The Craze for Travelling

The Craze for Travelling

Travelling is a passion, and I've been on it since my childhood (courtesy my dad). My passion has led me all around the globe from high altitude deserts, to rain forests, to back waters, to snow covered peaks. You name it!! Read more🇸🇪Stockholm

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The South American Odyssey The Craze for Travelling
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Day 142
Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 5:04 PM
☁️ 2 °C
Altitude: 1,462 m
Colombia Curití 6.604167, -73.0736116°36’15” N 73°4’25” W
Straw formations up close
February 18, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C
Some close up pictures of the amazing formation.
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Day 142
Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 4:49 PM
⛅ 25 °C
Altitude: 1,462 m
Colombia Curití 6.604167, -73.0736116°36’15” N 73°4’25” W
2
Chamber of straw formations
February 18, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
At the end of the slight climb within the cave was a bigger chamber with many beautiful stalagmites and stalactites. There were even limestone straw formations on the roof. This is a very rare formation and takes hundreds of thousands of years and just the right conditions of humidity and air circulation for it to form. Of the 30 odd caves I've been in, I've never seen this before. Generally these are very deep inside the caves where there is no wind and so it normally occurs in chambers that are separated from the cave entrances by stretches of water fully covering the cave path all the way to the top.Read more
Traveler Was the ground not slippery?
4/2/18Reply
The Craze for Travelling A bit.
4/3/18Reply
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The South American Odyssey The Craze for Travelling
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Day 142
Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 4:49 PM
⛅ 24 °C
Altitude: 1,462 m
Colombia Curití 6.604167, -73.0736116°36’15” N 73°4’25” W
The climb inside the cave
February 18, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
The next stretch in the cave was a slight climb. We had to climb over boulders to reach the higher chambers. The water below disappeared and we were walking on dry land. There was a natural limestone formation on the cave wall in the shape of a dinosaur.Read more
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Day 142
Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 4:39 PM
☀️ 25 °C
Altitude: 1,462 m
Colombia Curití 6.604167, -73.0736116°36’15” N 73°4’25” W
Crawling in the water
February 18, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
The next stretch was a crawl through a very narrow stretch with water below. We had to get down on all our fours to get through to the other side deeper in the cave. The chamber on the other side had the roof about 6-7 meters high. There were limestone stalagmites, stalactites and pillars. It was eerie to see all these formations so deep below with no lights besides those of our torches.Read more
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Day 142
Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 3:38 PM
⛅ 37 °C
Altitude: 1,492 m
Colombia Curití 6.606389, -73.0688896°36’23” N 73°4’8” W
Deeper in the cave
February 18, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 37 °C
As we started going deeper in the cave, the water became knee deep. In one of the sections, there were some bats as well. Here our guides told us to be extremely careful and not touch anywhere as the bat droppings might have bacteria that could be harmful. The roof was still about 2 meters high and we could see some limestone formations.Read more
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Day 142
Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 3:33 PM
⛅ 9 °C
Altitude: 1,492 m
Colombia Curití 6.606389, -73.0688896°36’23” N 73°4’8” W
Going into the Vaca cave
February 18, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
The name Vaca means "cow" in Spanish. The cave had lied hidden in a private property for many centuries till one day a cow grazing in this area fell in the hole in the ground. The search team found the cow in the hole in the ground and found the entrance to the cave. That's how the cave got its name. The starting section of the cave is vertically down for about 3-4 meters and then turns horizontally into the cave. Immediately, on reaching down, we were walking in ankle deep water. The roof of the cave was about 2 meters here.Read more
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Day 142
Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 3:33 PM
⛅ 28 °C
Altitude: 1,492 m
Colombia Curití 6.606389, -73.0688896°36’23” N 73°4’8” W
2
Ready for some spelunking
February 18, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
We reached Curiti at 3:30 pm. The bus dropped us in the main square of the town. On the way in, we had seen the agency shop where we were supposed to go. We quickly walked back to the agency office and prepared for the caving experience. Our guide Juan and his assistant Miguel were waiting for us. They told us to leave everything back at the office and take the phone camera at our own risk only. They told there would be waist deep water and a lot of places where we would need to crawl through narrow gaps with water below. We left our bags in the lockers at the office and took only our phones. Mine is a waterproof Samsung Galaxy S7 so I was fine with it and Hristo took a plastic cover for is iPhone. We changed into our swimming trunks, water shoes and old tshirts. Then, the 2 of us were off along with the guides, to the entrance of the cave. Maria went to the main square for some shopping and would wait for us at the office in about 90 min.Read more
Traveler Donot know how they transported the fuselage to this hilly narrow place? May be it was a fabricated model?
4/2/18Reply
The Craze for Travelling Ya could be. We were wondering the same.
4/3/18Reply
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Day 142
Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 3:04 PM
🌧 6 °C
Altitude: 1,120 m
Colombia Parque Principal 6.554167, -73.1333336°33’15” N 73°7’60” W
Lunch and off again...
February 18, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ 🌧 6 °C
Everybody in the group was done with their flights by 12:15 pm. After that we set off back to San Gil. It was fascinating to go through the valleys and rods we had been seeing from high above just a while ago. We were back in San Gil by about 2 pm. Maria joined us there and we went to the main square to have our lunch. We had planned to do caving in Cueva de la Vaca in the afternoon. We were supposed to take the local bus to Curiti and reach there by 3 pm. There, a local representative would be waiting to take us into the cave. After our lunch, we walked to the local bus terminal and found that the bus frequency was much less than what we had been told. The bus we caught left the terminal at 3 pm. Curiti is about 15 kms from San Gil so we would arrive about 30 min late there.Read more
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Day 142
Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 11:26 AM
⛅ 26 °C
Altitude: 1,462 m
Colombia Cepitá 6.766389, -73.0105566°45’59” N 73°0’38” W
A view from above...
February 18, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
After another 15 min, the pilot prepared for the landing. He asked if I would like some nice spins while we land. I agreed and then he let the parachute collapse a bit so we spun and fell in big swoops. The G forces were very high, it was like nothing I had experience before. Just a few meters above the ground he steadied it and prepared for the landing. The breeze had picked up by now so it was a bit hard to control the landing. We managed to touch ground just 2-3 meters from the cliff face. It was just amazing!!!Read more
TravelerAmazing
4/1/18Reply
The Craze for TravellingIsn't it 😊
4/1/18Reply
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Day 142
Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 11:06 AM
⛅ 25 °C
Altitude: 1,462 m
Colombia Cepitá 6.766389, -73.0105566°45’59” N 73°0’38” W
A 360 degrees view from above
February 18, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
What an amazing experience it was!! After jumping off the cliff, we started going down along the cliff edge while the pilot tried to catch the thermals to make us climb. Eventually, after almost being 50 mts from one of the slopes, he managed to catch a strong updraft and we soared higher and higher till we could see the Condors flying at our level and then even below us. The views were mindblowing. The pilot managed to stabilize the parachute high above the cliffs and then did a 360 degrees turn a couple of time so I could take some amazing pictures.Read more
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Day 142
Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 10:41 AM
⛅ 24 °C
Altitude: 1,550 m
Colombia Cepitá 6.77, -73.0072226°46’12” N 73°0’26” W
4
2
Up... up... and away...
February 18, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
The jump and the take off...
Traveler Life time experience.
4/2/18Reply
Traveler 9'.No instructions were given before starting the PG.
4/2/18Reply
Traveler One above your head is gliding very high.
4/2/18Reply
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Day 142
Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 10:17 AM
⛅ 24 °C
Altitude: 1,543 m
Colombia Cepitá 6.769722, -73.0072226°46’11” N 73°0’26” W
2
Getting ready for the para gliding
February 18, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
It took us about 30-40 min after reaching there to sign the waiver forms and the pilots and the helpers to spread the parachutes to get ready for the flight. Besides our group there were 3-4 more other groups using the same launching pad. Our group had 2 pilots so the plan was to start with the lightest and go towards the heaviest members since the thermals were expected to pick up as the day progressed and it would make it easier for the heavier members to take flight. Each flight was expected to be between 40-50 min depending on the air currents and thermals. The views around the launch pad were really beautiful and we were looking forward to the jump and then the views from higher up. Hristo and I got places in the second round.Read more
Traveler Similar to Rohtang pass view.
4/2/18Reply
The Craze for Travelling 👍👍👍
4/3/18Reply
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Day 142
Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 8:35 AM
🌧 7 °C
Altitude: 1,123 m
Colombia Parque Principal 6.555556, -73.1358336°33’20” N 73°8’9” W
Para gliding time
February 18, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ 🌧 7 °C
The activity planned for the day was para gliding. Hristo and I were up and ready by 8 am and headed for the terrace for our breakfast. The views from the terrace were amazing. It reminded us of our hostel with similar terrace views in Potosi (Bolivia). After the breakfast, we walked over to the office of Paravolar. As per schedule, the van to pick us up, arrived at 8:30 am. Then, we were off to the Chichamocha National Park where the para gliding happens in the canyon of the Rio Umpala. The starting point for the para gliding is about 40 kms from San Gil and takes about an hour to reach. We reached the Chichamocha Canyon at around 10 am.Read more
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Day 141
Saturday, February 17, 2018 at 8:41 PM
☀️ 11 °C
Altitude: 1,121 m
Colombia Parque Principal 6.554167, -73.1336116°33’15” N 73°8’1” W
Dinner at Balcone Sengiteno
February 17, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C
Hristo came back after about 40 min. Our hostel too had been able to provide us all the activities we had wanted but they too wanted all the money in cash. Interestingly, the price Hristo had been able to negotiate at the hostel was exactly the same as that we had been able to negotiate with the only tour operator we had liked near here. So, basically, there was nothing to choose between as far as the cost was concerned and since we were now at the main square, we decided to book them there at the Paravolar agency nearby. It took us quite a while to find an ATM with the least withdrawal fee but eventually, we managed to withdraw the required amount. In all, we paid a total of 915,000 COP in cash as a discounted package of Hristo and me doing Para gliding, white water rafting, caving in the Vaka cave and Abseiling while Maria would join us in the rafting and abseiling.
After arranging the whole thing, we went back to the hostel and came back to the main square with Maria. We had our dinner at Balcone Sengiteno restaurant there.Read more
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Day 141
Saturday, February 17, 2018 at 6:29 PM
⛅ 11 °C
Altitude: 1,132 m
Colombia Parque Principal 6.554722, -73.1333336°33’17” N 73°7’60” W
By lanes of San Gil
February 17, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
While waiting for Hristo to come back, I checked out a few side lanes to see if I could find more tour operators. Besides some interesting graffiti, I didn't find anything interesting anywhere.
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Day 141
Saturday, February 17, 2018 at 5:47 PM
⛅ 4 °C
Altitude: 1,124 m
Colombia Parque Principal 6.554722, -73.1341676°33’17” N 73°8’3” W
Around the main square
February 17, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C
Maria was feeling a bit drained due to lack of sleep so she headed back with Hristo to our hostel while I roamed around the main square enjoying the atmosphere and also trying to find if I could find any other operator in the side lanes. There were no other operators to be found near the main square but as it started getting dark, I noticed the fancy buses with their aileron accessories and flashing lights :)Read more
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Day 141
Saturday, February 17, 2018 at 5:27 PM
☁️ 26 °C
Altitude: 1,132 m
Colombia Parque Principal 6.555833, -73.1330566°33’21” N 73°7’59” W
Catedral de la Santa Cruz, San Gil
February 17, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
We went around the main square trying to find operators who could offer the different activities San Gil is famous for. We couldn't find any conspicuous ones which surprised us since the town is famous for outdoor activities only, but you can't really do those activities without a proper equipment and an operator organizing the activity. We looked up on our offline maps on Maps.me and found 3 of them near the main square. We went to all of them one by one but couldn't make up our mind since there was only one who we felt had all the information we needed, but this one wanted the full payment for all the activities in cash. Our hostel too had pinups with the different activities and their prices, so we decided to go back and check there before finalizing.
Right on the main square was the Catedral de la Santa Cruz, we decided to go in and have a look before going back. It was a beautiful cathedral and this building along with the main square reminded us the main square and cathedrals in Cusco, Peru. Here too, there were graves that were not below the ground but above the ground in chests in walls.Read more
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Day 141
Saturday, February 17, 2018 at 3:13 PM
⛅ 5 °C
Altitude: 1,125 m
Colombia Parque Principal 6.555556, -73.1347226°33’20” N 73°8’5” W
San Gil
February 17, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
The overnight bus reached San Gil at 8 am in the morning. We didn't have any places booked so we decided to go around the bus terminal and see if we could find a place to stay nearby for one night, before we try and find something better.
For a small city, San Gil packs a lot of punch. This is the outdoor capital of Colombia and a mecca for extreme-sporting enthusiasts. The area is best known for white-water rafting, but other popular pastimes include paragliding, caving, rappelling and trekking. We had planned to be here 3-4 days depending on what all we would be interested in and also the cost of doing the various activities.
We couldn't find anything within a reasonable budget around the bus terminal so we started walking towards the town. The bus terminal is about 2 kms from the town and we couldn't find any good places to stay on the way. It was downhill all the way to the 1st bridge across the river Rio Fonce into San Gil town. Here, there was a very beautiful view of the whole town. Just across the bridge we found a nice Hostel Santander Aleman Terrace Vista at a very decent price of around 70,000 COP for the 3 of us per day. After checking in, we slept for a few hours. The night bus had stopped at Bucaramanga on the way where we had had to change buses to San Gil. Because of that, we had not been able to sleep properly. We woke up around 3 pm and were hungry. We scouted around our hostel and found a nice place in Restaurante Balcon Colombiano. Here we had a sumptuous meal of eggs, rice, yukka, red beans, fried plantain and avocado salad. After the meal, we went to the main square to find tour and activities operators so that we could start off by next day only.Read more
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Day 140
Friday, February 16, 2018 at 4:45 PM
🌧 8 °C
Altitude: 11 m
Colombia Mompos 9.239444, -74.4227789°14’22” N 74°25’22” W
Time to move on
February 16, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ 🌧 8 °C
After the lovely experience at the filigree workshops we walked to the nearby basilica of Menor del Santisimo Cristo de Mompox. It had a beautiful wooden interior roof and a gilded apse. From here, we walked along the banks of the river Magdalena. Here we had our lunch at one of the restaurants on the banks of the river with out sitting tables overlooking the calm flowing waters of the Magdalena under the soothing shadows of the trees on the banks. After our lunch, we went back to the Santa Barbara church where we picked up our bags from the hostel and then walked over to the bus station to catch our night bus to San Gil some 450 kms away.Read more
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Day 140
Friday, February 16, 2018 at 4:11 PM
☀️ 22 °C
Altitude: 14 m
Colombia Mompós 9.241667, -74.4236119°14’30” N 74°25’25” W
Filigree workshop
February 16, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
Opposite the Conception church, there were workshops being conducted for the underprivileged children. Teaching them the nuances of the delicate artwork. The teacher welcomed us inside and explained the procedure to us.
The art may be said to consist of curling, twisting and plaiting fine pliable threads of metal, and uniting them at their points of contact with each other by means of flux such as borax, with the help of the blowtorch. When granulated motifs are desired, small beads are made traditionally by using precious metal wire cut up in small pieces and mixed with flux and placed in the small holes of a pitted block of charcoal and are then melted with a blowtorch, after which the bits of wire curl up and take a natural spherical like shape to end up in minuscule grains. The more delicate work is generally protected by framework of stouter wire.Read more
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Day 140
Friday, February 16, 2018 at 4:04 PM
☀️ 24 °C
Altitude: 18 m
Colombia Mompós 9.241389, -74.4236119°14’29” N 74°25’25” W
Iglesia de la Concepción, Mompox
February 16, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
Another beautiful building in Mompox is yet another church, the Iglesia de la Concepción.
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Day 140
Friday, February 16, 2018 at 2:31 PM
⛅ 23 °C
Altitude: 19 m
Colombia Mompós 9.243333, -74.4259°14’36” N 74°25’30” W
Iglesia de San Francisco, Mompox
February 16, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Iglesia de San Francisco was another beautiful building in Mompox. A unique thing about the church was the the clock in the church's clock tower built in 1890. The clock functions anti-clockwise. The 12 is still at the top but the 1 is to its left and not right. Its an interesting thing that we always presume the clock should go clockwise, while if you think about it, its equally valid to construct a clock the goes anti-clockwise and still tell the time. No one questions the status quo and we continue living in a world that is around us without giving a second thought to the things.Read more
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Day 140
Friday, February 16, 2018 at 2:00 PM
⛅ 29 °C
Altitude: 27 m
Colombia Mompós 9.240556, -74.4252789°14’26” N 74°25’31” W
Filigrana Goldsmiths
February 16, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
Walking around the town, we ended up inside one of the shops selling the silver and gold filigree jewelry.
Mompox is well-known for its skilled goldsmiths and is home to the unique art of Filigrana jewelry. The seven-step art is a result of North African techniques brought by Spaniards mixing with Colombian goldsmith practices. The silver is melted down and made into a thread, which is then crafted into beautiful and unique works of art. The people of Mompox are proud and dedicated to preserving this art form, which is passed on from parents to children and is also taught at a local community center for disadvantaged youth.Read more
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Day 140
Friday, February 16, 2018 at 1:41 PM
☀️ 31 °C
Altitude: 27 m
Colombia Mompos 9.239722, -74.4255569°14’23” N 74°25’32” W
Santo Domingo Church, Mompox
February 16, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
We walked around enjoying the lovely colonial buildings, green tree covered plazas and churches for which Mompox is famous. The Santo Domingo Church was a lovely yellow colored building.
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Day 140
Friday, February 16, 2018 at 12:45 PM
☀️ 31 °C
Altitude: 19 m
Colombia Mompos 9.238056, -74.4266679°14’17” N 74°25’36” W
2
Mompox Cemetery
February 16, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
The Mompox cemetery was an interesting one. Here the dead are not only buried below the ground as done normally, but also in small chambers along the walls. We had seen a similar cemetery in Barcelona earlier. It was extremely hot in the sun so after spending some time in the cemetery, we were back in the shadows of the tree outside the cemetery. We bough some ice creams in one of the shops to cool us down and got artificial vampire jaws along with it ;)Read more
Traveler This is the best photo 😂
3/31/18Reply
The Craze for Travelling 😁😁😁
3/31/18Reply
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Day 140
Friday, February 16, 2018 at 12:36 PM
⛅ 9 °C
Altitude: 19 m
Colombia Mompos 9.238056, -74.4266679°14’17” N 74°25’36” W
To Mompox Cemetery
February 16, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
Having purchased our bus tickets, we checked our offline maps and saw that the nearest place to see was the Mompox cemetery about 300 mts away. We walked over towards the cemetery. On the way, we walked under the shadows of the Mango and Totumo trees. We also saw barber shops under the trees, reminding of the UMT (Under Mango Tree) barber shops in India ;)
The cemetery had an imposing white arch as the entrance. There was no entry fee.Read more
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