vagabum.com

With a likely top role in a new high profile gaming startup in Canada pushed back until August I decided to jump at the chance to get in some travel, even if I am putting my eggs into one basket. If and when it pays off it will all have been worth it and I will not have been just waiting around for nothing to happen the next few months. As a long time travel junkie I always have three or four trips loosely planned in the back of my head for when the opportunity arises and base the final decision on the season, climate, length of travel and flight cost.

For this trip, with about two months free my top choice had been a trip from Morocco to Senegal Mali and maybe Burkina Faso in West Africa. But as my return would have put me right smack in the European Summer (where most countries have 5-8 weeks off from work) the prices of European and North African travel were crazy high (USD$2200+) and all the frequent flier seats were long ago booked. A close second in my mental bank of destinations was Colombia as I have met a few dozen travelers who have raved about it the past year or two. After a quick check of flights I was instantly sold on a RT  ticket from SFO for $590 (I paid nearly double that to fly to Panama last Christmas) and leaving within 5 days (almost faster than I could get organized to leave).

So my very loose plan for this trip is to hit the main cities (Bogota, Cali and Medellin) and then travel along the coast from Capurgana in the West to Punta Gallinas at the very Northeast tip of Colombia/South America and with perhaps a side trip to the Amazon down to Manaus, Brazil or up to Iquitos, Peru. I am sure I will find new places to explore along the way. I will also update these text travelogues with photos in the future but have some technical issues preventing me from posting a lot on the blog en route. Facebook friends can view the photos more immediately.

So I invite you to follow along with me on my trip. And feel free to comment or sign the guest book.

Interactive Map
Here is my actual travel route that I will continually update:

www.wherethehellismatt.com

Time Magazine Article

The 4 Travel Legs From My 2008 Africa Overland Adventure

Africa Travel By The Numbers

7493 Miles (12610 Km) by road and 1083 Miles (1743 Km) by air over a 4 month journey with only the vaguest travel itinerary. The air travel saved at least 9 full days of overland travel on some of the worst roads in Africa.

12 African Countries Visited (South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Ethiopia)

4 Separate Africa Travel Legs (South Africa Baz Bus hop on/off, 20 Day southern Africa Overland Tour, Self Guided East Africa Overland, and Self Guided Ethiopia Historical Circuit)

1 International Flight (Nairobi, Kenya to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

2 Domestic Flights (Aksum to Lailabela; Lailabela to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

2 Return Boat Routes (Zanzibar, Tanzania and Lamu, Kenya)

1 Rolled Bus (Scandanavian Bus Lines which was clearly not the best quality service as advertised. If you have a choice select Akamba Royal Class instead.)

4 Separate Safaris over 10 Total Days (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Tanzania)

Powered by DM PhotoAlbums™

Full Screen

After my bus trials and tribulations I spent four days resting up in Kampala, doing errands (Western toiletries!), going to the movies with the friendly Canadian couple that I met in Arusha, and generally chilling out on the lovely grounds of the Red Chili Guest House (where I also ran into several overland tour groups that I had met multiple times in Southern and Eastern Africa). Finally I felt ready to head out and I took another somewhat harrowing bus ride down south to Kabale (for 7 ½ hours the driver sped along and wove at high speeds in and out of massive, Mini-Cooper-sized pot holes). This trip was taken with a young English couple, and we then shared an over-priced taxi to beautiful Lake Bunyoni (even after stern negotiations one cannot avoid the Mzungu prices in Africa).