Showing 1-24 of 24 results
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Mud, glorious mud – Volcán El Totumo, near Cartagena, Colombia
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 1 May 2012
As I lower myself gingerly into the molten ooze, a pair of hands pushes me down further. But rather than sink into the mud never to return, I pop straight back up again like a cork. It’s not every day you get to slop about in a mud-filled volcano, but Volcán El Totumo, a mud [...]
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San Blas Islands, Part 2 – Paradise From a Boat
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 10 March 2011
Our days in the islands were filled with snorkelling among the many reefs and swimming out to modern shipwrecks. One of those we visited had sunk only three months previously and its owner is now in prison after going slightly round-the-bend and killing a couple of people. My best sighting during the snorkelling was of [...]
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San Blas Islands, Part 1 – Tropical Paradise from a Boat
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 8 March 2011
We did a little research into the cost of flights from Cartagena to Panama City and found that last minute flights would cost about US$300 each. This made the option of sailing suddenly seem far more appealing and not that much more expensive. To find a yacht the best option is to go to the [...]
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Parque Tayrona – A Must-See In Columbia
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 6 March 2011
Tayrona National Park (Parque Tayrona) is a must-see landscape in Colombia, despite the mixed press it receives. The park is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Colombia and also one of the most well-known national parks in all of South America. It is known for its beautiful Caribbean coastline that extends out from [...]
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Santa Marta and Taganga
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 24 February 2011
I knew from other travellers not to expect too much from either Santa Marta or Taganga, but I have to confess to being a little disappointed all the same. In Santa Marta the seafront is pretty small, but the is promenade lined with palm trees and cast iron statues depicting different scenes from native people [...]
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Playa Blanca – A Truly Tropical Caribbean Beach
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 21 February 2011
We had heard rumours of a beautiful, tropical beach just round the corner from Cartagena, and with a little help from our friend, Tash, whom we had met in Bolivia at Inti Wara Yassi, we were able get there in a very creative fashion. The Lonely Planet says that the best way to get to [...]
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Colourful Flagrant Caribbean Coast
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 19 February 2011
Due to time constraints we made the sad decision to miss out the middle of Colombia and headed straight for the coast. As a result we found ourselves a cheap flight from Quito to Cartagena. From our overnight bus from Puerto Lopez to Quito we headed to the airport to drop off our bags. Once [...]
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Vale La Pena
Blog: Hecktic Travels - 26 April 2010
By Peter HeckThe day had finally arrived for me to embark on a 5 day trek through Colombian jungle to search and find La Ciudad Perdida (The Lost City). Prior to departure, reservations about doing this had crept into my head. Our great friend Kylee gave only mediocre reviews of the trek (given it's cost) and the thought of leaving Dalene for the first time in 8+ months made me a little uneasy. But it was booked, paid for, and my day bag was packed - I was to be picked up at 8:30am on Tuesday morning.
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Swinging solo
Blog: Hecktic Travels - 23 April 2010
One more sleep and Pete will be back from his crazy trek in the jungle. And while I do miss him like mad and find myself doing strange things in his absence (like, sleeping with the bathroom light on!), I have been doing much better then I thought I would.
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Ugh. Tourists.
Blog: Hecktic Travels - 15 April 2010
Take the most abundant Colonial architecture we've seen to date. Add some Caribbean flair in the form of walls plastered with brilliant colors and bright flowers hanging out of every window. Put it all within 13km of centuries-old stone walls. Throw in some soft lighting and scores of cobble stone streets. What you've got is a recipe for one of the most romantic and beautiful city settings in South America.
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Day 48: Volcano Mudbathing!
Blog: Diaries of a Vagabonding Couple - 30 March 2010
This is the ultimate spa experience - bathing in thick gooey mud! Like a deformed midget, Volcan el Totumo spews not lava but mud. At about 2 floors high, it's almost a joke this is a volcano; technically I guess it is. Though the crater is tiny (and a little disappointingly so), squeezing in with everyone else was part of the fun. We dipped in, not knowing how deep it was or how to stay
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Day 47: In the land of coffee and cocaine
Blog: Diaries of a Vagabonding Couple - 29 March 2010
After 5 days of civilized living (ie. air conditioned city life!), we are back on the road again. There was a little tingle of the feeling we had when we left Canada and our "settled down" lifestyle. I was definitely excited about seeing South America, but I felt a hint of travelers' fatigue weighing down on me. Long bus rides again, hot sweaty days, insect bites... Wouldn't it be nice to have a
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Taganga aka Dog Town
Blog: A Travel Diary from Mexico, Central and South America - 12 January 2010
We had all heard some good things about Taganga - a beach town on the north coast of Colombia. However I couldn't see quite what the fuss was about. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a horrible place to be and I guess it is very easy to get overly picky when you're see so many amazing places. We chose to stay there as most people apparently opt to go there instead of Santa Marta these days.
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Cartagena - it's a delight
Blog: A Travel Diary from Mexico, Central and South America - 10 January 2010
Being so late that you think you're going to miss your flight is a horrible and stressful situation and one I don't intend on repeating. A combination of events led to a mad dash for the gate and somehow we made it - the full story is admirably covered in Viva Latin America
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Tayrona National Park – As Pricey As It Gets
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 9 January 2010
Everybody raves about Tayrona National Park. It’s a jungle and beaches on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, and it’s supposed to be some kind of magical fairytale place of natural beauty. We had a few days, and didn’t have time to go off and do the Lost City trek, so we got the bus from [...]
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Taganga Vs Santa Marta
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 7 January 2010
When you’re travelling, you have to follow people’s advice on the way. Someone who’s been somewhere two days previously is going to be more up to date than any guidebook in circulation. But occasionally you get a surprise, and wonder what on earth your informant was thinking. This was the case with Taganga and [...]
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Cartagena and the Canoe Pirates
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 6 January 2010
Cartagena is known for its beautiful beaches, and none more so than those on the islands off the coast. The popular thing to do when here is to get yourself on a boat trip out to one of more of the islands, and this almost always culminates with a few hours on Playa Blanca, possibly [...]
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The Many Sides To Cartagena
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 6 January 2010
I was given to understand that Cartagena, on the northern coast, was the best place in Colombia to see colonial architecture. I was quite surprised, therefore, when we arrived in the backpacker district to find the typical narrow streets, dirty roads and crumbly buildings. It was all very charming in its own way, but surely [...]
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The Best Hostels in Latin America
Blog: Itinerant Londoner - 14 November 2009
Travelling for a year, constantly on the move, rarely staying more than three or four days in one place, where I end up staying makes a huge difference to my my stress levels. End up in a nice hostel, with things like comfy beds, warm showers, free breakfasts, a good location and a nice atmosphere [...]
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Lady in Cartagena
Blog: A Lady in London - 7 November 2009
After our short stint in Miami, my boyfriend and I headed to Cartagena last Sunday to enjoy some equatorial sun. One of Colombia's most beautiful coastal cities, Cartagena had long been on my list of places to visit.
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Cartagena
Blog: Itinerant Londoner - 28 July 2009
Even though I’d just read Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s ‘Love in the Time of Cholera’, with its vivid description of the heat of Cartagena in the summer months, nothing could prepare me for quite how intense the humidity would be when I got there. Even just wandering around slowly, taking in all the beautiful colonial buildings, left [...]
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Getting stuck in Taganga
Blog: Itinerant Londoner - 26 July 2009
When I arrived in Taganga, my first stop on Colombia’s Caribbean Coast, I wasn’t all that impressed. And yet I somehow managed to end up staying more time in the area than anywhere else I’ve been so far on my trip. The obvious highlight of the place is that it’s a great place to start the [...]
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Finding the Lost City
Blog: Itinerant Londoner - 20 July 2009
Despite the doom-laden warnings from the Foreign Office ( We advise against all but essential travel to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, including the ‘Lost City’. Armed groups are still active in this area, there is extensive cultivation of illegal drugs and the risk of kidnap remains high. While tour organisers may assure [...]
Showing 1-24 of 24 results
