The Americas

A 149-day adventure by Greg & Daniel Read more

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Day 60
Saturday, April 20, 2024 at 5:00 PM
🌩️ 28 °C
Altitude: 5 m
Panama Isla Sindup 8.903758, -77.6953848°54’14” N 77°41’43” W
Caledonia (SB Day 3)
April 20, 2024 in Panama ⋅ 🌩️ 28 °C
Our paddling journey took us to the island and community of Caledonia where we would be spending the night!

First on the agenda was a tour of the local village which included crossing the bridge to the old airport (now derelict and being used to extend the community), a dance from the locals and playing duck duck goose and a few other games with the local kids (of which there were hundreds).

After a quick shower and change we headed out to a nearby restaurant for dinner and a few drinks. We then enjoyed some drinks together for our last night of the tour, but far from our last night together!Read more
TravelerLooks like you've had a ball on this trip
4/25/24Reply
TravelerWe have loved the San Blas islands tour . One of our highlights and I bet one of yours too. A huge bag of memories and new friendships for you ❤️
4/26/24Reply
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Day 61
Sunday, April 21, 2024 at 9:19 AM
🌩️ 27 °C
Altitude: 9 m
Panama Iglesia San Rafael 8.665851, -77.4200268°39’57” N 77°25’12” W
Leaving Panama (SB Day 4)
April 21, 2024 in Panama ⋅ 🌩️ 27 °C
This morning we were up and out early for our final day of the trip! First up was to formally leave Panama as we crossed from Panamanian to Colombian waters.

The process involved docking the boats at a small mainland town, walking into the town, waiting at a cafe then going in small groups to the immigration office to be stamped out of Panama.

We also used Finn's phone signal to discover Everton had beaten Notts Forest 2-0 so Dan was a very happy man!

Once back on the boat we crossed the border marked by the flags of each country high on a hill. This was greeted by much celebration from our group as we had officially conquered Central America and embarked on our South American journey!

Our Kuna guides also put away their 'political' flags on the boats as we entered Colombian waters.Read more
TravelerWhat a fantastic time you have had. More amazing memories made x
4/25/24Reply
Traveler❤️Central America❤️
4/26/24Reply
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Day 61
Sunday, April 21, 2024 at 11:50 AM
🌩️ 28 °C
Altitude: Sea level
Panama Playa Blanca 8.660316, -77.3653528°39’37” N 77°21’55” W
Arriving on Colombian Land!
April 21, 2024 in Panama ⋅ 🌩️ 28 °C
Our first step onto South American land was at Sapzurro in Colombia. At this beach town we spent some time relaxing, had lunch, were given lolly ices from a lady who's lolly ices feature in the Lonely Planet guide and also reflected as a group on our last few days together.Read more
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Day 61
Sunday, April 21, 2024 at 7:00 PM
🌩️ 27 °C
Altitude: 6 m
Colombia Capurganá Airport 8.638025, -77.3468328°38’17” N 77°20’49” W
The End of the San Blas Tour
April 21, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ 🌩️ 27 °C
Our San Blas adventure officially ended in Carpagana. It was here that we were officially stamped into Colombia. The tour company have an 'arrangement' with the immigration lady that, in exchange for us purchasing glow stick coloured 13% alcohol beverages from her at her immigration desk, she will stamp the entire group into the country in less than 5 minutes. A highly unusual arrangement but one I wish more countries had!

Everyone was staying in Carpurgana for the night so we all checked into our hostels, had proper showers and then headed out for a group lasagna. It was here that was discovered that 13 of the 18 of us would be travelling to Cartagena the next day, with a further 3 joining the day after! On this high we hit the town and took over a local outdoor nightclub until the early hours. A great time had by all!Read more
TravelerYeah !!!👍
4/26/24Reply
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Day 62
Monday, April 22, 2024 at 10:19 AM
🌩️ 28 °C
Altitude: Sea level
Colombia Capurganá Airport 8.638296, -77.346278°38’18” N 77°20’47” W
Capurgana > Cartagena
April 22, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ 🌩️ 28 °C
Our start to the day was a wet one! It teemed down from the moment we woke up. Great since we had to catch the 10am 2 hour boat from Capurgana to Necocli! Here we would pick up an 8 hour bus to Cartagena that didn't stop once!Read more
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Day 62
Monday, April 22, 2024 at 9:12 PM
☁️ 27 °C
Altitude: 10 m
Colombia Plaza San Diego 10.426942, -75.54672110°25’37” N 75°32’48” W
Arriving in Cartagena
April 22, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
After a long travel day we arrived at our hostel just after 9pm. Most people were staying in the same hostel so we headed out for some dinner around the corner which was delicious!
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Day 63
Tuesday, April 23, 2024 at 11:04 AM
☁️ 30 °C
Altitude: 11 m
Colombia Plaza San Diego 10.42691, -75.5473410°25’37” N 75°32’50” W
Cartagena - First Impressions
April 23, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
After a bit of a lie in we decided to head out to a nearby bakery. This 5 minute walk offered presented us with our first impressions of Cartagena in the daytime.

Blimey it was absolutely stunning! Every road and building we passed I wanted to (and did) take a picture of. The pastries were amazing too so our first impressions were good!Read more
TravelerWhat an amazing site and that's just the pastry! Seriously it looks a beautiful place. 👍😀
4/26/24Reply
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Day 63
Tuesday, April 23, 2024 at 12:59 PM
☁️ 31 °C
Altitude: 17 m
Colombia Parque Centenario 10.419893, -75.54675210°25’12” N 75°32’48” W
Getsemani - Part 1
April 23, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
This afternoon we reconvened with a couple of our San Blas friends and went to explore the near by neighbourhood of Getsemani. The neighbourhood is famed for its vibrancy and street art. We could see why as every place we turned was brick to brick colour!Read more
TravelerThis place looks great!!! So colourful
4/25/24Reply
TravelerWow!! Looks lovely
4/25/24Reply
TravelerLove all the colours, I bet it reminds you of Liscard Greg. 👍😉
4/26/24Reply
TravelerDid all that colour take you back to Balamorey ❤️❤️❤️
4/26/24Reply
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Day 63
Tuesday, April 23, 2024 at 12:59 PM
☁️ 31 °C
Altitude: 17 m
Colombia Parque Centenario 10.419893, -75.54675210°25’12” N 75°32’48” W
Getsemani - Part 2
April 23, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
A few more pics of this amazing neighbourhood!
TravelerThe Art work is fab
4/26/24Reply
TravelerLoving 🥰 this place ladz ❤️❤️
4/26/24Reply
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Day 63
Tuesday, April 23, 2024 at 7:30 PM
☁️ 28 °C
Altitude: 8 m
Colombia Parque Centenario 10.419377, -75.54475710°25’10” N 75°32’41” W
Getsemani by Night
April 23, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
This evening we headed out as a group which ended up being 14 of us! We found a really narrow jam packed street serving 2 cocktails for £4, so it would've been rude not to stop here for a few hours. The atmosphere grew and grew until everyone was dancing in the street.

I also discovered a bucket list item I never knew I needed which was hearing Hips Don't Lie and Waka Waka by Shakira back to back at a Colombian street party!Read more
TravelerNot surprised everyone was dancing at those prices!!
4/25/24Reply
TravelerWhat a great night 🍹🍹🍹🍹
4/25/24Reply
TravelerThose gorgeous girlies definitely glam up the pics and the dancing looked fab. X x
4/26/24Reply
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Day 64
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 12:26 PM
☁️ 31 °C
Altitude: 17 m
Colombia Torre del Reloj 10.42415, -75.54913310°25’27” N 75°32’57” W
Plaza de las Coches
April 24, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
After a morning of sleep, laundry, matching t-shirts and finding a cat in our dorm, we headed out to the old town, a place we were yet to venture.

And oh my word it was even prettier than the rest of Cartagena! I've got a lot of pictures so will split it up into multiple posts but first of all Plaza de las Coches!Read more
TravelerBet you didn’t stroke the cat !! 🐱
4/26/24Reply
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Day 64
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 12:29 PM
☁️ 31 °C
Altitude: 8 m
Colombia Torre del Reloj 10.423114, -75.5492810°25’23” N 75°32’57” W
Plaza de la Aduana & Santuario San Pedro
April 24, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
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Day 64
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 12:34 PM
☁️ 31 °C
Altitude: Sea level
Colombia Plaza de la Aduana 10.421339, -75.55088710°25’17” N 75°33’3” W
Cartagena Walls & Nearby
April 24, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
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Day 64
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 12:47 PM
☁️ 31 °C
Altitude: 18 m
Colombia Catedral de Santa Catalina de Alejandria 10.423927, -75.5510410°25’26” N 75°33’4” W
Catedral & Plaza de Bolivar
April 24, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
Our final stop on our whistle stop tour of the old town before the big game!
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Day 64
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 1:31 PM
☁️ 31 °C
Altitude: 17 m
Colombia Torre del Reloj 10.423477, -75.54913810°25’25” N 75°32’57” W
1
1
The Merseyside Derby
April 24, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
The main event of the day was of course the Merseyside derby. We arrived to the bar around 45 mins before kick off and asked if they would be showing Everton v Liverpool, which they said they would be. Only to discover come kick off that they could only show the Man Utd game!

We therefore moved on to another nearby bar which had multiple screens including one for the derby.

Me and Dan both had Branthwaite 1-0 at 425/1 for combined winnings of around £2,500 do were delighted when he put Everton ahead in the first half. The game was over when Calvert Lewin nodded in from a corner in the second half. Dan didn't care than his 2 grand was gone, he just wanted Everton to be safe and Liverpool to be done for!

At full time Dan was in a buoyant mood, as was the rest of the group on his behalf. He then proceeded to face time and call everyone on Merseyside until his phone died. What a win!

We were also given free food provided that they could take photographs of us eating it so it was a win all around!Read more
TravelerA very happy Dan!! Meanwhile at the glovers...
4/25/24Reply
TravelerWe had to facetime all the way from goodison to colombia. Wouldn’t be right to do it without you Dan!
4/25/24Reply
TravelerUp the bloody Toffees
4/25/24Reply
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Day 64
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 9:00 PM
🌬 28 °C
Altitude: 10 m
Colombia Torre del Reloj 10.4225, -75.54952910°25’21” N 75°32’58” W
Final Night in Cartagena
April 24, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ 🌬 28 °C
Tonight, Emma made dinner for 6 as we played cards and had some drinks at the hostel. We then headed to the main square where we were joined by 6 other San Blas friends. This would be our last night together before we all go our separate ways tomorrow!Read more
TravelerWhat a great time you have all had 🏖 🍹 🚤
4/25/24Reply
TravelerYOU'VE CAUGHT UP WITH ALL YOUR POSTS BRILLIANTLY 👏
4/26/24Reply
TravelerWe have loved 🥰 CARTAGENA. Now off to the JUNGLE you go 😳. Safe travels ❤️❤️
4/26/24Reply
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Day 65
Thursday, April 25, 2024 at 10:04 AM
☁️ 28 °C
Altitude: 68 m
Colombia Quebrada Matogiro 11.234698, -74.12569611°14’5” N 74°7’33” W
Cartagena > Minca
April 25, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
This morning we got up and headed out for breakfast as a final hurrah with our San Blas pals.

There were two others from the San Blas (Fin & Emma) also travelling to Minca today so we waited for them to be ready whilst in the meantime I spoke to mum, dad & Harry.

The 4 of us then headed to the bus stop, although the woman printing the tickets took absolutely ages with me and Dan's, so unfortunately the bus that Fin & Emma were on left without us. After about 4.5 hours we arrived in Santa Marta.

From Santa Marta we took a taxi to Bonda and then a motorbike ride up to our hostel in the jungle.

Once we'd arrived we had dinner and enjoyed our first night back as a pair in over a week! This meant back to our usual daily football quizzes and NYT games.Read more
TravelerHarry loves your Whats app chats and he loves following your journey 🌍
4/26/24Reply
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Day 66
Friday, April 26, 2024 at 10:44 AM
☀️ 28 °C
Altitude: 279 m
Colombia Bonda 11.20134, -74.10051511°12’5” N 74°6’2” W
Minca Day 1
April 26, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Today was a total detox from the chaotic past week! We chilled in the hammocks for hours and had a dip in two of the pools. I also realised you could download the Lonely Planet guidebooks to Kindle so I did just that and made a start on Argentina. For dinner we each had a lovely lasagna!Read more
TravelerThat looks such a chilled out relaxing place 😴 just what you both needed
4/29/24Reply
TravelerPerfect ❤️
4/29/24Reply
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Day 67
Saturday, April 27, 2024 at 7:49 AM
☀️ 26 °C
Altitude: 279 m
Colombia Bonda 11.201349, -74.10054811°12’5” N 74°6’2” W
Minca Day 2
April 27, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
It was absolutely cracking the flags when we woke up this morning as the clouds that had hung over the mountains on day 1 had completely disappeared. We spent more time today in the hammocks, played some table tennis and Dan enjoyed Everton's win over Brentford to ensure their Premier League safety!Read more
TravelerIncredible!
4/29/24Reply
TravelerWhat a view ❤️
4/29/24Reply
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Day 67
Saturday, April 27, 2024 at 5:43 PM
☁️ 28 °C
Altitude: 7 m
Colombia Punta de Cal 11.116852, -74.23310811°7’1” N 74°13’59” W
Santa Marta Airport
April 27, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
The last time each of us had flown was on 21st February (over 2 months ago) when we met up in Cancun. An impressive amount of time given that we've been to 9 countries in that time!

But it was time to break our flightless streak with a flight to Medellin. The airport was set on the coast and had an amazing sunset. We enjoyed some fast food from the food court and boarded our (relatively empty) flight almost an hour before take off which was strange!Read more
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Day 68
Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 1:28 AM
☁️ 16 °C
Altitude: 1,593 m
Colombia Parque Lleras 6.20792, -75.5650236°12’29” N 75°33’54” W
Turning 25 in Medellin
April 28, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
We arrived in Medellin safe and sound. Our bags were the first off the plane so we jumped in a taxi to our hostel. Around 2/3 of the 30 minute trip was through a humongous tunnel dissecting the mountains and leading to the city centre.

When we arrived at our hostel we discovered there was a massive party being held, not for me but for Kings Day! Which apparently is a Dutch celebration of the King's birthday. After a quick change we headed up to the rooftop terrace for a drink. The terrace was absolutely packed and before long we headed to nearby Viajero rooftop where we were reunited with 'big Dan' from the San Blas for a few hours.

As the clock struck midnight the place closed so we headed out with a few people we'd just met. It ended up being a pretty late one but a great time was had by all!Read more
TravelerIs that the Mersey Tunnel? 😆 I think the party was for you really 🎈
4/29/24Reply
TravelerWell that’s a Birthday to remember. It started with a party 🎉 🥳. Yeah !!
4/29/24Reply
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Day 68
Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 12:19 PM
☁️ 23 °C
Altitude: 1,521 m
Colombia Quebrada La Poblada 6.212929, -75.5730826°12’47” N 75°34’23” W
Morning in Medellin
April 28, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
I say morning, but by the time I'd woken up, replied to birthday messages and got my act together enough to get out of bed it was just after midday. We headed out to a nearby German food place which served currywurst, so a great start to the day!Read more
TravelerHappy belated birthday Greg, that’s a birthday never to be forgotten, keep the party going bud. X
4/29/24Reply
TravelerHBD2U. Lots of love from all the family ❤️🎉🥰🥳
4/29/24Reply
TravelerMy apologies for a late "Happy Birthday " Greg. 👍😀🥂🥳🎉
4/29/24Reply
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Day 68
Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 3:16 PM
☁️ 22 °C
Altitude: 1,554 m
Colombia Primavera 6.164895, -75.599866°9’54” N 75°35’59” W
Going to the Wrong Stadium
April 28, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
This afternoon we'd bought tickets for Envigado v Independiente Medellin, a local derby! So we took the metro to the shopping centre next to the stadium for a bite to eat. At around 4:15pm (45 mins before kick off) we headed down to the ground which was at a sport complex.

We thought it was odd that we got to within 2 minutes of the ground yet we hadn't seen anyone else who looked like they were going to the match. When we got to the ground it was very clearly empty and nobody was around.

It was at this point that I realised that Envigado FC aren't currently playing at their own ground. I checked my ticket for the right ground and we ordered an Uber to take us there!Read more
Traveler🙄
4/29/24Reply
TravelerOh dear 😅!!!!
4/29/24Reply
Traveler🤣 Well done Greg, ha!, hangover still hanging in there. 🤣
4/29/24Reply
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Day 68
Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 4:56 PM
☁️ 21 °C
Altitude: 1,610 m
Colombia Pilsen 6.170254, -75.6269066°10’13” N 75°37’37” W
Estadio Ditaires
April 28, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Finally the right stadium, and clearly there was a match going on here with the hoardes of crowds!
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Day 68
Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 5:08 PM
☁️ 21 °C
Altitude: 1,618 m
Colombia Pilsen 6.16894, -75.6273286°10’8” N 75°37’38” W
Envigado v Independiente Medellin
April 28, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Despite the wrong ground mishap we walked up the stadium steps just as the first ball was kicked.

Medellin needed a win, and hope that others lost in order to achieve a play in the end of half season play offs. Despite a 1-0 victory for the away side, other results didn't go their way as they missed out on goal difference.

Given that Medellin were the away team here, we were surprised that their supporters outnumbered the home fans by about 50:1.

Medellin were clearly the better side, and I spent much of the game deliberating about whether or not they would beat Tranmere, which at the moment probably anyone could do.

My first football game in 6 months and a great way to spend a birthday!

This evening we went out for some food, played some table tennis and generally had a quiet one after a big night last night.Read more
TravelerWhat a great 25th birthday you have had 🥳 lots more memories made x
4/29/24Reply
TravelerNext season for Tranmere, big investment, top players, ha, think I've got a hangover! 🤣
4/29/24Reply
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