Lost World Expedition (US-Central-South America)

[lostworldexpedition]

Well, we have been in Colombia for a month and a half and I must say this country is awesome! Anyone driving behind us or planning a drive south please do not skip this country.

We spent the first weeks on the Caribbean coast and we are now in the highlands near the Capital: Bogota. Beautiful and well preserved colonial towns.

While at the coast we had some Landcruiser troubles and RTT issues and a funny thing happened while we tried to decide what to do... while driving from Cartagena to Santa Marta we stopped to take some photos and a guy in a Landcruiser Prado pulled over to chat with us. It turns out Hernando is an ExPo member, he owns Iguana4X4 -a 4x4 equipment shop in Barranquilla- and we happened to have some friends in common in the U.S.! Small world.

Hernando was kind enough to show us around town, take us in for a few days and help us fix our truck and RTT issues!!! It was great spending new years eve with some of his friends and family.

He and his girlfriend Sophie happened to be planning a trip to La Guajira peninsula. The north-easternmost area of Colombia an unspoiled area with beautiful undeveloped beaches and great off road trails. So we tagged along and enjoyed a wonderful few days with them.

Miles and miles of open trail and no one in sight


Hernando and his red Nissan Patrol leading the way on the long stretch of beach.


On our second night we enjoyed very tasty freshly caught spiny lobster (notice the lack of claws)


On the way out, Hernando pulled a Troopie passenger bus out with the dynamic rope... twice!


Following in the steps of all the wonderful people we have met on this trip (you know it Sergio and Edmundo)... An amazing trip. And I hope all the other travelers behind us stop by and harass Hernando, but hopefully less than we did

[RMP&O]

Totally friggin' AWESOME!

As I tell everyone I meet who is traveling or wants to travel through Latin America, Colombia is not to be missed!

[ccarm]

Where can I sign up for fresh lobster like that!!! Awesome trip so far.

[Ducks]

Wow! Most excellent.

Chad

[landcruising]

great people, great stuff

[trailsurfer]

Fantastic!

[lostworldexpedition]

We are currently in Bogota, the capital of Colombia. We are not usually fond of large cities, but we are visiting a local we met while camping in Villa de Leyva and this city is actually quite cool.

Today the Landcruiser got the most thorough wash it has received in over a year... You shoulda seen the mud that came out... And check out the 73 series of our host, a sweet ride

[Christian P.]

nice!

Did you get a new roof top tent?

[UK4X4]

More nice pic's from one of those "dangerous" countries !

I'll be in Bogota from Sat night for a week some where arround calle 100

Maybe we can hook up for a beer !

I'll be in town looking for an apartment to live in as my transfer to Venezuela changed to Bogota over christmas.

[lostworldexpedition]

More nice pic's from one of those "dangerous" countries !

I'll be in Bogota from Sat night for a week some where arround calle 100

Maybe we can hook up for a beer !

Yes, this dangerous country is becoming one of our favorite so far... Many misconceptions, including danger (which is around, but no more than anywhere we have been), the food is actually excellent as long as you are not vegetarian, and Colombians are amazingly welcoming and friendly.

We have been driving around Colombia for two months!

I am not sure we will be in Bogota this weekend, we may be heading to Medellin, but we are currently staying at Calle 119, so we definitely should get a beer!