Things are going great here in South America!

I am in the area of Choroni, Venezuela and it is Easter week…people, people, people at the beach.  The tide and waves came if freakishly high here and the town streets have been flooded and no one is allowed into the ocean. That has not stopped the mass consumption of the lightest beer I have ever seen by virtually everyone.

Venezuela has proven to be much more expensive than Colombia which I think has a lot to do with the strange exchange rate we have for dollars to Bolivars.  And it is not nearly as interesting.  We have visited two beach towns here on the north western shores of Venezuela and have seen the more prosperous people…lots of industry here.  It’s basically sprng break for EVERYONE here! and people are friendly.

After Cartagena, we went to a small fishing town called Taganga and stayed in a house run by French people…there were other guests from all over the world…very fun.  I was able to do a couple of fantastic scuba dives.   We then went over the mountains to Tayrona National Park were the Tayrona people live…much older than the Incan.  We had to hike for two hours through the mountains then two hours along the beach.  We slept in hammocks in a pavillion on top of a crag jutting out into the ocean.  Quite an amazing setting.  We did a great hike straight up to 2 hours to see The Pueblito.  We saw monkies, birds, butterflies…all that good stuff!  It was absolutely perfect.

The flights  to cross the border were no problem.  We had to spend the night in Bogota but with virtually no time to see much…a very late arrival and a very early departure.

Tomorrow we head back to Caracas in the scariest bus ride EVER…I took some video to prove it.  We already spent the afternoon in Caracas and it seems to be nothing special.  I will fly out Sunday midday…everyone is leaving the same day.

It is Saturday afternoon and I am happily in Cartagena…on the Caribbean coast…warm weather and sea level air!    We left Quito yesterday morning at 4 am and arrived here at 10:30 am.  The city is beautiful and clean…we are staying in the heart of the old city.  I have wandered along the walls and streets of the old city and look forward to a few more days here. 

This morning we hired a taxi to take us to the more distant tourists sights.  We saw the Convento la Popa overlooking the whole area  and then we visited the Fort with the famous tunnels.  We can more safely walk to the rest of the museums and interesting things in the old city.  We found a great lunch place packed with locals and took a chance ordering things unknown…it was all great!

The afternoons are hot so we stay in and have a bit of a siesta. 

This evening we will see the Caribbean dancers in the park.

 We have made arrangements to fly around the border problems between Colombia and Venezuela…in doing so we have decided to stay an extra day here in Cartagena and an extra day in Santa Marta.  We will miss a couple days in Coro on the coast of Venezuela but no one seems to mind.  Our leader Marcelo is very conscientious and an experienced guide.  We knows the local situation very well and has provided trusted advice for our situation.  It is unfortunately costing us a fair bit but better safe than sorry…besides as of today the border on land is still closed which really leaves us no alternative. 

 Free internet at the hotel is nice….so feel free to write!

Hi Everyone!

I am going to try blogging on my trip to see if it is easier than sending out emails.  Please bookmark this page and check back when you think of it.