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Jun 5

From the archives: This shot was taken in Playa de

From the archives: This shot was taken in Playa de Belen. A sweet, quiet town of permanently whitewashed walls with burgundy trim. The residents are proud of their town and the smell of paint is ever present! We spent a week or so here with @kissmybay before heading south to Bucaramanga.

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May 29

#Nabusimake and it’s idyllic mountain setting of

#Nabusimake and it’s idyllic mountain setting offers a travel experience gem at every turn. We found three grubby but smiling faces peering though the undergrowth in a flower filled meadow, clearly keen to see who the white faces were. A massive cultural divide bridged with some smiles and broken Spanish. Never has ‘meeting the locals’ been so extraordinary.

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May 22

Another pic from the archives. An incredible ‘st

Another pic from the archives. An incredible ‘step back in time’ in the Sierra Nevada mountains. We’d spent a day or two in #pueblobello before getting permission to enter the idyllic indigenous Arawak village of #nabusimake
It was closed to ‘outsiders’ but after chatting over lunch with one of the tribe members we were granted an overnight stay with her aunt inside the village. The location, high in the Sierra Nevada, is epically beautiful. Based along a immaculate river the thatched huts and white dressed locals are picture perfect (unfortunately they are not keen on having their picture taken). It really was a holy grail travel moment; an intimate immersion in an ancient culture with little integration with the outside world. Simply stunning. This picture shows one of the Arahuacos installing a new roof on his home.

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May 20

Another shot from the archives. This one was from

Another shot from the archives. This one was from Jericho, a small colourful town in Colombia’s coffee region. We stopped overnight on the way to Filandia, similar town but Jericho was far less touristy.

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May 15

We’re digging the archives for pictures from our

We’re digging the archives for pictures from our trip that we haven’t posted. This one was a stop gap following desperate search for cell data. As usual, we got set up 3 minutes before Claire was due online. Windy, dusty, and with some strange looks from the Wayuu tribe passers by. Another example of how diverse Colombia is.

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Apr 30

Weaving our way through the Cocora Valley. There i

Weaving our way through the Cocora Valley. There is a little forest of wax palms half way around the trail, but before we got there we spent a night high up in the pines; which felt very Canadian.

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Apr 17

I was going to put our feed on hold, while we sat

I was going to put our feed on hold, while we sat out the covid nonsense. But, I think it’s a good opportunity to grab some snapshots of this unique point in history. Today was vegetable and fruit delivery day at the campground. Masked men pulling into your location in a truck might usually be seen as a threat, thy fact that it’s necessary and respectful is a sign of the times.

Occasionaly they screw up our order. They don’t know how many of us are here (45) so our order of 18kg of bananas gets ‘corrected’ to just 18 bananas. But, getting your groceries delivered is marvellous.

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Apr 13

Taking the trail through the Cocora Valley. It see

Taking the trail through the Cocora Valley. It seems a world away now. Overlanding’s nomadic lifestyle is a significant distance away from being in lockdown! But ... we’re still in Colombia, still living in the camper and still enjoying the fact that my bathroom, coffee, fridge, chocolate cupboard, office and bed are all literally one step away from each other.

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Mar 28

/// Follow our new run page @theglobalrunproject

/// Follow our new run page @theglobalrunproject
Before overlanding we were competitive triathletes. The bike and swim were always going to be too hard to maintain. But the simplicity of running is the perfect balance of fitness and ability to be consistent. We can actually maintain a decent level of run performance. The locations we run in are sometimes amazing. So we decided to get some shots and create an IG feed of us running in those places. The Global Run Project is based on us running in as many places as possible and trying to get others to take up running too.
Obviously the current quarantine situation isn’t the greatest time for a variety of locations but we have some in the bag already PLUS we now have adults and kids in the campsite running too!

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Mar 14

It’s great being back in the desert. Hit, but dr

It’s great being back in the desert. Hit, but dry. And I love the wide open spaces and lack of people. This part of Tatacoa is a bit ‘lunar’ there is also a small part that us red rock and very pretty, but you can’t drive in it. Pics of that to follow.

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Mar 10

Sherpa peeks through the palms of the Palm Forest

Sherpa peeks through the palms of the Palm Forest in the #valledecocora Tall, skinny palm trees and a skinny dirt trail. Slow going, with 50+ kilometres taking a few hours. The overnight camp spot really reminded us of camping in Canada. No roosters or dogs was an added bonus!

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Mar 5

My first self instigated rappel. We have been assu

My first self instigated rappel. We have been assured the nerves of setting up the rope, and then trusting you haven’t screwed up as you lower yourself over the edge, is something that will dissipate over time. Always fun to try new things and #suesca was an amazing location for us to learn.

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Mar 4

The mass of colour in #Colombia makes photography

The mass of colour in #Colombia makes photography an easy feat. You can usually close you eyes, point, shoot and come up with something interesting. Our trail through the mountains dropped us into Buenos Aires (Colombia) at school closing time. Their school bus was a Escalero (possibly even spelled like that). A colourful, super wide, fairground ride of a bus with bench seats and little in the way of appreciation for personal space. The kids were as in awe of our camper as we were in their bus.

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Mar 3

Sitting pretty in amongst a huge swathe of coffee

Sitting pretty in amongst a huge swathe of coffee plants. This little road snuck through the fincas around Chinchiná in the upper part of Colombia’s #coffee zone.

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Feb 17

One of our Colombian Highlights (and let's face it

One of our Colombian Highlights (and let's face it the whole damn place is a highlight!) was our week exploring the mountains in the El Cocuy region.
This was taken in the cactus fields at just over 4,000m with the drone having a low battery. For those of you that don't have a drone, when you take off they usually record a 'home point'. A place where they will return to if anything goes wrong.
I got the drone into the air and jumped in the truck for the 'follow shot'; sitting in the passenger seat, controlling the drone as we drove down the trail. After a while, a few beeps indicated a low battery warning, which I overrode as it was within view, close, and I could fly it back easily. Not realizing the consequences I continued flying to the point where the battery was so low it decided to return 'home'. Unfortunately 'home' was now a kilometre back along the trail and in the middle of the road where it took off.
Two things need to be considered at this point.
1) I wasn't aware it was actually heading 'home'. I just thought it had fucked off into the distance for no apparent reason. Seemingly intent on escaping.
2) Sprinting a kilometre in the desert heat and at an oxygen deprived 4,000 metres - chasing a drone that seemingly has no intention of stopping isn't that much fun.
I found it hovering a metre above the floor, exactly over the spot where it took off; staring at me. It also recorded that breathless moment for posterity.

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Feb 16

This is the view in the opposite direction from ye

This is the view in the opposite direction from yesterday's image. The rock in the distance is what everyone comes to see and climb. You can just see the steps zig-zagging up the side. It's a pretty impressive chunk of granite with amazingly smooth sides.

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Feb 15

The stunning landscape of Guatape. The town is fam

The stunning landscape of Guatape. The town is famous for the giant chunk of granite poking out of the ground (picture to follow), but looking in the other direction is equally breathtaking.

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Jan 30

We’ve spent the last few days on a climbing cour

We’ve spent the last few days on a climbing course, learning everything we need to go and climb on our own and - hopefully - survive. It’s been amazing to learn something new and a whole bunch of climbing, rappelling and rope skills. Apparently you can teach an old dog new tricks.

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Jan 28

On Sundays, around 200km of major roadways in Bogo

On Sundays, around 200km of major roadways in Bogotá are closed to cars, trucks and motorcyxles, allowing cyclists and runners to enjoy traffic-free streets. This resulted in one of the smaller adjoining roads becoming a stomping ground for loads of local kids to obsess over the humble wheelie. Fast, slow, pimped out rides and style points .... all day long, all on one wheel.

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Jan 23

The main strip in Bogotá resembles a massive yard

The main strip in Bogotá resembles a massive yard sale. The street is lined with people selling stuff, any stuff. No stuff too old or too disheveled. Occasionally there is focus, a toy stand (all toys, no stand) or a dusty selection of electronics. Usually items are laid out with care not befitting their value. And sometimes there is simply a huge collection of random stuff piled into one a pyramid of junk and clothing. The latter being a popular spot as people hunt for a rose amongst the thorns.

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Jan 11

We’ve seen busier places! The heater had to be f

We’ve seen busier places! The heater had to be fired up for our slightly sub zero night. A shock after the scorching 35, 36, 37°C at Barichara. But, we are now back in civilization and, rumour has it, a hot shower is available at @colombianhighlands

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