“Enjoy the ride of your life” advertised a large poster depicting an athletic young couple paragliding high above the Andean mountain city of Merida. We stopped in our tracks and stared at the image of them soaring gracefully in the sky, the wind in their hair whilst their tanned and toned bodies effortlessly manoeuvred the wing above their heads and before we could stop ourselves we were booking our own paragliding (tandem) flight. The reality, as we stood on the precipice with harnesses squeezing us in places not designed to be squeezed while strapped to the front of our instructor like baby kangaroos, was quite different. Red faces, sweaty palms and a total lack of co-ordination as our legs turned to jelly. “Are you ready?” yelled the instructor in our ears and just as we were about to shake our heads, we felt a force from behind and we were running down a mountain before launching ourselves off its steep side.
Palomino – beach combing & river tubing
24 May
Sometimes the best kept secrets were made to be broken. Those who were already familiar with Palomino would regularly tell others it wasn’t worth visiting or deny all knowledge of its existence, just to keep its beauty and peacefulness all to themselves. But now the word is out and curious travellers are starting to arrive. This simple hideaway has some of the best beaches in Colombia, pristine jungle to explore, good accommodation and tasty food. And to top it off, it’s completely crowd free – but be quick – it can’t stay like this forever. As if Colombia’s Caribbean coast hadn’t already made us chilled enough, we headed to Palomino for a few days to unwind and let time pass.
A recipe for colonial beauty – Ville de Leyva
3 Apr
Take a good helping of cobblestones and mix well with white washed buildings topped by terracotta tiles. Add a pinch of colourful creeping plants and lightly stir in some locals steering horse-drawn carts. Make a space in the middle of your mixture for one of South America’s largest plazas and pour in a good amount of art and crafts. Whilst it’s warming in the temperate climate, sit back, relax, and breath in the aromas from French bakeries and cute coffee houses serving Colombia’s finest beans.
Selling onions at market won’t make you cry
21 Feb
Life can seem hard when you’ve been selling onions every Tuesday for forty years at Silvia market. The old couple with weather-beaten faces sat silently together staring in different directions into the distance. They were traditional countryfolk whose survival hinged on the cultivation of fruit and vegetables on their small farm for personal consumption and to sell here at Silvia’s bustling weekly market. They were Guambiano people from one of the small mountain villages of Pueblito, Guambia, La Campana and Caciques and are considered to be one of the most traditional indigenous groups in all of Colombia.
Pilgrimage to Machu Picchu – The Salkantay trek
21 Oct
Machu Picchu is considered to be one of the new 10 Wonders of the World and the legendary Inca Trail, a 4 day and 3 night trek following the old Inca road, is the most popular way to reach the site, taking in several smaller archeological sites along the way and reaching Machu Picchu for sunrise on day 4. Over the last 10 years or so the Inca Trail seems to have become a victim of its own success. Several years ago it became necessary to limit the number of trekkers using the trail as the sheer volume of traffic meant that the ruins were being damaged, litter was becoming a problem and sanitary conditions were appalling. The quota is now 500 people per day, which, along with trekkers, includes guides, porters and cooks. The measures taken were required to preserve Machu Picchu, but the outcome has been devastating for the humble backpacker with prices for the trek going through the roof and the waiting list to join the trek extending to 5 or 6 months in some cases. With all of this considered, we decided to try one of the many alternative treks, which offer equally as stunning scenery and the chance to visit small villages before ending up at Machu Picchu on the ultimate day. The alternative trek we chose was the Salkantay trek which traverses snow-capped mountain ranges, passes turquoise lagoons and hot springs, and descends into lush jungle before spending one night at a small town called Aguas Calientes and rising early the following morning for sunrise at Machu Picchu.
Dicing with death on the World’s Most Dangerous Road
25 Sep
The Most Dangerous Road in the World stretches 61 kilometres from La Paz to Coroico and descends over 3,000 metres from spell-binding Andean mountains drenched in snow, to lush sub-tropical hills covered in rich forests and dotted with waterfalls. This stretch of unpaved dirt track earned its name by taking the most lives (annually around one hundred) of any road in the world. A newly opened bypass has significantly reduced the flow of traffic on the Death Road and the number of fatalities has been drastically reduced but the fearsome reputation of the road remains as strong as ever. In places the road is little more than three metres wide with sheer drops one side plunging up to six hundred metres below and vertical walls of rock on the other.
Sucre – The White City
23 Aug
We decided to rest our weary traveller’s bones and spend a week in the wonderful Bolivian city of Sucre taking some Spanish lessons. Frequently described as Bolivia’s most beautiful city, Sucre couldn’t have been a nicer place to relax and unwind and after just a few days we really found ourselves falling under its spell.
Ride ’em cowboy – Tupiza
13 Aug
The president waved and gave us a generous smile – two white faces in the front row, waving madly with excitement in a sea of Bolivians – we certainly stood out from the crowd! It was our fifth day in Bolivia and we’d arrived in a small town called Tupiza to find a beautifully decorated plaza, locals dressed in their Sunday best and an infectious hubbub on every street. It was so nice of them to give us such a warm welcome!
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