(Day 194 on the road) There are famous places in this world that you read a lot about before you actually visit. Mystical or remote places that capture the imagination, places that are elevated to a higher level in the mind. Places you want to visit for many years, often decades. But once you've arrived, these places sometimes seem rather ordinary and don't quite live up to the high expectations you've set for them.

(Day 164 on the road) Listo, I am back in continental Ecuador with a wealth of unforgettable memories after ten amazing days on Galapagos. Nestled in the Pacific Ocean, the Galapagos Islands are a unique and breathtaking destination, home to an array of exotic wildlife and landscapes unlike anywhere else in the world. I had opted for a land-based trip (as opposed to taking a multiday-cruise), and I feel it was the right choice - I was constantly amazed by the natural beauty and diversity of the place. Of course, it was a lot cheaper that way, but I am also very bad with taking boats, pretty much getting very seasick all the time. I spent my days exploring the three islands of Santa Cruz, Isabela and San Cristobal – and the 2h boat-crossing from Isla Santa Cruz to Isla Isabela was already very tough for me. So tough in fact, that I opted to fly from Isla Isabela to Isla San Cristobal four days later, instead of taking two more boats on the very rough seas here. I am unsure how I would have survived for days on a small cruise ship. I certainly would not have enjoyed it. Plus,

(Day 152 on the road) If one had secretly beamed me from Colombia into Ecuador, it would have taken me a while to realize that I am in a different country at all. The two neighbours are pretty similar to me as an ignorant foreigner - the language of course, the culture, the food (think fried chicken with rice), the beautiful Andean landscape, the aggressive street dogs, the car alarms going off 143 times day and night, the incredible friendliness of the people.

(Day 23 on the road) After a fairly painless flight and a late-night Uber into the city, I arrived in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. The main reason for coming here was to take a language course for a week to brush up my Spanish, before hitting South America a few weeks later. The school was located in Sosua, on the north coast of the island; and all in all, it was the right decision to start with the course. I did learn a lot, and since my co-students did not always show up for class, I often ended up being the only student. Nice.

(Day 112 on the road) The area south of Medellin is coffee country. My flight from Cartagena put me right in the thick of it, in the city of Pereira. And thus I spent the next few weeks exploring the region, starting with some beautiful hot springs near the village of Santa Rosa de Cabal, before moving on to the hot springs near Manizales. Now, Manizales is one of those second-rate Colombia’s cities which most people have probably never heard of. But they are one of Colombia’s cities I have seen that have incorporated cable cars into their public transport system. It is ingenious really: As Manizales lies in pretty hilly terrain, the bus terminal is located not near the city center, but at the bottom of a hill, right next to a cable car station. From there, the teleferico whisks you right into the city center in no time. Cable cars really are a game changer in some of the cities here.

(Day 86 on the road) Not further accelerating climate change can be hard. Faced with the choice between a 16-hours bus-ride for 20€ or a 50-minute flight for 35€, I admit that I opted for the plane. Thus, leaving Bucaramanga in Central Colombia, I soon found myself in the northern, somewhat shady city of Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast. It felt like being in a different country.

(Day 56 on the road) It’s been roughly a month since I arrived in Colombia, so now seems like a good time for a first recap. And to say it upfront, it has been a pretty good month indeed! After a two-hour flight (and a 3 ½ hour wait at the completely understaffed Colombian immigration), Medellin with its 2,5 million inhabitants was my first port of call.