03.05.11
Right, It's been 5 days or so sine I'm BACK from Cuba. I actually made it there. What an adventure it was to get there.
Cuba is a fantastic place. Very tourist friendly. They have all the infrastructure there.Not like Venezuela! I'm currently in Caracas and I'vve met loads of people here. So instead of waisting time sedning info here that nobody reads anywy, I'll send a few pics this evening.
But for sure: Cuba is a place to visit before it changes.
PS: Special thanks to those of you (Ms. M) who have inspired me to go there!!!
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18.04.11.
Yeah well I'm meant to be in Cuba right now. I never left Venezuelian soil. It would be a mirracle if I actually got there within the next 48 hours...
mardi 3 mai 2011
Caribbean coast near Santa Marta
16.04.11.
What a life hre!just come out of Tayrona park- 2 days on screen saver like beaches, and a two day treck through the jugnle. was fabulosu! Treck was exhausting but took us through parts that were completely unsuspected. Came accross ruins of an old pre colombian city on the top of the mountain. It was a four hour walk from any road or beach, and given the heat, there was obviously nobody there. We found indigeinous children playing on a tree as thick as a house. They were dressed like dobby in Harry Potter: with nothing more than what seemed to be a pillow case. They were just as dirty as well. On the way down to the road that was meant o take us back to santa marta, we didn't tget to the road on time. People in this area comunicate by sending signals that sound like animals. We answered one and they automatically responded in spanish. A family invited us to their farm set on the top of a hill. They offered us a simple but very heavy dibnner, and we spent the night in our hammocks, in theyr front balcony... The fañily had 6 children and three grand children in a place made of wood, no electricity, and the size of the sitting room in Saint-maur. Fantastic experience talking to them.
Same story[ will send pics when internet will be free.
now heading to the venezuelian boarder.
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I just woke up on a beach of Santa Marta, on the Caribbean coast. Didn't use a cover or a jumper all night. The fealing when opening your eyes on a white beach under a couple of palm trees is now definitely on my personal top 100 things to experience in life before you die!
Should be meeting up with my mate Frank today, to head towards another part of the coast together. We'll make an attempt in exploring the Ciudad PErdida together. Maybe some argentinian and Finnish friends will join us.
lundi 18 avril 2011
dimanche 17 avril 2011
Venezuela 1: MAracaibo and Caracas, on my way to Cuba
18.04.11
I'm meant to be on a plane to Cuba right now, but the announcement board went wrong and we're now 16 passengers stuck in Caracas airport....
Anyway, here's about Caracas and my experience so far in Venezuela.
People are actually nicer than I thought. They're just all very narrow minded. They love their sociolist policies and their president. I don't tell people I'm english or french hgere. As far as people here are concerned, I'm chinese. People are nice, and the country is beautiful. Nothing touristy to see. There're actually no tourists at all. Even the international airport seems to be only used by locals... So best thing to do is to get involved in local life, walk around, go to markets, chat with people randomly... best things to do when visiting any new country really.
Maracaibo is really big, it's hot too. People all hang around in bars and I got to meet loads of people there. Caracas is a much prettier city than Bogota. MIt's not as active nor as rich, The're's an underground here. Could make the difference in Bogota. Temperature and weather seems good. May trip fronmt he center up to the inetrnational airport was interesting. The driver didn't know how to take me there, so all the passengers got involved and it eventually worked out.
I was on time for the flight at firstm especially as the board had announced that my plane was goign to be 1h30 late. So I went off for a coffe and to make a few international phone calls. Obviously, when I got back to the desk an hour later, they'd changed that silly board again. I never managed to get on that plane... I was furious, and the soldiers had to get me out of the office where I went to complain about the situation. So here I am, stuck in Caracas with another 15 unfortunate passengers. The company recognises that most of us had shown up at the desk at the right time: 3 hours before departure. So they said they'd try to fit us on tomorrow's flight. I hope its not just a way for them to get rid of us. Things here are much less serious than they are in Europe. If so, I guess I'll have to buy aother ticket to Cuba in order to not waist my return ticket too....
"Not surprised, this is Venezuela" said a spanish guy stuck with me.
None of us said it, but we all had it in mind: "s**t happens..."
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17.04.11
I'm in MAracaibo. I got accross trhe boarder at MAicao, in the desert north of Colombia. It's near the coast. This is the second biggest city of Venezuela. First iñpressions: well, people are far from being as nice, friendly and smiling as they are in Colombia. I thought it was a latin thing to be so nice. Apparently not. People are not unpleasant though. They're just "latin". They're like the french or the italians, int he way that their ordinary behaviour is naturally a bit rude.
Changed some money for som Bolivares. It so happened that Colombian Pesos were a much better deal than dollars or euros. Strange really.
But here I am anyway, place is fine and I'm about to explore the city center. Should be taking a bus tonight to Carracas. Will try to post something again from there.
I'm meant to be on a plane to Cuba right now, but the announcement board went wrong and we're now 16 passengers stuck in Caracas airport....
Anyway, here's about Caracas and my experience so far in Venezuela.
People are actually nicer than I thought. They're just all very narrow minded. They love their sociolist policies and their president. I don't tell people I'm english or french hgere. As far as people here are concerned, I'm chinese. People are nice, and the country is beautiful. Nothing touristy to see. There're actually no tourists at all. Even the international airport seems to be only used by locals... So best thing to do is to get involved in local life, walk around, go to markets, chat with people randomly... best things to do when visiting any new country really.
Maracaibo is really big, it's hot too. People all hang around in bars and I got to meet loads of people there. Caracas is a much prettier city than Bogota. MIt's not as active nor as rich, The're's an underground here. Could make the difference in Bogota. Temperature and weather seems good. May trip fronmt he center up to the inetrnational airport was interesting. The driver didn't know how to take me there, so all the passengers got involved and it eventually worked out.
I was on time for the flight at firstm especially as the board had announced that my plane was goign to be 1h30 late. So I went off for a coffe and to make a few international phone calls. Obviously, when I got back to the desk an hour later, they'd changed that silly board again. I never managed to get on that plane... I was furious, and the soldiers had to get me out of the office where I went to complain about the situation. So here I am, stuck in Caracas with another 15 unfortunate passengers. The company recognises that most of us had shown up at the desk at the right time: 3 hours before departure. So they said they'd try to fit us on tomorrow's flight. I hope its not just a way for them to get rid of us. Things here are much less serious than they are in Europe. If so, I guess I'll have to buy aother ticket to Cuba in order to not waist my return ticket too....
"Not surprised, this is Venezuela" said a spanish guy stuck with me.
None of us said it, but we all had it in mind: "s**t happens..."
-----------------------
17.04.11
I'm in MAracaibo. I got accross trhe boarder at MAicao, in the desert north of Colombia. It's near the coast. This is the second biggest city of Venezuela. First iñpressions: well, people are far from being as nice, friendly and smiling as they are in Colombia. I thought it was a latin thing to be so nice. Apparently not. People are not unpleasant though. They're just "latin". They're like the french or the italians, int he way that their ordinary behaviour is naturally a bit rude.
Changed some money for som Bolivares. It so happened that Colombian Pesos were a much better deal than dollars or euros. Strange really.
But here I am anyway, place is fine and I'm about to explore the city center. Should be taking a bus tonight to Carracas. Will try to post something again from there.
samedi 9 avril 2011
Sang Gil, Santander
10/04.11
Today was really special. Don't think I ever fitted so many exciting things in just a single day. Will eventually write more about it, but here's a bit for now.
- visited a colonial village
- went rafting
- bought some Hormigas Culonas which litterally means ANTS WITH BIG BOTTOMS
- I gave the ants to the cook of a restaurant who cooked me a steak with them in a sauce
Will send pictures as soon as I find a chance.
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So, I'm in San Gil, on my way up north to Santa MArta. This place is meant to be some sort of a spot where people stop to get off tourist tracks. It's a small place and it looks quite lost, like a small village would be europe in the middle of the country side. So when you sit down in an open terrace low key restaurant to have their typical and local "gallina creola", all you can stare at are the cars driving along the national roads that cross hear: the one goigm from north to southm the other from east to west. Breathing in the fumes also didn't dfeal very healthy.
Weather here is much better than waht its like in Bogota. To start with, here, you actually sweat! You can tell you're getting closer to the carrebean coast even though you're still up high in the andes. Its even a bit sticky, a biot like what it was like durint the summer in tuscany. It was really nice just 30 mins ago when I was sitting on the central plazza with a fresh bear. Unlike what it's like in Bogota, people don't just walk up to you for aq chat, I guess people from the capital really are that special.
So, travellers stop here with one idea in mind, since San Gil is sittuated on a fast water river, people stay to do all sorts of extreme sports. I wanted to go bungee jumping till I saw that you in fact jump off an articially built metallic tower. I was hoping to jump off a bridge or something, So Instead, I'll just go for a 2 hour raft tomorrow: 25000COP. In the morningm I hope to get up early enough to have this walk between these two colonial villages up in the hills. Will send pictures once I'm back
This place seems bigger than Villa de Leyve, but people are dressed very occidentally, No ponchoes, leather boots or staw hats like in other country places i've seen so far. PErhaps I'll see some of those in the villages i'm goignt o see tomoprrow: Guane and Barichare
Today was really special. Don't think I ever fitted so many exciting things in just a single day. Will eventually write more about it, but here's a bit for now.
- visited a colonial village
- went rafting
- bought some Hormigas Culonas which litterally means ANTS WITH BIG BOTTOMS
- I gave the ants to the cook of a restaurant who cooked me a steak with them in a sauce
Will send pictures as soon as I find a chance.
-------------------------
So, I'm in San Gil, on my way up north to Santa MArta. This place is meant to be some sort of a spot where people stop to get off tourist tracks. It's a small place and it looks quite lost, like a small village would be europe in the middle of the country side. So when you sit down in an open terrace low key restaurant to have their typical and local "gallina creola", all you can stare at are the cars driving along the national roads that cross hear: the one goigm from north to southm the other from east to west. Breathing in the fumes also didn't dfeal very healthy.
Weather here is much better than waht its like in Bogota. To start with, here, you actually sweat! You can tell you're getting closer to the carrebean coast even though you're still up high in the andes. Its even a bit sticky, a biot like what it was like durint the summer in tuscany. It was really nice just 30 mins ago when I was sitting on the central plazza with a fresh bear. Unlike what it's like in Bogota, people don't just walk up to you for aq chat, I guess people from the capital really are that special.
So, travellers stop here with one idea in mind, since San Gil is sittuated on a fast water river, people stay to do all sorts of extreme sports. I wanted to go bungee jumping till I saw that you in fact jump off an articially built metallic tower. I was hoping to jump off a bridge or something, So Instead, I'll just go for a 2 hour raft tomorrow: 25000COP. In the morningm I hope to get up early enough to have this walk between these two colonial villages up in the hills. Will send pictures once I'm back
This place seems bigger than Villa de Leyve, but people are dressed very occidentally, No ponchoes, leather boots or staw hats like in other country places i've seen so far. PErhaps I'll see some of those in the villages i'm goignt o see tomoprrow: Guane and Barichare
lundi 21 mars 2011
Shopping
21.03.11
Page to show you what you can find in shops and markets around here. Fruit, vegies, everything is either huge or very different...
Page to show you what you can find in shops and markets around here. Fruit, vegies, everything is either huge or very different...
Mudeums and culture in Bogota
21.03.11.
Now obviously, I couldn-t just live my life in this city without visiting its museums....
One of the main ones to visit is probably the Gold museum. It looks quite small at first for a country of the size of Colombia, but then you wonder really how much one can possess in terms of Gold...
The national hero artist here is BOTERO. People don-t always know his name, but then everyone recognises his work > "he-s the one who paints th efat guys". YEs> BOTERO is a good hearted man who helps all the women of the world to feel better about their size and weight. My opinion is that you don-t even need to know anuything about art for this place to be interesting. One of his fameous pictures is a huge illustration of a rooftop, on which is standing a little bird. Well even that bird, however small it may seem in proportions with the rest of the canvas, the bird IS GENUINLY FAT!
Now obviously, I couldn-t just live my life in this city without visiting its museums....
One of the main ones to visit is probably the Gold museum. It looks quite small at first for a country of the size of Colombia, but then you wonder really how much one can possess in terms of Gold...
The national hero artist here is BOTERO. People don-t always know his name, but then everyone recognises his work > "he-s the one who paints th efat guys". YEs> BOTERO is a good hearted man who helps all the women of the world to feel better about their size and weight. My opinion is that you don-t even need to know anuything about art for this place to be interesting. One of his fameous pictures is a huge illustration of a rooftop, on which is standing a little bird. Well even that bird, however small it may seem in proportions with the rest of the canvas, the bird IS GENUINLY FAT!
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