A lot of things have been said about Colombia,  mainly that it is a dangerous country to travel through on your own. We had our moments of doubt and were certain that transition through to Venezuela would be the sensible thing to do.
We convinced ourselves that while keeping close to the main roads and only drive during daylight,  we would be safe. This reassuring made us alter our direction despite rumours of road blocks, guerillas and kidnappings and head on to the northernmost city on the South American continent; Cartagena.
Starting off the second day went fine until about five kilometres out of town… A long snake of cars, busses, trucks and even horsecarriages queued up in front of us - our passage north was blocked by some of Mother Earths droppings - a huge pile of dirt and passing would not be possible for at least five hours! We conferred with some locals and went off the main road and continued on a secondary road.
The road was mountanious and winding, but fine - for a while, then torment went loose. Graveled roads and endless roadworks concluded in numerous hours of driving anyway. However the marvelous landscape and the picturesque villages lining the road like a string of pearls made up for our wretchedness. The day had reached the time where the sun turns slightly orange and discovering of a safe place to stay was vital.
Some time went and a big banner arching the road caught our attention - Hotel Real Dinastia - you place in heaven. No immediate signs lead us to this sanctuary and we took the first possible road and discovered a consealed steep driveway lined with big white Greek columns which took us to a “luxury” compound caressed by vast land and high trees. We ended a long driving day by cooling off in an enormous pool edging a hillside where we grasped in our minds, the fantastic view of the mountains surrounding the valley.
Trusting in sheer luck we continued “fearlessly” towards the north. The winding roads never seemed to end and time was not on our side. Hours before sundawn we started our search for a place to stay. Hotels was not abundantly found at the Colombian countryside and we prepared ourselves to drive through to Cartagena inspite of the fact that darkness would be our close traveling companion for quite some time.
Adrenallin was about to brim over in my veins each time we had to stop for road toll or the military forces in the dark. The light was slightly enough to lit the passage and shape silhuettes of oildrums and armed soldiers blocking the road. During the day this is nothing to be concerned about but somehow the dark intensifies these situations and makes you feel exposed.
The lack of signs made us wonder if we were on the right track until we saw the purpur light illuminating the line where the sky appears to meet the Earth  -  Cartagena was within our reach - safe!

Mountains and rivers in Colombia

Popayan

A little girl is sitting glued to the television. She is like in a trance, she cannot hear you - and out of your reach, she is amongst weird animals. Tell her to go there - she would stare at you and say: unthinkable, unreachable - like the moon…Things change and here we were where everyday was a new unbelievable adventure seeing amazing creatures on their special place in the world. We went from one hemisphere to the other twice whilst criss-crossing between the islands.It was not the fact of being on a fantastic yacht for a week, neither the food - not even the excellent group we were - it was the mere thought of being there - voyaging the vulcanic islands of Galapagos.

See all the Galapagos pictures here