colombia

colombia is the first country that i have started doing a little research on - mainly because everyone warns me about the crime and corruption and drugs. ok - sounds fair to be careful but i was wondering if it was going to be as bad as people make out.
if nell and i stick together i think we should be fine. being safe when travelling means taking personal precautions and using some common sense!

seeing as i dont really want to lug my library around with me (and i have had tonsilitis so i'm under house arrest), i armed myself with a few books and some websites and decided to use my blog like a little travel-to-do list. by the power of labels, i can use these pages later and leave most of the books at home. crap i am smart!

bogota arrival date: 06 september 2007 (4-5 days)

so it seems that it might be a little wet (in terms of weather) when we fly into bogota.
we fly in on the 6th but head to cartagena the next day. we do go back though - after about 6 days.

bogota is also at an altitude of 8640 feet (2600 metres). hope i dont get altitude sickness!
this also means that i need to make sure i have a good raincoat and good walking shoes. and probably loads and loads of socks. and a cover for my pack and day pack.

being the capital city, there should be some pretty interesting things to see and do, and there are about 6 times the number of people as compared to auckland.

there seems to be some good places to stay in the la candelaria zone. this is the old centre of the town.
http://www.platypusbogota.com/services.php

what do i want to experience here?
music
soccer (football)
gold (the museo del oro)
bookshops
churches
food
dancing
the cable car to the top of cerro de monserrate
.. and i want to go to a bullfight! (but i think we are there at the wrong time)

outside of bogota - i really want to see the salt cathedral at zipaquira (should go in the mornings).

cartagena arrival date: 07 september 2007 (5 days)

slightly nearer the equator, and without the altitude to cool the temperatures, it should be warmer once we get to cartagena.
we are going to fly in from bogota - with the short schedule we have given ourselves, it does seem the best way. means we get a little extra time to go to other towns along the coast such as santa marta.

what do i want to experience here?
pirates
music
more food!
the parque nacional tairona looks like a bit of me. i've been reading that the beaches in this area are gorgeous. and i am definitely a beach girl.

there is supposed to be some really good diving here too - and along the coast to the west. and the water is 28 degrees. i love warm water!
i'm not sure if we are going to have enough time to do any but i've found a couple of operators that look ok.
http://www.divingplanet.org/buceoencartagena_ING.htm
http://www.poseidondivecenter.com/england/england.htm
http://www.bandadiveshop.com/e_salidas.php