Hoteles Portico Galeria & Cava Manizales

... morning we got up and made our plan for mountain biking for the day. Hmmmmmmm. We went over to the place to get our bikes, got our map, and headed off to see what we could see. Well, as we road up hill through the city, I was not sure how this was going to turn out. We found the road to head up the mountain. Well, I made it about 200 feet before I had to get off the bike and push. OMG, i was about to die. Fat, out of shape, and much less oxygen is ...

... allowed us to do the zip lines again. Once we finished that, we tried out the rock wall and a few slides down the hill. It really felt like we were kids again running around that park which kept us busy until around 4 pm. The day wasn’t over yet; we all jumped in Wesley and drove over to the other park. This is where Christina and I differ, her tolerance for heights are a lot better then mine, and I almost chickened out. This swing was more like a ...

... I found this part of the day much more interesting and would have gone exploring if my lungs weren't burning and my heart pumping as though I'd run a marathon... and there was still more to come.

We climbed back in the bus and zig-zagged up an ash slope to "base camp", a small hut at 4,800m selling warm drinks and sugar-filled goods. From there we began a short but steep walk (about 1km) up to the base of the glacier. I tell you now, it was agony. After about 20m I was panting ...

... some very tragic history. In 1985 an eruption produced an enormous lahar that buried the town of Armero - 70km away! - and caused 23,000 deaths. This event later became known as the Armero tragedy - the deadliest lahar in recorded history. The sight where the mud came down is an incredible and sad sight.

... een beetje uitslapen, filmpje kijken, poolen en lezen. Op het moment dat ik dit typ ben ik hier inmiddels 4 dagen en ben ik voor het eerst naar het centrum van Manizales geweest. Niet heel bijzonder overigens...

Moet maar eens kijken hoe lang ik hier blijf rondhangen. Mijn plan was om dit weekend naar Bogota te gaan om een paar bierjes te drinken met Willem, die daar deze week is aangekomen.... Hmmm... nou ja ik moet maar eens zien of ik me hier weg kan slepen :)

... drivers crank the AC until the bus reaches almost sub zero temperatures. An Israeli couple we went to the Mud Volcano with were also on the bus and managed to convince the driver to show one movie in English since there were only backpackers on the bus, a nice break from dubbed Steven Segal movies. The trip to Medellin consists of a steady climb into the Andes, before dropping into a valley where the city of Medellin is. We hit ...

... displaced indigenous families located around the edges of Medellin would be picked up and brought together to do art, learn about their culture and get to know each other. From being strangers initially, the children now have new friends and contacts around the city's fringes. They are also finding out about their indigenous culture, which they are currently very far removed from. I was surprised that at their first encounter, many didn't even know the names of ...

... aged Colombian-American dude that I met at The Stone (6 The Stone references for anyone who is counting), this area was dammed about 40 years ago, flooding the area and an existing town in the process. Legend has it that following a hot Medellin summer, the old church of that town emerges from the flooded waters as a reminder of that town. Cool. From The Stone, the reservoir spreads out and surrounds, the damming creating ...

... round the town etc. Caroline noticed a lot of fake boobies, female kind not Galapagos bird kind, I however missed this completely. I am now trying to be much more observant! Medellin is nestled deep in a valley and surrounded by hills. Home of the infamous Pablo Escobar and his Cartel de Medellin - the town in which the "Colombian Necktie" was born. All in all, it's a very safe place. We left for our chillout destination of Tananga at 6pm (80,000 pesos).

... only been open 2 weeks and noone had heard of it. Chose the Tony Montana dorm, which had a marble and mirror bathroom, complete with jacuzzi, 2 showers, a sauna, 2 sinks, toilet and bidee. And an entire wall of mirrors. cooking, movies and bed for our first night. Next day found our way back to the metro and headed for the barrios (slum neighbourhoods), which involved changing from the metro to ...