kcrosman has left 5 comments

kcrosman comments on Safety in Tierradentro & San Agustin

pasto to san agustin Does anyone know if it is possible and safe and easier to get to San Agustin from Pasto? After the Ecuador border crossing we were plannin on going straight to Popayan as long as we could get there by daylight, but if we can get to San Agustin from Pasto and then go to Popayan that would make more sense in terms of movement. Any experiences out there? Thanks

kcrosman comments on Traveling from Ecuador into Colombia

wondering the same Sorry I can't be of much help, but my girlfriend and I are planning on doing the same in about 2 weeks. I have been reading about the fighting in Toribio, but I can't find the town on any maps on the internet, just know that it is 250 or so km southwest of Bogota which sounds somewhat close to the area we want to travel through. Can anyone recommend a detatiled online map? All I have read so far is that it can get pretty hairy from Pasto to Popayan, so only travel in the day for sure. But I still haven't found or talked to anyone that has done it recently. All my searches on the web come up with journals from like 97 or 99, nothing recent. Don't know if that means no backpackers go that way or if no one has survived to tell about it!!! Are you planning on going to San Agustin and Tierradentro?

kcrosman comments on Good towns between Medellin and Cartagena?

All that helps Thank you SandraMoreno, I am travelling right now so hard to always get back to replies, we are in Huaraz, Peru waiting for a night bus to Trujillo so luckily I have had ample time to research Colombia today. It is really hard for me to get info on the the little towns of Colombia which is weird cuz there seems to be the pervasive opionion that the little towns are the gems of Colombia. The few backpackers I have met in SA that have been to Colombia have only been to the big-name cities and a guidebook to an entire continent just doesn't help. Don't know if we have time to visit all of the places you visited, but now I can at least research some specific places. Thanks

kcrosman comments on Good towns between Medellin and Cartagena?

sounds tasty Thanks Gator for the ever valuable info, will be trying my best to research all the towns listed. Can't wait for the COlombia trip, just want to do it right. Fried ants sound great but they can't beat curried cow brain in Sumatra....

kcrosman comments on A 4/5 week all-bus trip through Colombia too crazy?

a little confused Thanks everyone for the great comments, although I must admit I am a little overwhelmed as there seems to be 2 camps to this bus vs plane debate. I just don't feel we would get that good of a feel for the country if we just took planes everywhere we went. And as someone pointed out the route only involves 2 long bus rides, but I know anything can happen on any length of bus ride. The reason we picked the route as it just looked like the most possible, but as we are not big city fans the info on the smaller towns was of special interest and links to other forums was very helpful and I will be researching that shortly. We have another 3 weeks before we reach Colombia, so still a lot of thinking and planning to do. We all end up doing what we want to do, but this feedback has been very helpful nonetheless. On to more gut-churning research!!!