Colombia is an incredibly beautiful country and our first few weeks in South America were filled with colors. First we took in the lovely streets of old town Cartagena with its many terraces spilling over with bougainvilleas, then we spent a great week climbing at a spectacular sandstone cliff with an unbeatable view. Next we visited the picturesque colonial town of Barichara, where we camped overlooking another amazing canyon and walked the quiet streets. As we made our way towards El Cocuy we drove up and down mountainsides, across stream beds, and through rolling farm lands where spotted cows lazily munched away, and fields of purple potato flowers decorated the landscape.
Monthly Archives: September 2014
Back on the Road
After a little more than two weeks, a few thousand dollars, and countless hours of hard work, Chimera is purring like a kitten and we’re back on the road! We are now moving on to new adventures with a nearly-rebuilt engine. A big thanks to our attractive mule, Elizabeth, who managed to sneak into Colombia with two large, very heavy bags from the US full of auto parts. We are also thankful for all of the extremely friendly and helpful people in El Cocuy who not only loaned us tools and offered assistance, but were also very kind and hospitable and made our extended stay quite enjoyable.
Sailing to South America
Around ten years ago Emily sailed from Cartagena, Colombia to Panama with her aunt and uncle through the incredible San Blas Islands in the Kuna Yala district of Panama. It was an amazing experience. So when we started making plans for this Pan-Am journey and thinking about crossing the Darién Gap, we got excited about the possibility of crossing to South America by sailboat.
Panama
Most of our time in Panama was dedicated to arranging the dreaded crossing of the Darién Gap, but we did get a chance to enjoy some great places, and even got in some good climbing on a spectacular rock wall.