the bullfight in the end as the girl that had been cooking for me was leaving so I thought that I should too. Haha! Nah, that is not the only reason but it can be tricky to make decisions and so when someone else makes them it can be a good idea to just piggyback them.

So I am in Manizales now, start of the Zona Cafetera, coffee stuff. I arrived in the dark last night but went for a quick walk through the zona rosa and saw Manizales finest out for their Friday night of fun, crowded chiva buses stormed past blaring out music and cheers. Being alone, I just sat, had dinner and watched.

Today people from the hostel have gone off hiking in Parque Nacional los Nevados- basically volcanos, thermal springs and snow. I didn´t go because I didn´t have enough money on me to pay for the trip last night. I am waiting to hear about it tonight and then plan to go either tomorrow or Monday. They told me that it is really cold out there so I am practising wearing shoes after a month of sandals.. it feels kinda weird.

And it is a bit colder here in Manizales too- we are in mountains so it is not surprising but I had to sleep under two blankets last night, it was only a week ago that I couldn´t even sleep under a sheet even under the fan! Ah, the Caribbean coast... sigh.

I have photos for you but don´t have my USB cable on me as I was planning to go to a rainforest at the edge of the city but have ended up in the centre instead. Couldn´t pass up the opportunity to get on the net, god I am too addicted! Now I am going to get some lunch and then head to the Jardin Botanico as it is only three blocks from the hostel.. sounds good to me!

Just so...

.. I feel like I have done something today, here are some photos...



This is La Playa Blanca on Baru, las islas del rosario near Cartagena



Part of the dolphin show at the outdoor aquarium in the islas



Botero sculpture in the museo in Medellin



Can't remember the name of the church in Medellin



the cable car going up to Santo Domingo in Medellin, not the nicest part of town



Bandeja paisa, typical food.



On top of the world, well on top of the rock at El Penol near Medellin



and again



near el norte bus terminal...sorry guys, no photos of the plastic boobs

Alcohol loosens the tongue

I woke up this morning with a head full of Spanish and a belly full of margaritas. Well, that is not entirely true. I was woken up by an English girl bursting into the room and demanding to know what her friend wanted to do today. Being half cut I rolled over in my bed and joined the discussion, in English. But when they had gone I tried to think to myself and it was all in Spanish, bad Spanish.

The reason for this was that last night I was out with some people, a couple of Americans and a guy from Chile. Everyone could speak Spanish but one could not speak English. We went to the zona rosa here in Medellin, famous for having more plastic boobs than a barbie factory.

And from what we saw it was exactly true. Those girls are so top heavy and so young.. and their fellas are such overweight slobs. It was weird. Around one the Americans wanted to go home but me and Fernando wanted to stay. So we did. And later tried to find another place to go but with no luck. So we came back to the hostel and sat on the balcony with a Colombian woman. The whole conversation was in Spanish. For four hours I didnt, couldnt, speak English.

Of course I made so many mistakes and they were kind and patient with me. And the nearer it got to five am the harder it was to form any words in any language. And at that time my Korean started to come out again which was no help to anyone. But I went to bed feeling quite pleased with myself for having spoken the most Spanish I have ever done in one evening. Hooray for me.

Today I was supposed to leave Medellin but it is now one thirty in the afternoon and I can still taste the toothpaste. And there is no point leaving tomorrow morning as the bullfighting is tomorrow night here in Medellin and I am feeling bloodthirsty.

So I guess that I will be out of here on Saturday.... maybe

Estoy en Medellin

I have been told that people will be wondering where I am. Well I am still in Colombia, of course, in Medellin. On Sunday I went to Las Islas del Rosario for the day- good beaches, great aquarium, many pelicans.. then on Monday I got the bus to Medellin... which took forever.

The first reason that it took a long time is that I arrived at the bus terminal at seven thirty and they told me that the next bus with a free seat going my way was at ELEVEN.. huff.

But with no choice I took that option. The girl at the counter took the approach of speaking to me LOUDLY and SLLLLOOOOWWWLLLY in Spanish... even though I was answering all of her questions correctly, also in Spanish. ah well. The film was dubbed into Spanish but they had the Spanish subtitles on so I was able to follow all of it which was very satisfying.

However at the promised arrival time of midnight we were still in our third police road block so I knew that bed was still a long way away. In fact, I finally got to the hostel at 2am.

Tuesday I slept for a while then went into the city for a look round. Medellin is the owner of the only metro system in Colombia and as far as I know, the only one that connects to a cable car... it was cool. Actually the cable car connects some of the poorest parts of the city to the metro system so it is all a bit voyeuristic for us tourists. I did take some photos but I didn´t get off the cable car at any point.

Today I have climbed a bloody big rock to see some amazing views. I will get back to you with photos as and when I can.

So I am alive, I am in Medellin but I think that I am moving on again tomorrow. Bye for now!

Breaking the Rules

Rule one from the Lonely Planet guide to Colombia... do not take a night bus.. I took one from Bucaramanga to Santa Marta but there was no choice

Rule two... don't walk back the long way through Tayrona National Park because robberies have been reported... we did it but under protest, Mark's idea and I only read the guide book after

Rule three.... don't walk up to La Popa in Cartagena, take a taxi, armed robberies have been reported... well, yesterday was the Patron Saint of Cartagena's special day, I wasn't alone and an armed robber would have been hard pressed to have found us in the crowds

Rule four... don't take opened drinks off people you don't know.... ah stuff it!



Yesterday I went to a very strange thing-volcan de totumo.. a mud volcano





It is a few thousand feet deep apparentely but it is also impossible to sink. It is a very strange feeling



And I took photos of donkeys... hey I am a tourist!



The day before I went to El Castillo de San Felipe something



Colombians don't just like to fly flags, they like to fly BIG flags



Having met someone to talk to on the day at the volcano it seemed a shame not to take advantage so we went out. We climbed the hill to La Popa through the festival crowds. There was a real party atmosphere and the sunset was awesome





We came down and decided to join the festival but while Nicola, German girl with great Spanish, was talking to an old couple I made a friend too



he was fascinated with my digital camera and I woke up this morning to find about 17 photos of him... he would pose then run back to see the results



Then I made another friend

'Linda'

It is hard not to love a city where you can called beautiful every day- sometimes even by blokes not staring at my chest. Some of them don´t even want me to buy anything! One guy was so struck with my beauty that he literally had to stop to admire me better. He asked me where I was from, in English, I told him that I didn´t speak English, in Spanish, which confused him no end. I had an answer in Korean all worked out in case he persisted.

I am still in Cartagena, ah man, do I ever want to leave? I have reached an understanding with the guys selling emeralds, they invite me into the shop and I smile, nod and walk past. I am too easy once I am in the shop- I got sucked into one place and left with a pair of overpriced earrings and I don´t even have pierced ears. Every street that I walk down I seem to recognise but I can never find the place that I am looking for.

I always seem to end up at back the Plaza de Bolivar (there is one in nearly every city). I was drwan there last night by the sound of drums. And drums there were, accompanied by some crazy fast African dancing. I tell you, this was so fast that I still couldn´t believe it when I played back the videos this morning. I watched until all the money from my purse had gone into the dancers' proffered hat- until the money did indeed run out- I smiled and nodded the next two times it came round but began to feel cheap so I left.

Turns out that they had finished anyway as I turned another corner and found them setting up the show just inside the city gate near the statue of the founder.

Today I have booked a trip-which I will tell you about if it turns out to be interesting enough- chatted online to some random Colombian guy who was trying to speak to his friend, who was mysteriously logged into a version of messenger that I couldn´t find to log him out of. All in Spanish. Maybe I am getting better.

I have bought some suntan lotion, having lost mine a few days ago and being fed up of keeping in the shadows. I couldn´t find anything between factor 2 and factor 30. the guy behond the counter took one look at my pale skin, between the patches of red, and tried to sell me factor 50. I tried to tell him that if I used it I would be white forever but he didn´t seem to understand. The next shop was the same but when I made anxious faces about the lack of tan he found some factor 16 and I was back in business. So my skin is all sticky again now after two days off. But at least I shouldn´t get much redder.

I went to a fort on a hill too- El Castillo de San Felipe Someone or other. It was cool. And windy which was good. I looked around, I took photos, I got talked into buying a silver bracelet that I will probably never wear. It was a good day.

Right, I know that you don´t have the attention span to read this long without photos so I will leave now.
Chao