Colombia, the secret jewl of South America
Trip Start
Jun 25, 2011
1
16
21
Trip End
Oct 22, 2011
Where I stayed
casa Viena, Cartagena, casa holandia, tayrona, casa dreamer santa Marta
Medellin; cartagena, taganga, tayrona, Colombia
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Colombia couldn't be more different to the depiction it's reputation leaves in the west. I selfishly hope the west does not discover this fact as I want to keep it all to myself.
As you would have read on my last blog, I had an epic journey trying to get to Colombia. I thought at the time the universe was trying to tell me something but after I went through immigration and waited at the bus stop I was introduced to the friendly Colombian ways and knew this would be a country to remember. As I struggled to communicate to the bus driver a guy covered in tattoos and earrings approached me and offered to help. In my usual frame of mind of would have thought that Felipe was going to rob me or worse but I just didn't get that vibe in the moment.
Felipe and I talked the entire way to the city where he caught a taxi with me to make sure I got to my hostel safely. No ulterior motive, just a genuinely nice guy who was keen to practice his English and tell me about the band he was in. Talk about friendly Colombians and it didn't stop with Felipe.
After my jet lag had past and tash's bag had arrived, we ventured out in El Poblado for dinner. Unfortunately we hadn't gotten used to the money yet and miss took 50 thousand pesos for 500 pesos and put almost $400 in the tray for a bill that was around $10. Lucky for us the little old lady waitress was honest and gave us back our money but not before she gave us a long lecture - all in Spanish though. Even though it was in Spanish, the message was received load and clear.
Tash and i had 4 days before we started our Spanish school. Day one got off to a bit of a scary start, but I'm not sure if that was me overreacting or just us adjusting to South America again. It is quite intimidating when we had over 1000 pairs of eyes watching us as we walked down town through Plaza Botero which has a cool sculpture park by the Colombian famous artist Botero. I was convinced we were going to be stabbed and mugged and when an old lady came over and pointed at our bags and at her eyes and gave us another lecture in Spanish I think I started hyper-ventilating! I was officially freaking out and so we went into the Museum Misco de antioquia where there was more of Botero's sculptures and paintings. I really liked his style - he painted fat people in charactiture.
Afterwards we gathered ourselves at a near by cafe where I spotted the only other western looking person and suggested to Tash that we tag along with him, to feel safer. However my shyness and pride got the better of me and we let the Westerner walk off and tackled the metro train station ourselves. We clung tightly to our bags and stared back at the many eyes that were staring at us and tried, TRIED, to blend in. Not going to happen with two blue eyed blonde girls in a country that was conquered by the Spanish.
We did however navigate our way to the Acevedo stop and took the cable car to Ami, but who should we run into but the western looking guy from the cafe! Yeah I thought. It turned out that Peter is from Germany and was staying one street away from us in El Poblado. The rest of the afternoon was spent safely with Peter. Peter also had a tip from a friend about a cool bar a top of a hotel called Charlie that was wicked! I felt like I was in a movie scene from Miami Vice with beautiful women with fake boobs and fake bums to boot!
Being a foreigner out on the town in Parque Lleras is like being a B grade celebrity I guess. Everyone wants to talk to you and give you drinks. Unfortunately there in lay the problem - mixing! random guys paying for my drink as I would go to pay at the bar and bar tenders giving me shots as soon as I walked in was fun but deadly. We danced salsa badly and talked Spanglish to strangers keen to talk to the foreigners. On the way home we came across a club that was playing western music and couldn't resist - one dance before we went to bed turned into the lights being turned on and the club closing. It was an awesome night that had it's consequences the next day. My sole and spirit is still young but my body is aging and it doesn't bounce back like it used to when I was in my 20's. Also climbing to a top bunk when your 32 and inebriated is impossible. I tried 4 times, until I pushed Tash over and informed her that I would be sharing her bed with her unless she wanted to attempt to climb to the top bed: nope!
We had booked a day trip for that Sunday ( stupid) and after 3 hrs sleep I tried to convince Tash that we should skip it and stay in bed, I even suggested that I could possibly make it to the top bunk now! But with my clothes on inside out ( I discovered when we returned) we legged it to the bus stop only to miss what we think was our bus pulling away. So back in the taxi we returned to the hostel, all before 8 am for a day of recovery! That night, Peter was a bad influence on us and we couldn't resist another night of cocktails and dancing in Parque Lleras, particularly as Peter was leaving for Cuba the next day.
After we discovered that Monday was a public holiday we made our way to the bus terminal to visit Guatape. I was proud of myself for buying our tickets all in Spanish and thankful that kind people pointed us in the right direction for the bus. After a false start with me boarding the wrong bus we settled in for the 2 hr trip to Guatape, dunkin donuts in hand.
I highly recommend Guatape for a day trip, if not to stay for a few days. The attraction is a very large rock that you can climb, 644 steps in all, to get an amazing view of the surrounding artificial lakes and islands. Apparently this is where Pablo Escobar had his house. Whilst we were in Guatape I did see one other foreigner but alas, we were still a bit of an attraction. We were asked by a group of guys for a photo , there girlfriends taking the photo for them - weird.
Guatape is known as "the town of Zocalos" due to the beautifully carved and brightly painted 3D motifs that cover the bottom of almost every building in the historic city center. We took a tuk tuk like vehicle to the main city and had fish by the lake and walked along the shore enjoying the markets. Fortunately, due to the kindness of Colombian strangers, we made it back on the last bus from Guatape bound for Medellin.
When Spanish school began, our days were made up of school, lunch in Parque Lleras , an afternoon nap, and then dinner and drinks with Juan and Jamie, some locals we had met in El Poblado. Hard life I know.
On our last day, our teacher took us for a day trip to Santa Fe De Antioquia, another beautiful quaint Colombian city, with rolling hills covered in lush tropical greenery. We had some spectacular views from the top of a small hill and ate a local lunch for 5000 pesos (just over $2).
Friday night was a repetition of many a nights in Parque Lleras, a safe little tourist bubble that Tash and I were happy to party and play in. As we went out with Juan and Jamie there was a local twist to the end of the night as we ate cheese and meat filled empeņadas, I guess there equivalent of a kebab after a night on the town. We were incredibly sad to leave Medellin, a friendly and energetic town with lots to offer, friendly locals and a party vibe that is unique to the city.
Once in Cartagena, a large Caribbean resort city on the northern coast, we could feel the temperature rise by 10 degrees. Unlike in Medellin where we changed hostels just to get a hot shower, the cold showers were a nice welcome after a hot and sticky day. I even bought a spray bottle to blast me with cold water in the night as I lay in the sweltering heat.
But with Cartagena's tropical heat, also comes it's tropical fruit. We were spoilt with mango in a cup for 2000 pesos and fresh fruit smoothies that I probably will never again encounter outside of Colombia. I think i have made up for my lack of fruit quota whilst traveling through china. Cartagena has a beautifully reserved old town that is bustling with modern day living and lined with shop after shop of emerald jewelers. After my initial freak out, we walked around the centro plaza, went to the monastery and the inquisition museum and then was suxed into buying an emerald ring... Couldn't help myself.
We also attended Spanish school in Cartagena and at this point the Spanish was becoming easier due to our frequent use every day. One afternoon, in the heat, we ventured to Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas being a castle built in the 16 th century which become an Unesco world heritage site in 1984. The walls are wide at the base and narrow at the top with the batteries and parapets protecting one another. I'm sad to say, the stone blocks used to build the castle are said to be splattered with the blood of slaves as Cartagena was a port of the black slave trade. From the top you have a panoramic view of the city and the bay, which back in the day was used to spot suspicious vessels approaching the dock. The castle also consists of a maize of tunnels that you are still permitted to walk through.
After Spanish school finished in Cartagena we decided to escape the heat and head to a sleepy fishing village called Taganga. There is not much to do in Taganga but to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the fishermen who have drunk too much, enjoy the fish they have brought in from the sea and sip cocktails mixed with the regions delicious fresh fruit. We enjoyed day trips to Playa de Grande (the grand beach) where we could hire a chair for 3000 pesos and have waiters bring us rum and coke and freshly caught fish that we could choose right from our deck chairs on the beach. It's pretty typical in south America to have such service that in the west we would only receive at a 6 star resort with a hefty price tag attached.
I met a Colombian girl named Brenda on holidays from Bogota who set us up on a blind date with her friends she met in her hostel.. As I graciously departed from my skinny hairy date laughed at how unabashful South American guys are. They have no problem with singing in front of you, serenading you, dancing and generally behaving
in a way that puts Australian guys to shame.
After two full days relaxing in Taganga we made the journey to Tayrona park, which has aptly received the nickname Jurassic Park. This place is not for the unadventurous as the facilities are lacking and there is an epic hike through the jungle to the beaches. Here you can relax at the many hidden beaches that you can gain access to by trekking further through the jungle. Once there you can buy arepas with egg and a juice even though you are in the middle of nowhere. The accommodation is a hammock with a mosquito net for 20,000 pesos a night or a tent or the beach itself. After a tiring day of being jungle women I retired to my hammock for the night and slept for 13 hours! Best sleep in a decade!
On my way back I had decided to take a horse and I loaded myself up with Tash's bag, the food bag and my backpack etc. I wanted an easier trip back as I was relaxed and didn't feel like any strenuous exercise. What a mistake. This horse ride was the scariest I have ever ridden, with the horse scaling up and down rock hills and in knee deep mud. The whole 45 minute journey was so stressful that my arms ached from clenching onto the saddle. It would have been difficult for a human to trek this route let alone a horse with a human aboard and all of her luggage. The trip proved too steep for me and resulted in me tumbling over the horses head to the ground. Lucky for me it was soo steep that the horses head was only 10 cm from the ground and I had scrambled enough to make my landing not beak any bones. I was a little sore afterwards but just grateful to have made it out with no broken bones and only partially covered in mud. Crazy stuff.
the last few days were spent making our way back from Tayrona park to Cartagena which required us to stop for one night in Santa Marta and to enjoy another beautiful summer evening in the old town of Cartagena.
After three weeks of travel such as this, you may understand why we were so sad to leave the country. However we reluctantly did and arrived in Quito Tuesday night. Wednesday was spent organizing a last minute Galapagos tour, which we depart for 1 week tomorrow.
We have managed to secure a last minute deluxe luxury catamaran for $2050, which may sound expensive but in australia I was looking at booking a similar thing for $4500. The Galapagos is a once in a life time visit to Darwins animal oasis, so why not do it in style, with a jacuzzi on deck??
Thanks for reading and I'll update you when I return from the cruise!
Comments
I live and laugh vicariously through your travels Penny. Thank you!
When I loose my memory in my old age, these diaries will be an endless source of fun