Crazy Jungle Adventures........

We finally arrived in Bogota, Colombia, after a long overnight bus ride on a Friday morning. We wandered around the city and checked it out - we were feeling a bit funny as Bogota is at 3000m or so, the altitude defintely got to us!! That night we met up with a group of Colombians (who live in Bogota) but who we met in Taganga. We went to a cool local pub which was lots of fun =)

Saturday we went out with our Colombian friends again and they showed us around town. We took the fernicular up to the mountain in Bogota for a really cool view of the city (see picture above). We had a nice luch and checked out an art gallery also - a very cultured afternoon!!! Saturday night we went out with the Colombians again, another cool night in another local bar =)

Sunday we did a bit of shopping before jumping on a plane to Quito, Ecuador!! We arrived late at night and went straight to bed. The next day we had decided to go to this town called Baños where we could do a jungle tour from. One slight problem - the volcano that towers over the town was erupting, and although we definitely are thrill seekers and considered it for a little while, in the end we decided to go to Tena instead (Although it could have been fun!!!). So we spent Monday on the bus there.....

We got up early Tuesday to start our jungle adventures into the Amazon basin. We arrived in our really lovely lodge in the middle of the jungle, dumped our stuff and went off into the jungle for a 6 hr hike. We learnt about alot of the medicinal plants in the jungle which I found really interesting!! We also painted our faces with the sap from trees (why not! see picture above). Its the rainy season here at the moment so it was a ver slipper, wet walk but we still enjoyed it. We had lunch in the local indigenous village and had fun with the kids there - they were really intrigued by us!!

Wednedsay we went for another walk up to a Lookout over the jungle - really beautiful!!! We also ate ants (as you do) and covered our hands with termites!! In the afternnon we went tubing down the river which was really relaxing =) Thursday we did a bit of bird watching, and visited another indigenous community. In the afternoon we went to another town close by to visit the monkey island there - they were really cute until they tried to attack us for our afternoon tea!!! We got back to Tena that night and out Jungle adventures were over =(

Friday we caught the bus back to Quito and went out that night - it was interesting to say the least!! Anna managed to get herself caught on fire - long story, anyway its not as bad as it sounds but it was pretty freaky!! Yesterday we had a nice afternoon looking at the street art in town and wandering around markets in the main park of town, very nice. We went last night (my last Sat night in South America!!) and found a really fun club where we danced the night away.

So I have today in Quito, and tomorrow morning I fly back to Buenos Aires and then the next day I fly back to Sydney!!! Cant believe my trip is almost over!! Looking forward to seeing everyone at home though =)

The Carribean Colombia.....

Hi guys!

I think I left you last updated on New Years Eve - we had a lovely day that day as a group of us took a boat out to Playa Blanca - a beautiful white sand beach close to Cartagena. It was a nice day to finish of the year! That night we went out with everyone for a nice dinner and then saw in the new year watching fireworks over the water (although i´m sure theydidn´t compare to Sydneys!). We spent the first early hours of 2008 dancing away.

New Years day we chilled out and treated oursleves to a yummy lunch. We strolled along the Malecon and took in a lovely sunset. Wednesday we had an adventure in a mud volcano! (see picture above). It was a really wierd sensation being in there but very cool =)

Last Thursday we travelled away from Cartagena (although we really like didthere, a very nice city) to Taganga. Taganga is a small fishing village with a real chilled out hippy vibe. We spent a few days there partying and chilling out on the beach which was nice.

Monday we travelled to Parque Tayrona - a beautiful national park where the tropical jungle meets beautiful beaches (see last 2 pics above). It was definitely one of the highlights of my trip, we had a great time there. We spent our days wandering along the beaches, exploring the jungle and slept in hammocks at night!!!

We got back to Taganga yesterday and are just killing time waiting for our bus to Bogota, the capital of Colombia. After that we´re off to Ecuador! Colombia is really amazing though, and we´re really enjoying it here....