Photos are now online!!

Hey all,

Not sure who is following anymore, but I thought I'd post a link to my website. I put a bunch of photos up from South America. If see anything you like, please just ask. Don't steal them :)

www.allthatispretty.ca

Have fun!

Paradise and back

I´m now in Medellin, which is at the tip of the coffee region in Colombia.

I have been to Paradise and back...seriously.

Last Thursday, we took a bus from Cartagena to Turbo and spent the night there. The town was absolutely disgusting and smelled of raw sewage (don´t worry, the story gets better), but it was necessary to stop. Early the next morning we got on a boat to a little village called Capurgana. It´s on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, is right next to another village called Sapzurro and both are only accessible by boat and lie on the boarder to Panama. Due to the lack of ease in getting there, these two towns are definitely off the ´gringo trail´which was a nice break!!!

Our boat ride was incredibly rough and bumpy, leaving our whole bodies stuck on vibrate for hours afterwards. We ended up staying in a cabin so close to the ocean that the waves hit us while we lied in our hammocks. It was unbelievable. The water was crystal clear, the beaches deserted and the sand perfect. We spent our first two nights in Capurgana. The first day I took a really nice walk along the rocky coast, and then spent the day on the beach (I was the only one on the beach)

On Saturday we went on a walk to a place called El Cielo (The Heaven). We got to see a lot of the jungle and crossed a river about 11 times. At the end there was a giant swimming hole that was so refreshing. The scenery around here is still so undisturbed and astonishingly quiet.

On Saturday we got on a boat to go to the next town (we could hike, but we are lazy) which is even more deserted than Capurgana. We stayed in hammocks there for $5 a night at a place right on the beach. It was so quiet and peaceful. We spent a lot of our time eating coconut on the beach (I learned how to open my very own!! :))

We left on Monday (for Bec, Bondy and I it was our final hurrah with beaches) which made us all sad and made our way to Medellin.

Medellin is beautiful. The hostel I´m staying at is really chilled out. Yesterday I spent the day seeing the town. I managed to fit in an art museum, the science centre and aquarium, I went walking around a couple of the different neighbourhoods and then I met up with the others for an amazing Italian dinner...so much in one day. I´m taking it easy today and then heading to Salento tomorrow.

13 days left...

With only 13 days left, it's getting sad. We have spent the last 5 days in Cartagena. The town is really pretty. It is a walled city, and there are a couple of forts around the town. Still on the Caribbean coast, the weather here is great! About 30C...so we are sweating everyday...yes feel sorry for me please!!

We spent a day walking around the old walled town, which is full of cobblestone streets and brightly painted buildings. Then we went out to a bar on top of the walls of the city. Yesterday we took a day trip to the local volcano, which is full of mud. So we went for mudbaths. As soon as you get into the mud, there are men hanging out massaging you and making sure you are relaxed. It was weird and a little bit disgusting, but also very cool. The mud is very buoyant so it is impossible to sink in it. It's pretty odd...

Then today, we went to check out one of the old forts. A bit of history is always nice. We also checked out the Modern Art Museum, which had a really cool temporary exhibit from MOMA of all sorts of sketches of famous people.

Tomorrow we are headed to the Panama coast (we hope). We are going to a halfway point to see if we can catch a bus and then another boat. Apparently from there you can walk across the border to Panama.

More soon

Beachcombing

Hello!

It´s been ages since I last posted, so here goes. I´ve been on the beach in Taganga on the Caribbean coast for the last two weeks. It´s pretty amazing.

For Christmas we went out for dinner in Santa Marta (this is where we were originally staying), but it was so long ago now that I can´t remember what we had. On Christmas Day night, we took the 5 min trip to Taganaga to go to a pool party. It didn´t end up being a pool party, but we managed to find somewhere to hang out til the sun came up.

On the 27th we decided to get closer to the beach and we moved to Taganga, which is where we have been since. New Years was a lot of fun and lasted possibly longer then it should have!

Since New Years, I´ve just been taking it easy and going to the beach. The sun is so hot here, that I can´t even manage a full day, but it does provide me extra napping time while my friends are off on their diving course.

There really isn´t much else to report. We are going to go and spend a few nights in the national park that is nearby and then I´m going to move on to see more of Columbia.

That´s all for now.

Columbiaaaaaaaaa

Well, I finally made it to Columbia. I spent the last week or so in Mendoza. Its a cool town to pass some time in and has a lot of opportunities for adventure tourism. Anna, my new BBFF (British Best Friend Forever...hahah) MADE me go paragliding and rafting...

Paragliding was actually amazing and not at all as terrifying as I thought it was. In fact, I had to fight the urge to take a nap while in the air! (naps come easy these days). So those of you who arent sure what paragliding is, basically you just run off the top of a mountain (or large hill - ours was 1650 metres above sea level) attached to a chute...and OF COURSE a professional guide...haha. It was actually really comfortable, you have this seat that you kind of sit in that is attached to the guide and he takes you higher, and lower and then around in circles until you think you are going to throw up and then you land...but you have to run in order to not fall when you land. I was the only one who didnt fall or muck up the landing. GO ERIN!

THEN, the next day, we went rafting (no, not white water rafting, more like red mud rafting) outside of the city. We got a big group together - we had met these three Canadian navy boys the first day in our hostel, and just went down the river (once again, with guides). Only we picked a day with some of the rockiest water conditions. It truly was scary, but we all managed to stay inside the raft for the whole hour! After rafting, we treated ourselves to some beers by the pool...and then more beers...and a bottle or two of wine...and next thing you know, its 4 pm the next afternoon. opps....so much for our biking wine tour. Which was for the best really. I think Anna and I had consumed enough Argentinian wine on our own that we didnt need to get on a bike and do it!

So thats the good stuff. The bad stuff (as there always will be). We got to our hostel (recommended by lonely planet so of course i figured it would be ok) only to be informed that some nice Argentinian lads broke into the room the night before and stole everyones electronics. So without haste, already having paid for our first night, we went and found a much more amazing hostel that people didnt break into. Anyway, we went to bed relatively early that night, only to be awoken by one of the British lads fighting with two more Argentinian boys who managed to make their way into our room. We checked out real fast. There was a lot more crime in Mendoza than I would have liked. But we made it out unharmed.

I left Mendoza on Sunday on a 6 hour bus to Santiago, Chile. Then headed straight to the airport (9pm) to wait for my flight (730am the next day). I was amazed at how many people actually sleep in airports...and not just backpackers...there were 60 year old couples there too! Crazy. Got on my delayed flight about 9am....flew to Lima, Peru by 10 am. Then waited around for my 530pm flight to Bogota, Columbia. Got to my hostel about 10pm and man I am exhausted!!!

Off to Santa Marta tomorrow for Christmas and then Taganga for New Years. If I dont post again before then:

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Back in BA

Well, I arrived back in Buenos Aires on Friday. Just in time for a crazy action packed weekend!

Friday night, I met up with two friends from Ireland, who were staying at the beach house in Uruguay too, for a few pints and the longest happy hour ever. Didn't quite make it past midnight, as I was really tired from my long days travel.

Saturday, it was raining, but I decided to trek it to Recoletta and check out the cemetery. It was pretty cool, but not being a fan of being in cemeteries, I checked out Evita's grave and left. On my walk back home, I found a great little market and had a belt custom made for me!

Saturday night, we went to see the Boca Juniors football game. It was pretty intense. The fans are so passionate, it was a dry event, and Boca lost, so we were stuck inside the stadium until the opposing team fans left so there wouldn't be riots. Great game though.

Saturday night, I met a few people at the hostel and we made our way to one of the most famous nightclubs in town, Pacha. Didn't get home til the sun had come up. Quite an experience. The club was huge, and there must have been at least 8000 people there.

Yesterday, I managed to get a ticket to go see ACDC, which was unbelievable! Also, another dry event. I'm not understanding this concept yet. We were pretty amazing that ACDC would preform a dry event. Anyway, it was pretty awesome and I'm glad I finally got to see them.

Going to do some more touristy things in the next couple of days, including steak dinner and the drum show again...saw it last time I was here and it was pretty good. Then I'm off to Iguazu on Tuesday night...

Ciao

Photos: Salt Flats

Photos from our 4 day Salt Flat tour:


Sunset at the end of day one, at over 4000 metres above sea level.Bondy and I in front of one of many lagoons.
The red lagoon. Not sure of the real name.

Me attempting a handstand. Gravity and age are not working with me.GIANT animals on the actual salt flats.

More photos

7 hour horse trek from Tupiza, Bolivia
Me and my horse

Considering alternate career options in Potosi.I have discovered that mining is not one of them.

Photos: Sucre

Photos in Sucre:

Sunset behind the church in the main square.

On our way to the mirador over the city, pictured below.




Giant and delicious fruit salads. Cost about 2 dollars.

Photos: Gato

Here are only a couple of photos from Inti Wara Yassi.