Hola amigos,

I just returned from 3 wonderful months of exploration in Colombia. It was the completion of a 4 part journey extending from the Caribbean Coast to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America that took 16 months in total to complete, spread out over 5 winters, with 3 trips to Brazil in between.

Colombia is a fascinating and beautiful country that has few tourists outside of Bogota and Cartagena and Santa Marta. I found it to be very safe and the people are often exceptionally friendly. What a delight to visit so many beautiful places with few if any tourists. It was also very cheap to live well. 3 months was the perfect amount of time to see the accessible parts of the country from the Caribbean to the border of Ecuador. I also spent 10 days on the island paradise of San Andreas.

I started in Bogota, a city of 8 million people at 9,500 feet in altitude. The trip quickly got interesting with a powerful two day Ayahuasca retreat on a farm a couple of hours outside the city.. From there I traveled north to the beautiful colonial towns of Villa de Leyva, San Gil, Barichara, and Giron, and on to the Caribbean Coast. I spent Christmas in Santa Marta, and then visited the stunning and very popular Parque Nacional Tayrona, with rare coastal forests and white sand beaches, and Tayrona Indian ruins.

New Years in the colonial port city of Cartagena was a feast in the streets. Then I went up the Rio Magdalena to the beautifully preserved town of Mompox. I returned to the coast for the holiday frenzy at Tolu, where I was the only gringo amongst thousands of Colombians on vacation. I toured the Islas San Bernardo National Park, before heading south to Medellin. Once a center for drug cartels and the home of Pablo Escobar, Medellin is a sprawling blend of rich and poor set in a dramatic valley between Andean mountain ranges. There are attractive towns nearby like Santa Fe de Antioquia, Marinilla, and Rio Negro, and the spectacular granite rock El Penol, set in a reservoir with a labyrinth of channels.

Further south is the lush green Zona Cafetera, where most of Colombia's coffee crop is grown. I climbed the 6,000 meter Volcan Nevado Ruiz near Manizales, and visited Periera and the town of Marsella before traveling up the beautiful Rio Cauca to the Salsa Capital of Colombia, Cali. This city was also a major center for drug cartels and someone I met took me to see the suburb made up of the fortresses of the drug lords.

Further south is the well preserved colonial town of Popoyan. It was heavily damaged in a 1983 earthquake but was lovingly restored. The volcano at Pasto was erupting but I never got to see it because of heavy clouds, but I did have a wonderful day on the Laguna de la Concha. It rains a lot in Colombia, which makes everything green and there are hundreds of high waterfalls cascading down the steep mountainsides. The Panamerican highway to Ecuador is breathtaking.

Crossing the mountains in a vast cloud forest reserve I visited the mysterious ruins of San Agustin. Hundreds of stone statues of anthropomorphic humans mark tombs set in verdant mountains. I had saddle sores for days from horseback riding on steep trails to remote sites.

Heading back north I toured the small and unusual Tatacoa desert on a rented motorbike on narrow dirt roads. I participated in the nationwide march for peace opposing the guerrilla group FARC which has terrorized the country for many years, kidnapping dozens of hostages, and controlling a large part of the cocaine trade.

After a few days in Bogota I flew to San Andreas, an island off the coast of Nicaragua. The sea is clear and several shades of blue and turquoise and the island is surrounded be coral reefs teeming with fish. I snorkeled myself to into a stupor for 10 days and grilled my skin on perfect white sand beaches. Then I flew back to Cartagena for another dose of old world charm and to tour the Parque Nacional Islas Rosarios for more snorkeling.

A wild weekend in Bogota and it was time to come home. What a great way to spend the winter!