02.06.11
I'm in a village called San Gabriel in the north of Ecuador. There's nothing here. But all the same: I feel excited about being in a new country. This place uses US dollars for currency. It doesn't feel quite right paying for my empenadas with green bank notes...
I crossed over the border yesterday with Carole and her son. We're still in the 4x4. Crossing from Mocoa to Pasto in Colombia was fascinating. It was a stone path through the mountains, we had to drive through rivers, water falls by the hundreds over a distance of 100km, and all this under the rain!!! The day after that, we got to Impiales where there's this big cathedral built over a canyon. I'll send some pics as soon as possible.
jeudi 2 juin 2011
lundi 30 mai 2011
San Augustin
30.05.11
This morning, I left what may have been paradise on earth. San Augustin was a cheap place for me to stay, especially since evrybody there live hippy style. A metal roof, and a few bricks to avoid your hammock from swinging too much. Good also to not blow out your fire too quicklly. I'm good at living that way and people being so friendly; I was quickly able to mak friends and find a place to stay. Within no time, the whole village knew El Vaquero Chino, "The Chinese Cowboy".
Place is full of archeological sites. i found an old travel mate there: Franck from Tyrona! He's got a life there: his own horse and has nearly adopted his own family. I w invited to people's homes for nearly every meal. Lots to do during the day: suprbe walks and archeological sites to visit. Lots of statues of the type you'd usually associate with latin american ancient cultures. But that's not all. Legend ays that there are tunels under the ground on San Augustin. Currently, an archeologica team from th national university of Colombia is excavating what seems to be a pyramid covered under mud. For centuries, people lthought it was just an ordinary hill. Tunnels ar meant to lead to an undrground hidden city!!!
I met lots of travellers there, and lots of very friendluy locals who helped me a lot. Travelling has become much cheaper since I am able to commuicate propperly;a nd have decent conversations with the locals. I get a lot of help from people, and good ideas. mong other people, i met a north american lady in her 50s, traveling with her 7 year old son in a 4 by 4 they bought in Quito, Ecuador 2 months ago.. She has some sort of a pain in left arm that makes it difficult for her to drive. I suggsted to take her back to Quito where she needs to catch a plane in 12 days. We've now ben travelling together for the past 24 hours, and we're heading towards Ipiales, on the border with Ecuador.
This morning, I left what may have been paradise on earth. San Augustin was a cheap place for me to stay, especially since evrybody there live hippy style. A metal roof, and a few bricks to avoid your hammock from swinging too much. Good also to not blow out your fire too quicklly. I'm good at living that way and people being so friendly; I was quickly able to mak friends and find a place to stay. Within no time, the whole village knew El Vaquero Chino, "The Chinese Cowboy".
Place is full of archeological sites. i found an old travel mate there: Franck from Tyrona! He's got a life there: his own horse and has nearly adopted his own family. I w invited to people's homes for nearly every meal. Lots to do during the day: suprbe walks and archeological sites to visit. Lots of statues of the type you'd usually associate with latin american ancient cultures. But that's not all. Legend ays that there are tunels under the ground on San Augustin. Currently, an archeologica team from th national university of Colombia is excavating what seems to be a pyramid covered under mud. For centuries, people lthought it was just an ordinary hill. Tunnels ar meant to lead to an undrground hidden city!!!
I met lots of travellers there, and lots of very friendluy locals who helped me a lot. Travelling has become much cheaper since I am able to commuicate propperly;a nd have decent conversations with the locals. I get a lot of help from people, and good ideas. mong other people, i met a north american lady in her 50s, traveling with her 7 year old son in a 4 by 4 they bought in Quito, Ecuador 2 months ago.. She has some sort of a pain in left arm that makes it difficult for her to drive. I suggsted to take her back to Quito where she needs to catch a plane in 12 days. We've now ben travelling together for the past 24 hours, and we're heading towards Ipiales, on the border with Ecuador.
dimanche 15 mai 2011
Pamplona and area
15.05.11
Here's another university city right up there in the mountains. Here, wwe're 2600meters up in the andies. I can really tell and feel I'm back in colombia: people are nice, and wearing traditional Ruanas in the streets. Since I lost my Qantas airlines traveling blanket at Caracas international airport, I'm thinking about getting a woolen ruana for the rest of my trip. Its goignt os tart getting cold as I make my way down south, and this city seems to be the perfect place to find one.
I'm makig the most of this place to go walking up in the hills. With the company of a 25 year old engineer in electronics that i met here, I walked up to a lagoon where we found a boat just sitting there on the bank. We hoped in for a ride to get across to the oods on the other side. It was only on our way back doown the mountain that we came across a farmer ho told us that the boat was no longr in use since they had to go fish it out of the lagoon. Ita had already sunken once....
W were starving by the tie we got back to the vilage we'd started from; So the same farmer invited us into his house for some food. He'djust been fishing in the lagoon and had caught a huge red fish that i'd nevr seen before. We did't get to eat the fish that time. instead, his wife offered us this really thisck soop made with the usuall stuff they eat here. So rice, potato, platane, and yuca allmixed together. There was also a bone foting in my bowl, but with no meat on it at all!
Here's another university city right up there in the mountains. Here, wwe're 2600meters up in the andies. I can really tell and feel I'm back in colombia: people are nice, and wearing traditional Ruanas in the streets. Since I lost my Qantas airlines traveling blanket at Caracas international airport, I'm thinking about getting a woolen ruana for the rest of my trip. Its goignt os tart getting cold as I make my way down south, and this city seems to be the perfect place to find one.
I'm makig the most of this place to go walking up in the hills. With the company of a 25 year old engineer in electronics that i met here, I walked up to a lagoon where we found a boat just sitting there on the bank. We hoped in for a ride to get across to the oods on the other side. It was only on our way back doown the mountain that we came across a farmer ho told us that the boat was no longr in use since they had to go fish it out of the lagoon. Ita had already sunken once....
W were starving by the tie we got back to the vilage we'd started from; So the same farmer invited us into his house for some food. He'djust been fishing in the lagoon and had caught a huge red fish that i'd nevr seen before. We did't get to eat the fish that time. instead, his wife offered us this really thisck soop made with the usuall stuff they eat here. So rice, potato, platane, and yuca allmixed together. There was also a bone foting in my bowl, but with no meat on it at all!
samedi 14 mai 2011
Contact me
15.05.11.
Got a new charger for my phone. I'm now reachable again on my french mobile phone number.? hone will be on constantly.
------------------------
In order to contact me:
- it can be as simple as leaving a message on this blog. You don't need to have your own blog to do this. You could just type your name in so that i know whos writing. Or you could just write anonymoyusly.
- you can send me an email> ally7567t_ACSJC@hotmail.com
- I use both a colombian and a french sim card here. I can receive text messages sent onto my french telephone> it will cost you no more than sending a text message to any other mobile phone in Europe. I can also receive messages sent to me from websites such as www.textograto.com. Using this will cost you nothing except for a bot of time. don't forget to sign your message after typing it in, so that i know who it is actually giving a damn about where i am!!!!
I hope to hear from you all very soon!
Got a new charger for my phone. I'm now reachable again on my french mobile phone number.? hone will be on constantly.
------------------------
In order to contact me:
- it can be as simple as leaving a message on this blog. You don't need to have your own blog to do this. You could just type your name in so that i know whos writing. Or you could just write anonymoyusly.
- you can send me an email> ally7567t_ACSJC@hotmail.com
- I use both a colombian and a french sim card here. I can receive text messages sent onto my french telephone> it will cost you no more than sending a text message to any other mobile phone in Europe. I can also receive messages sent to me from websites such as www.textograto.com. Using this will cost you nothing except for a bot of time. don't forget to sign your message after typing it in, so that i know who it is actually giving a damn about where i am!!!!
I hope to hear from you all very soon!
Back in Colombia: Cucuta
Got back to Colombia. Suddenly feels like home. Im more acustomed to the way people behave, I know what to expect from people in the streets. Feels much safer for one thing. And I have a bit more money to spend here.
I'm in cicita. Its a city on the border with Venezuela. Not sure there's anything interesting here. People are nice that0s for sure. I'm thinking about catching a bus to a small mountain village called Pamplona, then move on to Silos: only 1300 ihabs. Should be able to camp there. But above all, there're some anciant pre colombian graves there I d like to see!
Will let you know. Loads of fotos on their way, Just that people don t seem to have computers at home for me to use....
mardi 10 mai 2011
Merida
10.05.11.
I arrived in this city yesterday. Its a small city of 400 000 inhabitants. most of which are students. Did really inmteresting stuff here too. To start with, I live up in the hills, in the country side. View is fantastic.
Cool things I did here in less than 24 hours, most of it is experiencing student life in an extra socialist country:
- went to a union cinema that cost 1BsF for a ticket, You never know which film its going to be, but apparently, its always interesting. This time, it was a french film. Josiane Balasko was speaking spanish. "Le Herison." Strongly recommended. There were two electricity cuts in the city during the film. The organisors went out to find an electric generator to finish playing the film
- Introduced to an old lady of 90 years old, who livesin a century old house in the country. We had a good chat about her fascinating life as a religious missionary in the venezuelian jungle.
- assisted a university seminar of a very fameous philosopher called José Manuel Briceño Guerrero, from Universidad Los Andes de Merida. HE masters something like 20 different languages, including amndarin, hebrew, latin, persian etc... During the seminar, he spoke to me in absolutely all the languages I can speak, and he speaks them all really well. Topic of the 4 hour course was a poem by Goethe. Erlkonig, which will certainly remind William and Christopher of the years spent with Madame Couloumie.
- Ate lunch at the student union. HEre in Venezuela, not only is education COMPLETELY free for everyone, but food at the uni restaurant is free as well. And since everybody here is so good at making the most of the system, they all eat two or three servings!
I arrived in this city yesterday. Its a small city of 400 000 inhabitants. most of which are students. Did really inmteresting stuff here too. To start with, I live up in the hills, in the country side. View is fantastic.
Cool things I did here in less than 24 hours, most of it is experiencing student life in an extra socialist country:
- went to a union cinema that cost 1BsF for a ticket, You never know which film its going to be, but apparently, its always interesting. This time, it was a french film. Josiane Balasko was speaking spanish. "Le Herison." Strongly recommended. There were two electricity cuts in the city during the film. The organisors went out to find an electric generator to finish playing the film
- Introduced to an old lady of 90 years old, who livesin a century old house in the country. We had a good chat about her fascinating life as a religious missionary in the venezuelian jungle.
- assisted a university seminar of a very fameous philosopher called José Manuel Briceño Guerrero, from Universidad Los Andes de Merida. HE masters something like 20 different languages, including amndarin, hebrew, latin, persian etc... During the seminar, he spoke to me in absolutely all the languages I can speak, and he speaks them all really well. Topic of the 4 hour course was a poem by Goethe. Erlkonig, which will certainly remind William and Christopher of the years spent with Madame Couloumie.
- Ate lunch at the student union. HEre in Venezuela, not only is education COMPLETELY free for everyone, but food at the uni restaurant is free as well. And since everybody here is so good at making the most of the system, they all eat two or three servings!
dimanche 8 mai 2011
Caracas
08.05.11
I left caracas. So many things to say that here is just a list of what happened. Will give more details upon request, or you ll have to wait for the pictures.
- visited a Bario (thats the venezuelian word to say "shantytown") called "23 enero". 350 000 inhabitants live there. Even had luch there in someone's house!
- celebrated my birthday party with more than 30 people singing some sort of Venezuelian birthday song.
I ended up staying there much longer than i d originally planned.
In the Bario
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04.05.11
I've been in Venezuela for the past week, and my opinion about this country has changed radically. Here's something strange that I've only ever experienced in this country: people that at work are despicable. But the same people in the streets, outside all working conditions, are the nicest in the world. While working, people will never ever give you clear directions, when they're off work, they could litteraly drive you to the place you want to go to.
After the plane landed from Cuba, I was able to check my email at the airport. No internet in Cuba... people don't have it coz it still costs what it used to cost in europe 15years ago. 10 dollars a minute or so. And well, reeived this eail saying i had this urgent piece of work to hand in. and ince i don't have quite the right conditions to write, I stayed four days and three nights at the airport, just coz it seemed like the better place to stay for it. Free access to th internet, food outside sold by epeople from the bario, and toilets were clean! i niw know what tom hanks felt like stuck in the USA...
Since I've figured out that people were atually nice here, I've decided to stay a few days. I didn't have many american dollars when i got here. pitty coz the rate of change is really interesting. 8 BsF for a dollar instead of 4.50bls if you got o an official exchange office. After the death of Bin Laden, value of the dollar even went up to 12bsF, and the euro went up to 15!!!! Anyway, another new experience: I was robbed for the very forst time of my life. Guess what?! It was the police who robbed me! I only had the equivalence of 30dollars US to have ripped off me - a rather good and interesting eperience for what I payed for it., but that would have enabled me to live another 2 weeks here! Now I have to use my credit card, and the place is suddenly much more expensive...
However, I'd like to stay till saturday before I head down to Merida. There's a party on friday I want to attend. I've made friends here and they're inviting me to it. Meanwhile, I've been visiting museums. Since this is an extra socialist country (that uses Cuba as a model of society), well everything is free of charge. Paradise for a bakpacker! I really don't get why there are't more visitors here. But better off that way, I'd rather people were afraid and didn't come, rather than having foreign people walking around with ice cream cones and sun glasses, speaking loud voice in the metro.
It's raining today. I was meant to go out with an urbanist to take some pictures of the "barios". (Venezuelian equivalent of the Favellas inn Brazil). i real pitty it was cancelled coz of the rain. would have been a unique opportunity to see wht life is like for the major part of venezuelian population.
Picture of some buildings in the center of Caaracas. Made me think i was in the Fith Element (Luc Besson)
Metro de Caracas
Center of Caraccas, old city - Capitollo
I left caracas. So many things to say that here is just a list of what happened. Will give more details upon request, or you ll have to wait for the pictures.
- visited a Bario (thats the venezuelian word to say "shantytown") called "23 enero". 350 000 inhabitants live there. Even had luch there in someone's house!
- celebrated my birthday party with more than 30 people singing some sort of Venezuelian birthday song.
I ended up staying there much longer than i d originally planned.
In the Bario
------------------------
04.05.11
I've been in Venezuela for the past week, and my opinion about this country has changed radically. Here's something strange that I've only ever experienced in this country: people that at work are despicable. But the same people in the streets, outside all working conditions, are the nicest in the world. While working, people will never ever give you clear directions, when they're off work, they could litteraly drive you to the place you want to go to.
After the plane landed from Cuba, I was able to check my email at the airport. No internet in Cuba... people don't have it coz it still costs what it used to cost in europe 15years ago. 10 dollars a minute or so. And well, reeived this eail saying i had this urgent piece of work to hand in. and ince i don't have quite the right conditions to write, I stayed four days and three nights at the airport, just coz it seemed like the better place to stay for it. Free access to th internet, food outside sold by epeople from the bario, and toilets were clean! i niw know what tom hanks felt like stuck in the USA...
Since I've figured out that people were atually nice here, I've decided to stay a few days. I didn't have many american dollars when i got here. pitty coz the rate of change is really interesting. 8 BsF for a dollar instead of 4.50bls if you got o an official exchange office. After the death of Bin Laden, value of the dollar even went up to 12bsF, and the euro went up to 15!!!! Anyway, another new experience: I was robbed for the very forst time of my life. Guess what?! It was the police who robbed me! I only had the equivalence of 30dollars US to have ripped off me - a rather good and interesting eperience for what I payed for it., but that would have enabled me to live another 2 weeks here! Now I have to use my credit card, and the place is suddenly much more expensive...
However, I'd like to stay till saturday before I head down to Merida. There's a party on friday I want to attend. I've made friends here and they're inviting me to it. Meanwhile, I've been visiting museums. Since this is an extra socialist country (that uses Cuba as a model of society), well everything is free of charge. Paradise for a bakpacker! I really don't get why there are't more visitors here. But better off that way, I'd rather people were afraid and didn't come, rather than having foreign people walking around with ice cream cones and sun glasses, speaking loud voice in the metro.
It's raining today. I was meant to go out with an urbanist to take some pictures of the "barios". (Venezuelian equivalent of the Favellas inn Brazil). i real pitty it was cancelled coz of the rain. would have been a unique opportunity to see wht life is like for the major part of venezuelian population.
Picture of some buildings in the center of Caaracas. Made me think i was in the Fith Element (Luc Besson)
Metro de Caracas
Center of Caraccas, old city - Capitollo
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