VIDEO: The Gringo (2002)

In this eight part series, I take THE GRINGO TRAIL through South America.

Starting in BUENOS AIRES, I have a quick look around URUGUAY and CHILE before heading up to BRAZIL just in time to miss the 2002 World Cup Final. But I didn’t miss the party afterwards!! Then I head over to Bolivia, the most BRILLIANT country in the WORLD (and I should know, I’ve been to a few!).

From the salt plains of UYUNI to the rivers of the AMAZON RAINFOREST via the Health and Safety-baiting Silver Mines of POTOSI and the CAMINO DE LA MUERTE (the Road of Death), Bolivia is just a powerhouse of nutty hilarity from beginning to end.

After hitting the INCA TRAIL to MACHU PICCHU, I head up through PERU and ECUADOR and end my journey in Bogota, COLUMBIA, one of the most dangerous capital cities in the world. Although I’m still here to tell the tale, so it probably isn’t that bad…! Finally, I find myself racing to get back to the UK for my cousin’s wedding in Dublin, Ireland: I’m cutting it pretty fine, you’ll have to watch the video to see if I make it or not! Enjoy!

Graham Hughes

Graham Hughes is a British adventurer, presenter, filmmaker and author. He is the only person to have travelled to every country in the world without flying. From 2014 to 2017 he lived off-grid on a private island that he won in a game show, before returning to the UK to campaign for a better future for the generations to come.

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. colombian

    hi mate.. im a traveler too. im australian .. and i have been traveling most of the world as u did… im totally dissapointed with the way that u discribe bogota colombia .. ” the famous kidnapping city of the world and one of the most dangerous countries of the world”.
    I would like to tell you that insted of show such a bad things about colombia, should be better if you show the other face of a new country.
    i really like your job and im a big fan of your webside. hope u discober more about colombian and southamerica.
    kind regards.

  2. Bogotana

    Thank you so much for that comment Colombian!!! Is always nice to see someone from an other country defending us from this never-ending stereotype!!

    Graham, I really admire you and your whole journey, but that comment about Bogotá really hurt my feelings. We’ve been working hard to try to change that awful image we have. YES we have our problems,but what you wrote wasn’t true back then (2011) and it isn’t true now (2013). Maybe the security situation was very difficult back in the 80’s (THE 80’s! almost 30 years ago!) but thanks to the media and it’s miss-information ( unfortunate references like yours don’t help either) we are still stuck with this awful label.

    Bogotá now is a vibrant metropolitan city that has the usual issues any capital city with over 7 million citizens can have. Here you get stuck in traffic as you do in L.A, you can be mugged as you can in New York, or London, or Caracas… or any major city.

    By coming here you are not putting yourself in imminent danger like some like to believe, on the contrary you are opening your mind to a different world and culture, tastes, sounds. We colombians are in our great majority, very welcoming people, and even more welcoming to travelers from other countries as we are trying to change the world’s misconception about us and our country.

    Congratulations on your accomplishment, hopefully you’ll come to Bogotá again with a little more time and you’ll get to see the city in all it’s glory.

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