Great photos, Fergus and Krista.We had our first ski yesterday just to get the cobwebs out.The wake and funeral went well with everyone supporting each other. Many friends of the family travelled through adverse weather conditions to be with us. It snowed through the service,Michael would have loved it. We are travelling to Plaster Rock tomorrow and taking Tim and Judy Anne . Hope to have a ski with Margaret. Too bad you have to be so far away. Love and prayers for a safe and joyful trip,Nancy

Our first succesful bus journey. Traveling by bus in Columbia was a daunting process. Arivving at the bus station I fould we were short cash for the ride so after franticly searching for a couple of pesos, the guy at the ticket counter gave me a discount. We waited for two hours for our bus but when the depature time came there was no bus. I approached the head of the line to ask what was going on and the bus guy told me that ¨this bus has problems¨ then began laughing histaricly to his friend, like the problems were that the bus had just been lit on fire by guirillas. We finally got going about an hour later and soon found ourselves in a police convoy rolling though the hills of columbia. The fact that there was a police car on the side of the road every 50 meters made me feel safe. Somehow the bus went the whole 11 hours without stopping for gas which amazed me. Some old guy kept falling asleep on Kristas shoulder but she took it well, saw Men in Black the origional it ruled. Made it to Popayan and are now staying in a fabulous hotel which used to be a Monestary, it´s called Donn Montastario, more later Fergus

Hi Kris and Fergus,
Glad all is going well with you guys and hope you had a great new year and all the best in 2006. Enjoy your trip and be happy and travel safe. Catch you later.

New Year's Day in Bogata was a national holiday and Sunday as well so almost everything was closed...had another full day of wandering up and down Carrera 7 in the hot sun. A little braver today I ventured out in a tank top and today I am caught up to Ferg in the burn department...slowly getting a bit browner but unfortunately doing it the hard way. The Musee des Oro (Gold) and the Musee Nationale were both closed but we found a super cool park way down past Calle 45 and took some cool photos. The flowers are so diverse and lush and beautiful. Finding something to eat today was the ultimate challenge and we had to backtrack back to the area near the hostel to get bread from a tiny shop at the bottom of the hill. Columbians are big on biking and apparently on every Sunday they close down the main drag and everyone is biking back and forth from 9 - 2. Quite a spectacle...some people even using old school rollerskates and home fashioned bikes...all ages. One bonus was that at least you didn't have to worry so much about the crazy drivers...they definitely do not obey the conventional rules of the road here. Had some delicious pineapple on the street as we were starving after putting in some serious miles on foot. We have definitely done the walking tour of this place and today both of us are feeling it. Turns out we are total traitors but when we spotted a Mc Donalds yesterday we actually stalked the place until it opened at 12:30...fries have never tasted so good. Tried someting that looked like a grilled potato patty before resorting to McD's but it was so revolting that even Ferg couldn't do it...this is saying something because typically he will eat anything and not balk at it...except tofu. Had been waiting all morning to see if the cable cars were heading up the mountain and when we spotted them running we walked up to the base of the mountain. It was a total gong show as Doningo is the big day that the locals make the pilgrimage up the slopes to Monserrate to see the statue of the fallen Christ. There is a big chuch up there that was rebuilt after an earthquake and the whole area is pretty special to the locals...many miracles have been attributed to this statue...the next peak over is Guadaloupe and both of these are about 3100 meters. Beleve it or not there are even stray dogs up here too and many vendors selling everything you can imagine. It wasn't until we got to the top that we had a full appreciation of exactly how far this city of 7 million spreads out...as far as you can see wrapping totally around the mountain. We took a Funicular to the top, which is essentially a small train car that climbs the hill and passes through a 260m plus tunnel...it was built in the late 1920's and takes about 10 or 12 mins. to reach the top. After exploring the top we had late lunch in the Santa Clara...yucca fritas (fries of an ineresting texture) with guac, empanadas and club Columbain beer. Yes more beer! Took the funicular back down and walked over to the Plaza de Bolivar to watch the sights and people feeding the pigeons. This area is very popular and is closed in on all sides by some remarkable buildings...mostly related to government. Headed south past La Candelleria which is the oldest part of the city and here it is quite remarkable because some buildings have been beautifully preserved and others right beside them are completely delapitated. This area is very close to the presidential palace and the guards here look smart with their gold helmets...unfortunately photos are prohibited for reasons of national security...even walking on some sides of the cordoned off streets is prohibited. Ventured further south towards the poorer area of town and it is startling to see how some people live. Headed back to La Candelleria which is essentially on the edge of the area where the Platypus is situated and had a late late afternoon siesta. Showered with a hint of hot water...at least in my lucky stall...and then dressed for dinner. Headed down the street and witnessed a giant dog fight only to find out that virtually everything was closed. Headed back to the hostel as there were not too many people out and about and for the second night in 3 made our bellies full with beer in lieu of dinner...super cheap, nutritious, and filling. Currently I am killing Ferg at crazy eights 15 games to 9... he is not happy about this. Talked with some of the others at the hostel and compared travel plans...a lot of people are headed out tonight now that the holiday is over. Today we were up again by 9:30 and went to the Bibliotheque de Luis Angel for some super yummy Juan Valdez real deal Columbian coffee...so good that for the first time ever I finished mine before Ferg. Sat outside in the sun...today is by far the hottest day yet. We then went down to see if the Musee del Oro was open but alas no luck. Visited the local artisans cooperative and you would not believe the leather...so soft and every color you could conceive. Huge test to willpower for me. Had a great lunch of empanadas and cerviche (various types of raw fish marinated in lemon and lime juice) plus pizza vegetariano for me and beer. This place caters to an international clientel as it is close to the hostel and I was even able to grab a couple of Smirnoff ice - crazy- but oh so cold! We have checked out of the hostel and they are keeping our packs as we wander around...there are so many people on the streets today. The hostel was a great deal even with our bar tab and we would reccommend it highly. Around 4 we are heading to the bus station to take the 15 hour overnight bus which should put us in Popoyan early in the morning. Will be interesting to see what the buses here are like. Popoyan is an old pristine colonial city that has been completely restored after an earthquake destroyed most of it in 1983. All of the buildings are white and it boasts some amazing churches. We are stepping it up a bit and staying at an old monastery with a grand courtyard that has been converted into a hotel...potentially the most swanky place that we will stay at on this trip...and yes, it has a pool. Seriously looking forward to doing nothing much tomorrow but relaxing after a long bus ride. Hard to believe that we have only been on the road for 4 days. Well, time to head up the hill and retrieve our packs and head for the bus terminal...Luck for a smooth bus ride. Ciao Kris

Happy New Year from Quispamsis! Glad you guys arrived safely and seems like you are enjoying every minute, we can't wait to see some pictures. Take care and be careful.

hey guys!
happy new year! good to hear krista has become some beer swilling cosmopolitan chickie (always knew you had it in you!) New years here was nice. joey and i had a few drinks down at the fox home by 3:30) any luck getting in touch with luke? okay joey's got metallica playing am having difficulty typing....can't wait to see some pics. have fun guys! don't forget to pack up some of that sunshine and bring it back for me:)

i'll pass this on as well...

joey: snow gone. all ice. waiting patiently

ferg and i have arrived in bogata and have spent the day exploring. excuse typing as this computer has wierd keyboard and is mostly in spanish. flights were not too bad but by the time we made it to bed last night we had been up for almost 36hours. made the flight from toronto faster than expected and arrived early after 5 hrs. 51 min. no problems at customs and we breezed right thru despite the fact that the declaration forms were totally in spanish. thankfully my french is pretty good and spanish looks a lot alike on paper. effects of altitude also not too bad...a little dizzy at first and a bit of an upset stomach but feel better after having had a good nights sleep. our cab driver, although a speed demon, got us right to the door of the hostel and once inside we stayed put for the night as it was about 930. found our room and then went downstairs to meet others from many different countries...australia, germay, norway, sweden and south africa. also there were 3 people there students who have lived here in bogata their whole lives...they are making a documentary and asked us to be a part of it...very nice people, we shared beers and traded info about our respective countries. yes...i drank beer. pretty good actually...ferg smiling ear to ear as he swears he will have me converted before the end of the trip. went out this am and quickly found out that i was overdressed...ferg actually got a bit of a burn on his face and neck...but not too bad. saw the palace de la presidente, bogata planetarium, bull fighting arena and the musee nationale but many were closed because of the holiday...fireworks have been going off all day since about 8 this am. walked around for about 6 hours...what fabulous architecture here...very detailed and colorful...we took photos but this place has no USB connection so will have to wait to put on website. would not believe how many stray dogs run the street here...every kind and size imaginable. found a great place for lunch - mexican and had the most amazing food and the best margarita i have ever tasted- really different 100percent authentic though. we were stuffed and the whole thing only cost 40000peso - about18 dollars canadian - so much for so little - ferg even had a few club columbian beer too and the guy met us on the street - greeted us and brought us upstairs where he dragged a table out onto the balcony because we wanted to watch the sights...service was excellent and i,m a tough sell. after lunch we wandered around for a while the back to the hotel around 430 to siesta...still a little tired and the altitude is definitely a factor. i think i forgot to mention that water here is a luxury so don,t even think about hot water...i was vibrating today when i got out of the shower and actully stood outside with just my head in to wash my hair- freezing is not a strong enought word. flew over north carolina in full sun and saw the beaches you and dad visited, then nassau in the bahama, and further on jamica...water looks so beautiful even from the air. it is about 8 pm here now and we are off to a place we spotted earlier for dinner..it is close to the hostel and offers some international cusine. have waited all day to find a way online...wanted you to know that we are having an amazing time so far- very positive and lots of police presence so feel very safe despite all that the media portrays about this place. really was awesome to talk to the 3 from bogata last night they provided us with some great info and possibly now we will be on columbian television in the future crazy eh. well must sign off for now... Krista

We made it to Bogata. The first night was great we got to the hostel about 9pm pretty tired. Luckily the hostel had a beer fridge, you could serve yourself and just mark down your tab, our tab had the most beer on it at the end of the night, so we won.

Three young columbians were shooting a documentary for columbian TV on international backpackers, we bought them a couple beers and regailed them with fabulous traveling stories, lost in the gobi in a sandstorm etc.
I look forward to becoming a columbian television sensation.

Today we went on a self guided walking tour of the city, I kept getting in trouble by the machine gun toting guards at the presedential palace for taking pictures and being to close to the fence. The arcitecture is fab, we also toured several Catholic Churches that were quite impressive.

The city felt pretty safe, lots of cops with big guns on every street corner.

We dined at a Mexican resturant, Krista had the best strawberry Marg of her life, Food was awsome, a starter of raw shark meat was a crowd favorite.

Tomorrow we plan to take a cable car to the top of a mountain that overlooks the city, then visit several museams including the world famous gold Museam.

Sorry no pictures yet the computer technology is pretty basic, no USB, I´ll give it a try again tomorrow.

It{s new years eve and the party is just getting started, We{re going out to eat then mabey clubbing in the upscale zona rosa district.

Later Fergus

P.S. Thanks Wes for the drive to Boston your awsome, being lost in Bostons Getto was a lot scarier than Columbia.

Hey guys, hope all is well and you are ready to usher in 2006. We are all set to go here. Had atrip to to St. Martins, Really cool

Hey guys, hope everything is going well and your gettting ready to rocker in Bogata for New Years. We got home alright. Have fun, stay safe. wes

Hey Kids!!! Happy Hollidays !!! Play safe and have fun!!!