Unbenanntes Dokument

Colombia has rebuilt its image as worthy tourist destination despite the drug trade and the guerilla violence which has scarred many minds and the landscape of this beautiful country. Colombian’s are very helpful and friendly and travelling around the country, avoiding problematic areas, has been easy and safe. The town of Popayan with its rococo Andalucian style buildings and beautiful old monasteries, was one of the nicest places we stayed in. The Mercado Bolivar with its exotic fruit and flower stands was very special. The western slopes of the Cordillera Central, which is the centre of Colombia’s coffee production, was our next stop. Near Quimbaya we stayed on an organic coffee farm, toured the plantation, picked coffee beans and participated in the whole process, even roasting and grinding the beans ourselves, until we drank our own processed coffee. It was a very interesting experience! Bogota, was special because the main streets are always closed to traffic on Sundays, only open for cyclists, joggers and pedestrians. Most people seem to make this area their Sunday outing and streets are packed with people. Visiting the Gold Museum’s stunning collection of pre-Colombian treasures, as well as seeing the rock salt mines and the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira, were two things which had priority on our “to do” list. The original Cathedral, built underground, which was dedicated to the patron saint of the miners (Senora del Rosario) had to be closed because of deterioration. Now, a new salt cathedral more minimalist in style, has been re-opened to the public. On our way to Cartagena we experienced some rough riding due to prior heavy rainfall and mud-slides. Some of the small dirt roads were unpleasantly muddy and slippery, which made it a real driving challenge. Cartagena, Colombia’s biggest tourist destination and a World Heritage Site, made us forget the rough driving quickly. It is a very lively, vibrant and beautiful city with a mix of Caribbean, African and Spanish influences. The walled heart of the city, the Centro Historico, has many colorful squares, churches and mansions, along narrow cobbled streets. Our pleasant hostel and the many good international restaurants, kept us there longer than originally planned. We then shipped our bike to Miami from the seaport Barranquilla, an important transportation HUB. Our friend Gaston Etchard, who lives in Miami, organized the shipping of the bike from Barranquilla to Miami by air. With the help of a local freight agent, we managed to have the custom clearance and the crating of the bike done within 3 days. Our last weekend was spent in Taganga, a laid back fishing village set in a little bay, before flying off to Miami and then back to Zurich.

Colombia 20. June 2011 until 12. July 2011
Colombia has rebuilt its image as worthy tourist destination despite the drug trade and the guerilla violence which has scarred many minds and the landscape of this beautiful country. Colombian’s are very helpful and friendly and travelling around the country, avoiding problematic areas, has been easy and safe. The town of Popayan with its rococo Andalucian style buildings and beautiful old monasteries, was one of the nicest places we stayed in. The Mercado Bolivar with its exotic fruit and flower stands was very special. The western slopes of the Cordillera Central, which is the centre of Colombia’s coffee production, was our next stop. Near Quimbaya we stayed on an organic coffee farm, toured the plantation, picked coffee beans and participated in the whole process, even roasting and grinding the beans ourselves, until we drank our own processed coffee. It was a very interesting experience! Bogota, was special because the main streets are always closed to traffic on Sundays, only open for cyclists, joggers and pedestrians. Most people seem to make this area their Sunday outing and streets are packed with people. Visiting the Gold Museum’s stunning collection of pre-Colombian treasures, as well as seeing the rock salt mines and the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira, were two things which had priority on our “to do” list. The original Cathedral, built underground, which was dedicated to the patron saint of the miners (Senora del Rosario) had to be closed because of deterioration. Now, a new salt cathedral more minimalist in style, has been re-opened to the public. On our way to Cartagena we experienced some rough riding due to prior heavy rainfall and mud-slides. Some of the small dirt roads were unpleasantly muddy and slippery, which made it a real driving challenge. Cartagena, Colombia’s biggest tourist destination and a World Heritage Site, made us forget the rough driving quickly. It is a very lively, vibrant and beautiful city with a mix of Caribbean, African and Spanish influences. The walled heart of the city, the Centro Historico, has many colorful squares, churches and mansions, along narrow cobbled streets. Our pleasant hostel and the many good international restaurants, kept us there longer than originally planned. We then shipped our bike to Miami from the seaport Barranquilla, an important transportation HUB. Our friend Gaston Etchard, who lives in Miami, organized the shipping of the bike from Barranquilla to Miami by air. With the help of a local freight agent, we managed to have the custom clearance and the crating of the bike done within 3 days. Our last weekend was spent in Taganga, a laid back fishing village set in a little bay, before flying off to Miami and then back to Zurich.
Itinary Pasto, Popayan, Cali, Armenia, Quimbaya, Salento, Bogota, Zipaquira, Honda, Curumani, Cartagena, Barranquilla, Taganga	Highlights Popayan, Quimbaya, Salento, Bogota, Zipaquira Cartagena, Taganga
Colombia
Border crossing	Popayan
Popayan	Coffee plantation
Coffee farm	On the coffee farm
On the coffee farm	Coffee beans
Salento	Salento
Working antic coffee machine	Gold Museum Bogota
Gold Museum Bogota	Old town Bogota
Gay parade Bogota	Gay parade Bogota
Salt Cathedral Zipaquira	Difficult mud road
Repairing a flat tire	Historic Cartagena
Historic Cartagena	City wall Cartagena
Modern Cartagena	Taganga
Taganga	Ready to be shipped to Miami