Medellín – just the name conjures up thoughts of cocaine, gangs and violence. But thankfully, the city no longer lives up to this reputation. Although it still has its problems, it is blossoming into a peaceful and touristic destination. We left Big Bertha at a campsite high above Medellín and stayed in a hotel downtown for two nights in the […]
We entered Colombia through the very chaotic Ipiales border. This border is like no other (so far) in that Colombia and Ecuador allow free movement and stopping to have one’s passport stamped and vehicle inspected appears to be optional. This allows sneaky overlanders to store their vehicles in either country long term by ‘stamping out’ of either country and then […]
Whilst the Incas might grab the archaeological headlines in South America, it seems rather sad that the people known only as the “Upper Magdalena Culture” (after the river area they inhabited ) fail to attract the same celebrity – although their sculptural work is arguably superior. San Agustín and its surrounding area seems to have been a giant necropolis, with […]
We very much enjoyed our sixty one days in Ecuador. Our journey north from the Peruvian border to Baños de Agua Santa for Christmas was a great start. From Baños we travelled to the Quilotoa Crater and continued around the Quilotoa Loop. Unfortunately, we were well into rainy season and the crater only showed itself once and the loop, reputed to […]
Freshly back from the Galapagos Islands, and having had Big Bertha’s oil changed at MAN Quito, we drove east of Quito towards the Amazon. A day later we arrived in Lago Agrio, where we joined our tour to Waita Lodge, deep in the Amazon jungle . We were first bussed to the town Tierras Orientales, where the roads finish, and […]
After spending New Years Eve with fellow overlanders at CodaVista, we set off to visit the cloud forest to the west of Quito. This involved a drive up into the hills on tarmac before turning onto a track and climbing into the cloud forest and our destination, Bellavista Lodge. On the way, we camped in a town called Calacali which […]
Francine has wanted to visit the Galápagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador, for a long time. A big birthday in 2024 was a good reason and so we booked for January 2025. What a start to the year! But first we must apologise for this photo heavy blog; we have tried to include only the best of a huge […]
Wishing our family, friends and fellow overlanders a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year! We hope you enjoyed the New Year’s Eve celebrations wherever you were on this marvellous planet we call home. This year NYE found us perched on top of a hill at a small, but very nice, campsite on the outskirts of Quito in Ecuador. Although on […]
On our way to Puyo we took a detour from the E35 and visited a Cocoa farm in the jungle. It was a really neat experience where we got to make chocolate and then take it away with us! Step1 – Pick the Cocoa pod from the tree, open it up and strip the beans from the ‘tube’. The fleshy […]
We went from the arid and dirty Peruvian coastline to the lush and tidy jungle of Ecuador. A very pleasant change! Crossing into Ecuador at the small border at Macará, we followed a busload of passengers, that completely overwhelmed the border staff. A few hours later we emerged as the sun was setting and we scrabbled to find our first […]