Intro
It's been a while since you've received (such kind of) email from my side - almost precisely two years. Well, during that time I haven't been to any destination worthwhile writing exciting reports... only smaller trips to relatively "normal" places.
Well, what you can tell from the subject of this email I have ended up on the latinamerican continent again and can only speak very positively about people and the country. All to the contrary of the reputation and rumours of this rather big country at the northern end of the southamerican continent. It's a bit of a shame that so few people take the courage to visit this place, which is definively worth a trip! (and no "courage" is really needed what I can report from my experience) Nevertheless I haven't been the only foreigner almost never, backpackers are around and package tourists as well.
My very first impression (at the airport!) was that the people are extremely friendly, kind, offer their help and even approach strangers by themselves (and not really due to the reason that they suspect dollar bills in your pockets like in other countries!). May it be on the street, in restaurants while searching for a bus or taxi... you never have to wait long until you find someone who offers help. Quite open and talkative they are as well, the Colombians, which I am able to compare with people in other nations where I have met with ignorance or unwillingness to help!
Mud
In one area I have gathered some experience in during the first 1 1/2 weeks: mud... which sounds a bit negative, but wait for the explanation.
1. On one of the first days after my arrival (flew in to Cartagena) I have been on an excursion to a volcano. But this wasn't just a volcano (a rather small one of about 15 meters height), but it spews not lava but mud! I've had a bath in the crater which included a massage and of course cleaning off in a lake nearby.
2. Next I've on a trekking tour to a place called Ciudad Perdida (=lost city) which is situated in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. We started off on a jeep along an awful "road" leading us (a group of 9 participants + guide, cook and some porters) to the entry point (a village called "El Mamey") of the tour. On some stretches of the road we've had to get off the jeep because it's been to dangerous to continue driving with all load. After a short lunch we were heading off although a bit late because there's always heavy rain in the late afternoon. We start on a good path through jungle which is not so dense there, which made it an easy start. But soon the rain started when we were already happy having packed all our goods in plastic bags! Mules help carrying our food supplies for the first days, which leads to destroyed paths which became very slippery of even muddy due to the daily heavy rain. We pass by a military checkpost watching the area, but this is the only one we see during the week. At one place the path goes downhill in a steep manner, all muddy, where we half running, half jumping and all along hoping had to get down to the riverbed. This is one of first of the many rivers and streams which we had to cross on this trek. And finally - almost pitch dark already - we reached our accomodation for the night: A tin roof for protecting us from the rain and a couple of hammocks underneath. Even a shower and toilet are there (!) next to a fireplace for preparing food. The next day we start off a bit earlier in order to avoid the afternoon rain. All days include crossing at least one or two rivers with quite some current. Most we had to wade through sometimes taking the chance to swim a bit or sunbath. This is very nice because the water isn't as cold as expected from a mountain river. Apart from that outside temperatures range easily above 30 degrees during the day. Even rain isn't cold and doesn't make you feel cold here, which is why getting caught by the rain isn't that bad! In such a way we continue on more or less muddy trails until we reach the bottom of the mountain hill on top of which Ciudad Perdida is located. The last 200 - 300 meters of difference in altitude we climb on an old stone staircase leading the way from the river to the lost city. The city itself has never been a place where normal people have been living, but rather was a wholy place for spiritual acts. We spend two nights up here getting an extensive tour of the parts of the city which have been freed by the jungle again. It is also a perfect place for relaxing, although at night it gets cold up here. On the fifth day we start our return trip, for which we take a different route, leading us to a village called "La Tagua". This part of the trip is much more exciting when it comes to landscape and the way the paths are: The jungle is much more dense here, vegetation changes a lot and the trails almost don't deserve the name anymore. Very ofter the machete is an essential tool for being able to walk along these trails, not speaking of the extremely steep stretches up- and downhill (very slippery due to mud!) which lead to a couple of little accidents due to losing balance... After a while we've got the mud and strange red soil all over our cloths and parts of bodies. Places where we spend the nights on this part of the trek were an Indio village and a Hacienda (=farmhouse) situated on very nice spots on the ridge of a hill, far off all roads and better trails. Very very nice locations, ideal for relaxing! At the end of our trek a jeep is waiting for us to take us back to Santa Marta. We thought the trip is over but when we saw the road and the jeep we knew it will be a longer "torture" until being back to civilization... the road was even worse than the one leading us to the trek and the car almost fell apart. Washed out roads which are steep and narrow make it an adventure by itself to get down to sealevel from an altitude of approximately 2000 meters. After all it is part of such a trip! And to summarize this, I can only recommend this amazing trek.
Water
After having had enough contact with the element earth (or better said mud in my case) I turned to the coast. There I may gather some experience with the element of water I thought:
1. Already during my trek in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta I have had more than enough of rain - and that being a heavy one at times! It's not only been once that we were really caught by the rain, which wasn't as bad as it sounds as I have stated before.
2. Then there was the crossing and wading of rivers or rather said wide streams.
3. After the trek I immediately escape from the city (where the booked tour ended) again and make my way to the fischer village of Taganga. Only 15 minutes away from the city I find it a good spot for kicking back for a while. There is a beach and I could practically jump into the sea from my hotel window. Anyhow, other beaches are closeby and reachable by foot or boat. I take it as a change to the days in the mountains.
4. You'll also find diving schools around Taganga - spontaneously I decide to sign up for a course (Open Water). It takes roughly four days, including the theory and the underwater views are not boring at all here, so it is a good combination between getting the license and getting to see the corals and fish on Colombia's coast! The first experience (=first day) with the diving equipment I make close to the beach, in the shallow water, but in the following two days I find myself on a boat taking us to the dive spots already. At first I go down to 12 meters and on the following day to 18 meters (maximum allowed for beginners like me). The water temperature is 28 degrees, going down to 26 due to currents on th elast day. This sounds warm, but with the thin wetsuit and considering being underwater for approximately 40 - 45 minutes each time this becames cold towards the end of a dive. Together with my dive teacher I get my first impressions of the amazing underwater life, seeing all sorts of corals, swimming through a huge amount of little fish and experiencing underwater "storms" (=strong currents). I'd like to emphasize that the element of _water_ also has its positive sides!
Some observations
Still in the village of Taganga I face a total power outage one night: The hole village is left without electricity for a couple of hours. At the moment when the power started fading (I could sense something was failing somewhere) I was in the shower - how convenient... so I had to find a torch first in the darkness. Only a few places in town had their diesel generators, e.g. the central supermarket, around which people gathered particularly and continued partying, as if nothing had happened. Anyhow, noone even seemed to be bothered by motorcycles passing by without headlight (as if that was somehow connected to the failed power distribution). Some time over night electricity came back.
...
In the meanwhile I left the coast of this particularly nice country. Climate has changed accordingly: At my first stop (San Gil) it's still been rather warm (just not that hot) cooling down during night, depending whether there was rain. A few days later I have continued my trip, getting at again higher altitudes, already missing the heat from a few days ago: During the days - given sun is present - temperatures rise to comfortable ranges (26 - 28 degrees) but at night I have to wear warm clothes. About the warm showers which are available here I am happy as well. Hot showers were none-existent up to now! Considering the 2100 meters above sea level I am now at this is not a big surprise.
Traffic
- Almost every person riding a motorbike is wearing a helmet - which I find astonishing and haven't noticed in almost any country yet!
- on top of that the majority of motorcyclists put on kind of a reflecting west showing the letters and numbers of the their license plates (often also on the helmet itself!); may be that this is compulsory.
- the chaos which seems to rule in the streets and the sporting way of driving leaves the impression of working out rather good anyhow, at least I've never seen an accident here since the beginning of my trip!
- Every bus carries a sticker asking "Como conduzco? - No. xxx xxxx" (=how am I driving?) - I have no idea whether it would make any difference to call this number in the case of a rude or dangerous driver, but at least it leaves a very organized impression.
- Whether the speed limit for buses (80 km/h) is obeyed by the driver may be monitored by every passenger on big display (OK, not always working... ) - even in the oldest buses.
- In case of breaking the speed limit, this monitoring device shall give an alarm. However, I have not heard this sound very often yet - who knows if it works at all times? Considering the mant turns of the roads up in the mountains 80 would be too much already anyway...
- A note on the side: Buses (especially the ones which travel long distances and overnight) are rather modern and comfortable, but also cold from the aircon. Nevertheless, there's no chance to compete with the human freezers going around Venezuela!
Air
Finally I will turn to the elements again, where I will continue with _air_:
1. Firstly I was forced to think about oxygen or air during my dives or their preparation: Or when did you bother to think about oxygen? When you go diving this is a must, essential, even more during the first dives! How is it to breathe underwater? How is the taste of air which comes from a bottle of pressurized oxygen/air? How long does my supply of air last? What is the feeling like to get exhausted underwater and how can such a condition be avoided? All of that didn't turn out to be too much of a big deal as I have described earlier.
2. On my way between the coast and the capital of Colombia I have spent a few days in San Gil where various activities like rafting, rappeling, caving, hanggliding etc. are offered. So I decided to try paragliding, of course only in a tandem flight. So I was picked up with a jeep leaving town, passing a few villages and up a little hill. On the way in the car my guides already mentioned a strong wind blowing, which I didn't really believe and notice at that moment. Then I get explained how the whole thing works and what my contribution to the take-off and landing part is and there we went: two or three "assistents" helped to arrange the parachute in the strong wind and we're off in the air! What was a bit strange was that we didn't travel from place A to B, e.g. from a hill down into a valley. THis means that we were more or less hovering or gliding at approximtely 30 meters above the take-off ground, which I found relatively close to mother earth. Perhaps this was the reason why I or rather my stomach didn't feel too well... being happy not having had any lunch! Movement in three dimensions in a rather irregular manner didn't please my stomach at all. Keeping my eyes to the horizon made me feel somewhat OK, but I have to admit that I didn't enjoy the flight very much. Apart from that:
- the view is almost the same as from the hill itself
- I couldn't get to the point where I was feeling as if flying, it was more like hoving above the surface
Conclusion: I wanted to try it out and see how it is. In the case that I get another chance to go paragliding I'll better ask whether we go down a canyon or something, then I might give it another try.
3. A few days later I went on a hike. Destination was a mountain lagoon which is a sanctuary for the Muisca Indians: According to their saying a very beautiful woman has emerged from the lagoon, carrying a baby in her arms. When that baby has grown up the two of them got married, had children and populated the world! This is as easy as it :-) At the end of the story the two became snakes and sunk back into the lagoon.
What is the relation to air we're dealing with in this paragraph? Well, the lagoon is at approximately 3600 meters, while the hike starts at an altitude of 2600 - 2700 meters. This means gets thin at these altitudes already, especially when ascending that fast. The hike somehow reminded me of an exercise my diving teacher made with me once: closing the vent of the oxygen supply while underwater... just not the quick of course!
Anyway, the little trek was worth it for sure: very beautiful landscape which first led me through dense forest, then the forest became bamboo and later I reached the so-called Paramo. There different sorts of interesting and exotic plants grow, all of them not higher than bushes. The most exotic and rare ones are the Frailejones. An explanation is difficult - just wait for the pictures!
Last Stop before Bogota
The base for starting this little trek was Villa de Leyva, which is a nice colonial town that leaves the impression of being in a huge museum! You find a lot of touristy shops there, apart from clean and colorful Cafes and Restaurants which are set side by side. I may call it an artificial restoration because everything looks a bit too clean and well refurbished. Somehow one has the feeling of being in a huge shoppingmall arranged in colonial style, outdoors. Anyhow, the landscape around is nice and Villa de Leyva has a good french bakery! This was one of the highlights to find bread which is not sweet. After weeks in Colombia I got quite tired of the ever-sweet bread - they are not used to salty (in my point-of-view normal) bread.
Bogota
A few words now from Bogota, the final destination of my trip.
Getting to Bogota went smooth as kind of everything during my trip. Well, first of all I almost experience a shock: No surprise considering Bogota an incredible big city, with a lot more noise than I have had anywhere during the last weeks. And of course the distances, where just as an example the trip from the northern bus terminal (where all the shopping malls etc. are) to the colonial center took 3/4 of an hour by TransMilenio. And that means of transportation is quite efficient and fast!
The TransMilenio is some kind of substitution for and underground transportation system because it would take too long and be very expensive to build one. But it is a very modern and efficient means of transportation, consisting of new buses like they are known in central Europe which travel on lanes which are exclusive for them and separate from the streets for cars. However, before I understand onto which of the constantly passing buses (this time they stop, no need to flag them down) I have to hop some studies of the system were required: A map is shown with all the lines and a timetable is printed as well. I find the way how it is displayed rather unusual and confusing compared to the systems I know from Europe. Although I am at the northernmost point of the network I already have to decide in branch of the transportation network my destination is. Most people I know would expect to have to change buses where certain lines intersect. Well, for the beginning it is a bit more complicated, but then switching lines is not necessary! To be sure about the correct bus I better ask someone I thought and of course easily find a helpful person. In comparison the question about the fare is much easier answered here than at home: There is only tariff, no matter how far you go, the price is the same - as long as you don't leave the buses or TransMilenio stations.
Other Observations from Bogota
- Like in other cities in Colombia it is rather tidy and clean here, almost everywhere. But I'm sure it also depends on the district.
- Going out is a pleasure here, there the big city has it's advantage. The choice of offered bars, clubs, restaurants and cafes (etc.) is huge and music is of all sorts.
- Shopping for sure is fun here, see below for details.
- Talking about safety I don't feel significantly less safe here than anywhere before. Of course there are certain rules to follow when going out late at night, but this is nothing unusual. Everywhere police, the military or private security people are present, which gives the impression that the situation is under control.
Shopping
I found it incredible what choice of shops and goods there is in Bogota. I almost got a flash walking about the streets passing by one shop after the other. And everywhere you see "assistants" on the streets working for the shops and trying to get your attention for the goods they have with them or tell you about the choice in the shop itself. This may be very important considering the flood of goods and people and shops. I find that very impressive!
Another handy "coincidence" is that shops selling certain kind of goods pile together: THis means that when one wants to buy a pair of shoes there is no need to walk all over the place because you can be sure that next to a store which sells shoes there will be several more shops next door selling shoes. This may be a street or major part of a shopping mall occupied by that kind of stores. What impressed me: There are many cycle shops in Bogota - really a lot of people cycle here and have good equipment. All this makes shopping rather convenient!
I can not avoid to make a little comparison with Thailand: People are as busy trying to sell stuff, working a lot as well and know how to catch the attention of the potential customer. Also talking about quality, which is very good and available for good (european) money.
Of course the downside is that it gets tiring and exhausting after a while: An overflow of the senses combined with having to say "no" when they try to sell stuff you just don't want, especially once you already stepped into the store already. Well, I guess this is no surprise and normal.
.................................................................... Gunther Kochmann, Herzog-Wilhelm-Strasse 38, 80331 Muenchen, GERMANY +49 89 24424055 / +49 176 22166993 e-mail: die.rote.Zora@gmx.li