SmaviesAdventures

The time we saw some giant Colombian knockers The Old City Our last Colombian destination Cartagena was definitely a welcome break from the city life. Apparently this is THE honeymoon spot for Colombians. It is simply idyllic we stayed somewhere along the beach front between the airport and the old town, but so close we could walk to either. Dante the Dog Our accommodation was right on the sea front and contained a very friendly dog called Dante. At least he seemed friendly but he growled at you and wagged his tail whenever you stroked him, very mixed messages! But he was good company for our time there, most mornings greeting us with a wag of his tail and then following us around, he even tried licking the sand of our legs from the windswept beach outside. Colourful houses of Cartagena The town is an old fortress from the 1600s made from aquatic fossil stones from the surrounding area. It was originally a Spanish colony and later became a huge place for trade...

Don't Meddle with Medellin Parque Botero We've just had a week in Medellin, now we arrived late at night after a long bus journey, the story of our lives. But we're relieved to have a nice apartment in a nice part of town. Sometimes it varies when you've booked something online. Nevertheless it was a lovely large apartment. Metropolitan Cathedral On our first day we went to the main square to go and see the metropolitan cathedral, statues etc. On our way to the square we seemed to go through the 2/3 block radius of motorbike shops, where they had their wares and such everywhere, pulling apart bits of bike on the side of the road, painting scuff marks on tyres black again. Less well off people raiding the bins of these motorbike people for more scraps to sell on. In fact we came across a whole market of re-claimed items a lot of which seemed to be one shoe. I hadn't particularly noticed a band of one legged people in town, but I did see a lot of peo...

Sadly the final destination of our trip. Mexico is our 20th Country on our trip, marks our 5th Continent that we've traveled to and brings our trip to its final close. We will probably post a little more frequently as we are doing a fair few things in the Yucatan region of Mexico. Find below our posts on each destination. Merida Merida Cathedral Chichen Itza Trying out Pok ta Pok Tulum Ruins by the beach Puerto Morelos Puerto Morelos Lighthouse Overview European Ecstasy Adventures in Asia Pacific Paradise Southern South American Splendour Central Celestial Scenes Incan Delights Heading North

Bodacious Booties of Bogota Las Lajas Sanctuary We took a bus from Latagunga , switched at Quito and then on to Ipiales, all in all not a bad journey. Anywhoo we got to the border crossing, slightly confusing just working out which buildings to go into. The whole place was awash with poor Venezuelans who had been there for hours, their whole homes packed up in old suitcases and wrapped up in blankets as they waited in line to get their various medical injections and entry into Colombia/Ecuador. There must have been a couple of thousand refugees their children and dogs waiting to gain entry. For us it didn't take too long as we didn't want residency or have need of medical care. After escaping what was a bit of a tense atmosphere we took a cab to our hotel in Ipiales, a town just a stones throw from the border but one that has a magnificent cathedral. The Inside of the Cathedral The Cathedral is called Las Lajas sanctuary and its construction was inspired by a mira...