Bogota turned out pretty similar to Cali - its probably a good place, but we were there on the wrong nights. Mondays in Bogota turned out to be like an extended Sunday - everything is closed or closes early. We tried to go local for food, in La Candeleria (the historical district), but gave up after finding nowhere good open and hopped in a taxi to La Zona Rosa, the upmarket area. We got food, but it wasnt cheap, and we went looking for an Irish bar that has its own microbrewery - because I am sick of drinking of beer! It was called The Pub, and while the pints of porter may have reminded me of home in a good way, the price of the pints was the opposite - COP$10,000 for one (thats around €4). The Museo del Oro (gold museum) is one of the bigger attractions and is described by Lonely Planet as "not-to-be-missed" - not true. It kept us entertained for an hour or so, but it definitely could have been missed.

San Gil was our next stop, a little town about seven hours north of Bogota that would break up our mammoth journey to the Caribbean coast. Its quite similar to Banos, Ecuador in that its in an area thats good for adventure sports. The first day we signed up for some torrentismo - at least thats what the locals call it, but its really just abseiling down a waterfall. It was great fun, and naturally we all got soaked, but only lasts about five minutes. There were three Dutch couples doing it with us, and one of the guys decided to get down on one knee at the base of the waterfall, and thankfully she said yes.

That evening the hostel owner, an Aussie called Shaun, took us and some other Irish people out for a centuries old local game - tejo. It involves throwing a heavy, metal ball into a 1m square clay pit, from a distance of about 20m. There are points awarded for getting the ball in the clay, how close to the centre you get the ball and if you hit the explosive - thats right, explosive. Theres a little pouch filled with gunpowder thats put in the centre of the clay - hit that and its 6 points. Because it was our first time, we were given two gunpowder targets, but after failing to hit them we decided to litter the clay with targets - about fifteen of them. By the end of the night we had all exploded some clay.

The next day we tried to do some grade 4/5 rafting, but it was fully booked, so we settled for some caving instead. It was another good trip - walking, swimming and crawling our way through a cave for about a mile. We could have stayed another few days in San Gil, doing more activities, but it was time to move onto the northern coast - a twelve hour bus took us to Santa Marta.

Santa Marta is a big city on the Caribbean, but only the first six blocks near the coast are nice, while the rest is a bit dingy. Needless to say, the coast is hot! The two days we were there it was 35 and 36 degrees - to paraphrase Tommy Tiernan, you sweat pointing. We were only there for a night, with one thing in mind - get to the Lost City. After being delayed by the tour operators couple of hours for a siesta, we were booked, starting on the following day, a Saturday, for a whopping COP$600,000.

La Cuidad Perdida (The Lost City) is a city ruins dating back to 200 AD. While its early history is fairly standard for the continent (rich city is overtaken by gold hunger Spanish), its rediscovery is a good story. It was found by some gravediggers in 1973, but for the next two years the local villagers did nothing but steal the treasures, until one of the villagers told the government of its existence. Then the police were put in charge of the ruins, to protect the artefacts, but they were also stealing the treasures. To add a bit of mystery, the police chief managed to take all the treasures that the police had been stealing, and disappear into the jungle, never to be seen again.

Its in Tayrona National Park, which is a rainforest, and a dense, humid one at that. Because there were two girls in our group short on time, we actually ended up doing a four day trek instead of five, which meant for much tougher hiking. On the first day we were late starting, after driving from Santa Marta, and hiked to the first camp - it took about three hours, and was mostly uphill, in mid-30 degree heat and plenty of humidity. And then it started to rain - heavy, dense rain that turns the rivers brown, high and fast. But actually, its a welcome change from the heat, and makes the hiking a bit easier. Although, when nothing dries overnight, and you have to put on wet, smelly clothes the following day, its not so good. We slept in hammocks, a few metres from the rivers edge. The buildings at all of the camps dont really have walls, so when the sun comes up at 6 am, you know its time to get up. Sunset is about 6 pm, so youre in bed by 9.

The second day was tough. It was about six hours of hiking, up to the third camp. Fortunately, there are several swimming areas on the hike, either pools or waterfalls, but both are seriously refreshing. We stopped regularily for fresh fruit snacks along the path. Again, it started to rain, and by the time we got our last river crossing of the day, it was dangerously high. A few of us were reminded of a story working its way around northern Colombia of a French guy and two Germans who were washed away trying to cross a river on this very trip. So we were anxious to say the least about what we were going to do, because we couldnt wait around for the rain to stop without catching hyperthermia. But a few guys arrived at the other side, and between our side and theirs, a rope was tied and we were able to fight our way across. At the third camp, everything is done by torch and candlelight, and even playing cards isnt easy by candlelight.

At dawn on the third morning, we were off to La Cuidad Perdida. A short trek took us to the bottom of over a thousand stone steps that lead up the city. Our tour guide Wilson gave us the details of the massive city, we enjoyed some beers with the army guys who live at the city, and then it was time to make our way back. That day we hiked back to camp two for the night, again living by candlelight for the evening, but no rain! Not that it mattered, cause everything was already damp and smelly. The final day was tough also, another five hours of trekking, but the end was in sight and again it stayed dry. It was a pretty tough few days, but totally worth it.

Back at Santa Marta, there was no rest, because we had to get to Taganga that evening. Taganga is a coastal village about ten minutes outside of Santa Marta, and its one of the cheapest places in the world to get a scuba diving qualification - exactly what we were going there for.

After coughing up COP$580,000, we spent three mornings working towards the PADI Open Water certification. We were diving twice in each day, in the water around Tayrona National Park, which was beginning to feel like a second home. Although I had trouble equalising (getting rid of the pain in your ears at depth), it was brilliant. We got to see tons of fish - moray eels, puffer fish, and a barracuda to name a few. We passed our exam easily enough on the second day, although some found it easier than others and Callanan got 100%. Nicely that got him a free night dive, so I tagged along as well, for our seventh and last dive.

The next day we were off for our little break, to the beaches of Tayrona National Park. After a couple of buses, and a half hour hike in flip flops through the jungle, we arrived at the first beach, called Arricefes. We stayed in hammocks there for the night, before moving onto the third beach, called Cabo San Juan. Its a much nicer beach, but you can also swim at this one, because the current isnt strong. It was hammocks again that night, and more rain, although the hammocks are not so comfortable with sunburn on your back. Leaving on the Tuesday morning, we stopped off at a bakery recommended by Lonely Planet for its chocolate loaves. On this, Lonely Planet was right - calling them pan au chocolat just doesnt do them justice. They are bigger than my fist!

Arriving back at the hostel in Taganga, to pick up some stuff we left there, disaster struck. I couldnt for the life of me find my iPhone. I cant remember where I left it, or in what pocket, so I dont know if its been lost or stolen. But, it could be worse.

So now here I am in Cartagena, another city on the Caribbean coast, about four hours west of Santa Marta, and our last stop in Colombia. Its a much nicer town than Santa Marta, but having said that we have only visited the nice, historical part. The colonial part of the town has a massive wall around it, giving some nice views.

Yesterday, we decided to fly back to Peru, because we are short on time and have a few places to go in South Peru before we head to Machu Picchu. The flight cost us about double what several buses would have, but its at least six times faster, meaning half a days travel instead of three.

Its day fifty of the trip, and weve been to three countries already and traveled over 3000km - not too shabby.