My Overland Adventure

Around the world in a Land Cruiser
Sudan Wadi Halfa, Egypt Abu Simbel, Qustul Border Crossing

Sudan Wadi Halfa, Egypt Abu Simbel, Qustul Border Crossing

Sudan Wadi Halfa, Egypt Abu Simbel, Overland Border Crossing procedures. The border is known to be a difficult border crossing, taking all day and for helpers, customs and other officials that will fleece you for everything you have, it’s hard to decide “do I get a helper or not?”.Well the first thing to do, is do yourself the biggest favour and DO NOT pre book a helper, some people have paid up to $650 to cross this border. Totally unnecessary and it is daylight robbery!!

Once at the border, if you are stuck, someone will help and point you in the right direction!!

The Otavalo Market, Ecuador

The Otavalo Market, Ecuador

It’s a short drive to the border at Tulcan which is one of the easiest border crossings so far taking less than an hour, you can find details of the border crossing here…. our first destination being the Finca Sommerwind campsite in Ibarra which is 124km, just over an...

Las Lajas Sanctuary

Las Lajas Sanctuary

10th -11th January After saying goodbye to our friend and her family in Popayan, we head towards the city of Pasto, a long but amazingly scenic 245km five hour drive through impossibly green steep and jagged mountains with vertical drops to the sides. We had been...

Can you trust community sites with your data?

Can you trust community sites with your data?

It’s normal and reasonably assumed when you are contributing to a “community site” that the data submitted will not be used for commercial purposes, people will not be generating money from the data you supply, it will not be sold or given to another site with...

Alto de Los Idolos, Colombia

Alto de Los Idolos, Colombia

We decide to drive a loop around San Austin following the back roads towards our first stop of La Chaquira, where we had read that there were fantastic statues carved into the rocks. On the way to the site, we turn off down a dirt road, where we are stopped by a local...

San Agustin & the mysterious megaliths

San Agustin & the mysterious megaliths

5th January Feeling slightly under the weather, we have a day of rest and plan to visit the archaeological site in the morning.  We head to town for a menu del dia of soup, meat, rice, beans, salad and a juice, all for $3!  There seem to be plenty of local tourists...

Trying to find San Agustin

Trying to find San Agustin

3rd January We attempt to get to San Agustin today driving on one of the two main routes; we jump in the car, type in San Agustin and press go.  The route looks about right and the distance is also correct so we head off.  The paved road winds through the mountains...

Christmas in Cali

Christmas in Cali

25th-28th December  Cali Located at an altitude of 1000m Cali is the 3rd largest city in Colombia and also the capital of salsa; as we are walking around, we see one salsateca (salsa club) after the other lining a busy street. On Christmas day, we leave the confines...

Coffee Colombia

Coffee Colombia

24th December Colombia is working on shaking off its perceived image as a dangerous and risky place to visit; to attract more visitors to its shores, it has adopted a new slogan ‘The only risk is wanting to stay’.  So far, it’s true, although we are always careful...

Salento and the Valle de Cocora

Salento and the Valle de Cocora

22nd December We decide to head west from Bogota to the Zona Cafetera (Coffee Zone) also known as the eje cafetero  (coffee axis) which is a 283km drive away.  Although it is a relatively short distance, it takes 7 and a half hours! From the high elevation in Bogota,...

Bogota, Colombia

Bogota, Colombia

14th -21st December The Colombian capital of Bogota is such a polar opposite to Villa de Leyva from where we had just come from that it is honestly a bit of a shock to the system!  The sheer amount of vehicles crammed onto the roads compete with pedestrians for every...

Colombia’s Salt Cathedral

Colombia’s Salt Cathedral

13th December Today we leave for the capital, Bogota, 159kms away along bumpy winding roads through the mountains at 2500m with scenic views overlooking the patchwork green fields in the valley below us.  Driving on the mountain ridge, road work dust fills the air and...

Villa de Leyva, Colonial Colombia

Villa de Leyva, Colonial Colombia

9th December Leaving Barichara, we head south back towards San Gil late where we stop for a tasty empanada and espresso coffee breakfast at a busy local café on the square. [singlepic id=3906 w=1080 h=720 float=None] [singlepic id=3907 w=1080 h=720 float=None] It’s...

Coast of Colombia to Barichara

Coast of Colombia to Barichara

1st December    TAGANGA It‘s a long hot four and a half hour drive to Santa Marta in the very north of the country, our base for a visit to Tayrona National Park, on good fast roads.  Driving past vast shanty towns and stopping at both police and military checkpoints,...

Arriving in Caribbean Colombia

Arriving in Caribbean Colombia

27th November   CARTAGENA We are in beautiful Colombia, our 6th continent, country number 46 and the start of our South American adventure!! The ferry conveniently drops us off in the picture perfect Caribbean city of Cartagena and we leave the sea port for our hotel...

A brief stop in Panama

A brief stop in Panama

13th November Panama is country number 45 for us and our last in Central America. After crossing the border (we have written a separate border post Costa Rica to Panama – Border Cossing – Paso Canoas Quebrada Grande if you need info) we drive on good, fast roads...

Corcovado & Piedras Blancas National Park

Corcovado & Piedras Blancas National Park

 9th November The drive to one of the most remote national parks in Costa Rica, Corcovado National Park and the Osa peninsula takes us along the coast from Uvita and via a narrow gravel 4x4 track climbing up steep hills, along rickety bridges composed of...

Overlanding Assoication
OverlandSphere
IVSSUK

Archives