There are 467 blog posts for you to enjoy.
Visit to Ipiales, Colombia
November 11, 2022
First, in case you're curious, my wanderings around all the towns I am visiting are visible on my Strava profile. There's a link to it in the column to the right, or if you're on a phone or small tablet it's probably below these blog entries. So far, the towns are Buga, Popayán, Pitalito, and Mocoa. In each of those town I walked between 20 - 25 kilometers (12 - 15 miles) exploring them.
Read More
The towns of Mocoa and Pasto, Colombia
November 8, 2022
I was in Mocoa for 2 nights and enjoyed the visit. It's a nice little pueblo in a small valley at about 600 meters (about 1968 feet). When I first arrived in town I also recieved a message from a friend in Barranquilla telling me to be careful because Mocoa is in a "Red Zone". Here in Colombia there are red zones - areas where any of the various narcotrafico groups/illegal armed groups/guerrilla groups are located. So, when I was out exploring the town I went by the police station and spoke to two officers and they told me the town is fine, the armed groups are all out in the mountain jungles and don't come into the towns. I also spoke to the hostess at the hotel and she told me basically the same thing. And again, I spoke to a man I met when out walking and he, too, said the same thing. So, nothing to worry about walking around in town.
Read More
Pitalito, Huila, Colombia
November 5, 2022
My previous blog was about Popayán, this is the next town on my journey - Pitalito.
The distance to drive from Popayán to Pitalito is about 160 kilometers (100 miles). Not far, and if there were a freeway or open highway between the two towns the trip would be a couple of hours, tops. But no, there's no freeway (they don't exist in Colombia), and the 'highway' is, well, not much of a highway. Before the 'bus' (a 9-passenger van) left town I had been told the road was quite rough and the trip would take about 6 hours. Yeah, it was rough! And, yes, it took at least 6 hours.
Read More
On the road again
November 2, 2022
Well, I'm on the road, again, this time I expect to see pretty much all of South American. If all goes according to plan I will spend 1-2 months in each of the following countries: Ecuador, Perú, Bolivia, Chile, (cross the northern half of Argentina) Paraguay, Uraguay. I expect to see a bit of Brazil crossing from Paraguay to Uraguay.
Read More
An update
October 2, 2022
It's been a while since my last update. First, all is well here in Roldanillo, the weather is as close to perfect as one could expect anywhere, and it's considered by many, including at least one newspaper article, to be one of the safest places in Colombia. I go for bike rides once or twice a week, you can see those in the little right-side app thing - "Chip's Activity." That takes you to my Strava profile.
Read More