Cartagena, Colombia - Day 139-140

Our original plan after Colombia was to visit Venezuela and Guyana before returning back home. After hearing many stories from other travelers about how unsafe Venezuela is, and then realizing if we were to skip Venezuela and go straight to Guyana, we would have to take an extremely expensive flight, we decided to change our plans and continue heading north into Central America. There are no land crossings between Colombia and Panama and the only options to cross the border are to fly or take a boat. We decided on the boat option, so we headed to the beautiful city of Cartagena to get ready for a 4 day boat trip from Colombia to Panama. We walked around exploring the city one day and spent another full day getting money for the boat and making lots of currency exchanges.

The original wall built by the Spanish to protect the city still stands.

The streets of old town Cartagena were the most beautiful of any city we visited in South America

Parque Nacional Tayrona, Colombia - Day 135-138

Our next stop was Parque Nacional Tayrona, a very popular national park in northeast Colombia comprised of lush jungle that meets the Caribbean ocean. The park is supposed to have some of the most beautiful beaches in Colombia only accessed by trails. After a 1 hour hike into the park, camping and restaurants could be found right on the beaches. Unfortunately, most of the beaches have very strong currents that make it too hazardous to swim. Bad weather with no sun and rain plagued us once again. We camped in the park for 3 days and waited for the sun to come out, which it finally did within the hours of leaving the park.

Our lovely and expensive campsite. This campsite cost more than some hostels we've stayed in, but at least the bathrooms were really clean!

If you opt to not sleep in a tent, you can sleep in hammocks in this structure and battle the wind all night.

Waiting for the sun...

Huge caiman hanging out next to the beach.

 

 

La Ciudad Perdida, Colombia - Day 130-133

After loosing so much time in Pasto, the day the protests ended, we decided to bus directly to the northern coast and skip traveling throughout the middle of Colombia. After 42 hours of bus time we finally made it to a town called Santa Marta. Here, we booked a trek to La Ciudad Perdida (The Lost City). La Ciudad Perdida are ruins left over from the Tairona people who lived in the area hundreds of years ago. They built the city in 700 A.D. and had to flee in the 1600s due to the spread of disease from the Spaniards. In order to survive, they were forced to mix with the other indigenous communities in the area. The indigenous groups seen today are the descendants of these people.

The 29 mile trek is normally completed in 5 days, but because most of the 30 people in our group had pre-set arrangements they had to attend directly after the trek, we shortened it to 4 days. In typical rainforest fashion, it rained most of the trip. 4 days of sliding around in ankle deep mud on extremely steep hills is pretty difficult and fun!

Beautiful countryside heading into the trek. These hills used to be covered in coca plants. The locals have customarily chewed on coca leaves, the raw material used to manufacture cocaine, in a practice similar to how we drink coffee, but the U.S. gov't flew planes in and fumigated this whole area as part of the war against drugs. Since coca leaves are neither harmful nor addictive on their own, it's hard to say if it helped prevent cocaine production, or just took away an entire cultures' pastime. Now, the farmers cultivate cacao and coffee.

One of the many stream crossings throughout the trek. The rivers also provided great swimming spots along the way.

Snack time! The guides fed us delicious fresh fruit almost every hour.

Normal sleeping accommodations during the trek; hammocks with mosquito nets over them.

An indigenous community that lives in the area. These kids were racing toward us in hopes of getting some candy.

The beginning of La Ciudad Perdida was comprised of 1,250 stone steps.

All that remains are these round foundations of where their houses used to be and pestle and mortars that they used to grind up plants for food and medicine.

This structure is in the center of the city and was the most important area, because it is where the shaman lived.

Here is a map carved into a huge stone that the Tairona used for navigating the nearby mountains and rivers. The bottom line signifies the ocean.

Yellow-Striped Poisonous dart frog that Kris found hopping across the trail!

The never-ending mud was unlike anything we have ever hiked in.

 

Ecuador/Colombia Border - Day 122-127

We were excited to move north again and spend time in Colombia which we've heard so many good things about. We bussed up to the border and found it a little strange that we seemed to be the only ones crossing into Colombia. At the border, we were warned that there was a chance we weren't able to go to certain cities due to some problems. Thinking it wasn't a big deal, we decided to cross. What no one told us was that every road going north had been blockaded due to protests for the past 7 days and that no one had a clue when they were going to reopen! We waited at the bus terminal all day for a chance to catch a ride, and realized no one was going anywhere. After spending the night in the border town, we luckily were able to get a ride in a van up north to a neighboring city called Pasto. This is where we got stuck for 5 days. Pasto was not a fun place to be stuck in and to top it off the weather was cold and rainy the entire time. We thought about flying to the north coast, but soon learned the airlines took advantage of the situation and jacked all their prices up out of our price range.

The coffee farmers went on strike to demand more subsidies from the government. Due to price decreases, flooding, and mold, they actually lose money while producing their crop. The government did not have enough money in their budget to meet the high demands. Negotiations continued for 12 days until a settlement was finally reached!

We stole these first two photos from the Colombian news website. All we did for 5 days was continually check news updates and watch tv.

Because the coffee farmers were receiving so much news worthy attention, other industries wanted to jump on the band-wagon. Truckers also went on strike, gas station owners shut down their pumps and raised prices, the airlines followed as well, and even the high school students in this photo while we were in Pasto decided to protest!

 

Banos, Ecuador - Day 112-120

It was time for Bella to refresh her Spanish speaking skills and for Kris to finally learn some Spanish. We have been traveling for almost 4 months, and heard Ecuador was a cheap and great place to take Spanish classes, so it was now or never.

After taking a much needed rest day, we packed up and headed 2 hours north to the beautiful small mountain town of Banos, which is known as Ecuador's adventure capitol. We decided to take Spanish classes for one week, and since lessons were only 4 hours of the day, we thought Banos would be an ideal place because of all the hiking, biking, and soaking in hot springs that can be done right from town after school was out.

One of the highlights of taking Spanish lessons was we finally stayed in one place for more than 2 or 3 days and the Spanish school rented out a nice apartment to us in the same building for dirt cheap. It was great to have a space bigger than the usual one-room hostels we've been staying in and we were finally able to cook our own food and not compete for kitchen space in a communal kitchen.

Once again the weather was terrible with mainly overcast skies and rain everyday....we're beginning to think the bad weather is following us. Due to the weather we were cooped up inside and didn't get to explore the surrounding outdoors as much as we wanted to. It was a good thing we had a nice apartment to hang out in and do our Spanish homework.

Maybe Colombia will have sunnier weather...?

The beautiful town of Banos.

The main plaza in Banos with a rare moment of sun.

Home sweet home, at least for a week. Bella is cooking in the cocina.

Because of the bad weather we spent a lot of time in here....good thing we had cable TV with some english channels!

Bella studying on the roof terrace. That may look like sunny skies but shortly after the wind picked up and the clouds took over causing us to go back inside.

This was one of the few hikes we went on. The trails were surprisingly lush and green.

This trail may not look steep but it probably should have a staircase through it.

 

Volcan Chimborazo, Ecuador - Day 109-110

Straight from sea level, we came to the city of Riobamba to climb Volcan Chimborazo, which is the highest peak in Ecuador. Due to the equatorial bulge, Chimborazo's summit is known as the farthest point from Earth's center. Since Chimborazo sits at 20,702 ft, we had to acclimatize for a few days before attempting to summit. Riobamba was a good place to acclimatize (since it sits above 9,000 ft) and find a guide, because as of November 2012, guides are now required to climb any mountain that has a glaciated peak. The weather was terrible again. February is known to have bad weather here, and Chimborazo was hit with a lot of heavy snowfall for a few days prior to our summit attempt which was unfortunate for us.


To begin the climb, we drove up to a mountain refuge that sits at 15,748 ft, ate dinner, and then hiked up to a higher refuge at 16,404 ft to take a 3-hr nap. After our nap, we strapped on our boots, headlamps, and harnesses and headed out at 11:20 pm with at least 20 other climbers going for a summit attempt. The climb started out with clear skies (meaning stars and moon). Except for the first hour, crampons and ropes were needed the entire time to climb the steep glacier. A couple hours in, the stars disappeared and the snow started falling...and with each hour, the snowfall became heavier and the wind got stronger. This fresh snow, in addition to the recent snowfall, made climbing extremely difficult. Climbing in knee-deep snow at these altitudes made us only think about going back down. The weather combined with the snow made all but 2 other climbers turn back.

Around 5:00 am, after 6 hours of climbing, we finally made it to the Veintimilla summit, which sits at 20,561 ft. It greeted us with a blizzard still in the pitch-black of night. At this point, even though the Whymper summit was only 187 ft higher, the guides told us they were not going to continue and we were all turning around. With Bella's eyes almost completely frozen shut and Kris' head about to explode, we didn't argue with them!

Our van broke down on the way up to the refuge...bad omen?

A rare glimpse of Chimborazo with some blue sky!

Our route up. It's actually a lot steeper than it looks!

Killing time in the refuge.

Roping up and putting the crampons on. The climb has to be done in the dark due to dangerous rock fall and avalanches when the sun warms up the glaciers.

This is what it actually looked like at the summit! Due to the extreme cold and sideways blowing ice, we spent a total of 3 minutes up there!

Bella looks miserable on the way down, but at least we made it to the summit and we're alive!

Frozen eyelashes, and that's not a scarf, that's frozen hair. Our headlamps were so frozen we couldn't turn them off!

9 hours later, finally back!

 

The Galápagos Islands - Day 99-105

To get the most out of visiting the Galapagos Islands, and without spending all our money, we chose a 5-day cruise on an "economy" budget yacht, (which meant it was the smallest boat option), called the Nuevo Flamingo. We liked that it was small, because that meant there were only 8 other passengers plus the 5 crew members and our guide. The small size made it a very personal experience, which was great! The "economy" yacht was also nice because all the passengers were our age since we typically can't afford the luxury boats! Besides, what was important to us was the outdoor activities off the boat, not the luxuries found on the larger and fancier boats.

Although it is possible to explore the Galápagos Islands on your own doing day-trips to different islands, we decided to go with a cruise since it allows you to explore islands that are not possible to visit on your own, and plus, we had never slept on a boat like this and wanted to give it a try. The cruise also allows more time to hike and snorkel since less time is spent going back and forth between the day-trips and a hotel.

The day we started the cruise, the worst weather of our entire trip began. For 5 days, a constant thick cloud cover and mist/rain fell on the Galápagos. The weather was extremely unusual for this time of year. No sunshine made snorkeling twice a day very cold, but good thing all the wildlife is under the water and the rain doesn't affect them! Regardless of the bad weather, the wildlife more than made up for it.

Our tiny cabin was so narrow that when Kris stood up his shoulders touched the bed and the wall, but we had our own bathroom!

Our dining area; where we spent most of our time since it was too wet to hang out on the deck.

Our boat is on the left. The other yachts make ours look like a toy boat!

Day 1: Santa Cruz Island

 

Sea turtle tracks. It was breeding season for the turtles and their nests were everywhere.

Sea turtle tracks. It was breeding season for the turtles and their nests were everywhere.

Sally Light Foot crabs cover the rocks next to the ocean. Their beautiful colors especially stand out against the black volcanic rock.

Black marine iguanas are the most common animal to be seen in the Galápagos. This iguana is heading out to sea to feed on the green algae that grows on the rocks under water.

Day 2: San Salvador Island and Bartolome Island

 

We explored this newly formed lava bridge that is less than 150 years old. The hardened lava now connects two islands.

We explored this newly formed lava bridge that is less than 150 years old. The hardened lava now connects two islands.

The lava is not very stable. We are sitting in a hole that hunters broke through years ago trying to eradicate the invasive goat species.

Kris searching under the rocks for sea creatures.

School of Yellow Tail Surgeons

Islands sprouting up everywhere. The Galápagos Islands are one of the most tectonically active areas on earth.

Day 3: San Salvador Island

 

A Blue-Footed Booby and a Pelican watch us as we get very close to them in the motor boat.

A Blue-Footed Booby and a Pelican watch us as we get very close to them in the motor boat.

Being cold-blooded must be really hard when the sun doesn't come out for days.

All the animals tolerates each other (and the humans) really well.

The sea lions were not bothered at all by us. Bella decided a bathing suit with her new raincoat was the best outfit choice to avoid everything getting wet.

Relaxing. The sea lions are such effective hunters, that most of their time can be spent napping or playing.

Huge star fish!

Sea turtle! It didn't mind that Kris was taking pictures of it as it was feeding on the algae.

Day 4: Rabida Island and Sombrero Chino Island

 

This baby was 3 days old! It was very curious of us. Sooo Cute!!!

This baby was 3 days old! It was very curious of us. Sooo Cute!!!

Black Tipped shark swam right underneath us. It was at least 6 ft long!

Getting a closer look at the fish. They don't swim away from you; it's pretty amazing.

Sea lions like to play with people under water. They swim so close to you and turn away at the last second. They like playing with the bubbles that you can blow under water.

Galápagos penguins are some of the smallest penguins on earth. They are able to live on the Equator because of cold water currents that are found here most of the year.

It was so cool watching the sea lion and penguins hunt together! This sea lion just caught a fish in his mouth and ate it right in front of us!

Day 5: Santa Cruz Island

 

Just like the finches, each island has a different type of giant tortoise. Unfortunately, tourists sat oh their shells and pretended to ride on them, so now we can only see them in a zoo-type setting. They eat sooo slow. Hundreds of thousands of tortoises were killed by the first inhabitants and visitors of the islands for their tasty meat and for their fat to light lamps. Now, they are making a slow comeback.

Just like the finches, each island has a different type of giant tortoise. Unfortunately, tourists sat oh their shells and pretended to ride on them, so now we can only see them in a zoo-type setting. They eat sooo slow. Hundreds of thousands of tortoises were killed by the first inhabitants and visitors of the islands for their tasty meat and for their fat to light lamps. Now, they are making a slow comeback.

This is the only type of cactus in the world that grows like a tree. There are forests of cactus trees on the islands.

After 5 days, the sun finally came out right after the cruise was over. It made the iguanas and us really happy!

Iguana taking a swim.

Day 6: San Cristobal Island

 

After the cruise, we spent 2 more nights on San Cristobal island. All the islands have different landscapes. This one has more green vegetation than others that we visited since it is one of the oldest.

After the cruise, we spent 2 more nights on San Cristobal island. All the islands have different landscapes. This one has more green vegetation than others that we visited since it is one of the oldest.

Beautiful King Angel fish