August 4 - 8 - La Paz, Bolivia

I took the morning bus to La Paz and arrived there around 1pm. I decided to head to a hostel called Wild Rover which had been recommended to me by a friend. To get there I first tried grabbing a cab. When I got in another man got in right after me to share the cab which made me uneasy. About 30 seconds later, the cab driver stopped to pick up another man in plain clothes who claimed to be the police and demanded to see my passport. Luckily I always travel with my bag in the back seat with me and had heard about that particular scam where they show a phoney badge and procede to rob you off your passport. I immediately got out of the cab with my bag and after about 10 minutes of walking was able to find another taxi to take me to the hostel.

Cholitas wrestling

Once again I arrived right in the middle of some sort of celebration/holiday and the taxi had to drop me off several blocks away from the hostel because of a parade. I had to make my way through the parade and crowd to get to the hostel. Luckily when I got there they had a bed for me and I was finally able to relax. I met the girl sleeping above me named Lauren who was from England. We talked for about an hour and then I went upstairs to the bar in the hostel to check my emails. Lauren met me up there after about an hour and we started talking about our plans for the next week. She had planned on staying a few days in La Paz, doing the Death Road tour and then going down to do the Salt Flats tour. Seeing as that was exactly what I had planned, we decided to travel together. We spent the rest of the day and night in the hostel at the bar and went to bed a little late and a little drunk...

The Death Road

The next day we wandered around and looked for a place to book the Death Road bike tour. After booking it we decided to join some of the guys from our dorm to a Cholita wrestling match. Basically it was like the WWE except with fat old Bolivian men vs traditionally dressed Bolivian women. It was quite ridiculous and slightly entertaining because it was so ridiculous but wasn't as great as everyone had told us it would be. That night we hung out at the bar for a bit but didn't drink and went to bed early so that we would be ready for the morning.
The Death Road was the most dangerous road in Bolivia, having an average of 26 vehicles per year veering off the cliffs, until 4 years ago when a newer and safer highway was built. It is now used almost solely for biking. Riding down it we could see why it was so dangerous. The first part of it was very narrow, sometimes only wide enough for one vehicle,and it was rough and gravely with a steep cliff on one side and a rock wall on the other. The bike ride took about 4 or 5 hours in total and was really nerve racking but also a lot of fun. After the ride we had dinner and a swim and then bused it back to La Paz. We spent the evening once again in the bar with everyone we had met at the hostel.

The Death Road

The next morning we went to book our tour of the Salt Flats. We were not very productive as we were both hung over. After we booked it, we went back for naps and then once again back to the bar in typical Wild Rover style.
The last morning we packed up our things and checked out. The hostel let us store our bags there since our bus wasn't till 7pm. We went to the Witch's Market with some friends but didn't buy anything even though we needed warm clothes for the Salt Flats tour. That evening we had to say bye to everyone we met and headed to the bus station. We didn't actually see much of La Paz, which I'm not too upset about because I'm not a huge fan of cities. I met a lot of cool people and had a great time at the hostel. It was good to have some fun after the few days of shit that I had been through before. It got me somewhat back into the mood to travel and got my mind off of the tragedy that happened back home.

August 3 - Copacabana, Bolivia

The beach at Copacabana

Copacabana is located on the southern part of Lake Titicaca which is the largest high altitude lake in the world. Unfortunately the town isn't very nice. It was crowded because of some sort of celebration and there was garbage everywhere. I also had the misfortune of picking up a clingon in the Cusco bus station that followed me around everywhere I went. I decided to take the early morning bus out to La Paz the next day not only to get away from the annoying person following me around, but also because Copacabana kinda sucked. I knew most people just go there to get to Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca and can now see why. There was nothing there and it was dirty.  It didn't help that I was not in good spirits but I was pretty eager to leave.

August 2 - Cusco, Peru

I woke up early and checked my emails to find out tragically that one of our friends from back home had passed away from a climbing accident. I had to break to the news to Stace who was obviously devistated since Jane had been one of her best friends for years. We headed out to make the arrangements for Stace to head back to Calgary to be able to make it to the funeral. I decided to stay but was also very upset even though I wasn't really close with Jane. I spent the rest of the day in an internet cafe trying to figure if I wanted to continue travelling or even where to go after that. I decided to head to the bus station, see what destinations were available and decide from there. When I got to the bus station I asked around about buses and decided to go to Copacabana, Bolivia on a night bus.

July 29 - August 1 - Inca Jungle Trail and Machu Picchu

Stace at the beginning of the bike

Our day started out with a bus ride to the highest point of the entire trek at around 4100m where we would bike down from. They supplied the bikes and gear, and we followed the guide down the winding mountain road with the bus following behind. I was a little worried because a few people we had talked to said their guide didn't let them go fast, but that was not the case with our guide. He actually let us go as fast as we wanted with only a few stops where we waited for the others to catch up. He even let me use his bike after I got a flat tire about 2 hours into the ride. Both Stace and I ripped down the entire thing which was super fun.
We road 30 minutes by bus to the next town called Santa Marta after the bike ride where we had lunch and got checked into a hostel. It was an early night for both Stacy and I.

View during the second day

The second day was a hike to the next town called Santa Teresa. We were told it was 6 to 7 hours of walking, which turned out to be more like 3 to 4 hours of walking with another 3 hours of stopping and waiting. There was about a 1 hour break after the first hour of walking where the guide told us about the local plants they were used by the incas for different spiritual and medicinal purposes. He painted our faces with a paint made of a local plant, we dressed up in traditional clothing and tried some of drinks made with chicha which is a alcohol made from corn. We also tried chewing chicha which is still used by indigenous people for treating altitude sickness, combating hunger, increasing energy and treating stomach aches. Unfortunately we all ended up with really sore tongues as I think the substance they chew with the leaves to help extract the medicinal properties actually caused some sort of chemical burn on our tongues. However it was interesting experiencing the numb mouths and throats that comes with chewing the coca leaves.

Trail on the second day

At the end of the day of hiking an inca trail along a steep cliff and then along side the river, we came to some hot springs where we stopped for an hour. Not the nicest hot springs I've been to but still pretty nice after an afternoon of hiking. We caught a bus after the hot springs up the hill to the town where we stayed the night.
The next morning we had the option of doing a zipline or skipping it and meeting the group at the next town later that morning. Since Stacy wasn't interested and I had already done a ton of ziplining we decided to skip it. Unfortunately there were only two other options: take a bus to the next town, or walk 3 hours along the same narrow dusty road as the buses. Not being overly enthused by the idea of inhaling diesel fumes and dust for three hours we decided to take the bus. We arrived early at a place called hydroelectrica to wait for the group after they finished ziplining. There we found a small little tienda that served coffee and tea in the shade where we veged out for a few hours while we waited.

Tienda at Hydroelectrica

When the group arrived, we had lunch and started on a 3 hours walk along side the train tracks to the town below Machu Picchu called Agua Calientes. It was a gorgeous and easy walk as it was full of vegetation and cool rock formations and completely flat. We arrived in Agua Calientes around 4 and checked into our hostel where Stace and I had our own room, private bathroom and hot shower. We had dinner that evening where the guide told us our options of either getting up at 4am and hiking up stairs built by the Incas for an hour to Macha Picchu in the dark, or taking the bus at around 5am. Naturally Stacy and I chose the hike and am so thankful we did.

Machu Picchu

We got up at 4am, packed up our big bag which we were able to leave at the hostel, grabbed our day bags and started on the hike at 4:30am. It was pitch dark except for the little bit of light from the full moon overhead. Luckily both of us had our headlamps so we were set. We had to pace ourselves on the way up as we didn't want to tire ourselves out for the hike later up the Machu Picchu Mountain that overlooks the site. We made it up the hill in about 45 minutes when it was still dark. We were also right in the clouds which was really neat. We had to wait about 30 minutes for the site to open, then about another 30 minutes for our guide to arrive. When he did, we got a 2 hour tour of the site which was very informative. We then headed up the mountain overlooking the site. It was another 45 minute hike up another steep set of stairs. It was tough, but worth it. There was an incredible view of not only the site, but the surrounding mountains and valleys. We had lunch and started heading back down.

Stace and I on Machu Picchu Mountain

Stace was really hot from the sun so decided to take a nap in the shade on one of the terraces at the site while I ran around like a child in a playground to see more of the site. After about an hour or so, I was convinced I had seen every little nook and cranny in the site and we started heading back down to Agua Caliente. Once down we had to waste about 5 hours until we could catch the train back. We sat around watching the Olympics, then wandered around the market. At 9:30pm, we caught the train which brought us about half way, then caught a bus the rest of the way. We arrived in Cusco exhausted around 1:00am and headed straight back to the hostel that we had stayed in before we left for the tour.

July 27- 29 - Cusco, Peru

We left Sam and the hostel in Lima at around 6am to head to the airport. When we arrived there and went to check in for our flight, we discovered that I had stupidly booked the tickets for August 27th instead of July 27th. We then had to wait in line behind another couple who had done the exact same thing to change our flight. By the time they figured out if there was room on that days flight for Stace and I, it was already 8:15 am and the plane left at 8:45 am. We had to pay full price for the new tickets in cash, so I had to run to the nearest ATM to withdraw. Being in such a rush and a dolt I forgot to grab my credit card back from the ATM. By the time I realized it, it was too late and was already gone and we had to literally run to catch our flight. We just made it.
When we arrived in Cusco, we found a hostel as quickly as possible (although it took some searching because they were all full) and then headed out to find a phone to cancel my card. It was early afternoon when we finally had everything sorted. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around Cusco to try to find a McDonald's because we were both craving chicken nuggets. We finally succeeded, although they were cold and not overly satisfying. The rest of the evening was spent lying in bed chatting because Stacy didn't feel well (but not from the nuggets).

The next morning we checked out of that hostel because we weren't overly impressed with it and walked around trying to find a new one. Because it was the national holiday and it was a Saturday, almost everything was full. At noon, we met up with my friend Steph who I had travelled with through Columbia and she told us of the hostel she had found. We decided to head to the market, grabbed some food, booked our Machu Picchu tours for the next day and the checked into the same hostel as Steph. We went out for an early dinner that night since all of us had to be up early the next morning for the tours. Steph had decided to do a different longer tour than us and had to be up by 4am. Stacy and I had booked a 4 day and 3 night Inca Jungle Tour to Machu Picchu. We were all very excited that evening for our tours the next day. We headed back to the hostel early and off to bed.

July 26 - Lima, Peru

Lima

Sam, Stacy and I arrived in Lima early in the morning and were able to check into our hostel and take a nap. We woke up around 10am and decided to check out the area which looked quite nice and was not what I was expecting. We also planned to check out a nearby market to buy some souvenirs since Sam had to fly out the next day. We wandered around Lima till we found the market, shopped for a few hours then went for dinner. After dinner we headed back to the hostel to pack our bags and Stace and I got ready to head to Cusco the next morning. Not an overly exciting day to report about but it was nice to actually get some nice things to send home.

July 23-25 - Huaraz and Chavin de Huantar, Peru

Layla, Sam and Stacy on the way to Chavin

After a long night bus to a city called Casma, and another 3 hour collectivo ride we arrived in Huaraz. The city is situated 3000m above sea level in the mountains between the parallel Cordillera Blanca and Cordillera Negro mountain chains of the Andes. To get there we had to come over a pass of the smaller Cordillera Negro to an amazing view of the underlying city with the snow peaked mountains of the Cordillera Blanca looming in the background. It was breathtaking and I was surprised to be happy about seeing snow again.
We found a really basic hostel to stay in that ended up being a little frustrating but was okay. We had naps and then woke up to go get dinner. Layla had decided to come with us, and when we went out for dinner was able to explain what a few of the dishes were since she had spent the last 3 months in Peru. We ordered a common dish of cow heart on a skewer that was delicious. After dinner we found a place to book a tour to a pre-Inca archaeological site called Chavin de Huantar the next morning.

Chavin de Huantar

We left for the site at 9am by shuttle. On the way we stopped at a lake for some pictures before driving through a tunnel to the east side of the Cordillera Blanca. After driving down a steep switchback road down the valley, we finally arrived at the site. It was a site that I had studied while in university and had written a paper comparing it to another site in Peru so I knew a lot about the history of the site and the layout. It was really neat to actually see it in person. The tour guide was also really good and told us a lot about the site. After about 2 hours at the site, we stopped for lunch, passed quickly through the local museum and then headed back to Huaraz. 

The next day was a holiday in Huaraz as it celebrated the anniversary of the creation of the province. There was a huge parade and tons of people in the streets. There was lots of awesome street food, people dressed in traditional garb and music and dancing. We spent the day taking in the festivities, perusing the market and trying a few of the local restaurants in the area. That night Layla had to catch a bus back to Trujillo, while Stacy, Sam and I caught a later night bus to Lima. The Chavin site has always been something that I've wanted to see ever since I've learned about it and it was worth the trip to Huaraz just to see it. To add to that, the festival was really cool and the scenery with the mountains was amazing. It was definitely worth seeing.

Parade in Huaraz

July 18-22 - Mancora, Peru

Loki Hostel

We caught day bus to Guayaquil from Banos expecting to stay the night in Guayaquil. However when we got to the bus station in Guayaquil we found that there was an overnight bus into Mancora, Peru so we decided to take it. It was about 5 hours to the Peruvian border, where after about 7 years of dreaming about it, I finally got a peruvian stamp in my passport! It was about another 4 hours to Mancora and we arrived at about 5am. Luckily we had made a reservation at one of the hostels there that sounded really nice and they let us lock our bags up there and sleep in the beds by the pool till we could check in at 7am.
Shortly after we checked in we met the two other girls staying in our dorm, Layla and Miranda. That day we hung around the pool and had a few drinks, checked out the beach and wandered around town. That evening we met two Irish guys and an American guy travelling together. The next 3 days basically consisted off the 8 of us lounging around by the pool drinking and joking around. It was an amazing 4 days and it was nice to chill out in a fun place with Sam since she only had 2 weeks total for her trip. It was also really nice to chill out at the beach one last time on this trip since after Mancora I will be heading inland and into the mountains.

Stacy, Miranda, Layla and Sam

July 14-17 - Banos, Ecuador

View point at the Spa

We arrived in Banos after a 4 hour bus ride from Quito. It was Saturday night and the downtown area was really busy. Banos is not only a popular tourist destination for international tourists but also for local Ecuadorians. Because we arrived on a long weekend it was packed and we had to check out a couple of different hostels before we found one that wasn't full. We went to a nearby restaurant and then went to bed early.
The girls really wanted to get a massage, so the next morning we went to a nearby spa and got a mudbath, facial and massage package. Before the mudbath started, we were told to go for a walk around the spa grounds. There were a few different stops, one where we were told to scream at the top of our lungs to release anger and build up bad energy, another overlooking a river to reflect on errors we've made. Basically we just joked around and had some laughs since laughter is always the best medicine :)!

Sam and I canyoning

The mudbath consisted of covering ourselfs with warm mud and dancing around like fools for a half an hour to some ridiculous dance videos. The massage was a really good strong massage which was well needed after two months of sleeping on bad mattresses. The facial was really relaxing and was also badly needed.
We ate at a local burger stand that night and had an amazing burger and then went to book a canyoning tour for the next morning. We bought some liquor and had a few drinks in our room before passing out.
In the morning, Sam and I woke up early for the canyoning tour. The tour consisted of repelling down some waterfalls, sliding down natural waterslides and ziplining. It took about two hours and was very exhilarating! Sam and I were both incredible tired and headed back to the room to meet up with Stace and have a nap. We woke up around 4, went and grabbed some dinner at the local market which costs us $2.50 for a huge plate of food and bought our bus tickets to head to Guayaquil the next morning. The rest of the evening consisted of laughing at silly photos we had taken since Quito and having a few drinks.We went to bed and got up early to make our way to Mancora, Peru.

Market meal for $2.50

July 12-14 - Quito, Ecuador

At the equator

I flew from Cali to Quito on the evening of the 12th while still trying to recover from my last night out in Cali. When I arrived at the airport I had to wait for two hours for my two best friends, Sam and Stacy, to arrive from Calgary. I was so happy to see them when they arrived! We took a shuttle to the hostel that we had booked, meet the people in our dorm and went to bed.
The view from the hostel the next morning was spectacular. We were staying in the old part of the city and had a great view from the rooftop terrace. We had a clear view of the nearby basilica, the surrounding colonial style buildings and the view point.

View from hostel

After breakfast we went with one of the guys in our dorm to the equator. We had lunch, then took a tour at the equator and learned about all the weird things that happen there. The water flows straight down on the line of the equator, you lose strength because the force of gravity is less and you lose balance on the line. There were a few other demonstrations and some information about the native tribes there. After the tour we headed back to our hostel, had a few drinks and went to the city center for the evening for more drinks and some food.

The next day we went to a local artisan market, then caught a bus to Banos. Quito was a beautiful city but after seeing so many colonial cities in Colombia I was starting to find them redundant.

July 10-12 - Cali, Colombia

Market

We arrived around 10pm in Cali and headed straight for a nearby hostel and straight to bed. The next morning I decided that instead of rushing out the evening and doing about 20 hours of buses and border crossings that I would slurge a little and booked a flight to Quito from Cali. I had to meet two of my closest friends in Quito the evening of the 12th, which meant with the flight I was able to stay one more evening in Cali. Cali is famous for its salsa dancing scene and was something I definitely wanted to experience.
We spent the day first at a local market grabbing food for the day, then walked over to the old colonial area of town called San Antonio. When we got there we were a little dissapointed. It wasn't anything spectacular and we had seen a lot of much nicer colonial towns in Colombia prior to it. As we were walking through the area it started pouring rain so we ran into the closest cafe to escape it. We order coffees and were delighted to see that they had puzzles there. So for the next 2 and a half hours Steph and I sat on the floor of a cafe and worked on a puzzle.

Steph with the puzzle

After we finished, we headed back to the hostel, made a yummy salad from the veggies that we had bought at the market and got ready to go out to dance. We wandered down the street that was suppose to be the best place in the area for salsa clubs but unfortunately it wasn't very busy. We still managed to find an alright bar and stayed out till 3am trying to learn how to dance. It was an awesome evening!
The next day I had to say goodbye to Steph as she had a little more time in Colombia than I and really wanted to see San Agustin, a really cool looking archaeological site, that I was kinda upset that I had to miss. I had been traveling with Steph along with other mombers of the boat ride from Panana for all of Colombia. I was definitely upset to see her go. But luckily I had the arrival of my friends from Calgary to look forward to!
My flight left at 7pm out of Cali. I was a little upset to be leaving Colombia but excited to get to Quito. Colombia was beatiful, the locals were friendly, there were plenty of fun outdoor activies to do, I tried so many new things I have never experienced before and had the pleasure of travelling with so many awesome people. It was for sure one of my favorite countries in Latin America and I hope one day I get to come back and do the things I unfortunetaly had to miss.

View of Cali

July 9-10 - Salento, Colombia

We arrive in Salento after an overnight bus to Bogota, followed by a 7 hour bus right to Armania and another hour long ride to Salento. The girl I was travelling with really wanted to see it and it sounded interesting so that's why I decided to go. We found a hostel and went out for some food and tried to decide what to so the next day. There were bikes available for rent but they were faily expensive so we decided the next we would go for a walk/hike in a nearby park.
We got up early the next morning and headed out for the hike. We only walked for about 3 hours in total but it was really beautiful. A really friendly dog decided to join us at the beginning and escorted as the entire way there and back. There were also some weird palm trees that were suppose to be exclusive to the area.  After the hike we returned back to town and wandered around. There were plenty of local artist and artisans that had shops along one of the streets. At the end of the street theres was a really cool view point which we climbed up to. We got back to our hostel around 5 pm and grabbed our stuff to head out. It was a nice break from the busy schedule that we had been on with all the tours. It was quiet with gorgeous surroundings and had awesome coffee and desserts. I was definetely happy I had a chance to see it.

July 5-8 - San Gil, Colombia

San Gil

We arrived in San Gil at around 11am and headed for a hostel someone had recommended to us. We checked in and I headed straight for the pool which overlooked part of the city. All of the buildings in San Gil were white plaster with red clay tile roofs. It's high up in the mountains so the climate was a little cooler than the other places we had been in Colombia and it was a nice change. Later that afternoon, we wandered around the city a little looking for rafting companies to book white water rafting with for the next morning and ended up booking it through the hostel. That same night we went out to a watch a game called Tejo. It's kind of like horseshoes, except you throw rocks at a sac of gunpowder that explodes if you hit it. It's a very popular game here, and was interesting to watch.

After rafting

The next morning we went out around 9:30 am and took a 2 hour bus ride to the river. The guides gave us about a 30 minute safety talk before to explain what to do in case anyone fell out. In actually came in handy as I fell out on the second set of rapids, and then our entire raft flipped over on the 4th set of rapids. It was a little scary but everyone remembered what to do and within minutes we were all safely in our own raft again. The whole thing was a lot of fun although I was a little beat up by the end of it.
We went out that night to drink on a corner of the square in front of our hostel. It's a popular drinking spot in San Gil and there was a bar and liquor store on the corner that everyone hangs out around. After that we went to a local bar that was below a gas station. The drinks were so expensive though that we ended up getting a few beers from the gas station above, sitting outside of it and drinking with some locals.

View while paragliding

The next day I went with two other girls to a colonial town called Barichara. It was small and we were able to wander around it in about an hour but had an amazing view and fresh empanadas. We then walked for about an hour and a half down a cobblestone stone built in 1867 to another small colonial town called Guane. We hung around in the central park, had a few more fresh empanadas and tried Chicha, a traditional corn based alcohol that was common with the Incas. The Chicha was disgusting and the town was cute. We caught the bus back to town and took a night off and watched a movie.
One of the other girls and myself decided to leave the next day as I had to be in Quito by the 12th. We packed up our stuff and checked out but were able to leave our stuff at the hostel for the day. We decided to take the night bus which left at 10 pm so we still had a another full day in San Gil. So another friend and I decided that we wanted to try the paragliding. Unfortunately I had it in my head that paragliding was handgliding, so when I arrived at the spot and saw parachutes I was a little dissapointed. It was still fun and I got some great photos but it wasn't exactly the thrill I was hoping for.
When we got back I had dinner and got ready to leave. We left the hostel around 9:30 and had to say goodbye to the group that we had been traveling with since the 17th of June. It was kinda sad. We had had so many good times together and they were such a great group of people. We arrived at the bus station, hoped on a bus immediately and started on our first 7 hour bus ride to Bogota followed by another 10 hours of buses to our next destination: Salento.

June 30-July 4 - Taganga, Colombia

Beach in Taganga

After the trek 4 of us decided to grab some groceries and head straight to another town about 30 minutes away from Santa Marta called Taganga. It was suppose to be a cute little beach town with pretty beaches. When we got there it was evening. We checked into a hostel that was suppose to have a really good chef at the restaurant there, ditched our stuff and made banana splits for dinner. We met up with two of the girls from the boat that didn't come with us on the trek and had a few drinks and went out.
The next day we were all nursing hangovers. We hung around the hostel and met up with two other guys from the boat (there was now 8 of us again). We had a really good filet mignon that night at the restaurant to celebrate Canada day and went to bed early.

View from Tayrona Park

We were getting ready to leave for another town the next morning when one of the girls checked out the scuba diving and found a really good deal which involved scuba diving in the afternoon and staying in a nearby national park called Tayrona Park in a little hut on the cliffs. We all decided to do it. Although everyone else was certified, one of the other girls and myself were not as it was our first time diving. We went off to another location for the first dive with an instructor who showed us how to use the equipment and the basics of diving. We went down for a short 30 minute dive with him and saw a bunch of different fish, corals and eels. After that we met back up with our group and all went down together for a second dive which was deeper but we didn't see as much. It was an awesome experience and makes me want to go get certified but unfortunately I don't have the time or the money to do so right now.
After the dives we headed back to the house where the guy living there cooked us dinner and we had a few drinks. I slept outside in a hammock overlooking the ocean on a cliff. So great!
In the morning we walked about 30 minutes to a nearby beach and spent a couple of hours there. We headed back in the afternoon and caught a boat back to Taganga. We then grabbed a couple of taxis back to Santa Marta to the bus station where we took an overnight bus to the next town, San Gil.

June 26-30 - Cuidad Perdida, Colombia

The morning of the 26th, we packed up what we needed for the trek and headed out around 9:30 am. After about a 2 hour drive we stopped in a small town called Machete that we would start the hike from for lunch. Around 1, we started. The scenery was absolutely stunning and we were able to stop for a short swim near the start of the hike. Around 4 it started to pour rain. For the next 2 hours we had to hike soaking wet through the rain trying to make it to the first camp before night. We even had to cross a river that was up to our waist with a rope. We made it to the first camp just as it was starting to get dark. We ate dinner and headed straight for our hammocks to sleep.
We hiked down to a beautiful waterfall the next morning before breakfast. After that we returned to camp, had breakfast and started walking to the next camp. It turned out to be only a two hour walk for us because the next camp after that one was full so we had to stop there. However there was a nice spot for swimming to the river next to the camp, and it was only the 7 of us staying there which was nice.

The group with our guide

We hiked to the camp at the base of Ciudad Perdida the next day. It was only about a 5 or 6 hour hike but it was all hills and was beautiful. When we got to the camp we were all happy to see that we would all get beds that night instead of hammocks.

Hammocks at the first camp

On day 4 of the trek we finally made it up to Cuidad Perdida. The ruins consisted of a bunch of clustered circular platforms. Apparently each family would build a platform and build their house on top. Other members of the family would then build their homes next to them so each cluster was inhabited by a family. It was a interesting site and the view from the top platforms was breathtaking. The site took us about 3 hours to see and we were back to the camp by around 10:30am. We had breakfast and headed back out to the camp we stayed at the second night. Along the way I saw three snakes beside the traill, which was the first time I've seen a snaked in the wild. Apparently one of them was deadly too but I just kept my distance from all of them.  It ended up being our longest day and my knees were definitely feeling it by the end.

Cuidad Perdida

The last day I was tired, glad to be done but really enjoyed the entire trip. The city was really cool, the hike was beautiful and I was with a really fun group of people.

June 24-26 - Santa Marta, Colombia

After a few days in Cartagena we all headed down to a town called Santa Marta about 4 hours away where we would book the tour to go to a site called "the Lost City" or Ciudad Perdida. When arrived in the afternoon, found a nice hostel that could fit all of us. We went out to a couple of travel companies that did tours to the lost city and booked for the 26th.
The next day we basically just hung around, went to the beach and ate street food. Santa Marta wasn't the city but it did have really good street food. The beaches weren't that pretty either, but I think I have been spoiled on this trip in regards to beaches and now my expectations are high. I found the beaches to be crowded, dirty and too touristy.

June 22- 24 - Cartagena, Colombia

We arrived in Cartagena at around 5pm and all decided to try to get into the same hostel. We found a street that had plenty of hostels on it and had to split up the group a bit but were all in close proximity. The next couple of days consisted of wandering around the city which is a beautiful old colonial city. Lonely planet claims it is the most beautiful and romantic city in South America and I wouldn't doubt it. It was really pretty. We also managed to catch a couple of soccer matches and sunsets.

On our last full day there, we decided to all go to a near by mud volcano that was about an hour away. We took a taxi to the nearest bus station, caught a local bus out to a small town close to the volcano and caught some motorbike taxis to the volcano. The volcano was basically just dried mud that had solidified after years of the mud flowing over the side. The middles of the volcano was filled with a weird clayey mud that you were able to go sit in. It was the oddest feeling biggest you float on top and can't sink even though the mud is very deep. It was also suppose to be very good for the skin, which seemed to be true because all our skin was really soft after. We hoped out after about 30 minutes in the mud, cleaned off in the nearby lake and caught the motorbike taxis out back to catch the bus. When we arrived at the place to catch the bus, the bus was there and about to leave but we still had to wait for one more friend so the bus driver actually went to opposite way than his route to go meet and pick up our friend! So awesome!

Mud Volcano

We all got back to Cartagena and packed up our stuff to head out the next morning. We had to say goodbye to a couple of people from the boat ride which kinda sucked but most of us were able to stick together. I think Cartagena has been the prettiest city I've been to in all of Latin America. It was nice to be in such a beautiful city with such good company!

Everyone floating in the mud!

June 18-22 - San Blas Islands, Panama

We arrived in Portobelo, Panama around 2 in the afternoon to meet up with the captain of the Wild Card boat that we would be taking through the San Blas Islands and into Colombia. It was a five day trip, three spent on the islands and two days of sailing to Cartagena, Colombia. We all met up with the captain, met the other people that we would be sailing with and boarded the boat. We set off sailing around 4pm and not long after were able to see a couple of dolphins swimming past our boat. We arrived at our first destination during the night, although everyone was sleeping when we arrived.

Kuni village

The next morning all of us woke up to a beautiful island. The water was crystal clear and an amazing green color. The sand on the islands was perfect. We started off the morning with a swim in the ocean, then moved onto another island with a group of indigenous people living there called the Kuni. We wandered around for a about a half an hour on this tiny island to see how they lived. It was very small and didn't take long. All of the women were still in traditional garb and they all lived in little one room huts.

The next stop was at an island with a ship wreck off shore that was really good for snorkeling. Reefs had colonized the wreck and there were plenty of different fish living in around it. We even spotted a lion fish! We then quickly headed to another island with even more amazing snorkeling, which is pretty much all I did the entire day.

The island we had our bonfire on

Our last stop on the next day was at an island that had tons of starfish around it. It was the most beautiful place I've been in my life. The captain anchored the boat close enough to the island so we could easily swim back and forth from the boat to the shore. We spent the day doing exactly that and just hanging out on the beach. At night we were served a delicious lobster dinner and then headed over to a nearby island for a bonfire. The island was like one out of those cartoons where people get stranded: it had two palm trees in the center and you could literally walk around it in 60 seconds. 




The next day in the afternoon we set off to Cartagena, Colombia. Although we had good weather, the seas were a little rough and the majority of us were feeling a little sea sick. For me the sickness went away if I slept on my back so I spent the evening on deck on the bean bags and slept. The next day consisted of napping on deck and sun tanning. We arrived in Cartagena around 5pm and decided to all head to the same hostel. The boat ride was one of the best experiences I've had so far in Central America and if anyone is looking for the most beautiful beaches in the world, I think I found them!

June 15-18 - Panama City, Panama

Casco Viejo

I took a morning bus to Panama City from Bocas del Toro and arrived around 6 in the evening. I ended up catching a cab with three other people all hoping to get a bed at a the same hostel. When we arrived there, there was only room for one so the two other girls, Paula and Izabelle, and I made our way to the nearest hostel from there. It was simple but clean and we all shared a room. I also ran into someone I had met in Bocas.
I woke up early the next morning to explore the old part of the city called Casco Viejo. All of the buildings were old colonial style and most were under repair since they were falling apart. It actually reminded me a lot of Havana.

Skyline of Panama City

After wandering around the old part of the city for several hours I walked downtown. The downtown was very modern and a lot of people said it looked like the Miami skyline. It was an interesting contrast between the old and new parts of the city which were side by side, only separated by about a kilometer long walkway/freeway. From Casco Viejo I decided to walk down the path next to the ocean to get to downtown. I then met the three from my hostel room at a pub in the downtown to watch the soccer match. After that we headed up to the Hard Rock hotel to their pool which overlooked the city.

Isabelle, Paula and Ian at the Hard Rock

Pool at the Hard Rock

Our last day there Paula, Izabelle and myself decided to try the city touring bus. Unfortunately it poured all day, so we had no interest in actually getting off the bus to see any of the sites. Instead we decided to head to the biggest mall for lunch at the food court and then back to the hostel. When we arrived back, we managed to book some spots on a boat called "Wild Card" that was making its way from Portebelo, Panama to Cartagena, Colombia the next day. We packed our things and woke up early the next morning to head to Portebelo.