And finally.

Sitting here in San Francisco we come to write our final blog entry, so we present in no particular order our final comments on our travels.

Things we have learnt

When setting your budget, add an additional 2% for replacing lost items. If Andy is involved make that 5%.

When using Lonely Planet guides take into account the author. It is unlikely that a 20 year old adventure junky will give you accurate information about the cultural highlights of a city.

Don't drink anything before a bus journey and take snacks, you don't know when you will stop next. Even if its 40 degrees outside take a jumper as if you are lucky to have aircon which works it will be on full blast.

Time in other countries is elastic. If you are asked to meet someone at 8am. Calculate the actual time according to the Hawkins country Index:- – UK +- 10 minutes; Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos + 30 minutes, other countries visited + 1 hour, Indonesia + 2 hours.

Change; nowhere ever has any change. Small denomination notes and coins should be kept and whenever you are in a hotel, large supermarket or restaurant pay with the biggest notes you have in an attempt to get some.

You must both say no to each and every hawker, if only one of you says no they think they might be in with a chance with the other one.

Food & Drink during our trip.

Best Food:- Vietnam.

Worst food:- Philippines, if its not deep fat fried, covered in sugar and vegetable free its not food.

Worst Meal:- Ecuadorian Pizza as served in Tulcan. Caramelized fruit should not go on Pizza.

Best Meal:- Michelin star restaurant in Lima at not Michelin star prices.

Best Cheap Drink:- Philippines (Local Brandy) or Ba Hoi (local live beer) in Hanoi.

Best Expensive Drink:- Pisco Sours at the Pisco Cathedral in Lima.

New fruits we really liked:- The mince pie fruit (Beal), Sherbet Lemon Fruit (Garabano), Yellow Passion Fruit which are much sweeter and very yummy.

New Meats Tried:-  Alpacha (7), Lama (7), Guinea Pig (6), Ants (5), Vacha - high altitude rabbit with fox like tale (3), Argentinian Beef (10)

Things we learnt about food:

UFO actually stands for Unidentified Fried Object (1-10)

Don't eat curry anywhere in the world except the India or the UK.

Take your own chili and pepper if you are going to Argentina.

If you see any unidentified fruit buy it there and then to try it as you may never see it again.

Unexpected Pleasures:-

Bagan in Myanma – Incredible temples of an old abandoned city, with stupas in all directions as far as the eye can see.

Snorkeling in the Philippines - “We can lend you the gear but its not very good here, its much better up the road.” Provided THE snorkeling experience of our trip.

Singing in the rain in De Lat in Vietnam with the local English language students.

Nam Ou river in Laos, Shooting rapids with locals in a dragon boat whilst surrounded by amazing and varied scenery.

There are two types of Museum in South America. The first type is run by an individual who shows you a small collection of something with passion and enthusiasm, but is always eccentric. The Second are the larger museums which are professional and contain interesting, thoughtful and often inspired curation.

Myanmar motorway station food fight at two o'clock in the morning amongst the staff with the anthem of our trip in South East Asia 'Gangnam Style' being played at ear bleeding volume in the background.

Myanmar Visa staff in Vietenne, Loas calling us to tell us that our Visas were ready a day early.

Meeting Marco by chance (a lovely Slovakian we met earlier in our trip) for new years eve and tubing the next day to sooth the consequent hangover, in VangVeng, Laos.

Most Romantic

Inlay Lake In Myanma at dawn, As we traveled the lake we saw the sunrise, set, rise, set and rise again as the sun traversed the range.

Swimming in a jungle pool, filled with hot spring water in San Vincente Colombia

Fireflys in Channing, Malaysia

Chalet in Luang Namtha, Laos, surrounding by beautiful countryside.

Most Fun

Liza Covered in 6 spider monkeys in the Bolivian Amazon.

Best Pub Game in the world: Cancha De Tejo, in Solento, Colombia, which involves throwing heavy weights at gunpowder.

Julia running down the road, chasing our jeep in Chang Mai Thailand as we teased her when she got out to open the gate.

Riding a bamboo train in Battenbang, Cambodia.

Taking the commuter boat in Bangkok, Thailand.

Surreal Moments

Deserted casino in Campot Cambodia, fully opened for business but with no trade.

Worst Roads

The coast road of Western Sumatra, Indonesia 300km in 16 hours for 2 days on the trot.

Bad moments with good outcomes

Meeting Nina the aggressive Orang-outangs in Bukit Luwang, Indonesia. Our guides hadn't seen her in 6 months but she came to visit and decided to eat all our lunch. The guides dragged Liza up the muddy slopes to put some distance between us and Nina, as she is known to bite. It was an amazing trek though as we saw 11 Orang-outangs that day. 

Singapore Airport lost Lizas rucksack on route to the Philippines. It was returned 4 days later, after much fretting and discussion on how to replace large clothes in an Asian country. Manila Airport lost luggage department and our hotel could not have been more helpful.

Getting a puncture up a hill in Cambodia. A friendly passer by who could see our trouble went and got someone who could speak English, they then gave us directions to the local lorry garage. As we got near them the villagers came out to show us the quicker back route to the garage and a young man stayed late to help us and charged us $2 for a repair. We tipped him :)

Transferring at Yangon, Myanma bus terminal at 5.50 am where we had to catch the bus to Mawlamyine. We had to negotiate Yangon bus station which appears to have absolutely no rhyme or reason with passengers, buses, taxis, cars, vendors, hawkers, beggars and everyone who wants to travel milling round with seemingly no structure whatsoever. There is however some order and it does work. One simply asks and are directed. We pitched up in the middle of this and asked someone where we should go. He said 'Follow me' so we did, walked about 100m where he then said 'Follow him', which we did until our number 2 guide said, 'Follow him', this we did until we found ourselves at a man behind a desk who sold us tickets and gave us stools to sit on before our bus departed. How this bedlam actually works on a regular basis I have no idea, but work it does!

Mosquito bites, Liza used to have a massive reaction but has now been bitten so often that all she gets is a small red dot and an itch.

Boarder crossings

Worst boarder crossing (Successful) Cambodia to Thailand.

Worst boarder crossing (Unsuccessful) Ecuador to Columbia – due to farmer protests blocking the road.

Best Boarder Crossing Thailand to Laos, beautiful ferry journey across the Mekong with a polite and warm welcome (Contrasting with Thai immigration).

Hotels

Strangest hotel, Sagada Philippines, 4 days of hunt the staff during the week when we were the only guests, followed by a hotel rammed full of tourists from Manila at the weekend.

Worst hotel, YMCA, Vitenne, Laos. The only place on our travels where our hotel could be called dirty.

Things we now have to unlearn.
Interactions with children:- everywhere apart from Europe and  North America it is polite to smile, chat and play with any child that comes within 5ft of you. The look from an American woman in San Francisco when we tried that could have killed us.

Toilet paper now goes down the toilet.

If you say good day to everyone in Europe you just get stared at, in Latin America, if you don't say buenos dias to everyone you meet its rude.

Using the only Spanish word we have totally mastered - gracias - when in English speaking countries.

Love to all, thanks to all.

Andy & Liza. Sept 2013

Bogota to San Francisco

Our return to Bogota allowed us to revisit the gold museum. A wonderful place we had gone through previously with a tour guide who concentrated on only one floor. We wanted to go and explore the rest.

 Gold fish hooks!

 I thought these displays with shadow humans showing where these gold jewelry pieces were worn were inspired.

We also went round the police museum which was our last experience of the eccentric South American museum experience. The police being a very different entity in Colombia to what we were used to in the UK.

On our last night in Latin America we went out with another friend of a friend, Juliana. A Colombian writer and joyous fun woman who filled us in on many things Colombian although she was not too keen on having her picture taken.

 Two beers later however her resistance waned.

We flew to San Francisco and met Lee and Helen. On the Friday while they worked we discovered and rediscovered the city. Here is where I spent 1994 635 Haight St.

 And another typical SF sight.

Liza was very very angry when we got here as she felt things had been mis-sold. The golden gate bridge being red.

And I end our quick SF photo tour with the Fisherman's wharf seals. Boy do they smell.

We spent our final Saturday on a Napa Valley wine tour with Helen & Lee. Much fun was had.

Hightailing through the Colombian highlands

From the coast we headed south back to Bogota, we caught the 12 hour bus ride to Bucaramanga, a great name for a town which is modern busy and full of students. The road was flat and straight for the first 7 hours then hit the mountains and we spent the rest of the trip on the up and down switchback leading eventually down a steep windy road into town. We arrived late in the evening and found a room in the Kase Guane Bucaranamge hostel, known to all as the KGB. We then discovered that the rooftop had a bar and the bar had become THE place for the students to hang out AND it was Friday night. It was a case of if you can't beat them join them.... Luckily the bar shut at 12.30 as we were a little bus lagged from the day.

The following day we took the local bus 45 minutes out of town to the old colonial town of  Giron. A hillside town full of whitewashed houses and churches. 

 Alongside the river is a nice promenade where food stalls cater to the Colombian tourists who enjoy the town and provide lunches that consist of various cuts of meat cut into cubes and served over a plate of small roast potatoes. What was intended to be a light lunch turned into something significantly larger and our plans for eating our main meal in the evening for once were thwarted. (As a rule Colombians like the main meal of the day to be at lunch and we have got into the habit of joining them)

As our hostel was serving the Saturday night drinking crowd we really had no option but to join in. It was actually really nice to be with a majority Colombian crowd as they are really enjoyable drinking partners and many of them spoke really good English and wanted to talk. Liza renewed her love affair with Strawberry Daiquiris which meant that she was not at her most effervescent  on the next days 8 hour bus ride to the regional capital of Tunja (pronounced Tuna, like the fish.)  We had seats at the very front just behind the driver which would have been great except that a) We were next to the large loud television which was showing exactly the same films as our previous journey and b) our driver spent the entire journey moaning loudly to a) his girlfriend on his mobile or b) the conductor. Both of which activities required constant large gesticulations and all comments to the conductor had to be made while looking him full in the face. When he was not talking he was sending and receiving about 4 texts a minute. We made sure our seat belts were fastened.

We got off the bus in Tunja and immediately jumped onto a minibus for the 45 min drive to our destination for the day of Villa de Leyva. A stunning 15th century town set up by the early Spanish settlers as a retreat monastery town. We found a nice hostel just outside of town.

 Villa de Leyva valley

 The largest square in the whole of Latin America.... well that we have seen!

 The church in the Villa - and me!

 The old cobble streets mean that even new 4X4 vehicles are limited to about 5mph. There are fossils everywhere so much so that they have been incorporated into the streets and steps of the town. We only had a day here as our return to the UK is imminent which was a shame as we could happily have spent a week here, there being miles of mountain walks via waterfalls and fossil trails that we never got a chance to see.

 The old monastery.

 Lovely old colonial houses.

 And fairly nice sunsets; After this was taken we wandered into town for dinner. Villa de Leyva is the weekend holiday destination of choice for the middle classes of Bogota which means that Monday night is very quiet. We found a restaurant just as it was about to shut, ordered food before realizing that everyone was just about to go home. This however did not in any visible way annoy any of the staff. When we asked them to order us a cab back to the hostel (we had forgotten our torch) the chef said - 'Oh it is too much trouble to order a cab - I'll take you' This was to us by now a typical example of Colombian hospitality. A country we have found has so much going for it with stunning scenery, very friendly people and a place which we would love to have had more time to explore as we have yet to visit great swaths of the country.

The next day we returned to Bogota where we have under 48 hours before our flight to San Francisco for a 4 day layover to see Helen and Lee before our return to London on the 1st October. Home in less than a week.... see you all soon!

Cavorting along Caribbean Colombia

Tolu is a 3 hour journey west along the northern Colombian coast and is a small seaside resort, a quiet place that has no cabs, only cycle-cabs. We always tipped a little as we felt we were a heavy pair to pull around town. After a day here we realized we were in the Colombian version of Southend, a lower-middle class holiday town full of pumping Latin music and bars selling Colombian favorites along the beach. In true Colombian fashion they made sure the street signs reflected this:-

Beware oncoming cocktails from both directions!

 And some very nice stained glass.

 We took a day trip out to go to a few (4) Caribbean islands.... oh the pressure of it all!

 We had to cope with swimming on this one then they made us drink pina coladas and eat lobster. You will be pleased to know that we survived the experience.

 The locals all live on a neighboring island which is almost at urban population levels. Everyone makes money here from fishing, something after our lunch we can report they can do quite well!

 We then took the bus back east along the coast, past Cartagena to the town of Santa Marta. The oldest Spanish town in Latin America. Although quickly upstaged by Caragena and never built to the same size or beauty. It is the main Colombian tourist town along the coast and where every Colombian we have met has urged us to visit.

 Although it does not have the spit and polish of it's more famous neighbor it is very beautiful.

 And does a good sunset.

It also is a working port and if the hawk had not flown off as I took this picture it would have been superb!

Also in town is the Museo do Simon Bolivar. Without doubt one of the most famous historical icons of the continent. During his lifetime, he led Venezuela, Colombia (including Panama at the time), Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia to independence. Admirers claim that he helped lay the foundations for democracy in much of Latin America. In every town in every country we have been in has been a square or street named after him. Even Colombia and they HATE naming streets...('What, streets have numbers not names - how else do you find your way around?' would be the Colombian response). Anyway we went there and here are some pictures.

 Winner of the worlds largest padlock competition.

 Never seen a cacti on a roof before!

The main attraction of Santa Marta is it is the gateway to the Parque Nacional Natural Tyrona, a nature reserve about 35km along the coast where there are some wonderful jungle and beaches. From the gates of the park your only options are to walk or hire horses. As I have never managed to work out how to either steer or change gear in a horse (and the brakes seem suspect to me too) we chose the former.

 Which meant we got to see this critter. As well as more lizards than we have ever seen before and the most stunningly large blue butterflys. Both of which were way too quick to stand still to have their picture taken.

Eventually however I did manage to get a pic of a crab before it did its usual and get embarrassed and disappear down its hole.

After about an hours walk we found the first of the many beaches.

 And the 2nd!

 I think this one is the 5th or 6th!

 Lost count

 We tested all the ones where swimming was allowed (there are some silly strong currents and large notices saying you'd be silly to swim here - we did what we were told.)

 Not only are these beaches stunningly beautiful but there are some amazing little additions which just go the extra mile. The rocks are full of iron pyrite (fools gold) which have flaked into the sea so the surf is full of specks of golden glitter.

Here Liza dries off between testing beaches 6 & 7!

 So we spent a good two days wandering the beaches, testing the coolness of the beer, the quality of the sea food and generally being stressed out with the high pressure of it all.

 So as I post this we have arrived back in Santa Marta where we relax after the pressure of our visit to Tayrona. Tomorrow we turn back south to head towards Bogota, our last week in Colombia.

Hot springs and hot weather.

Pereira is a town in the centre of Colombia which we went to because no one suggested we go there, OK not strictly true but it is a town that is not on any tourist map and has nothing of real spectacular interest to put it onto anyone's 'must go' list. We ended up there for two reasons, the first was that the tour to what everyone says are the best thermal springs in this part of the world starts from Pereria and secondly there was a very cheap flight out to the Caribbean coastal town and main old Spanish entry point into Latin America of Cartagena. 

The thermal springs at San Vincente about 30 km out of town were as advertised, spectacular. Set in the head of a very steep waterfall surrounded valley high in the north Andes. The last 10 km in the bus took a good three quarters of an hour as it wound up steep ridges and basically just climbed and climbed and climbed until we crested the ridge and went down into the valley where the thermal springs are located.

 The high sided v shaped rain forest valley.

 Steam rising off the stream, a totally natural environment where the only concession to humans are a few stones blocking the stream to create pools to lounge in, a bridge and a set of steps.

 There is at the head of the stream, man made pools and a hotel. It was here that all the Colombians (we were the only gringos in sight) spent the day. This left us to enjoy the totally natural pools further down.

 During the trip up it rained heavily, this made the cold water stream, which ran almost parallel very high and very brown!

 Waterfall in the steep valley around the hot springs.

We met a really nice Colombian guy called David while we were there and consequently spent the evening out with him, his girlfriend and his North American history teaching friend Kevin. We consequently had a rather late night which was OK as we were not flying until 5.30 the next evening so we caught up on correspondence etc and spent a bit of a wait at the airport before heading out of the Andes, where we have been since northern Argentina and hit the heat of the Caribbean.

As we were now down to sea level the first really hot weather since we left Asia hit us. We found it rather hot and sticky which we were not expecting after having coped with weeks of much hotter and stickier weather in the east. You obviously take some time to acclimatize and were pleased we had A/C at our hotel.

Cartagena was for many years the capital and entry point of all things Spanish into Latin America, it was the scene for several conflicts, pirate, British, French attacks and consequently it is a beautiful walled city at its centre. Full of old colonial buildings, streets that are only slightly on a grid pattern with flower encrusted timbered balconys and cool courtyards everywhere.

 With long beaches to the north and south now filling up with high rise hotels and places for the Colombian middle class to enjoy the beach.

 It still has the feel of a genuine working town with ironmongers and plumbers just as numerous as hotels and shops selling tourist tat.

Outside the city walls on a hill is the old fort. The Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas which any potential invaders had to take to take the city. In the course of its active life it had the record of won 1, lost 1, drawn 1 (a siege of the town, which the town lost through starvation). A really impressive place, full of ramparts, redoubts loopholes, flanks, crenelations  and all the other words that have crept into the English language through 17th century fort building.

 As we left the storm clouds gathered and by the time returned the audio guide to the ticket kiosk the heavens had opened. We had to shelter under its eaves for half an hour until the rain and river the road had turned into, had abated enough for us to cross the road where we sheltered in a restaurant having lunch until it had stopped enough to walk into town.

The next day we climbed another volcano.... this was by far the smallest being only about 15 meters high. However the views from the top were nice...

 And the views into the crater were different!

 Yes a hot mud volcano....

 We think this would certainly have got Liza's father Paul to start hunting out the black plastic bags.!

But luckily the freshwater lagoon behind was available for a cleaning swim.

We have now moved to the small coastal village of Tolu south east of Cartagena, details of which we will bore you with next blog.