A short flight from Quito (Ecuador) saw
us come down a little to 2600m to Bogota (population 7.4m) in Columbia, known
as the cultural heartland of the country. In no time we found ourselves
exploring La Candelaria, the historic centre of the city. It's full of
steep cobbled streets, museums, theatres and cafes/restaurants. From the
streets that are lined with walls there are often beautiful courtyards and open
spaces behind the doors. It's a little like stepping back in time except
for the cars and motorcycles squeezing their way through the jigsaw puzzle of narrow streets.
We arrived on their Labour
day where protests are held for numerous causes so most places of interest,
including the information centre, were closed. We spent some time
checking out Plaza de Bolivar, the heart of the historic town and home to the
seat of Congress and Palacio de Justicia. The beautiful building of note
is Catedral Primada which was completed in 1823 and is Bogota's largest church
- it is quite stunning sitting atop the square. The protests continued
but were peaceful however we have never seen so many police (men and women at
least 1000) in one place - clearly they knew better than we did that something
might happen. There were armed police, riot squads, police literally
dressed like robo cop including horses with body armour, dog handlers, armoured
vehicles with water cannons and solitary armed police guarding the streets
surrounding the square. The buildings had been wrapped or boarded up to
protect them from paint bombs and vandalism. We went about our wander
around the city not concerned with the turnout of people or police (in fact it
was probably pretty safe!) and ended up alongside Iglesias de San Francisco,
which is Bogota's oldest surviving church dating back to 1556. Next was
Museo del Oro (Gold Museum), which was surprisingly open. It houses more
than 34,000 gold pieces from all the major pre-Hispanic cultures in
Columbia. It is really well set out and explains the history, artistry
and significance to the indigenous cultures.
From here it was time to
visit the Irish Pub; it was St Paddy's day after all. Never come across
an Irish pub without Guinness but they were serving green beer and the Irish
dancing was underway so we spent our evening soaking up the Irish atmosphere in
the middle of Colombia - who would have thought!
Before we started the
following day we wandered down to Santa Clara church that we didn’t get to view
yesterday and walked around the government block with amazing buildings.
The day was all about
a half day cycling tour through the city and we cycled to points of interest
around the city - major plazas, wealthy districts, red light district (eye
opener!), to view street art, see the fruit market, coffee making factory and
to witness (and play) the national sport Tejo. Tejo consists of an angled
board filled with mud and in the centre are small packages filled with gun
powder. From ~7-10m away you throw circular rocks - the idea being to hit
one of the packages and it literally "goes off". Super loud but
a bit of fun - always undertaken with multiple beverages being
consumed. We learned a lot about the tumultuous history (particularly the
drug history) in Colombia and the city in general. For example, it is
legal in Colombia to have 5gm of Marijuana and 1gm of Cocaine on you at any
point - for personal use only, and graffiti is legal, provided you get approval
for it. Because of this graffiti here is not really graffiti - it's
absolutely amazing and beautiful street art. It makes Bogota extremely
colourful and a wonderful place to check out.
After the ride and a short
pit stop we headed to Cerro de Monserrate. You can't miss this when you
arrive into La Candelaria. It towers over the historic centre at 3200m
and has gorgeous views of the 1700sq km Columbian capital Bogota. We took
the "telegenic" a (cable car) just in time for the sunset and then
spent the evening having dinner with the most fabulous views of a very
beautiful city.
The next day after a 4 1/2
hour bus trip we arrived in Villa de Leyva. This city was founded in 1572
and was declared a national monument in 1954 it is a beautiful colonial
settlement preserved in its entirety with virtually no modern architecture.
Once we settled in we headed
out on a taxi tour of a few local sites. The first stop was El Fosil -
about 3 miles out of the town is the near complete remains of a kronosaurus
discovered in 1977 (~160m years old). It was left where it was found and
the museum built around it - amazing to think that at one time this area must
have been underwater (we are currently in the mountains!). Lots of other
fossils here to but this was most definitely the highlight.
Next stop Estacion
Astronomical Muisca - it was named El Infiernito (little hell) by the Spanish
as they were horrified by the phallic shaped columns and proclaimed that the
pre-Colombian Muisca would be banished to hell for their obscene
representations. There are also burial sites here and it's believed it
was used for religious ceremonies and spiritual purification rites as well as
astronomical observation.
Last but definitely
not least was Convento del Santo Eccentric Homo. Founded by the Dominican
fathers in 1620 this large and well maintained convent is absolutely beautiful
and surrounds a stunning courtyard. The rooms around it house historic
items, clothing, tools etc worn and used by the nuns & monks, library, bedrooms
and the chapel which is of course beautiful.
Upon returning to the town we
took a short walk to Plaza Mayor which is absolutely enormous for such a small
place. It's one of the largest squares in the Americas and it, as well as
most of the town centre, is paved with large cobblestones and surrounded by
magnificent whitewashed colonial houses and a lovely parish church.
Our short trip to Villa de
Leyva almost over we spent the morning wandering around the streets and just
marvelling at the old town. Our bus arrived back into Bogota around
4.30pm. A taxi ride back to our Hostal and then we were off (just around
the corner) to Chorro de Quevedo (public square), where the city was founded in
1538. The area of La Candelaria is filled with Universities, and
students, and this place seems to be the place to hang out. Most of them
enjoying each other's company, have a beverage or three, and watching the
street entertainment.
We then headed to Medellin
(population 3m). Our flight was delayed 90 minutes and Lesley’s bag
turned up ~7.5 hours later. Everything was mostly shut as today (21st
March) is a public holiday heading into Easter so we spent the rest of the day
contemplating what next and getting somewhat organised with forward bookings.
We found out that the free walking tour was completely booked out
the following day so we opted to complete it the day after, meaning an extra
night in Medellin. To fill in our spare day we headed to Parque de los
Deseos to then catch the metro (above ground) to one of the cities cable
cars. The cable cars were put in to give the upper reaches of the city
and the more economically challenged areas easy access, however have become
more of a tourist attraction as it gives a birds eye view of these areas as
well as a great panoramic view of the city. It’s pretty simple living and
the further up the hill you get the more remote and basic the dwellings are.
The walking tour the next day began at 9am at Poblado
metro station and we headed towards the historic centre of the city, in
downtown.. The guide, Juan, was great and full of stories and history as
we went – in fact the information he shared with us was probably the highlight
of the tour. We started with the old railway station and then went to the
administrative centre, square of lights, Palacio National, Veracruz Church,
Botero Square, Bolivar Park, the Metropolitan Cathedral and San Antonio
Park. The areas that are now used as parks and for socialising were once
notoriously dangerous and the city is focussed on turning these into peaceful,
beautiful spaces as part of the new Columbia – and they are doing a great
job. Botero Square was also a highlight for all the famous pieces of work
donated by arguably Columbia’s greatest artist/sculpture – Botero. His
niche being the out of proportion work he does “the fattys” as the locals call
them. It was a fantastic 4-5 hours and we learnt so much, and best of all
got to spend some time in areas we may not have otherwise ventured into. We
spent the evening in our local park, with the locals, having a few quiet
beverages before bidding Medellin farewell.
24th March off to Santa Marta. Not too
much to do here other than get organised and booked onto a trek to the Lost
City as it is the Easter Weekend. We did spend some time wandering the streets
and checking out their Cathedral and squares as well as the walking the
waterfront road – in 35 degree heat! We have certainly more than hit the
Summer we’ve been looking for – trekking in it is going to be interesting…
Day 1 of the Lost City Trek – the trip started with a 2
hour jeep ride from Santa Marta to the small town of El Mamey.
Interesting road - sharing it with hand drawn carts, horse and donkey drawn
carts, motorcycles, cars, small trucks and big trucks - and extremely
busy. About half way we turned off the main road onto a dirt road that
started the trip up over the hills to Mamey. Here we had lunch before
setting off on foot. Three hours later we arrived at our first camp –
after walking up and up and up. We passed some beautiful spots along the
river in the early parts of the walk and saw the most gorgeously coloured birds
having a bird bath in the shallows – the most iridescent colours of blue, red
and green. The rest of the walk was a very hard slog upwards in the
searing heat, mostly quite open with dirt/sandy paths and little shade.
Thankfully at the top of the hill you get juice, and fresh fruit to replenish
before hitting the downhill (which, we were to learn is never the last downhill
and there’s always another up). The camp (as with camp 2 and 3) are very
basic, all wooden with dirt floors, bunk beds and hammocks with the mandatory
mosquito nets. If you’re lucky (or not) you may even get to see a
scorpion or hand sized spider as well (thankfully not in the beds!). No
power for the most part (to bed and up again with the sun), but always with a
swimming hole in the river nearby – a blessing for cooling off and refreshing
yourself at the end of a hot walk (or during a hot walk as it turned out).
Never thought we’d enjoy cold water as much as we did – it was a blessing and
we were very grateful.
Day 2 – definitely the hardest day of the trek. We
thought we’d walked up yesterday; well we were in for a big wake up call.
The two largest hills of the entire trek sit within day 2, the first took
around an hour to walk up and the second more like 70 minutes. The two biggest
challenges on the trek – firstly the terrain which is made up of repeating
steep climbs and descents – you are at river level one minute and on the top of
a mountain ridgeline the next – a common theme for the duration of the trek and
secondly the heat – trekking at 35-37 degrees in the heat of the day makes for
some challenges of its own – dripping (for those of you who have done Bikram’s
this is like a class of Bikram’s for 6-8 hours) and wet feet (all that dripping
has to go somewhere!). The humidity is definitely a challenge as once
wet, everything stays wet. Hills and heat aside the walk this day was
gorgeous, especially along the rivers. The water is as clear as anywhere
you’ll ever see and the greenery started to increase as we headed further into
the jungle (and thankfully also a little more shade). We also passed some
indigenous settlements. The historic indigenous people (Tayronas) no
longer exist but there are 4 tribes that remain – two of which we saw and
interacted with on the trek – the Wiwa and Cogi. They are tiny
people and very cute – the children especially. Our guide, Miller, was
pretty well known amongst the locals so as soon as they see him they come out
calling ‘dolce’ expecting sweets – which of course is a small price to pay for
interacting with them, and getting the odd photo. Their way of life is
extremely simple and self-sufficient, with cows, chickens, pigs etc, as well as
crops. Houses made from stones, mud and straw and everything that has to
be moved is done by person or mule. We are very fortunate to witness indigenous
tribes in their natural environment living the way they wish to. Another
highlight of the day was walking up a ridgeline with two large rivers easily
100 metres below on both sides which were quite stunning. After a river
crossing (there are many) we headed into the last 45 minutes of the day which
was exhausting. The walk was mostly alongside the river (still up and
down) but over rocks so lots of balancing and climbing required – after 7/8
hours on the go the concentration levels were lacking a little so this part was
tougher than it might otherwise have been.
Day 3 – Mutanyi (the Lost City). About 25 minutes’
walk from the last camp you reach the bottom of the stairs to the Lost City,
alongside the river. 1200 of them later (whew) you reach the
entrance. The area is made up of around 30 acres however the part we see
takes in around 3 acres. As soon as you arrive at the top of the stairs
it feels like you’ve stepped back in time and the area is quite mystical,
sitting amongst the jungle. Quite a few more stairs from the entrance you
reach the pinnacle of the city atop the hill with the most amazing views.
We were lucky enough to be amongst the first 10 or so people so we sat atop the
beautiful city taking in the views for about an hour without any others to disturb
the silence. It was stunning – as were the multiple Toucan’s we saw
flying high above the city and putting on a display for those of us that were
there. Seeing a Toucan is apparently good luck so our guide was very
happy also. We walked the areas where there had been houses, store
houses, the “commercial” area and ceremonial area as well as getting a good
feel for the city and the many stone pathways within it. Our last stop
was the rejuvenation pool (Fountain of youth) where we had a nice dip before heading
back to camp 3. After lunch we started heading back (the walk is an in
and out walk) and another three hours before our day would be done.
Day 4 – at this point everyone desperately wants to
finish. We’re all tired, sore and a number of people not well (probably
from the drinking water). We were up early (5am) so we could be back in
town by 3.30pm for the Soccer (Columbia playing Ecuador in qualification match
for the 2018 World Cup). We were heading back into the two big hills we
did in day 1 and 2 but thankfully the other way around so a 40 minute and 30
minute hike each. Most of the rest was downhill (which is not as easy as
it sounds after 3 days of ups and downs) and we took a slight detour 30 minutes
before the end to cool off in a beautiful natural swimming pool.
Once back we still had the 2 hour ride back to
town. After saying the goodbyes and being dropped off at our hostel we
headed straight for the pool and a cold beer and from our rooftop heard all of
Santa Marta celebrating when Columbia triumphed 3-0. The trek was well
worth doing and a real achievement given the terrain and heat. It’s
certainly not for everyone but we will remember it fondly (the legs and feet
maybe not so much :o).
The following day we took a mini bus to Cartagena.
The journey took around 5 hours (after they pick everyone up, stopped half way
to change buses and then drop everyone off at the other end), and the scenery
was surprising. Out of the cities you head down the coast which for the
most part is quite barren and raw. Unfortunately it’s also plastic bag
city along the roadsides and so much rubbish really spoils the view.
Every time we see this it confirms that the world really should ban plastic
bags and bottles – very sad. If you look past the rubbish the view is
still pretty but very hazy from the excessive heat. On arriving in
Cartagena wea were dropped off just outside the city walls (the minivan unable
to get inside as it was too large). The city was founded in 1533 (however
indigenous people date back to 4000BC) and was key in the expansion of the
Spanish empire coming under attack multiple times in its history. The
city walls and fortress were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in
1984. The old city (inside the walls) is gorgeous. It’s full of
beautiful streets at every turn, as well as Churches, Monasteries and Plazas.
The next day we headed out for the free walking
tour. Starting at Plaza Santa Teresa we spent a couple of hours taking in
the sites and wandering the beautiful streets, learning lots about the city’s
history. Not done walking, and after a quick pit stop for lunch, we
headed to Castillo San Felipe de Barajas. The Castle is a fortress in the
city and sits atop a hill - its location meant to dominate any approaches to
the city by land or sea. Its construction began in 1536 and was expanded
in 1657 and 1763. It has a grand entrance and is said to be the most
formidable defensive complex of Spanish military architecture – also housing a
complex maze of tunnels within it. We wandered around the Castle,
including inside the tunnels.
Our last full day in Cartagena (and South America)
consisted of a leisurely walk around the city walls, coast side, and some
catching up notes, blogs and photos. Most of the day spent in our hostel
with good wi-fi and a nice pool to cool off in. Colombia has been a real
surprise and a fantastic place to come and visit. The baggage of the past
has been or is being removed and their passion for their country and belief
that it can only get safer and better is going to be good for all of us.
Best moment – finishing the Lost City trek
Worst moment – seeing a Scorpion
sitting above the mosquito net on our bed
Most special – the visit from multiple
Toucans at the Lost City
Most surprising – enjoying swimming in
beautiful, but ‘fresh’ river water
Things we will remember about Colombia…
The heat 30* - 37* - feels like 35* - 40*
Cobbled old city streets
Casual meeting and drinks in the parks and
plazas
Pigeons
The people’s passion
The extreme difference between the cities and
the Caribbean coast
Cactus forests
Tropical Jungle
The Football (payoffs for the FWC)
The dust
The native / indigenous people in the Jungle
Trishaws
The traffic
Narrow streets and limited road rules
Shanty towns
Plastic bags and rubbish
Street vendors and there mobile carts
Side of the road anything
Shops and homes surrounded by locked gated
fences
Mule drawn carts
Coco plants
Graffiti art
Fresh markets in tropical heat
Bananas
The bougainvillea
The bright colours
Renting mobiles by the minute on the roadside
Internet cafes
1 litre bottles of Petrol for sale on the roadside
Cigarettes being sold as singles
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