And, Another Flag for the Troopy
28. heinäkuuta 2024, Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
We cross the border into Colombia at Ipiales. Friendly staff, but we have to sit there for 4 hours due to an electricity outage. It gives us time to find our final South American flag for the Troopy.
Now, that’s a Church!
29. heinäkuuta 2024, Kolumbia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Our first tourist attraction across the border into Colombia is the “Sanctuary of our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Las Lajas”. A great title for another amazing church. And, yes, the site of anotherLue lisää
The White City
2. elokuuta 2024, Kolumbia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
Our first major city in Colombia is Popayan, the “White City” (named for its many white churches and buildings in the city centre). We really enjoyed it. Nice people and a really pleasant vibe inLue lisää
Cali
3. elokuuta 2024, Kolumbia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
We make our way up the every thin corridor that DFAT deems safe in southern Colombia (worth noting that they have no representation in Colombia) to the city of Cali - Colombia’s third largest city.Lue lisää
Valle de Cocora
4. elokuuta 2024, Kolumbia ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
Valle de Corcora is part of the broader Los Nevados National Park and home to the largest remaining groves of Quindio Wax Palms (which can grow up to 60m high and is the national tree of Colombia).Lue lisää
Great Statue
5. elokuuta 2024, Kolumbia ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
If you travel through the northern countries of South America you will be hard pressed to find a city or town that doesn’t have a statue of Simon Bolívar. But none have interpreted his greatnessLue lisää
Coffee Country
6. elokuuta 2024, Kolumbia ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
The Central Colombian highlands is home to Colombian coffee. Cute little towns set on ridiculously green hills where coffee dominates everything and everywhere.
Medellin
8. elokuuta 2024, Kolumbia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
Not long ago Medellin was the centre of the world cocaine trade with an alarming death rate as Pablo Escobar controlled much of the city. While it still has its problems, the city has undergoneLue lisää
A Rock with a View
10. elokuuta 2024, Kolumbia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
A couple of hours drive from Medellin is La Piedra del Penol. It’s not as massive as Ayer’s Rock, but is an amazing geological feature, sitting on its own, with no similar mountains in theLue lisää
Made it to the Caribbean
15. elokuuta 2024, Kolumbia ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
After the low, highlands of the Medellin region, we head north. The mountains are replaced by hot, humid, green, wet lowlands. Not a lot of tourist value, but a lot of sugar cane. We eventually hitLue lisää
Colombian Beaches
18. elokuuta 2024, Kolumbia ⋅ 🌩️ 30 °C
Much of our time over the past couple of weeks has been consumed by efforts to confirm shipping of the Troopy to the US. We are stunned how difficult it is been (and we come to the conclusion thatLue lisää
Santa Marta
20. elokuuta 2024, Kolumbia ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C
We finally have some firm(ish) shipping dates, so we turn around and head back down the coastline towards Cartagena. On the way back we stop at the port city of Santa Marta. The city centre isLue lisää
Cartagena
24. elokuuta 2024, Kolumbia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
Our time in Cartagena is largely consumed with preparing the Troopy for shipping, but we still find time to have a good look around. During our travels we had heard mixed reviews about Cartagena -Lue lisää
Land Phase Complete
25. elokuuta 2024, Kolumbia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
After a last minute delay, we deliver the Troopy to Cartagena Port to get loaded into a container bound for Miami. It’s a long, very hot and humid day (with a lot of waiting), but we finally get allLue lisää
San Andres Island
28. elokuuta 2024, Kolumbia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
Now that the Troopy’s fate is beyond our control, we have about two weeks to kill before we pick it up in Miami. First stop - the San Andres Islands. A little known province of Colombia, this smallLue lisää
Our Last Days
1. syyskuuta 2024, Kolumbia ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
After our time in the tropics, we fly to the capital, Bogota, for our final days in Colombia and South America. It’s a very appealing city. Vibrant nightlife, hectic pace during the working hours,Lue lisää
Made it to the US
4. syyskuuta 2024, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C
A little Luck is on our side and we manage to skirt a couple of hurricanes and have an uneventful trip to the US. We arrive in Miami and the Troopy is cleared by customs two days later. A couple ofLue lisää
Southern Florida
8. syyskuuta 2024, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
After the spectacular drive along the Keys we have a couple of nights at Key West. We were last here about 20 years ago, but nothing has changed much. Party town at night, with some nice beaches toLue lisää
West Coast Florida
11. syyskuuta 2024, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
We keep a watchful eye on the weather (Hurricane Francine is crossing the Louisiana coastline), as we head up the Gulf Coast of Florida. We get some repairs done near Tampa and enjoy the coastlineLue lisää
The Oldest US City
15. syyskuuta 2024, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
We decide to see the Pacific one last time and cross northern Florida to end up at St Augustine. This is the oldest, continually occupied city on the US, first settled by the Spanish in the mid 16thLue lisää
Cape San Blas
17. syyskuuta 2024, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
We head West, slip past Jacksonville and Tallahassee and end up on the Gulf Coast at Cape San Blas. The aftermath of the direct hit from Cat 5 Hurricane Michael 6 years ago is clear - there are noLue lisää
Party Town
19. syyskuuta 2024, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
It was 20 years ago when we last visited New Orleans! It hasn’t changed much. Not the most attractive city on the fringes, but the French Quarter has some interesting history to keep us occupiedLue lisää
Mouth of the Mississippi
20. syyskuuta 2024, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Well, it used to be the mouth of the Mississippi. We take the fascinating drive south from New Orleans through the swamp and marsh country of the Mississippi delta. Amazing engineering, that only theLue lisää
Glen Campbell Country
23. syyskuuta 2024, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
It’s worthy of a Glen Campbell song, so we put it on our list. Galveston! It has the infrastructure to support a large influx of tourists and the long straight beach runs for miles (many miles). ButLue lisää
Our Last Days on the Gulf
25. syyskuuta 2024, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
Before we head inland, we have a final couple of nights on the Gulf Coast. This time on Padre Island, the long protective barrier to the Southern Texas Coast. The water was clearer here than our lastLue lisää





































































































































































































