Cartegena

All Photos (34)

The only thing that sweats here more than you is the cold beer you are nursing in a desperate attempt to defy the heat and humidity. It offers a few short, sweet moments of refreshment, but you must walk the fine line of drinking it just fast enough that it isn't warm by the end and drinking slow enough to enjoy its coldness as long as possible. Fortunately, this may be the biggest dilema you will face for the day.

The heat and humidity make it hard to drag yourself out into the elements and explore the city, but luckily you are richly rewarded for your efforts. Inside fortified walls, the historic colonial center is guaranteed to charm you. Colorful buildings, winding streets, botanical balconies, and seaside gazing from the old wall itself, you see why an impressive list of pirates tried to plunder the city through the centuries. As a result, Cartagena was fortified with massive stone walls enclosing the city, as well as by numerous seperate forts and batteries strategically placed arround the main port. Cartagena became impossible to overrun, but it cost a pretty penny to complete. Legend has it that Charles III of Spain, while reviewing the costs of defenses constructed in Spain in Havanna and Cartagena, took up his spyglass and exclaimed, "This is outrageous! For this price those castles should be seen from here! (Peninsular Spain)." Perhaps not visible at such great lengths, they have nevertheless left their mark on the city and make for wonderful places to explore.

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On my last night in the city, perched up on the old city wall, I shared a beer with two other travelers as we watched the sun setting over the carribean. Cooler now with the breeze blowing in from sea, we made small talk and enjoyed the last few colors in the sky and the new colors appearing across the bay as the modern towers lit up in the twilight. The perfect way to say goodbye to such a wonderful city.

Blue Waters & Caribbean Coast

Taganga Photos (11)
Tayrona Photos (25)

It is a late dinner of empanadas and papas rellenas in the bus terminal waiting for my bus. After buying a bottle of water for the trip, I wait out in the darkness for the bus to arrive. When it comes I heave my heavy backpack into the storage compartment and climb on board. Air conditioned air, cool and stale, welcomes me on board as I check the numbers for my seat. It will be a 12 hour ride with an early morning transfer. Despite being in a temperate climate leaning more on the hot side, I have my fleece jacket and winter hat with me as necessities; for whatever reason, the AC will remain on full blast throughout the night turning the bus into a refrigerator. Vendors climb on board trying their best to convince you that you forgot you needed something they are selling. I'm going to sleep, because the movie will likely be dull and dubbed, and that way the ride will pass faster as well. Soon I will leave the Andes behind for the first time in nearly a 6 months. Caribbean beaches await...

I wake up to being told I need to get off to get my transfer to Santa Marta. I get straight off and nearly choke in the heat. Off comes the fleece, the winter hat, and if not for cultural decency rules, so would everything else. I get into a cab the company has paid for and head for Santa Marta. Another bus and an hour later, and I am in the rustic beach town of Taganga.













Dirt roads, worn down buildings, and blasting latin tunes characterize this small beach town with a horse-shoe bay to itself. Minimalist dress styles prevail in the heat, and other than laying in hammocks, taking a dip in the sea, or eating fish on one of the numerous beach side eateries, there is nothing to do. That, of course, is part of the appeal. The real highlight though is the nearby Tayrona National Park, which includes some pristine Caribbean beaches, virgin forests, and gringos enjoying all it has to offer.













It took in hour to get to the closest beach in a 17 person boat with two outboard motors. A flying fish cruzed alongside our boat for a few seconds, which was really cool to see. I had no idea they had wings and could actually fly; I always thought they just jumped high or something. The day was overcast but still stiflingly hot and conducive to swimming in the water. We stayed in hammocks strung up side by side, and the accommodations included a restaurant and small store selling cold drinks at inflated prices.










In the morning the sun rose in a clear sky, and I awoke in paradise. The blue waters became luminescent, the golden sand of the early morning growing warmer and whiter as the day progressed. The daily routine was one of catching rays, swimming, getting some sun, snorkeling, lunch, swim, read, get more sun, swim to some rocks and jump off them, more laying around, maybe a shower, grab an ice cold beer, and enjoy the view. It was a place where doing nothing was doing enough.






































And for a fun exercise, find all the things different in these two photos:

Colonial Craze

Villa de Leyva Photos (20)
Parque Iguaque Photos (10)
San Gil & Barichara Photos (21)

Imposition of rule, disposition of people, extermination if necessary, exploitation a certainty; destruction of culture, indoctrination of beliefs, and eradication of resistance; domination of resources, markets, and territory; abuse, rape, and murder. In a word, colonialism. It did not destroy everything in its path, though it appeared bent on that purpose, but it left nothing unaffected. The scars it left behind are visible still today, and the damage it caused irreparable. New birth and growth emerged out of the ashes, and today one could scarcely deduce the atrocities of the time from the beautiful towns and architecture it left behind. How odd it is to think that such a horrific era could provide such delightful attractions today, though this is not at all uncommon throughout the world.

Villa de Leyva was my first stop out of Bogotá, a preserved colonial town with whitewashed buildings and cobblestone streets. Not a sterilized, museum-like town, and not just a few buildings within a modern, lively neighborhood, Villa de Leyva is a well preserved colonial town with a modern culture residing in it. The result is a beautiful combination of a very real, very authentic Colombian community living in the well preserved architecture and style of the colonial era. An equal appreciation of tradition and heritage without hindrance to the natural evolution of life and culture makes Villa de Leyva a very unique and enjoyable place to visit.





































Nearby, and not nearly as enjoyable, was the national park of Iguaque, where long ago the indigenous peoples used to throw gold objects into the lake that they believed gave birth to civilization. It, along with similar traditions elsewhere, gave birth to the legend of El Dorado, the city of gold. Countless conquistadores and explorers lost their lives in their frivolous pursuit of the myth. The lake itself does not live up to such a rich legacy, being rather bleak and unimpressive in its appearance. Just sort of an "ehhh" experience.













I left that pleasant little colonial town behind and went to a pleasant little Colombian town called San Gil, an emerging adventure sport and ecologically concious destination. Some places have seasons to visit in, and now is not the time to visit San Gil. The high rainfall turned the class 4+/5 river into class nonexistant, and the high water levels flooded out some good caving adventures. It had a pleasant setting, wonderful market, and nice people, so it was a pleasant enough spot in its own right. A park protects the unique growth seen to the right off of trees, but I forget the name of it. I also ran into Kate and Ryan from Peru and Ecuadorian adventures here in San Gil, quite unexpectdedly. That is becoming a theme. It was good to catch up on some stories and share some beers.

Another colonial gem lies nearby and is just as charming if not more so than Villa de Leyva. Barichara's architecture and atmosphere was similar to Villa de Leyva, but different enough to make it worth visiting (you may not see a difference, but then you just get the photos...). I tagged along with and Aussie-turned-Canadian and Canadian couple, Lloyd and Emma. They gave me some epic info on Central America (word of mouth is priceless, guidebooks should be burned), so cheers to them.






















San Gil's mountains and more temperate climate would soon be disappearing, with the Carribean coast just a night bus ride away.

Medellín and Bogotá

Medellín Photos (18)
El Peñol Photos (17)
Bogotá Photos (23)

So I forgot to mention on the last post that I had another "small world" experience in Manizales. Let's pose a question. Where would you likely expect me to run into someone from Connecticut, who also has lived in California, who also has guided down the American River, and who did so the same summer one of my best friends from highschool did it? Not in Manizales, Colombia? Mmmm, me neither. Small world, eh?

Becoming a repetitive statement, but all the more testimony to Colombia's wonderfully beautiful countryside, the drive from Manizales to Medellín was very pretty. Medellín has a character all its own and a very interesting, if not stained, history. I was visiting a friend from Santiago (Chile) who ran a hostel with one of his mates, and to call the place a mansion would be modest. I don't know the history of it, but I would not doubt some drug money went into building the place, complete with three seperate structures, a swimming pool, and sauna's in the bathrooms. It definitely was not originally designed to be a hostel, but it made a great one at that.

Set in a river vally, Medellín spreads up and down the river and climbs the surrounding hills. The neighborhoods become poorer as you climb, a latin america phenomenon contrary to our increased property value associated with a better view. With the demise of Escobar and a clamping down on the drug trade, the city has become much safer in recent days. A new, creative metro line links much of the city together, including a unique feature that reaches even the poorer neigborhoods elevated high on the hills. The main metro line is the traditional electric train model popularly used in cities all over the world, which remains at or above ground level. The creative part comes in when once considers how to reach the hillside communities. Obviously a train is impracticle. So what was done was to build a gondola system that connects to a couple stations on the primary train line, which then carries people up into and down from the hills, with unloading points along the way. It takes very little space on the ground and allows for inhabitants, otherwise cut off from moving around the city cheaply, to do so with great ease. For the traveler, it also connects you to the poorer neighborhoods you normally wouldn't be able to venture into easily, and it was such an amazing, unique experience to be able to visit these areas. I also walked around Medellín's botanical gardern and downtown area, but attractions are minimal in the city. Outside, however, is the impressive rock monolith of El Peñol.

Shots from the Botanical Garden:

Famous sculptor who made everything obese:

El Peñol resembles the Sugar Loaf in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and after climbing the numerous steps to the top, you enjoy 360 degree views of the green landscape and artificially created lake with its many arms.

Next up was the capital, Bogotá, which did not impress me except for its size (there are over 10 million people living in the metropolitan area). I was there two days and was ready to leave. There were some pleasant historic areas, but nothing that really pressed me into wanting to stay. The Police Museum there did have some interesting things to display, like the bloodied jacket Pablo Escobar was killed in and other gruesome displays. I hung out in the hostel with some cool people, and that was my highlight of the visit. Onto bigger and better things as the saying goes, but in my case it would be the smaller things that ended up being better, which I found in a quaint colonial town called Villa de Leyva.

Shots of downtown, Pablo Escobar's jacket bottom right: