Day 229 - 232 : São Paulo

Feeling small around the
tall buildings in the centre of city

In my final days of Brazil as well as in South America, as I find myself back in Sao Paulo, the 1st place where I first arrived in South America about 6 months ago.  Time flies, as it is just about another 1.5 months before I return to Singapore.

The few days in Sao Paulo allowed me to catch up on my house-keeping of travel plans and planning for the next 1.5mths on the road; the opportunity which I never had over the last couple months without a proper computer access after my netbook got stolen.

For that reason, and since having been in Sao Paolo previously for a couple of days, I did minimal sightseeing.  My impression of this city when I was first here was nothing exciting, and that didn´t change much on my return of this trip.

Day 222 - 228 : Carnaval in Rio

World´s Greatest Show!

When I left Rio a few months ago, I had the feeling I would once again return.  Just because it is such a beautiful city, and there were still a few sights I have yet to see (eg. Pao de Azucar and Niteroi, which even after my 2nd trip I still have not visited!  Perhaps there needs to be this feel of unfinished business in a city if I want to come back again!).

At that point, I never imagined it would be this fast; I only decided in the last couple of months to extend my trip, just to attend Carnaval, and here I am!

This time round, the feeling of Rio feels different from before.  It is still a beautiful place to be in, and with better weather too (i.e. much warmer and no rain).  However, the crowds on the street is incredible!  It seemed like the whole world is here (at an estimate of about 800,000 tourists, in addition to the locals, packed in the main streets of Rio) just to attend Carnaval too, which is said to be the World´s Greatest Show!

Tijuca National Park

We needed to seek some reprieve from the crowd and blockos (street parties), and so decided to take a drive to the Tijuca National Park, where one can find a waterfall, and spend a few hours relaxing.

If not for Torsten, I wouldn´t have known that there was a waterfall in Rio so close to the city!  Located about 20 mins drive from the apartment, we saw a lot of people around the area as we approached and tried to find a place to park.

"Greatest Show on Earth"

The Carnival in Brazil is a big part of the Brazilian Culture, and it is sometimes referred to by the Brazilians as the "Greatest Show on Earth".


I had of course returned to Rio hoping to watch the parade, when I found out that the parade is held in the Sambodromo, and one has to buy tickets to watch it.  By the time I checked for tickets availability, they were already sold out, with most of the seats exorbitantly priced.  

Day 196 : Flight to Panama

It was a 1.5 hours flight to Bogota, followed by a transit in Bogota airport for about 3 hours and then another 1.5 hours to Panama - 4 times the time needed to fly direct from Cartagena to Panama city, but with a USD50 savings, the slight inconvenience was marginal. In fact, the journey was not as bad as I imagined it to be and COPA airlines had been much more comfortable than I expected.

2 interesting things happened when I was in Bogota airport though.  First, when I arrived at Bogota airport, we were met by a couple of COPA staff, who led a few of us transiting to Cartagena to a terminal to process our boarding passes.

I was subsequently led by one of the staff to one of their counters, and for some reasons, after being asked to sign a document, I was handed with COP65,000 in cash!  I was extremely puzzled as I was the only one in the group that was led to the counter, and additionally handed cash!  

Knowing not to complain when money is handed out to you, I took the money without asking why and left.  Yay, more money in my pocket!

The 2^nd interesting thing was with the immigration.  I had been extremely concern that I would encounter problems with immigration since I had overstayed in the country.   But when I presented my passport, they seemed to be more intrigued with the passport numbers found on the top of every page in my passport, as well as the particulars page on the passport.

Day 193 - 195 : Cartagena

It is hard for anyone not to like Cartagena... ok.. maybe just the weather (read : hot and sunny), but just walking and exploring the streets of Cartagena city is a pure pleasure.

Modern Cartagena in
fortress background

Cartagena city is enclosed within the fortress walls located next to the sea. Sights of historical buildings, colourfully dressed black women parading their bowl of fruits on their heads, the warmth of the locals, the gush of cool breeze flowing through the streets, walking along the fortress walls admiring the view of the sea on one side and the historic city, horse drawn carriages trotting along the narrow streets, are just some of the things which makes up the Cartagena charm.  

Day 192 : Baranquilla

I must say that Baranquilla is perhaps the most disappointing city I have been to in Colombia!  Baranquilla was never a planned stop in my original itinerary, but just because there has been so much mentioned about it, (famous for a Carnaval held once a year here in this city), and being enroute to Cartagena, I thought I would stop here for a night to explore the town.

Day 189 - 191 : Tayrona National Park

Just came back from spending 2 nights in Tayrona National Park, sleeping in a hammock about 50m from the beach.  Being the first time I am sleeping overnight in a hammock, it was a rather interesting experience, though it got a little chilly in the night and I had problems sleeping through till the next day.

Tayrona is said to have one of the nicer beaches in Colombia, however after spending the last 2 nights here, I have to say that I really miss the beaches of Asia, and look forward to my trip to Koh Lipe when I am back!

Day 188 : Santa Marta

Got into Santa Marta early this morning at about 9am, and went straight to the hostel.  As usual I had not really booked anything, and tried my luck by heading straight to the hostel.

Upon arrival, they mentioned that they couldn't confirm anything until about 12 noon - it is currently the high season, and that they have some tentative bookings, and will reconfirm with them before letting me know.

After a couple of hours wait, I finally got a bed in a 10-bed dorm.

Day 186 & 187 : Final Days in Bogota

Last 2 days in Bogota - didn´t do much except for catching up with some of Robin´s friends when I got back, as well as got the chance to eat at Juan Pablo´s (a friend of Robin who operates a cafe round the corner where he stays) cafe, which had just recently re-opened after it had been under renovations for the last 2 weeks.

Day 184 & 185 : Villa de Leyva

Villa de Leyva is located about 3.5 hours bus ride from Bogota.  I had not heard of this place until a few days ago when I realised I am going to be stuck in Bogota much longer than I had hoped for.  It was recommended by Robin, his brothers, as well as a couple of his friends, and said to have one of the larger squares in Colombia.

Thermal Pool in Villa de Leyva

After a long trek, I booked a trip to the thermal pools with a tour company that provides a return transfer.

The thermals were located about 20 mins drive from Villa de Leyva, and the sun has already set by the time we arrived (around 7pm).  I was surprised to find that people were carrying torchlights to walk down the path from the carpark.  Even more surprising was when I arrived at the thermals.  It was pitch black and it looked like a totally natural setting..

Parque Iguaque

Under recommendation by Robin, I left the hostel at 7am and made my way to Parque Iguaque, located about 45 mins by bus.

Upon arrival, it was about another 30 mins walk from the bus stop to the main entrance of the National Park.  Parque Iguaque is supposed to have a very significant historical meaning for Colombia, as according to some tribal beliefs, it is at the lagoon at the top of Iguaque which was where humans first came about.

Disappointment at Brazil Embassy

I managed to hitch a ride in Miguel´s car together with Robin, since their office is just 1 block from the Brazil embassy.  Considering that I had lugged my luggage along (so that I can make my way up north upon obtaining my passport), the ride was good instead of having to squeeze in the bus with the morning traffic.

I had asked Robin for a favour to help me with translation at the Brazil Embassy and to mention about the news article and changes to the visa policy.  The staff at the counter subsequently showed us a long list of all countries and the visa requirements (information which was dated in mid November), and according to it, visas are needed for Singaporeans.  I pointed to them the date and mentioned that the news article was published on December 14.

Day 183 : Brazil visa not needed?

Got an email from Aliang today, after some email exchanges we had over the last couple days, and my complaining about the extended stay in Bogota to settle my Brazil visa.

It was at this time he pointed me to an article in ¨AsiaOne¨ website dated 14 December that an agreement has been signed which does not require Singaporeans to enter Brazil for up to 30 days.

Yippee!!!  It is strange that the embassy didn´t highlight this to me when I was there.  Since today is a public holiday, I am going to make a trip tomorrow, and see if I can get my passport and hopefully money back too!

Day 182 : First Time at the Movies in 6 months!

It is Robin's birthday today.  I had headed out earlier in the morning to take a walk around the city and to settle some personal stuff, before heading back to Robin´s place.  While on the way back to Robin's house, a car suddenly stopped halfway along the street and to my surprise it was Miguel (Robin´s brother), and in the back seat was Robin.

They were on their way to lunch, and was hoping I could join them, but as I had no contact number, I was lucky that I had run into them on their way out!

Day 181 : Montserrate

Funicular

I made my way to Montserrate, a mountain that dominates the city of Bogota, and rises 3,152m above sea level, where a cathedral is located on top.  The hill is a pilgrim destination, as well as a tourist attraction.

Being lazy, I decided to take the funicular up, and then take the walking path down later.  The funicular ride was not as pleasant compared to the other funiculars I had taken in other places, as it was extremely squeezy, and one could hardly see the view of the city within the funicular due to the crowd.  It was a great relief when the doors opened upon our arrival, where I could once again take a proper breather.

Day 180 : Extended stay in Bogota

The first most important thing I had to do in Bogota was to make my visa for Brazil, in order for me to attend Carnaval in Rio, as well as to catch my flight out to Barcelona!  My earlier visa had expired, and thus I made my way to the Brazil Embassy.

Encounter with the Colombian Police

I had to get some documentation done at the police station, and thus made my way to the tourist information centre to seek for directions.  I must say that after today's experience with the Colombian police, I am extremely impressed at how warm and friendly people in Colombia are!

Apparently the tourist police located in the same tourist information centre was not able to help and so called to check and soon mentioned that the superintendent was busy and they will send a vehicle to pick me up when he is done.

Day 179 : Bus Ride to Bogota

I had wanted to take the night bus from Medellin to Bogota last night, and had arrived at the bus terminal at 8.30pm to buy my tickets.  Alas, all tickets for the night was already sold out, and there were at least 10 buses from the time I reached the terminal to the last bus for the night heading to Bogota!

I have had no problems in Colombia regarding getting bus ticket to the next location upon arrival at the terminal, and so this being the first time, I was quite surprised.  When I asked one of the counter staff why wasn´t there any tickets, all she replied was ¨Mucho Gente¨ (Too many people).