Colombia

Que Caro Es Ser Pobre/How Expensive It Is To Be Poor – Books

March 24, 2012

When I was volunteering at Maya Pedal in Guatemala there was a sign on the wall that said “Que Caro Es Ser Pobre”. It means “How expensive it is to be poor.” As I travel through many of the world’s “poor” countries, I am writing a series of articles about how expensive it is to be poor. [...]

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Colombia To Ecuador – A Famous Church, Counterfeit Money, And Drugs

March 21, 2012

I left Pasto at 8am with a belly full of breakfast-in-bed awesomeness courtesy of my amazing couchsurfing host Ana. I caught a bus to Ipialas, a city ten minutes from the Ecuadorian border. But if you are in the area, you have to go to Las Lajas to see the church. This part of the [...]

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Pasto, Colombia – Unplanned Awesomeness On The Way Out Of Colombia

March 20, 2012

Pasto was a wonderful experience, though it’s a bit hard to describe. I hadn’t planned to go to Pasto. Upon finding out that it takes 16 hours to go from Popayan to Quito, Ecuador, I decided to stop in Pasto to split up the journey a bit. My couchsurfing host Ana was nice enough to [...]

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Popayan, Colombia – The White City

March 17, 2012

Popayan is called The City Of White and you’ll see why in the pictures below. I met an entrepreneurial couple while in Guatape who own two hostels in Popayan. I contacted them to see if they’d be interested in getting a review while I can explore the town. They agreed! The city itself is relatively [...]

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Indigenous Market In Silvia, Colombia – A Feast For The Eyes

March 14, 2012

In the small town of Silvia, Colombia a timeless scene plays itself out every Tuesday. People come in from the surrounding villages, sell their fruits, vegetables, meat, traditional medicine, and catch up on the latest news. I happened to be in Popayan so I rode the bus one hour to check out this beautiful scene [...]

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Lunch Lost In Translation = Me Milking Myself

March 13, 2012

On my first day in Popayan I decided to have a nice, sit down lunch at a local restaurant. The food here is quite cheap, so the prepared menu of the day lunch is only 3500 Pesos/$2. I asked what the menu of the day was. I didn’t understand one or two items she said, [...]

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Volunteering With Fundacion Comeder de Altos de Menga

March 12, 2012

While searching for a place to stay in Cali, Colombia, I contacted Alejandra to see if I could couchsurf with her for a few nights. By the time she replied, someone else already agreed to host me. When I told her this, she said it was too bad but nevertheless invited me to join her [...]

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Cali, Colombia – Chilling Out

March 10, 2012

I really don’t have much to say about Cali. It was the first time I was back in a big city after being robbed, so that was always in the back of my mind. I arrived in the afternoon on my first day there. My couchsurfing host Andrea picked me up at the bus station. [...]

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Cocora Valley – Obscene Beauty, Humming Birds, And Palm Trees That Touch The Clouds

March 7, 2012

On my second day in Salento we hiked up into the mountains and through the Cocora Valley! There was Ernesto, the hostel owner, a Colombian couple staying at the hostel, and a couple (one Spanish the other Swedish) we picked up along the way. Our guide was Jairo, a friend of Ernesto’s. To get there [...]

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