San Andres Island

The northernmost and last stop in in our Latin American trip was in San Andres. A paradise island, located 750 km north of the Colombian coast in the Caribbean sea. We could enjoy several dives with tropical fishes and corals, well worth the trip!

Warm and transparent waters...

People here call it the sea of 7 colors, it actually makes sense!

Blue and violet lizards live on the island.

Tourist can rent golf cars to go around the island, lots of fun!

Tayrona National Park

Almost at the Venezuelan frontier is the Tayrona national park. It used to be house of the native Tayrona Indians, but they left the place centuries ago to move further away in the mountains. The park is still beautiful, with pristine beaches and jungle covered mountains hiding temples from this civilization.

The beaches of the Tayrona park. The sea currents are very strong and it is not safe to swim everywhere.

The fauna and flora are impressive.

Once arrived at the main camp we swam with colorful fishes and slept in hammock!

The next day we hiked up to the temple ruins in the jungle, quite exhausting but worth it!

Cartagena de Indias

Cartagena is the main Colombia city on the Caribbean coast. It has kept its colonial center with colorful houses and flowers on the balconies. The culture on the coast is quite different from the inlands, people here are much more relax.

Women dressed with traditional clothes sell fruits in the street.

El fuerte San Felipe build by the Spanish overlooks the city.

The old town is beautiful with quiet and colorful streets.

Walking there was like visiting a postcard!

Barranquilla's Carnival

After visiting the coffee region we flew north to the Caribbean part of Colombia. It almost seems like a different country! Landscapes are drier and the people are much more easy going. We arrived just in time for Barranquilla¡s Carnival, famous to be one of the biggest after Rio's. People of Barranquilla seem to love music, day or night and were very happy to celebrate with beautiful costumes during these 4 days.

Beautiful and colorful costumes were all over the place.

Several groups had their queens parading on trucks.

Salento and Santa Rosa del Cabales

300 km east of Bogota is the coffee triangle, a mountainous zone full of jungle and coffee plantations. Less than a decade ago the Farcs were ruling this area, but it is now completely safe and well worth the trip!
We had a hike in the Cocora valley near Salento, it is a beautiful place full of palm trees surrounded by fog.
The coffee plantations can also be visited, they show the whole process from the tree to the cup!
2 hours north of Salento is Santa Rosa de Cabales and its hot springs, people come from all over the world to see this relaxing place.

A hummingbird drinking water with sugar. They are extremely fast and hard to take in picture.

The Cocora Valley is full of palm trees up to 60 meters high.

Salento has beautifully decorated houses.

The coffee plantations are all over the place.

They only plant Arabica coffee and harvest by hand twice a year.

Loaded dishes are common in Colombia, here is a trout with rice and fried banana.

The terms of Santa Rosa are famous for the waterfall and the 37 degrees Celsius swimming pools.

Bogota

The last country of our Latin American trip is Colombia, we stayed a couple of days in Bogota which is not as warm as we expected as it is located at an altitude of 2600 meters. The Colombian people have this reputation to make you feel welcome, we can confirm that as they were always happy to help us.

The plaza de armas with the parliament.

The colorful houses of the historical center.

The streets of Bogota is full of life, this guy was quite happy dancing salsa.

Lima

We made a quick detour to Lima and were quite impressed by the city! With big avenues, modern quarters such as Miraflores, Barranco or San Isidro, Lima is growing up fast. The old city center is also completely restored with beautiful colonial buildings and archaeological sites.

The Cholas with their traditional costume performing a dance on the Plaza de Armas.

The house of the archbishop of Lima next to the Cathedral on the Plaza de Armas.

The famous Ceviche, raw fish and sea food cured in lemon with corn and sweet potatoes, yummy!

Huaca Pucllana is a precolombian pyramid recently discovered in the center of Lima.

The "caldo" a fish soup comes served with roasted corn and various Peruvian sauces.

Barranco is an old quarter with many mansions renovated with a lot of style.

Lima is located in front of the Pacific ocean, with beaches and a nice skyline.

The Parque de las Aguas is a colorful place with fountains and a show of water and music at night.