Cartagena: Spanish, colonial city.
Flew from San Juan, Puerto Rico to the Caribbean side of Colombia. Fresh squeezed juices and fruits everyday. The picture on the left is the enclosed Old City at night. In this plaza, they have nightly performances. Stayed at Casa Viena. Ok place, but most people stayed at Media Luna. However, a lot of prostitutes roam that area which is just around the corner, but there are several bars just outside where prostitutes rule the domain. Getsemani (the area) is known to have prostitutes. Media Luna also has a decent bar.Trek to Ciudad Perdida:
A village on the way to the Ciudad Perdida (The Lost City) which was discovered in the 70s and open to tourists in the 80s. It is a 5 day trek, 4 if you are ambitious. You cross rivers and jump in pools. An even bigger bonus is that you and your tour group are the only ones at the site. The only way to access Ciudad Perdida is by hiking. Therefore, there are a lot less tourists than Machu Picchu.
Sleeping in Hammocks:
Ya, it sounds like a lazy man's dream to sit and sleep in a hammock all day, but, please, not at night in place of a bed! Yes, neck cricks. And how do you expect to spread and roll around.
You can't. Stuck in one position and who ever likes to be in 1 position?
The Locals:
Indigenous tribes still live in the jungle. Ciudad Perdida is in Sierra Nevada, Colombia which is close to Tayrona National Park. The people are very shy and tend to not like having their picture taken. Always good to ask people permission before taking a photo.
The Lost City: And My Love of Moss.
Those may not know that Janet and I share the same affinity towards moss. How could you blame us? It looks awesome and creates some sort of mystery. I love it! LOVE! This picture was taken after climbing a 1000+ stairs to finally reach the common people area of Ciudad Perdida. Gah, I still remember climbing up the slippery steps. Don't worry they weren't steep, but just a lot.
The View:
This is probably the most famous image of Ciudad Perdida. I think that is where only people high in society can go like priests, kings, or queens. Yes, that is a military man with a grenade launcher.The Protection:
There is a rotation of 40 or so military men that guard Ciudad Perdida. The guerrilla is alive and kicking around the area and the government does not want anyone to get kidnapped again. The guys are really nice especially to the ladies. If you bring cigarettes and other things of that nature, you could trade the men for some of the military garb. Legend has it that a Brit traded a couple packs of cigs for a military helmet. The guy just ripped the name off the back of the helmet. Now, how many cigs do I have to give to launch a grenade? yehahhahahaha. Kidding.
Lucky:
They say if an "89" butterfly lands on you it is good fortune. Unfortunately, these guys did not land on me, but they sure
look awesome for a photo.
Done!:
Shoes all muddy. Wearing someone else's socks. Bloody ankles. Feet explosion. Thank goodness I am done! Well, practically. The home stretch and it felt good to take in the view and sit. Although, that grass was a bit itchy. All that is missing is a brewsky or a Coca Cola.
Medellín: Botero Statue.
So, after Ciudad Perdida, the group all met up in Taganga (a small beach town) and ate at PachaMama. We were used to waking up at 6am, hiking by 7am, sleeping by 9pm (at the latest), and not much drinking besides a beer after a day's hike. We ate, we drank, and I got sick and was stuck in a shit hole (Santa Marta) for 3 days until I healed to catch a flight to Medellín. This is a Botero sculpture which is all over the place in the city. Botero is from Medellín and his sculptures and paintings are of people with skewed or large shapes.
Side Note: In Africa, the driver had a place list that played the song "Big girls you are beautiful!" quite often. Everytime I heard the song, it reminded me of Botero and Colombia, mi corazon.
Coffee Region:
So, after the big city life, I headed to a small town, Salento, which is in the coffee and chocolate region in Colombia.
Here, I met the cutest old man farmer who taught us how to roast some coffee. Yum!
Salento: View from the Hostel.
I played the most pool in this small town or any small town for that matter. What else is there to do really? There was this other local game where we threw clay and tried to hit the gunpowder. Such a cute, little town! I loved it here. A very good and needed break.
Cocora Valley: The National Tree.
Palm trees in the Andean Mountains! Who knew? It is mysterious and so beautiful! A must see. Take a bus from the Salento plaza and you could go on glorious hikes. Take the earliest bus out because it does start to get foggy as the day progresses.
Favorite Hostel in Colombia: Casona de Lily
Lily is seriously one of the warmest people you could meet. This is her kitchen. She really embraced "mi casa es su casa." She did not speak English and with my limited Spanish we sure did have some animated conversations! yehahahahhahahaha.
Bogotá: View from the Funicular.
Bogotá is huge and has a good mix of lifestyles. It is not like there is thaaaaat much to see and do, but I got along well with the city.
Police Museum: Gun Guitar
That is Pablo Escobar's guitar. There are only 5 in the world all of which are custom made. It does work as a guitar and gun! How cool.
Salt Cathedral:
For some reason or other, the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá is a big tourist attraction. When you get there, it is set up like an amusement park. It really is just an underground salt mine/cathedral. It is huge, but I do not think it is worth the 1 hour trip out of Bogotá. I would have rather sat around the city more.
Leticia: Middle of Nowhere.
Leticia is a city in the Colombian Amazon. The only way to get here in Colombia is essentially via plane. It is an area called the 3 Frontiers as it borders Brasil and Peru. Within hours, I went to all 3 countries. I didn't need a visa into Brasil because it is open border policy.
Border Crossing: To Peru.
On my way to Peru to meet up with Corina. From Leticia, I took a fast boat which would take 12 hours instead of 3 days to Iquitos, Peru. Iquitos is known to be the largest city in the middle of nowhere.
Colombia is my favorite South American country thus far. The people!
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