First place we hit in Colombia was a place called Cali. It's down south of the country but it's still a hell of a long bus trip from the Ecuadorian border! I am coming to think that my two and a half hour drive from Dublin to Cork was not that much of a pain after all. Still though driving through the Andes makes the road a bit bumby, bendy and sway-y.

As we arrived in Cali on a Sunday it was a bit dead. The only thing that is open is the giant very American-esque shopping mall. A few of the people we have bumped into travelling south (we are making our way north) have said that these malls/areas are common in the big cities.

We made our way to Salento a coffee growing region for a few days to take in a tour. Good thing was that the place we stayed had it's own coffee (also pinapple, blackberry, banana and bamboo forest) farm just down the road from the hostel. The tour cost about two euro and was actually really interesting. It's a pretty detailed process and we got to taste some fresh coffee at the end. I know it's a not as adventurous as some of the 'special tours'(figure it out yourselves) that you can do in Colombia but I enjoyed it all the same.

Salento is a tiny little town where old men spend the evenings locked in pubs singing songs. There is a national drink in Colombia called Aquardiente- a little less horrible than sambuca that people just neck and sometimes wash down with a bit of water. It would be rude not too sample, some but I think I'll stick to the rum!

Next stop was Medellin. We planned to get to this place for the weekend as it was the start of the flower festival week (Feria de las Flores). Sounds lame, but it basically means that the whole city is out and about for one giant party. On Saturday about ten thousand horses ride through a part of the city and everyone lines the street boozing and dancing away to salsa and reggaeton music. We grabbed a few beers sat in the sun watching the craziness unfold before us. Later that night we headed up to Zona Rosa (clubs and pubs area) where the party was still in full swing. You can get drink from street vendors, chill out and chat to the locals. It was a late night but great fun and hopefully I'll get the chance to experience more festivals like these on the rest of my trip. Oh I was also not allowed to 'lead' when I was salsa dancing with the locals... Harsh on me but I knew it was the right decision at the end of the day.

The following day I was on the road to Bogota! After a quick twelve hour bus (including a little breakdown) we arrived in Bogota about two am. The taxi man had a little trouble finding our hostel but thankfully some police were on hand to give us an escort to hostel and wait to make sure we got in! Colombians are really trying to change the old sterotype of a dangerous and unsafe country.

If was unfortunate that we got to Bogota so early in the week as many things were closed on Monday but that is the way of traveling. Still as the captial it has a lot of history associated with it(gold museum, churches, old old town district called La Candelaria etc). We took a trip into the main center and surprise surprise the busiest place in the area was an Irish pub. If we get some time on he way back down south we might stop off and check out the nightlife!

We are on the way to San Gil at the minute which is another outdoor activity hub. We are hoping to absail down a waterfall there so that should be a laugh. Actually just back from that and it is savage..

Catch ya on the flip flop..