Andy & Daryl do Colombia

Killing time in Bucaramanga waiting for the army to replace a couple of bridges on the highway to Santa marta. Dying to get to the beach.

Having a mellow day after several busy days in a row. We had a great day of rafting yesterday. Decent class 3 plus rapids and beautiful lush scenery. I was hoping to do the class 5 Suarez river but, due to unusually heavy rains it is too dangerous. Oh well. A good reason to return.

Impressions after week 1.

This country is very very beautiful. Huge green mountains. Lush vegetation. Postcard towns and villages and the people are absolutely wonderful, friendly and warm. Last weekend was a long weekend here and the Plaza major in Villa de Leyva was packed with partiers so we naturally had to join the fun. While sharing much rum with the locals we seem to have been adopted and were guided around and treated like family by the locals for the rest of our time there.

The food here is simple but excellent and inexpensive.

This country is as safe as any other. Bogota made me a little nervous but since then we have been very comfortable. Everyone i have met has been kind and gentle. It seems hard to believe this country could have gone through such turmoil and violence.

Thats all for now. Long bus ride tomorrow but its time to hit the beach. Daryls birthday today. Rum time. Mi gustas Colombia

well yesterday was a long day of transportation made worse by an intense wine hangoverand 3 hours of sleep. Thanks Jammer and the other participants in K country.

Spent the day roaming around Bogota. Went to a couple of museums and wandered through a few churches. Heading to Villa de Lleyva tomorrow for a few days of hiking.

Did my last shift until December. The Ice beat Calgary 5-2.

Colombia. Its interesting that almost every time i tell someone that we are going to Colombia the first question is "isn't it dangerous?" i suppose that is a valid question given the recent history of the country. However, from what i understand Colombia has taken huge strides in the last ten years to clean up that image and the citizens are proud and happy to show off their country. So that is my hope and expectation but like any emerging nation there is poverty and where poverty exists so does crime and one needs to be somewhat cautious. I'm actually more worried about the snakes and insects we may encounter on our jungle trek.

My next entry will be from Bogota

Until then keep your stick on the ice.

Its so hard to pack for this trip. Its 15c in Bogota and 30c in Cartagena.