Taganga

Hello everyone,

Unfortunately I can not show any pictures this time as we did our scuba divers license. I took pictures with my actioncam but we went a bit too deep I guess. Some water came in and therefore it does not respond for the time being... 

Nevertheless we had a fun time and can call ourselves SDI open water divers now 💪🏻

I personally love diving so I couldn’t have enjoyed the week any more. 

Taganga Beach Sunset

Happy students and our diver master Sebastian. Did the license at Reef Shepherd. Has been the right choice!

Felipe and I are now enjoying a few relaxed days until I will leave Sunday to Mexico!

Halftime is over already so see you soon! 

Hannes

Santa Marta & the Lost City

Hey ho

As announced last week Felipe and I headed to Santa Marta to start our 4 day hiking trip to the Ciudad Perdida/Lost City. We had a great and exhausting trip especially as our legs still had been tired of 4 days carnival. Waking up everyday at 5 am did not improve this but in the end we did it. 

The path has been beautiful and the views have been terrific but nevertheless I would not do this again. It is ridiculously expensive meaning that most Colombians can’t even afford it themselves. The agencies have agreed on a price (can’t do it without one) and therefore it is made to get as much money of tourists as possible. It is a cultural good of Colombian history and therefore should in my opinion be available to everyone especially to the people of the country. 

Unfortunately all you can do is boycott it but then you miss this:

Landscape has been beautiful 

Natives village

Native and his (to be recognized by the way they carry their bag) coca leaves

Entrance to the Lost City: Commercial center

Religious center

Other perspective on Lost City 

Center for Handcrafted Goods

We did it!

Goodbye Jungle

Now I am looking forward to getting my divers license. 

Love to everyone 

Hannes

Bogota, Cartagena and Carnival in Barranquilla

Hello everyone, 

Very late this time but I did want to put carnival in one blog entry therefore it needed to wait until now. In Bogota (coldest city in Colombia) Felipe, my Chilean brother, joined my travels so from now on I am not alone for some days. Before he came, I had the chance to visit a football game which unfortunately was not as good as expected but still a great experience.

The stadium (very empty) - club: Santa Fe

Presidents Palace

The court which represents one of the worst and still unsolved crimes in Colombian history. A group of students took once as a way of protest everyone in there as hostages. Before that they had already robbed the army and got all their weapons. The government did not want to negotiate so instead the army went in with tanks and everything and killed everyone except for 12 people. They were brought to a house near by and never showed up again. 6 of their bodies have been recovered. The remaining bodies are still missing.

View on Bogota

Afterwards we left to Cartagena which is a city with a beautiful historical center for tourists but seems to be less pretty for living. Amazingly I met a friend whom I meet 5 month ago in Argentina. What a coincidence!

Beautiful old buildings and barely any traffic 

We were lucky to see a Colombian weeding

After Cartagena we left for the Carnival in Barranquilla. I first have been sad to not be in Brasil for Carnival but in the end I do not regret being in Colombia. We had a great time as the people are so friendly and happy. Everyone dances with everyone, throws flour and foam at others and simply has a good time. The parades were a bit disappointing as you watch them from a stand. Sitting kills lots of the atmosphere and also makes it appear so far away. I would have preferred more involvement as it was possible at the last day of the parade. 

2nd day: Folklore 

3rd day: Fantasy 

4th and last day: Death of Joselito 

Our crew for carnival

Next entry will be late again as we will leave tomorrow to the hidden city, a 4 day trek without internet... 

Hear you soon

Hannes 

Belem & Manaus

Well as I spent most of last week in the jungle, I barely had internet. Therefore my post is a bit late. Southamerica time 😉

Well last week I did the first major planning mistake. My plan was to go to Belem and take a boat to Manaus. I was thinking, that the boat tour would be touristic and therefore a great way to get to see the Amazonas. Unfortunately I didn’t read carefully what kind of boat tour I was planning to do. Not only would I needed to wait 3 days until I could take the 6 day tour to Manaus but also is the tour a simple ferry to Manaus. There is no road so the river serves as road. Also I was told that there are quiet a few pirates. Therefore I readjust my plan and took a flight the next day to Manaus from where I did a 3 nights/4 days Jungle tour. 

The jungle in Brasil is quiet alike the jungle in Bolivia. This time I have been a luckier. I got to see a sloth, parrots (and even the dance for convincing the female to pair with the male), a Tucan, monkeys, dolphins, caymans and spiders. 

Meeting of the water which is about 12 kilometers long (water does not mix because of different temperatures, current and acidity)

Sunset 🌅 

Cayman

We slept one night in the jungle - I nearly lost a finger during that night 😅

Speerfishing - 2 out of 4 (same quote as the native 💪🏻)

Rain season didn’t stop us to find a sloth! 

Thanks Brasil and everyone who joined my travels here for having an amazing time! It’s a fascinating country and I definitely can recommend traveling here! 

Now it’s time to say goodbye 👋 

Colombia I am coming!

Hannes