Colombia II (July 25th - August 2nd)

After the wonderful (and terribly humid) experience from Parque Tayrona, the adventurers continued to Cartagena, allegedly the most beautiful city in Latin America. The vibe there really was unique - combination of modern part (Boca Grande) dotted with skyscrapers and high-class shops and historic center packed with colonial architecture surrounded by fortification.

Photo from the historic part of Cartagena, modern Boca Grande on the horizon

Traditional fruit vendors in Cartagena

After spending a long night in overpriced bus from Cartagena, the expeditioners woke up in Medellín, once the most dangerous Colombian city, infamously known for Pablo Escobar and his drug cartel. Local administration did a hell of a work since the early 90's when Escobar was killed and the city is now on the move, being one of the most important industrial and educational centers in Colombia. Day in Medellín was special particularly because of meeting Jirka Smoldas (who is working there for half a year already) who showed us majority of the main sights. Highlight of the day was taking a cable car above the slums, where it would normally be impossible to visit.

Saying bye to Jirka in Medellín subway

Slums in Medellín (photographed from cable car)

Next stop was the chilly capital, Bogotá. Two-day long intensive city sightseeing was complemented with one-day trip to Zipaquirá, where a famous underground salt cathedral is located. Looking over the huge city nested between the Andes from the top of Cerro de Montserrat (3.030 m) was an unforgettable view.

Armed forces around Bogotá keeping an eye on law and order

Inside the underground salt cathedral in Zipaquirá

Bogotá (8 mil. citizens) from Cerro Montserrat

Last stop in Colombia was San Agustín. A relaxed small town in the hills, San Agustín was special for two things - stone sculptures (ceremonial funeral sites) and horses. The crew hired one horse each and without a guide and much knowledge of how to ride them set off to explore archaeological sights scattered around the region. Riding a horse proved not to be that difficult and all were soon trotting in full speed through the hills - an amazing experience.

Don Madonarra and Miguel on their horses

El Fredovito taming his beast

Expedition Maya on horses asking for direction

Archeological sights around San Agustín

From San Agustín, the journey continued through Pitalito, Mocoa and Pasto to Ipiáles/Tulcán border with Ecuador. Worth mentioning is the ride between Mocoa and Pasto - 5 hours at the back of a truck, inhaling dust, exhausts and maybe a bit of air as well. Combine this with crazy driver, lack of space and unsealed winding road and you get the worst drive of your life.

Trying to protect against the dust-poison truck ride to Pasto

May the Maya be with you! :)

Colombia I (July 18th - July 24th)

Having crossed at San Antonio del Tachira/Cúcuta border, the expedition withdraw some pesos (Colombian currency) from the ATM and continued to Bucaramanga. It was rather an administrative stop to stock up more local currency, take a break before traveling further to Santa Marta and visit nearby village of Girón.

Meeting Rene in Bucaramanga, friendly local and passionate stamp collector

The atmosphere of Girón

With an overnight stop at Ciénaga (interesting sight here were cyclo-rickshaws very similar to those in India), Santa Marta was next. Allegedly one of the best beach cities in Colombia, it was a disappointment at first, but turned into great fun pretty soon. Nowhere before did the adventurers saw such an ugly, dirty and smelly "beach capital". Beaches full of tyres and rubbish and scenery with oil tanker and excavator soon turned into highlight of the day.

Fishermen at work in Santa Marta

Lovely beach of Santa Marta

Next stop was Parque Tayrona, where three days were spent. Unlike Santa Marta, Tayrona highly overexceeded any expectations. It is a paradise - deserted beaches, blue lagoons, palm trees, jungle forest - you name it. Sleeping in hammocks and trip to El Pueblito (lost city accessable by a one-day hike through the jungle) further contributed to the enjoyment from this great place.

Don Madonarra in Tayrona paradise

Coconut farmer showing the way to El Pueblito

Local girl playing with El Fredovito

Expedition Maya on one of Tayrona beaches

Don Madonarra and Miguel Hudeiro being hit by a wave

More news from Colombian trip coming in a few days!

May the Maya be with you! :)

Venezuela II (July 11th - July 17th)

Maracaibo, the second largest city and the industrial center of the country, is definitely not a top tourist destination. However, it served well as a base for a one-day trip to San Rafael del Mojan, including a boat trip to Isla de Toas. Huge lake Maracaibo (the largest lake in South America, ca. 1/5 of the area of the Czech Republic), surrounding the city, is known for a spectacular lightning phenomenon and huge oil reserves, the basis of the country’s wealth.

Expeditioners' favorite dinner place in the bus terminal neighbourhood

Exploring the beauty of Isla de Toas, top Venezuelan holiday destination

Leaving Maracaibo and moving south to Merida (the tourist capital of Venezuela set high above the sea level, surrounded by almost 4km mountain peeks) consumed one entire day. Another day was spent on a refreshing jeep trip/trek to the hot springs in nearby hills, and by arranging the best deal for a planned wild life watching adventure in Los Llanos.

Picturesque hilly countryside around Merida...

... and the hot springs right in the middle of it

4-day trip to Los Llanos was undoubtedly the top Venezuelan experience so far - chasing ant-eater, catching anacondas, caimans and capybaras, bird watching, horseback riding, fishing for piranhas, sleeping in hammocks, accidental encounter of a young Czech ornithologist and 2 other Czech travelers, as well as enjoying the time together with cool fellow adventurers from Scotland, Finland, France and Germany - that’s what made the whole trip an unforgettable one.

Aproaching our camp after the water safari

El Fredovito manipulating an anaconda just pulled out of the swamp

Don Madonarra about to shoot from speechless Caiman

Miguel Hudeiro entertaining the villagers

Sunset - bats, frogs, monkeys, snakes, mosquitoes coming out

Almost 8-hour bus journey from Barinas to San Cristobal was the last chance to take advantage of incredibly cheap Venezuelan petrol (40 liter tank for 0.5 USD /10 CZK!!) before crossing to Colombia. On July 17th, the crew entered Colombia at San Antonio del Tachira/Cucuta (Col.) border crossing.

Travelling in local, super noisy buses was always fun

May the Maya be with you! :)

Venezuela I (July 6th - July 10th)

Venezuela, the first country visited during Expedition Maya, proved to be truly exotic destination. Shortly after touching down in Caracas on July 6th, 2010 at around 6 pm local time, the adventurers could not have missed the portrait of Hugo Chavez and Simon Bolivar, two biggest authorities in the country (Simon Bolivar keeps his reputation throughout the whole Latin America, though). Bargaining with taxi drivers at the airport and consequent search for accommodation in Caracas, reportedly the most dangerous city in the region, turned out to be rather smooth, as well as changing money on black market the next day (in order to avoid official fixed and considerably unfavourable exchange rate - about 50% lower than the one on the black market - offered by banks, exchange offices and ATMs).

Crime and drugs is perceived as a serious problem

Parrots - frequently seen around in guesthouses and street shops

Since the sights of Caracas (if any) are to be explored on the way back in October, the expeditioners swiftly moved on to Maracay and further to Valencia, where they were lucky enough to come across David Osío, director of local museum, who took thorough care of them - including the city center sightseeing, museum and theatre excursion, hanging out in local pub and finishing the day late at night with a nice dinner. Meeting Sona, a university friend from Prague, the next morning was a pleasant end of Valencia visit.

Meeting Sona in Valencia

Local banana salesman

Peaceful coastal town of Coro welcomed the travelers with admirable colonial architecture. Nearby vast area of sand dunes, relaxed guest house atmosphere and delicious regional pastries (empanadas and arepas) made the whole stay a very enjoyable one.

The sand dunes near Coro

Don Madonarra enjoying his hammock in Coro guesthouse

News from industrial Maracaibo, hilly Merida, astonishing Los Llanos and others coming soon!

May the Maya be with you! :)

Salesman of cheese - an ingredient put literally everywhere

Surprised locals :)

Expedition Maya began!

On July 5th, 2010 El Fredovito, Miguel Hudeiro and Don Madonarra left Prague heading to Caracas, Venezuela. After tiring flight through Frankfurt and Madrid they reached their destination and got accommodated without any considerable troubles.

The crew has spent almost a week in Venezuela so far, visited various places, met interesting people and got even more excited about upcoming adventures! :)

More detailed post covering the first days of the expedition is to come in the upcoming days - stay tuned!

May the Maya be with you! :)

Departure! Last moments before boarding the bus to Frankfurt to catch the connecting flight to Madrid and further to Caracas

Taco meeting #4

On June 17, the adventurers have met at earlier announced Bye-bye party at Fredovito’s mansion four days before the very last Taco meeting. They introduced their new shirt with Expedition Maya logo and talked to many friends they won’t see for a few next months.

On Monday, June 21, final Taco meeting was held at the same place as the party. The adventurers were again cooking one of their mysterious non-repeatable but always delicious dish. This time it was a mix of sausages, Indian spices and yoghurt. Even Fredovito’s parents got a chance to taste a bit!

The movie and fun part was, however, shortened as the explorers had a plenty of points to discuss. Among the most important were:

1. Team spirit on the expedition
2. Planning vs. improvisation regarding the route
3. Expectations on the level of comfort
4. How to behave in dangerous situations
5. How to prevent health complications

Next time they will see each other will be the day of departure – Monday, July 5.

May the Maya be with you! :)

El Fredovito driving a car, Miguel Hudeiro navigating and Don Madonarra trying to jump to a starting car after forgetting himself.

Preparations well in progress

18 days left till departure. That’s closer than it may seem!
Preparation stage of Expedition Maya trip is in its peak days. Let’s have a look on what has been keeping the adventurers busy since the last Taco meeting #3 (May 14th):

Broadening the perspectives
In last couple of weeks the expeditioners met several fellow travellers, who provided them with valuable recommendations, warnings, and various observations directly from the South American destinations. Sincere thanks go especially to Martin Rey, Paja Beckova and Edu Miranda.

Madonarra, Paja, Edu, Miguel

Shopping
Although most of the necessary equipment is already available from Fatal trip and/or Czars Reunited, some items had to be bought again – particularly sleeping bags and garments.

Miguel and El Fredovito swamped with sleeping bags

Vaccination
The last vaccination shot against the rabies is still missing, and scheduled for July 1st. Another vaccination has either been already done (yellow fever, first 2 rabies shots) or doesn’t have to be revaccinated yet (hepatitis A+B, typhus, meningitis A+C).

Don Madonarra concentrating on his yellow fever shot

School engagements
All voyagers managed to acquire their university degree - Miguel Hudeiro, MSc. (June 8th), Don Madonarra, MSc. (June 10th) and El Fredovito, MSc. (June 14th)! Now they can fully focus on the expedition.

The Maya crew celebrating on the subway platform

Monitoring the situation online
Another source of information on the dynamically developing, politically not very stable, yet very touristy region of South America is internet. Naturally, positive (Peru, Colombia…) as well as negative (politics, safety) news are found. Hard to sort out.

El Fredovito browsing the web for some more useful information

Bye-bye party
Legendary barbecue pool party is taking place tomorrow, on Thursday June 17th, in the garden of El Fredovito’s hacienda. Let’s use this occasion to have fun and say bye to the Maya crew. It’s going to be long 4 months since then till the Maya trip will finish (October 17th).

The Maya crew in their new Maya shirts!

Despite all this preparation, the task list is still rather full. Get insurance, exchange money, follow up on the development project engagement, obtain bank cheques, finalize the equipment list, meet some more people and many more things to handle. The next and the last Taco meeting is planned for this Monday June 21st already.

May the Maya be with you! :)