The Backpacking Newbie

30/05/2017

16/04/2017

30/12/2016

03/12/2016

I still prefer Oscars!

25/11/2016

En het klopt ook nog😂😂😂

05/09/2016

Sad but true...

You see the world, try new things, meet new people, fall in love, visit amazing places, learn about other cultures – then it’s all over. People always talk about leaving, but what about coming home? We talk about the hard parts while we’re away – finding jobs, making real friends, staying safe, lear...

01/01/2016

17/12/2015

MEDELLIN..FINALLY MADE IT!
After halloween in San Gil it was time to travel further...I stayed in San Gil for over a week, but there was so much today and I there were so may great people there! With a few of these great people, Scott and Matt&Casey we went to Medellin. I was walking with a flyer of the pit stop hostel which looked great! After an exhausting busride with Colombian musicvideos from the '80's we finally arrived....Well the place looked like a McDonalds hamburger in real life...nothing like the picture!! And we had to sign something that had all these rules..I immediately wanted to leave but we were exhausted! We decided to go for a walk and went completely the wrong way, we didn't know if we were walking to a park or the city. (because we were tired...) All of a sudden I needed sushi bad..to find out every place was closed.The first impression felt like I needed to get out of the big city to get back in touch with nature! But hey...this was Medellin I should give this former murder capitol of the world at least a try! The following day Scott made a reservation for the real city walking tour which was supposed to be the best! They don't even charge you, you tip them for what you think it's worth....and it's worth a lot!! How inspiring the story our guide told us was unbelievable...if I hadn't already been in love with Colombian people it would definetely happen after hearing how these people made there city after decades of terror by politics and druglords a non-violent city again. They turned the negative into positive again by education (a lot of free libraries) and changing the scenery by planting trees and lights on a square that used to be filled with ho**ers and dealers. People here don't live in the past, they live in the now! They are also very curious people! Since there isn't a lot of tourism yet they are still getting used to it. So everytime you would stand still somewhere and our guide would talk she asked us to stand close to eachother so the locals wouldn't try to shuffle in. And yes within moments they were there to try to find out what was going on because they don't speak English. The ones who do want to let you know...and the few words like hello, goodbye, baby and I love you will be shouted to you! We went to see sculptures made by Fernando Botero. After one of his sculptures was destructed after a bomb went off on a concert they wanred to take it away! Fernando wouldn't have it...he placed a new statue (the same) next to it. So people could see the old and the new world they were going to live in! Also a funny detail...downtown is a church where you can find the prostitutes in front of it. So the men can wash there hands clean in holy water and everything is ok...not enough money for a ho**er? Just go into the street next to it...it's filled with p**n dvd's! After the tour Scott and I decided to visit the famous cablecart transportation system. But ofcourse the best part where you have an amazing view of the city was closed when we arrived...and no I didn't check...I just followed Scott...he looked smart that's all I can say..They built this cablecart system so the people who live high up in the mountains are still able to get a job in the city. Wonderful! You can feel the change among the younger people, the guide told us a lot of people voted for a new governor who doesn't have a big party behind him. He collected signatures to get into the elections! He went into the streets to meet the people.At the end of the tour she thanked us for visiting Colombia...that we ignored everybody who told us it was too dangerous and for telling everybody go to Colombia!!
We all had decided to go to a different hostel because at night it was also boring! Casey&Matt already booked at Casa Kiwi but it was packed and Scott and I heard about this place called Happy Buddha where my friend Ben also was. So Scott made a reservation and we jumped in the cab...and again I learned I have to check things myself...our Buddha wasn't happy at all!! It was a different one at completely the wrong side of town! After a great talk and some drinks outside of a supermarket we decided to go visit Matt&Casey at their hostel. When at 0:00 eveybody had to be silent everybody went outside...and yes ofcourse somebody started playing a guitar and we all we're all singing, drinking and laughing together!! I had a great talk with a Colombian director which I want to make a movie with but I don't know how to find him again...who knows what the future brings!
Scott and I needed nature and we decided to skip every Pablo Escobar tour (we could even have a meet&greet with his brother!) and went with a 2,5 hour busride to guatapé!

16/12/2015

HALLOWEEN IN SAN GIL
While some people left San Gil to go to the big party's in Medellin I decided to stay in San Gil. They already started parades and in a few days we saw little children, bikers, motorbikers and cowboys doing a parade right in front of hour great hostel Sam's VIP Hostel. And since we loved the food at Gr**go Mike's we just went there again and again, best and biggest burger ever!! At halloween night we dressed up with maskes, I painted Yarik as a skeleton (I tried!) and we had cats on coke and pirates. Our lovely receptionist told us we should go to some club. First some drinks at the townsquare,,,rum, beers and aquardiente (the local Colombian drink which tastes like ouzo and raki, yes ofcourse my lovely Turkish ex boyfriend...totally different thing!) While hanging outside still discussing whether to take a cab or bus Casey stopped a local bus (I found out a week later, i thought they called a bus) and told the driver we wanted to go to this club. In the meantime we managed to get a group of
people (locals and backpackers) surrounding us so we all got on the bus trying to drink up the drinks since we couldn't take them with us. People who know me know I am not a big drinker...but when I got on the dancefloor that night, no limit whatsoever!! I saw a movieclip that proved it! We had a blast!!!

15/12/2015

OSCAR...I'LL BE BACK!!
I have been back home for almost two weeks now..it is strange how you only need a few days before you're back in the "regular life". Ofcourse it is great to see your family and friends...but being surrounded by nature, looking at the sunset (everybody knows sunrise is too early..) and amazing stars in the sky is something I really miss! I know I know...it sounds like I have become a spiritual chick, but since this trip I truly believe being one with nature brings you a special kind of energy.I mean even I felt like doing yoga and meditation up at Oscar's mountain in Minca... and that's really something..
I feel very fortunate that I was able to travel to Colombia and meet so many wonderful and inspiring people! Even though I didn't become friends with everyone on facebook they all have a special place in my heart! (except for three Dutch guys! You guys sucked!) I thank you all for being part of my journey, some for even an hour, some for days or even weeks! You opened my heart!!
I think everybody deserves to be happy, and I was always lucky enough to be passionate about my work which gave me energy. At this point I don't feel passion about anything jobrelated, I don't want to get just any job just to be able to rent a house and pay rent. I have never been a material person but I feel like I don't need anything anymore. The only thing I do know is that Oscar's place was my happy place on earth (so far) and I want to feel the way I felt there. Seeing all these beautiful people coming up that mountain, taking in the view and see there eyes sparkle when they feel they've come to the right place. I started my journey hoping to find out my purpose in life...or at least find out what I wanted to do next. I still don't know in the long term...but why would I care about longterm if I can live in the now? So right now I am happy to announce that Oscar asked me to come run his hostel so he can take a well deserved break...and I said yes!! All I need is money for a ticket and I'll be flying back in february! And I need to practice my backgammon skills so I can beat his ass. Don't ask me why he asked me, or how he knew I would have the skills to do that because I didn't do anything worth mentioning when I was there...let's just say the universe interfered!
I think now I am finally ready to finish my Colombian travel stories....so more to come! I think I just didn't feel like telling about my journey after San Gil because I didn't know what would be next. Ofcourse you never know what life brings you but at this moment in time I have made up my mind...

For those who still don't know what Oscar's place is...check this website...

http://www.oscarsplace.com.co/

And ofcourse I didn't make this picture either! My Polish/Canadian friend did! Check more of his pretty pictures at https://www.facebook.com/rafandway

10/11/2015

Why don't we have mayonaise chips in the Netherlands?? Everybody knows we love it!! Thx Scott for making my life even better!!

04/11/2015

BARICHARA AND GUANE
Nearby San Gil there's a beautiful Colonial town form which you can follow a stonepath road to the next town. Beautiful scenery, mountainviews and good company (Abby, Andy and Mark) made this a great day! I tried to pet some young cows along the way but they just kept on running away, cow number two tried to attack me but cow number three really made an effort of licking my hand. Coming to Guane we came into a nice store which sold a lot of local stuff...big ass ants!! And I mean literally they had a big ass!! They are crunchy and don't even taste that bad...don't ask me what they did with it to give it a flavour. Then some local boys asked us to join them for soccer...we had such a blast! During the game 2 people form the town came up to us telling us the last bus was about to leave..Columbians take such good care of their tourists!

03/11/2015

Or else Alfred Hitchcock will sent his birds after you??

02/11/2015

JUAN CURRY, POZO AZUL AND MORE WATERFALLS
The next day I decided to see a nice waterfall nearby. I asked around and Barry liked to join me. Getting there we met up with Soren and Mike, two funny and sweet guys from Denmark who were also in our hostel. Because of the heavy rainfall the previous day the water was not very attractive...actually it looked like a sewer. But still we went for a swim in the freezing water..because hey when can you do you get the change to swim in rivers near waterfalls?? Our Denmark guys met a few local Colombian guys who were happy to hang around us and practice their English. Their faces smiled constantly, great to have them around. They wanted to show us a bird who was close to her nest of young ones...they chased him all the way untill he finally came out to show himself to us...a giant condor! Then we walked to antother waterfall that was supposed to be nice...Nice doesn't even begin to describe it..I was so happy I jumped up and down(I've been told) because you could stand behind this waterfall!! I stopped making pictures myself because Mike and Barry had great camera's with them. But yes..these pictures are handmade..didn't look them up on internet this time, aren't you alle extremely proud of me?? Our new Colombian friends invited us to play a traditional Colombian game named Tejo the next day. You throw metal balls to a triangle gunpowder thing and then kaboom...

I decided I wanted to see the waterfall that is 180 meters as well! You could even swim in front of it in a nice pool. Ofcourse it is not 180 meters in one piece but in layers but wow..you have to love this country!! Roel and Kyran joined me for this trip. When we some some turkeys and chickens Roel all of a sudden makes this strange bird sound and guess what..they all responded! During the one hour busdrive back I sat in betwee two older Colombian men. One started talking to me in Spanish...thank god there was a young guy next to him who could translate. The following hour he showed me every picture he had of his farm and the animals...I saw a picture of each and every animal he had...hahaha

01/11/2015

FINALLY OFF TO MEDELLIN....OR NOT.
After a great night of mojito's and dancing with the locals and dutchie Caroline the time had come, I decided to finally leave the Santa Marta area. Unfortunately the next morning I felt a bit ill and decided to spend the day at the pool. Glad I did because I met two sweet guys from South Africa and I hope I can visit them someday. While everyone was pressing me to go with them on the partybus I decided not to go...but ofcourse 10 minutes before I changed my mind. Pppffff..dressing up..how long has that been. Wile talking to some nice people in my dormroom I was doing my hair. Just when I was about to start on my make-up I said out loud: "After I'm finally finished they are probably gone" ...as a joke. When they asked me when the bus left and I said 22:00 and they told me it was 22:20 I walked outside...and yes everybody left haha. Because I was already in doubt it didn't matter to me at all, the universe had decided for me. I had a good night watching Pulp Fiction again, and loved the following day making fun of everybody's hangover.
The time had come finally to leave to Medellin. When I was told they were doing karaoke that night I made sure I left before they started. The last bus would leave at 21:30 so at 20:00 I left with the words...I'm not coming back, even if I would miss the bus you won't see me back. And of course when I arrived at the busterminal...no bus to Medellin. One other gr**go was walking around with a look on is face like he had the same problem. So I walked up to him to ask him where he was going...and ofcourse another Dutch person. He invited me to come with him to San Gil...well why not right...I really needed to leave, or else I would never. After a busride of 13 hours with a 2 hour stopover we arrived at a very nice hostel. And ofcourse I saw 3 people I already met before...small world, the backpackersscene...
Even though San Gil is a tourist destination because it's known for extreme sports it doesn't feel like that at all. Friendly people everywhere and a nice town square to hang out with the locals. So glad I missed that bus!!

31/10/2015

CANADIAN TREAT
Nuts and raisins we all know...but in Canada (the only country I know off so far that is) they put in m&m's as well!! And yes...it tastes goooood!! Thank you Sean Hanlon...for sharing your candy and this piece of information with me!

30/10/2015

BACK TO MINKA AND SO ON...
After Paso del Mango I went back to Minka. I was getiing more and more curious about this Casa Elemento place so I made a reservation because it's always fully booked. It took me time and money to get up there...While enjoying my ride on the mototaxi he suddenly stops just while two other boys passed...no more gas he said. I started laughing..I thought he made a joke and there was a short moment I thought "am I going to be r***d, kidnapped or murdered?" But that was just a split second because it still felt good. After waiting for 5 minutes another motor showed up to take me further up while it was getting more dark..Nice! This place is at 1200 meters instead of 600 like oscar's but I much more enjoyed the view over there. And I'm not even talking about the vibe..This place had loud music and populair people behind the bar...I'm in the fu***ng jungle..I wanna hear jungle sounds!! And I don't need anyone to offer me co***ne and heroine either..Ok the food was good..I thought, until my stomach started to hurt that was..Back to Oscar's place it is! Great people surrounding me, playing a lot of sh****ad with Ben, Gabi, Natalja and Jeremy and have a bit of an adventure while accidently letting a mule escape..This mule ran straight to Jeremy who was relaxing in a hammock and sees a mule followed by barking dogs followed by running people hahaha...He just made it out of the hammock in time.
When Oscar saw me touching me belly he asked me if it hurt. And if it did espacially after I ate...And wow did it. He told me straight away "you have parasites"..uhm excuse me?? He told me he would ask his wife to bring home some medication for me. And because it is Oscar you don't question him, you just take the bills. I'm still alive so I guess it worked out fine! Every night spectaculair sunsets and amazing skies. Even when it was cloudy it was amazing..clouds hanging in the mountains...they looked like Harry Potter's dementors.
After a week of not talking Dutch a nice Dutch couple showed up, Bob and Lisa, and what fun they were!! They were so much fun that I decided to go with them back once again to Palomino..
First stop was Rancho Relaxo, a nice hostel in the area I heard about. What you have to know about Bob and Lisa...they arrived at Oscars place when it was already dark...they hiked up the mountain in the middle of the jungle when it was pitchblack, they just don't plan things very well....and thats just the way I like it! So it was no surprise that we arrived in the dark at Rancho Relaxo. During the busride we stood for 1,5 hour and when we were almost at the tolloffice the driver told us all to kneel down because we actually weren't allowed to stand haha. So finally we arrive at this place in the middle of nowhere the driver kicks us out..Big backpacks and no idea how far the walk is but no taxi in sight either we started to walk. Thank god we were there within 15 minutes. Then we enjoyed the natural pool in the evening...so cool all these sounds of frogs and who knows what. Next stop Palomino, being lazy at the beach and Bob enjoying his GoPro while we were sipping rum and cocktails having a great time. We heard of a great restaurant nearby. Now they told me there was a lot of healthy food...they didn't tell me it was all vegetarian and they didn't serve coca cola. But I tried to make the best of it..
When Bob and Lisa went of to Tayrona I decided to make my way back to Santa Marta to go from there to my next destination. It's always a bit sad when you have to say goodbye to all the people you meet but Bob and Lisa fortunately live only 40 minutes away from my hometown. And they don't know it yet but i'll be stalking them when I return!

30/10/2015

Oscar's place/Rancho Relaxo/Palomino

29/10/2015

DID YOU KNOW...aka ASJEMENOU
Because i'm fortunate enough to have made so may foreign friends I decided to continue my travel experiences in English. I hope they can make my list even longer! So many crazy, funny and sometimes sad stories..

-In DENMARK a lot of people go to the bordertowns in Germany to buy alcohol because it is much cheaper. You can only buy a certain amount and the police are there to check on it. But some borders are so small they came up with a great "solution". They have placed a mailbox...and if you know you bought to much alcohol you can just fill in a report and put it in there. Can you imagine the look on the face of a police agent when he checks the mailbox and actually finds a report??
-In AUSTRALIE the native Aboriginals get money of the government. It seems that in a lot of countries natives hold on to their roots and even next generations don't tend to get an education and become more western. Most of them drink a huge amount of alcohol. This amount is so huge that thay have a restriction...they can only buy 60 cans a day...yes 60!!
-In CANADA becoming a engineer comes with a special ceremony which is more important then graduation. Only engineers can attend this ceremony where they take an oath and get a pinky ring..a so-called iron ring! Yes people, this isn't game of thrones, that's the way they do it! So, if you see a canadian with a pinky ring...he's an engineer!
-GERMANS love sending postcards!! I didn't even know until I compared stories with Scott. He had the same story as I! A German girl complained to me that they don't sell any postcards in Columbia (probably because the country is just starting to get more tourists). Then she found an app to make her own postcards to send. Scott had already heard this a lot of times...even from a Swiss! A German Swiss that is!
-DUTCH people have a great repuation!! Every time i tell somebody I'm Dutch they say "cool"! Aparently we are fun to hang out with and we are very straight. We don't take a leave before oor mouth (hihihi literal translation is fun!)
-AMERICANS are very aware of their bad reputation. Every country ofcourse has a lot of ignorant people in it but because the USA is always in the spotlight and they are with a lot, people tend to only think the USA has them. Almost every American I talk to trashed their own country within 10 minutes...
-Most ISRAELIEN backpackers just got out of the army. After highschool they have to join for 3 years, men and women. After that time it is almost a cultural thing to travel for 1 or 2 years. Some even feel obligated to do it because everybody does. When they get home they usually have to courses before getting into university because the highschool diploma isn't enough. Unfortunately they have a bad reputation amongst other travellers. They hang out together and speak Hebrew. Most I met were a lot of fun! One guy I talked to admitted that he needs to speak or hear Hebrew every day, because he feels like it's good for him.
-When you sneeze 3 times in THE NETHERLANDS people say...tomorrow the weather will be good...don't ask me why!
-Oh and let's not forget this one...GERMANS dig holes in the beaches in the Netherlands (do they still actually or only the older generations?

That's it for now folks. I hope more crazy traditions or funfacts will follow! Feel free to correct me or tell me more stories!
-

26/10/2015

Yep...zelfs in een hostel in Colombia!