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May 5, 2025 – Newcastle Upon-Tyne
Arrived in Newcastle, England about midday. It’s a old city of about 300,000 people on the north side of the Tyne River in northeast England. Newcastle has lots of old buildings and bridges, a lot of character. There’s one pub where people have been drinking for over a thousand years. I’d say they’ve had about…
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April 23, 2025 – Another Training Day
Trying to get in better walking shape so I can enjoy 40 miles of the Hadrian’s Wall Path in northern England. That’s coming up in two weeks. I’ll walk the middle section of the Wall Path in four days, making my way from inn to inn. Should be an interesting walk. The wall was built…
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January 26, 2025 – Cartagena, Colombia
Went with some of the group on a tour of a mangrove lagoon near Cartagena. Threw out crab traps from our boat and tried to catch fish with throw nets. Caught about eight crabs but zero fish. Good thing the local restaurant under the big thatched roof had fish for lunch. Our crabs were cooked…
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January 25, 2025 – Cartagena, Colombia
Flew from Medellin to Cartagena on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. It’s very warm and certainly more humid here. Did a walking tour of the old, walled city. The old part is surrounded by eleven kilometers of walls built starting in 1614 to protect against pirates. The French, English and Dutch encouraged their pirates to raid the…
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January 24, 2025 – Medellin, Colombia
A good place to go in Medellin is the central part with its museums and parks. Museo Antioquia has a bunch of works by Botero and other artists. Also, about a mile away is Museo Casa de la Memoria covering a lot of Medellin’s past troubles including the trouble caused by Pablo Escobar, the drug…
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January 23, 2025 – Medellin, Colombia
Had a few things on the itinerary today. First, went by bus up and out of Medellin to a visit a guy who farms flowers. Colombia produces the most varieties of sold flowers in the world. Okay, so that’s not very interesting. Next, took the cable car which is part of the Medellin Metro system…
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January 22, 2025 – Medellin, Colombia
Traveled by public bus from Chinchina, near the coffee farm, to Medellin, an eight hour ride through the mountains on curvy roads. At times the bus could only go about 15-20 MPH because of the curves and getting stuck behind slow trucks. Medellin is one of the largest cities in Colombia. Have only been here…
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January 21, 2025 – Near Cocora Valley, Colombia
Staying at a coffee farm, Hacienda Venecia. Learned a lot about coffee and its production and harvesting. We picked some beans which were graded by our guide. Then, sampled coffee from beans roasted to light, medium and dark. Excelente Colombia has been super and there are still twelve days left. Salud
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January 20, 2025 – Near Cocora Valley, Colombia
Today, walked up the beautiful Cocora Valley gaining 1000 ft of elevation on a rough, narrow, twisting dirt road. Tall indigenous wax palm trees dotted the landscape. They can grow as tall as 80 meters, the tallest palms in the world. To say they stand out is an understatement. Also, saw a condor soaring above…
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January 19, 2025 – Salento, Colombia
Today, flew west from Bogota to Pereira and then went by small bus to Salento in the mountains. But, before leaving Bogota stopped at a market and sampled some of the 400 different fruits of Colombia. All were delicious and my scurvy is cured. Salento is in the heart of the coffee producing area of…
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