The end of the Safari
Asuncion, Paraguay
April 20, 2011
Back to the real Latin America
Asuncion, Paraguay
April 14, 2011
Culture and civilization
Buenos Aires, Argentina
April 10, 2011
Up the east coast of Argentina to Buenos Aires
Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina
April 9, 2011
Punta Arenas, to sell the Safari?
Punta Arenas, Chile
April 8, 2011
End of the road
Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
March 28, 2011
Hiking Patagonia
Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, Chile
March 27, 2011
Parque Nacional Los Glaciares
Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, Argentina
March 25, 2011
More Patagonia on the way to Los Glaciares
Tres Lagos, Santa Cruz, Argentina
March 24, 2011
Stones, gravel, and cut tires on Ruta 40 South
Perito Moreno, Santa Cruz, Argentina
March 21, 2011
Summertime in February continues
Bariloche, Argentina
March 19, 2011
Lake country in the summertime
Lago Malhua, Chile
March 15, 2011
To the Vineyards! South from Pirque to the Lakes
Valle de Colchagua, Chile
March 14, 2011
A weekend of comfort
Pirque and Santiago, Chile
March 13, 2011
A port with character
Valparaiso, Chile
March 5, 2011
Geysers and starry nights in the Atacama Desert
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
March 4, 2011
The last of Peru – No. More. Mountains. Please?
Tacna, Peru
February 27, 2011
Mt. Chachani – AKA self-inflicted altitude-related torture
Mt. Chachani, Peru
February 26, 2011
Down to Arequipa and Hunting for X-treme tours
Arequipa, Peru
February 25, 2011
The Andean Plateau and Lake Titicaca
Puno, Peru
February 24, 2011
The Inca Trail and Machu Picchu
Cuzco, Peru
February 23, 2011
Sand-boarding, Nazca Lines and camping at altitude
Nazca, Peru
February 22, 2011
Cruising south from Lima (and Peruvian politics)
South of Lima, Peru
February 21, 2011
A little bit of city living
Lima, Peru
February 20, 2011
Back to the mountains
Huaraz, Peru
February 19, 2011
Hunting a better left
Huanchaco, Peru
February 18, 2011
Peru – the North Shore
Chicama, Peru
February 17, 2011
Surfing in Ayampe
Ayampe, Ecuador
February 16, 2011
Doing circles of Ecuador
Baños and Quito, Ecuador
February 16, 2011
Montañita for New Year's Eve
Montañita, Ecuador
February 7, 2011
The Race to Montañita for New Year's Eve
Otavalo, Ecuador
February 5, 2011
Highlands of southern Colombia
Parque Nacional de Purace, Colombia
February 3, 2011
Cruising Colombia – Rio Claro and Bogota
Rio Claro and Bogota, Colombia
January 30, 2011
Party time in an amazing city
Medellin, Colombia
January 24, 2011
Roadtrip to Medellin
Antioquia, Colombia
January 22, 2011
South American Begins: Cartagena!
Cartagena, Colombia
January 20, 2011
Crossing the Darien – "No Hay Problema!"
Darien National Park, Panama
January 14, 2011
Good times in Panama City
Panama City, Panama
January 13, 2011
The run to Panama
Dominical, Costa Rica
January 3, 2011
Santa Teresa with a big crew
Santa Teresa, Nicoya, Costa Rica
January 2, 2011
The Interior of Costa Rica (with Kasia, Gosia, and Maciek)
Arenal, Costa Rica
December 24, 2010
Hunting beaches in Nicoya
Playa Avellanas, Costa Rica
December 23, 2010
Return to America? No, Bienvenidos a Costa Rica
Liberia, Costa Rica
December 22, 2010
Isla de Ometepe
Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua
December 22, 2010
Surfing Playa Maderas
Playa Maderas, Nicaragua
December 13, 2010
Across Nicaragua to San Juan del Sur
San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
December 12, 2010
Cops and potholes – The crossing of Honduras
Southern Honduras
December 2, 2010
Playa El Tunco, El Salvador
El Tunco, El Salvador
November 29, 2010
Fun with license plates
Chichicastenango, Guatemala
November 15, 2010
Chichi market, north to Coban and on to Samuc Champey
Chichicastenango, Guatemala
November 15, 2010
Road Trip to El Salvador
La Hachadura, El Salvador
November 4, 2010
Hippy colonies in the jungle
San Pedro de Atitlan, Guatemala
November 4, 2010
Into Guatemala and down to Lake Atitlan
Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala
November 3, 2010
Urban and colonial Guatemala
Lanquin, Antigua, and Guatemala City, Guatemala
October 31, 2010
Deep in the jungle at Semuc Champey
Semuc Champey, Guatemala
October 31, 2010
The ultimate tow-out
Lanquin, Guatemala
October 30, 2010
Up to the hills: San Cristobal de Las Casas
San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
October 29, 2010
The Oaxaca coast
Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico
October 27, 2010
Outskirts of Mexico City
Cuernavaca and Tepoztlan, Morelos, Mexico
October 26, 2010
Mexico City
Mexico, D.F., Mexico
October 25, 2010
Central Mexico – Tlaquepaque to Zitacuaro
Michoacán, Mexico
October 24, 2010
Land of agaves… and Tequila
Guadalajara, Mexico
October 23, 2010
Serious chillin
Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico
October 22, 2010
Looking for surf…
San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico
October 21, 2010
Operation ceviche with Jorge
Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico
October 20, 2010
Gasoline theft
Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico
October 15, 2010
Copper Canyon Hike Days Three and Four
Barranca del Cobre, Chihuahua, Mexico
October 14, 2010
Copper Canyon Hike: Days One and Two
Barranca del Cobre, Chihuahua, Mexico
October 13, 2010
Train up the Copper Canyon to Creel
Topolobampo, Sinaloa, Mexico
October 13, 2010
Cabo Pulmo, La Ventana and the Ferry to Topolabampo
La Paz, Baja California, Mexico
October 12, 2010
Southern tip of Baja
La Paz and Los Cabos, Baja California, Mexico
October 11, 2010
Surfing Bocana de San Vincente
Bocana de San Vincente, Baja California, Mexico
October 11, 2010
Cave Paintings
Mulege, Baja California, Mexico
October 10, 2010
The Search for Cañon La Trinidad
Mulege, Baja California, Mexico
October 10, 2010
Pristine beaches of central Baja
Bahia Concepcion, Baja California, Mexico
October 4, 2010
The Mexican desert as you imagined it
Baja California, Mexico
October 3, 2010
Surfing Erindira
Erindira, Baja California, Mexico
October 2, 2010
Last stop in the USA
San Diego, California, USA
September 30, 2010
Rockin in style
Los Angeles, California, USA
September 27, 2010
Extreme desert heat
Death Valley, California, USA
September 23, 2010
Mount Whitney – Summit Ascent
Mount Whitney, California, USA
September 22, 2010
Bienvenidos a Tijuana
Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
September 21, 2010
Mount Whitney – The Trek to Trail Camp
Mount Whitney, California, USA
September 20, 2010
San Luis Obispo to Lake Isabella
San Luis Obispo, California
September 20, 2010
Surfing USA… or at least procuring boards
Santa Cruz, California, USA
September 14, 2010
Wild California – Big Sur
Big Sur, California, USA
September 12, 2010
Highway 1 to San Francisco and Palo Alto
San Francisco, California, USA
September 8, 2010
The northern California coast
Sinkyone Wilderness, California, USA
September 5, 2010
Redwoods – some really big trees!
Redwoods National Park, California, USA
September 4, 2010
Looking for caves, finding gold mines
Oregon Caves National Monument, Oregon, USA
September 2, 2010
Crater Lake
Crater Lake, Oregon, USA
September 1, 2010
Leaving Hood River
Portland, Oregon, USA
August 31, 2010
Life in the Hood
Hood River, Oregon, USA
August 29, 2010
Mountain biking on volcanoes
Mount St. Helens, Washington, USA
August 25, 2010
Mountain biking Post Canyon
Hood River, Oregon, USA
August 25, 2010
White water mattressing
Hood River, Oregon, USA
August 15, 2010
Arriving at the Colombia River Gorge
Interstate 84, Oregon, USA
August 14, 2010
Offroading in the USA
Nez Perce, Montana, USA
August 13, 2010
Hiking the Sky Rim trail in Yellowstone
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
August 10, 2010
Almost in Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, USA
August 8, 2010
Time to roll!
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
August 7, 2010

South American Begins: Cartagena!

Cartagena, Colombia By Jono Plashkes

This SA post is the story of our departure from Panama, and our first days amazing days in Colombia.

I think the team (Kuba, Jonathan, Tanya, Ewa, and I – Simon, brother of Jonathan) was quite a bit disappointed that record breaking rains had scuttled both our plans to sail or to take a ferry to Colombia; but the promise of good weather through fast travel (by plane) warmed us up enough to have hug lessons and technique demonstrations in the Colombian immigration line in Bogota – yes, it’s that kind of trip.

[Wait… Bogota? The flight via BOG to CTG from PTY 45$ cheaper, and we got a preview of the terrain we would be driving – also, it was on this flight that we lost the SPOT live satellite tracking beacon, very very sad. [Flash forward: people in Colombia are decently honest and it was waiting for us at the Avaianca (airline) office when we got back to Bogota! That means you can see where SA is right now (sorry had to remove this link after the trip!) Anyways, with the car on a straight line below us, we bounced into Cartagena. Travel lines on a google map

Cartagena

The old city of Cartagena was an important port for Spanish invaders stealing from natives, and made the last stop on the colonial transport route from Quito – Bogota – Cartagena. As a result this well-guarded harbour has some great architecture and pretty substantial cannon riddled stone embankments. We played on these.

Our first night was in a hostel. Not just any hostel – a hostile hostel with Hosteling International affiliation (which, BTW means it’s probably run by jerks with painfully rigid rules and no sense of reason, humour, or fun – don’t do it, find your own cool place) Our first tour of the old town: fried cheese, too salty mango slices, more fried cheese, horse carts, wandering in traffic, French shops with $350 board shorts, pretty three story colonial buildings with amazing doors, mediocre Chinese food, fishy beer, lots of security, empty streets, back to the hostile.

Our main mission in Cartagena is to get the cars back. Team Swiss arrived late on the same day and stayed with us to make that mission easier. Would it be quick and easy to get the cars back on the road? Of course not, are you silly? Did it seem like it would and we might get them at just the next attempt? Yes.

Our immediate challenge was accommodation. We tried many places in the old town – pick one: full, awesome but too expensive, or shockingly lousy. We actually got to the point of expecting to leave Cartagena as fast as possible until Kuba and launched an internet + skype mission, called 20 places and found a winner: a run down resort in the new town area of Boca Grande – space for all 7 of us, two pools, right on the beach, meals included, all sorts of other bonuses (sort of like a land cruise ship) for only $30/night/person. Gold. So we all hopped in a taxi and drove over to verify the story before signing up.

Fact: sometimes it pays to listen to the street hustlers selling you on stuff

Well the resort place was as expected, and we were ready to sign on the dotted line. Meanwhile, while buying sunglasses that perfectly matched bathing suits, the outside team was getting hustled into looking at an ‘apartment’ for our accommodation needs. It sounded too small for the 7 of us, but we checked it out anyways. That’s when our Cartagena experience changed forever.

The apartment was amazing! 30th floor right on the (private) beach, huge pool (with waterfall) really nice staff, three rooms, two showers, full kitchen, laundry… all a dream – each of us danced a little dance when we saw it for the first time.

The rest of Cartagena was a Champagne, blended coffee beverage, and tetra-pak boxed rum blur of awesome home cooked food, car recovery, ocean playing, shopping, partying and suburban exploration. But I`ll try to dissect it for you.

Food: Lots of random street food like samosa wrapped around a hard boiled egg, home cooked meals of sausage, beans, whole fish, fresh pastries. Eating out we abandoned a restaurant because it wasn’t sketchy enough (we want REAL), but went back the next night after we saw the cops busting it and arresting people. I had the grilled whole snapper, again.

Party: Oh boy. One night we went out and none of us remember going home. We’re pretty sure I paid a bill of $299,999, but I can barely remember that. It’s all about bottles in this country, and that rum sure goes down easy. Other nights we had our own little tetra-pak rum blended drink house parties while arguing about the trajectory and ultimate impact point of hard boiled eggs (hypothetically) thrown from our balcony in gale force winds.

Play: Ah the beach! Our playtime was certainly beach time, pool time, and wander time. Our pool had three in-water levels and a fountain. We played marco polo and some lame swiss game that Ewa probably made up that involved staying frozen in position and underwater leg obstacle courses.

Car Recovery

We actually were able to see the ship come into port from our place, pretty cool.

After days spent and much back and forth the car returned. For me that experience meant entertaining/distracting shopping hungry, drama laden girls while Jono, Kuba, Fabian and Ornella jumped through paperwork hoops complicated enough to require a flowchart.

Important quotes, facts, and slap bets:

“show me a colour, I’ll tell you what it’s name is”
“existence is just a hobby”
“I’ve got the reflexes of a drunk cat”

Fact: Serious people aren’t ticklish
Fact: Switzerland is zombie safe
Fact: Boys don’t bleed as much as girls
Fact: Fish tickling is illegal in Canada

SLAP BET: Is the term for the size of ship that can travel through the new larger tertiary locks at the panama cananal NEW PANAMAX or POST PANAMAX. This bet is outstanding. But I won and Kuba lost [PDF]. He should be slapped.

Remember that bad weather? It moves from west to east and caught up with us. And 30 floors up its really windy. Sort of like opening the window on a small airplane in flight. So, after a couple days of that, we knew it was time to move on. We planned to take a few days to get to Medellin. The traffic getting out of Cartagena was brutal, and a laughing but frustrated Jono pushed it just a bit to hard. Hit a bus. But took it like a man and pulled over to face the music. What’s 20,000 between friends?

 

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