Vagabondjourney.com reported in August of 2010 that an international community of doners have agreed to pay Ecuador 3.6 billion dollars to not extract oil from the Yasuni Biosphere preserve that lies within their borders. This was at once a ground breaking initiative as well as a controversial one: some environmentalists think that this could be a new [...]
“These people are sick of tourists already,” my wife spoke about Colombia. I had to agree with her. All too often people are afraid to speak out against the opinion of the group they’re surrounded by. Nobody wants to be a buzzkill. “Colombia is great, Colombia is great,” is the most commonly opinion from travelers [...]
In Colombia, I didn’t have the space to set myself up for making my travels, for really digging into a place, a culture. I did not set up any interviews, only went out into the streets with a particular mission but a few times. My bags were always packed in this country, I was always [...]
While it was not my intent, if someone were to read through the Colombia articles on vagabondjourney.com they may conclude that I did not really have a good time in this country. I write what I feel in the moment, and this is subject to change as each hour, day, or week passes. I enjoyed [...]
Guillermo León Sáenz Vargas, otherwise known as Alfonso Cano, the latest leader of the FARC insurgents, was killed during a military raid of his mountain top hideout in Cauca, in the southwest of Colombia. Cano, a Marxist, lead the FARC since 2008 when their co-founder and legendary leader, Manuel “Sureshot” Marulanda, died of a heart [...]
CARTAGENA- Colombia- “Waste is big business,” spoke Cameroon’s delegate to the tenth meeting of the Basel Convention in Cartagena, Colombia. We were sitting at the breakfast table of a hotel, across from him sat the environmental secretary of Nepal, to his right was the delegate for Cambodia. These men were here with 115 other delegates [...]
These are all workers in the independent economy of Colombia. Otherwise known as hawkers, street vendors, shoeshine boys, and money changers these unregulated laborers sell their wares and offer their services to all who pass through the urban streets of this country.
“With the creation of the universe, the dance too came into being, which signifies the union of the elements. The round dance of the stars, the constellation of planets in relation to the fixed stars, the beautiful order and harmony in all its movements, is a mirror of the original dance at the time of [...]
CARTAGENA, Colombia- They call themselves the Asociacion de Artista Escemico de Cartagena, but visitors to this city best know them by their trademark black painted faces, black clothes, and black props. They are a troupe of performance artists that mime out caricatures from Cartagena’s history in the streets for pocket change. Doing their act solo [...]
If many of the police officers in Colombia appear to be disproportionately young, fresh faced, and non-threatening, it is because they are: many of the youthful looking men patrolling the streets of this country are not full fledged police officers but conscripts doing their term of national service. Each male in Colombia needs to register [...]
As I travel I pay special attention to the fishing methods of people living along coastal regions and inland lakes. Humans have been fishing since our species first wandered down to the oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers of out planet: we have been fishermen from day one. What is interesting to me is how little [...]
CARTAGENA, Colombia- “Is yellow fever common in Colombia?” I asked the vaccination specialist who was logging the pertinent details of my bio into a little yellow booklet that was sitting before her on a large desk. “No,” she replied sternly, “because we vaccinate.” “Is there malaria in Colombia?” I then asked. “No.” “Is there dengue fever?” [...]
Throughout the streets of Colombia you can find bicycles that have been rigged up with motors, essentially creating low horse power motorcycles with pedals. Putting a motor on a bicycle is perhaps the dream of any kid growing up in a bike riding culture, and I once tried in vain to put engines on my [...]
CARTAGENA, Colombia- Flooding is a part of life on the Colombian Caribbean. Each year the rains fall, the rivers rise, homes, business, people, whatever that is not securely fastened to the earth is carried away or other wise destroyed. When the floods come boats replace cars and people move to higher — or drier — [...]
CARTAGENA, Colombia- Upon entering Colombia I became aware of a great sucking sound emitting from the vicinity of my pant pockets. No, it was not the sound of me getting lucky, but the sound of my money leaving me — being taken away by the cost of living and traveling in a country that is [...]
Medellin, Colombia is fast becoming known as a center for cheap plastic surgery procedures in Latin America. Many tourist from all over the world are flying into this Colombian city to have their tummies tucked, their faces lifted, botox injected, their noses reshaped, breasts augmented, unwanted fat removed, lips made more plump, and even to [...]
CARTAGENA, Colombia- “I ran away from my country,” an Argentinian traveler spoke. His name was Alfredo, and he just opened up a little juice bar/ restaurant next to the Hotel Marlin in Cartagena. Like thousands of other travelers from his country, he came up to the northern stretches of Latin America, working when he can [...]
It is often difficult to communicate the positive and neutral experiences that you’ve had in a country when there are negatives thrown in as well. Humans perhaps have a propensity to focus on negative statements disproportionately more than positive ones. We seem to just expect tons of positives to be present in published travel writing [...]
Spirit Air to the rescue, $1,000 for family of three to fly from Colombia to Cancun, Mexico. I try to avoid Spirit Air because they are a budget airline of the worst sort: they advertise super cheap flights but then pull tricks like adding extra fees for anything and everything. But in this case, I was getting a little desperate. When I found Spirit Air fares that halved the competition, I caved in and bought them.
CARTAGENA, Colombia- I looked over a map of Latin America, plotted my position in Colombia, then looked for my next move. I would like to go to Mexico or Buenos Aires, but I have no exit strategy. I am going broke, I need to be in a place where my wife can teach English and [...]
CARTAGENA, Colombia- I watched an old American man — by old, I mean 65+ — stride into the lobby of the Marlin Hotel in Cartagena around midnight. After glancing upon his companions I could not help the word “Texas” from coming to my lips, for on one side of him was a prostitute, the other [...]
Colombia is full of hippies, or whatever you want to call the dreadlocked, often unwashed, more or less listless looking sect of traveler who seemingly come to the northern stretches of Latin America for the adventure, the cheap and readily accessible drugs, and the easy living. They are often from Argentina, traveling north, selling jewelry; but many [...]
SANTA MARTA, Colombia- “Who couldn’t like Santa Marta?” Wade Davis spoke in a film about the Kogi indigenous people of northeastern Colombia. My reply: “Me.” Against my own position that a traveler needs at least three days in any location to be warranted an opinion on it, my visit to Santa Marta lasted less than a half [...]
PALOMINO, Colombia- The Kogi are one of four indigenous groups in northeastern Colombia said to have descended from the ancient Tairona. Living in an area that stretches from the Caribbean sea up through the Santa Marta mountain range, the ecosystem of their range is perhaps the most diverse on the planet. At the Zukla hostel [...]
PALOMINO, Colombia- After a day on the beach of Palomino I was not plotting an escape but a way to stay there forever. I looked over at the hippie colony that formed in the bushes which sit on the cusp of the surf as I floated by in the gentle waves. They were living in [...]
TAGANGA, Colombia- I tried to walk down to the beach in Taganga but could only find the boats of tour companies and fishermen, restaurants and beer houses, comatose rasta men and clans of binder wielding touts blocking my path. I walked all the way down to the western edge of what would otherwise have been [...]
Hormigas culonas ants, food of Santander, Colombia SAN GIL, Colombia- It did not take long until I saw the arrays of little plastic containers stacked up in the shop windows of San Gil. They looked as if they were full of little black marbles, but they wern’t: they were full of ants. Big black dead [...]
SAN GIL, Colombia- I am unsure if I’ve ever been in a country outside of East Asia where it is common for so many people to work so often. I’ve been told that the employed Colombian will often work six days per week, but this has been told to me on multiple occassions by people [...]
CARTAGENA, Colombia- Crossing the street is the most dangerous thing a traveler can do. Forget thugs, cops, thieves, the military, earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, meteorites, sharks, lepers, street mobs with sticks, dudes with mustaches, it is cars and trucks that are the biggest obstacle to safe travel. It is a good thing that most all travelers [...]
This is an outline of a Copetran bus line scam that is pulled on tourists wanting to travel from San Gil to Santa Marta, Colombia. When you make your purchase to travel this route on Copetran you are given a ticke that says “Santa Marta” — exactly as it should — with the info that [...]
SAN GIL, Colombia- I watched a bicycler ride through Zipolite, Mexico with a sweet set up — a nice touring bike, store bought panniers, a pro style “third wheel” trailer, topped off with a nice big wicker sun hat upon his head. I chatted with him later on in a restaurant. His name was Jason Mcanuff, [...]
SAN GIL, Colombia- San Gil takes time to love. On arrival, this little city looks like just another traffic gridlocked, exhaust choked tick off the traveler’s trail through South America. But after a week or two, the onerous outer crust of this place begins to flake off, and a subtle, very amiable essence is revealed [...]
SAN GIL, Colombia- It is not possible to travel in Colombia without coming face to face witht the lulo. This little orange fruit with green innards — called naranjilla in Ecuador — is among the most popular in this stretch of South America. You go to the market, you see piles of lulo, you get [...]
MONGUI, Colombia- All Christmas colors — red, green, gold — Mongui is truly an idyllic pueblo at the end of the road in the highlands of Colombia. The place that you think of when visualizing a little town in the Andean highlands that is topped by ochre terracotta roofs, bottomed by grey cobble stone streets, [...]
MONGUI, Colombia- The rounds of the traveler communities in Colombia says that you can barter for the price of your bus tickets, and this is true. Each time you go to step foot on a full sized bus you can often come out with a 25 to 40% discount on your fare. If you can’t [...]
MONGUI, Colombia- “What, do soccer balls grow naturally around here?” I proclaimed in exasperation while searching for a place to eat in Mongui. “I’ve seen five places selling just soccer balls and not one restaurant.” When I was teetering on the verge of thinking that this little pueblo at the end of a road in [...]
The pitaya, or dragon fruit, is an excellent fruit that is cultivated throughout the arid regions of Latin America and the world. In Colombia, the pitaya is very popular, and can be purchased in most produce markets.
I met the perpetual traveler, Robin Reifel in a bus terminal in Tunja, Colombia. The world is full of travelers, yes, but very few have the desire to make the practice of itinerancy into an overblown lifestyle. Robin is one of the few.
When I’m in a Spanish speaking country, take it for granted that the dialogue that I have with the local people happened in Spanish. It is rendered on this travelogue in English, as this is the prime language of this website.
Cultural fatigue can be defined as a state of being where the small, adverse intricate of the culture begin to bother you out of reasonable proportion after living in another country for an extended amount of time. You may become culturally fatigued
MONGUI, Colombia- The ride from Villa de Leyva to Mongui, Colombia necessitates taking three buses, though all the rides are short. I put into place an old travel strategy: when given the choice between sitting in the front or back seats of a minibus, sit down right next to the driver. This entry is about how my family traveled from Villa de Leyva to Mongui.
Villa de Leyva is a well preserved colonial city in the highlands of Colombia. It is a good place to visit, but the surface elements of tourism hover above everything else. It has good places to eat, drink, great hiking, but there is something missing in this city: soul.
Do you know what the fruits in the above photo are? If not, then keep reading the Vagabond Journey Travelogue to find out. There is a new series being published here called The Fruit of South America, which will investigate a new and interesting fruit from South America each week. Follow the series in the [...]
There are over 2,000 different types of fruits in the world, and many of these have many variations — there are over 2,500 different kinds of mango alone. So it is my goal to document, describe, taste, and catalog as many of these fruits that I can on this travelogue in accordance to the locations where I find them growing.
A travelogue entry about how to travel by bus from Bogota to Villa de Leyva, Colombia. First, you must change buses in Tunja when going between these two cities. Expect to pay around 19,000 pesos total for the two buses. The total travel time is around four and a half hours.
How to eat vegetables when traveling? This is a good question as it is very common for travelers to become ill from eating fresh vegetables on the road that were not prepared properly. Find out how to eat vegetables when traveling without getting sick.
The ostrich opened its puppet like beak wide enough to deep-throat a grapefruit, stuck out its tongue, made to yawn, but instead shat a big load that splattered upon my boots. Appearing satisfied with this move, it rejoined its jowls together, cocked its head to the side, and stared me down with its ping pong [...]
BOGOTA, Colombia- “Is traveling to Bogota safe?” This is a common question that I’ve heard asked by various people throughout my travels in Latin America and the world. But to anyone who has ever walked down the streets of this city, a quick laugh followed by an exasperated “Are you kidding me?” may be an [...]
How to Keep from being Short Changed when Traveling I watched as a travel companion was short changed once in India in 2007. I was a couple steps too far removed from the situation to step in, and though I 99% knew what had happened a 1% glean of doubt was created by the vendor, [...]
BOGOTA, Colombia- When traveling you eat in a lot of new restaurants. You generally have no idea about any of these eateries before committing to a meal other than what you can ascertain from your own, lightning quick inspection. In point, you generally don’t know about a restaurant’s reputation, you don’t know if their food is good, you don’t [...]
Are you a Digital Nomad or an Economic Refugee? BOGOTA, Colombia- Digital nomads can recognize each other on sight. This is not to say that there is a secret hand shake, a uniform, a badge, a club card, an insignia or any sort of physical identifier. No, digital nomads can recognize each other because they [...]
BOGOTA, Colombia- The eleven dollar pre-pay taxi from the airport brought my wife, two year old daughter, and I into the heart of old Bogota’s old town. It was a little past 11PM on a Wednesday night. The streets were deserted, dark. What wasn’t torn up in construction projects looked to be in need of such ambition. [...]
A friend put the words “Iceland” and “deals” together in the same sentence yesterday. It made my wheels start spinning: why not Iceland? I am going to take a bicycle/ climbing/ camping on the sly trip this summer, and have been pondering destinations: Canada? The Northwest USA? South America? Why not Iceland? I went searching [...]
The following question is for VJT’s motorcycle travel correspondent, Bob L, and comes from a couple of readers who are planning a motorcycle trip in South America. Bob, My friend and I just graduated college and are planning a 4 month motorcycle trip to South America. We have some limited experience on motorcycles and have [...]
These are the days that must happen to you (also sold as Endless Horizons) by Dan Walsh Review by Rich Poulter Before I start this review I should fill you in on a little history which may explain my passion for this book. My dad is motorbike mad and when I was a kid he used [...]
Wild Coast: Travels on South America’s Untamed Edge by John Gimlette Review by Rich Poulter John Gimlette is a sometime Lawyer sometime Travel Writer and this is his fourth book but the first I have had pleasure of reading. He has been described as a “historian of the absurd” and is highly acclaimed by reviewers [...]
Ecuador Sells No Oil for 3.6 Billion Dollars The government of Ecuador has been threatening to damage their Yasuni National Park — which, reputedly, houses the region of highest biodiversity in the entire Western Hemisphere — with oil drilling for many years. Former heads of states, famous biologists, environmentalists, and the usual legion of poster [...]
Can’t Form an Opinion On Venezuela Dictatorship, I Have Not Yet Traveled To I have stated before that it is a prime folly to speak as if you know anything about a country that you have never been to. I try to follow this rule, but it is difficult: every traveler seems to hold places [...]
How do you plan to avoid visa costs and reciprocity fees in South America? Hello Todd, Thanks for the note. Simply put, we are just not going to go to the South American countries that are charging a lot for visas. It would be silly for us to pay 500 USD just to enter a [...]
SOSUA, Dominican Republic-We are back to publishing 50 photos a day on Vagabond Journey.com. The following are links to new travel photos from Chaya’s pre-Vagabond Journey travels. They encompass her travels in South Africa, Thailand, and Ecuador and are displayed on pages of 10 photos each.
ARGENTINA, South America- Okay, so I do feel a little bit guilty, relying on people’s hospitality, but what can I do? They’re just so damn hospitable!
SAN ANDRES DE GILES, Argentina- Argentina’s economy was built on farming, on its famous beef, exported to Europe by the shipload.
Taliban Brothel in Ecuador I just received the following transmission from Stubbs. It is from his-friend-Mike who is a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru: “hey show this one to wade if you see him. i d like to know his take as a journalist. also is it permissible to post something like this on a [...]
Travel to Latin America I should be leaving for Central America on Saturday- getting back to the grindstone. Walking down that long, winding Road. I am flying from JFK through Mexico City and into San Jose, Costa Rica. I do not want to be in Costa Rica for very long- I hope to go down [...]
Tattoos in Chile and Friends “No hay mal que por bien no venga.” There is no bad from which good does not come.-Old Latin American adage I have not been with my Chilean friends since those fateful days I was tramping around South America. In Santiago, goods and amenities are divided into their own towering [...]
Buy a DVD and support Grupo Alavío! By my old friend, Marie Trigona Grupo Alavío would like to send a special holiday greeting and give a special fund raising appeal. Keep the group’s video production and website Ágora TV up and running by purchasing a DVD. We are completely viewer-funded and volunteer based: your contributions [...]
Trust and Travel and the Complexities of AdventureMeknes, Morocco October 2, 2007Homepage: http://canciondelvagabundo.googlepages.comTrust is perhaps the hardest lesson for a traveller to learn. Knowing when and who to trust while travelling can mean the difference between a beautiful inter-cultural exchange and a boring night in a hotel room, enjoying a nice day of city strolling [...]
Upstate New YorkJuly 24, 2007 “He who does not travel does not know the value of men.”-Moorish proverb “Our nature lies in movement; complete calm is death.”-Pascal “To live in one land, is captivitie, to runne all countries, a wild roguery.”-Donne’ third ‘Elegie The “Cancion del Vagabundo” website is now up. It can be visited [...]
Upstate New YorkJuly 10, 2007 “. . . even a rolling stone requires an occasional handful of moss.”-Harry Franck, Working North from Patagonia Alpacas in Bosque de Piedras, Peru, 2001. As I ended up back in the USA I figure that I am afforded the opportunity to think through some of my previous travels and [...]
MENDOZA, Argentina- I met a Japanese girl named Yumi in La Plaza Independencia today. I was walking by some artisan booths and I heard her having some trouble communicating in Spanish. So I stood next to her, trying to find a way in so I could help her out. She turned to me: “Do you [...]
MENDOZA, Argentina- In a minor bit of confusion as to how much is a proper tip in this country and how much would be insulting I walked out of the little cafe without leaving one at all. I suppose I need to expect these gaps of understanding when operating in a new culture and using [...]
SANTIAGO, Chile- I am going to be missing that $250 I lost in the park in Santiago. I knew that walking home to my hotel through that park at the middle of the night was a bad idea. My Chilean friend, JessieAnne, suggested that I go that way, and my pride was too much to [...]
SANTIAGO, Chile- Back in Santiago after a 21 hour and 23 minute bus ride from Calama up in the Atacama. I am on my way to Buenos Aires. Well, sort of — I have a difficult time sticking to any one path, opting instead for marking the world with squiggly lines that double back and [...]
SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA, Chile- I arrived in San Pedro de Atacama on September 10th. A very touristy place which I came away with mixed feelings about. On one hand it was an incredibly beautiful place, on the other hand the influx from outsiders has severely altered and/ or interrupted the local people’s way of life. Seriously, [...]
CHANARAL, Chile- I just want to be out of here. Prior to this stop there was just one town in South America that I did not like — Yurimaguas, Peru. Now, I must report, there are two — Chanaral, Chile. Kids throwing temper tantrums, dogs trying to eat my food, that lovely pack of Dobermans patrolling the beach, [...]
CALDERA, Chile- This is my fourth day in Caldera, and I could possibly be here for a week more. I tried to leave a few days ago. Unsuccessful. I began walking north out of town on the Panamerican highway to the next town. Trucks flew by me as I walked, made me think about being [...]
LA SERENA, Chile- I spent yesterday in Valparaiso and left on a night bus. Young couples were kissing everywhere. One getting on the bus with me, the other to be left behind. I know how it feels to depart from someone you love. It is perhaps the most unnatural feeling that a person can ever [...]
SAN ESTEBAN, Chile- I walked this morning to San Esteban from Los Andes. I arrived at this little town which appears to be one of the nicest communities that I have experience so far on this jaunt through Chile. I am speaking of this village’s aesthetics, as I have yet to meet any of the people. [...]
LOS ANDES, Chile- I took a bus here from Valparaiso today. I was told at the bus stations in Valparaiso that I would have to go to another city before transferring to Los Andes (again). Not wanting to do this I walked out of the terminal and the words “Los Andes” printed in bright bold letters on [...]
VALPARAISO, Chile- Santiago’s port, or so Valparaiso is stated to be. I walked here this morning from Vina del Mar. An interesting walk down Ave. Espana along the coast. Transporting myself under my own power was the preferable option to dealing with the absurdity of trying to find a bus that would take me not [...]
VINA DEL MAR, Chile- After being sent around to various bus stations in Santiago, it became apparent that getting a bust to Salamanca was not woth the effort. So I looked at the bust postings at the Pullman south booth it looked as if Vina del Mar was well serviced. So, as I simply wanted [...]
SANTIAGO, Chile- I have returned to Santiago. In travel, you leave places, perhaps never to return, perhaps to find yourself looking face to face at what you thought you would not look upon again. The rain was a bit much in the south of Chile. Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas, beautiful places but rain, rain, rain. [...]
PUERTO VARAS, Chile- I left Puerto Montt today. It was quite the miserable place. I am now in Puerto Varas, a tourist town with few foreigners at this time of year — the winter. I can see why: it is cold and it rains, or has just stopped raining, or is about to rain ALL [...]
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