Colorful Colombia Part III: Santuario de Iguaque

After the first few days of adapting to the altitude and holiday mode with a lot of good food and beers we felt that a little exercise was in order. Luckily, the area around Villa de Leyva has a few nice one-day treks on offer. We settled on a trek through the Santuario de Iguaque, leading us to the sacred lagoon where the Muisca goddesses had turned into snakes. With an altitude profile well over 3000 m it turned out to be quite a strenuous hike. We started the trek at the national park entrance at 2400 m and covered 14 km and a 1250 m ascent within 7 hours to catch the bus at the park entrance again. In contrast to the Alps where the trees cede to grow at around 1800 m, we started our trek through thick cloud forest that, above 3200 m, finally turned into the paramó, a typical endemic vegetation of bushes and grasslands that is specific for this area.

For the first time on all my hiking trips, arriving at the lagoon at 3650 m of altitude, I felt a little dizzy. Admittedly, we had climbed up there quite fast and, when everything is lush green and jungle-like, one easily looses perception of the high altitude. Although we were spending a good part of the day above 3000 m, there were no snow-capped peaks, or mountain peaks altogether for that matter, in sight. Without any snow or mountain range on the horizon, the hike mostly just felt like a walk through the woods. The dizziness quickly faded when we were starting our descent so I did't have to worry but it made me all the more aware of the risks that are associated with high altitude adventures, even if you are "just walking through the forest" but on 3600 m of altitude.

On the way back down we stopped at the refuge in the national park for lunch (which we had pre-ordered in the morning) and they served us fresh trout and some fruit juice for a total of 6 €. We were really surprised since we were just expecting a simple meal.
This was just something I loved about Colombia, there was always a surprise in store!

Colorful Colombia Part II: Colonial Bliss in Boyaca

On a sunny Saturday afternoon we arrived in Villa de Leyva, a beautifully preserved colonial village in the Colombian Andes, about a 3-hour drive from busy Bogota. With its proximity to Bogota it is also a popular weekend retreat for Colombians escaping the city so the little alleyways were busy with people, a marriage was held in the old church and children were flying their kites on the Plaza Mayor. It was such a peaceful and beautiful atmosphere up there on the main square in the sun, young and old gathered, people sitting on the stoops and benches enjoying a beer or some empanadas and watching the little ones flying their colorful kites that were dancing in the clear blue sky. We were relishing in the moment, the warming sun on our faces (it was a few degrees warmer than in Bogota), a cold beer in our hands and a few spicy empanadas to sample. Traveling at its best!

The views from our first hostel which was, alas, apart from the views, pretty disappointing. We changed to Hospedaje El Fuente for the next two nights which was such a lovely place run by an equally lovely old couple.

On our way to town, we passed the cemetery...

...and this cute fella...

The next morning we hired a driver together with two other Germans to embark on a trip through the district of Boyaca. Although there are quite a few buses circling between the colonial villages it would have been impossible to visit more than one or two in a day so we opted for the flexibility of a driver that also allowed us to adapt the schedule to our gusto. For example, to stop on the middle of the road when the sun was breaking through the clouds at six in the morning...

For breakfast, with our few bites of Spanish, we ordered some local treats and some nice strong coffee.

Driving through endless green hills and forests...it was a great pastime, just watching the landscape, spotting a few children playing in the distance or a few horses grazing.

Sunday morning leisure...

Colorful Colombia Part I: Exploring Bogota

Bogota - whoever I told about my upcoming Colombian adventure would start on some words about Bogota, Medellin and the drug conflict. While Colombia is still producing a considerable amount of cocaine, there is a lot more to this country than drugs and guerrilla groups. I'll share more on the recent progress concerning the drug conflict in a different post.

A lot has changed in Bogota in the recent years making its city center a vibrant neighborhood with colorful streets, great street food and fusion cuisine restaurants and coffee bars that allowed for an easy transition into holiday mode after an exhausting 14 hour flight. La Candelaria, the historic city center is pretty safe to walk around if one sticks to the rules and uses some common sense ( e.g. no unnecessary swinging around of large DSLR cameras at night, no walking around at night on your own, only take accredited cabs...).

We stayed in a beautiful hotel called Anandamayi Hostal in a calm street in La Candelaria. The old colonial building with white washed walls and turquoise doors  has four different patios all boasting flowers, plants in every shade of green  and some hammocks to relax in. The place is run by women only, especially single  mothers are employed with flexible shifts to allow for a sustainable income.

Downtown, we visited the Museo del Oro that has an impressive exhibition on the gold crafting art of Colombia and South America in general. You can easily spend a few hours in there, mesmerized by the delicate golden jewelry on display.

Obviously, we had so sample some Colombian coffee as soon as possible and were not disappointed by this cups we got on a coffee stall on the street. Everyone was so friendly and talkative (although only Spanish is spoken here) and people seemed genuinely interested in us and our appreciation of the country. I felt immediately at ease with the people and the country and this feeling did not cease throughout the whole trip.

In the afternoon, we embarked on a bike tour with Cerro Bike tours to discover some other Bogota neighborhoods where you would usually not walk to as a tourist. The graffiti scene is big in Bogota with a few graffiti collectives being paid my the government to paint some murals. There are different themes to different collectives, anti-war or crime messages, ecological or social headlines.

The bike tour was a great way to cover bigger distances in a day and still learn something about the city and its history.

We stopped at a coffee roastery for a cup of freshly-brewed Colombian coffee. At first, I thought this might be a typical tourist trap thing. However, unlike in India, where we often felt obliged to purchase something at these kind of stops, this seemed a lot more relaxed. Our bike guide also ordered food and a coffee and paid for it just like us. The roastery and the accompanying café have existed and had their customers before the tourists arrived so it just felt normal to step by, have a look and enjoy a cup of coffee while everyone was pursuing his or her business. I gladly realized that in Colombia, not everything is revolving around the tourists. On my last travels through India and Nepal I got so accustomed to the fact that tourism was the only source of income that it took me a few moments to realize the differences in Colombia. It has been eight years since my last trip to South America. In-between I have mostly traveled around Asia and Africa where tourism often plays a bigger role in the country's economy. Additionally, as a fair European you stick out a lot more. With its diverse cultural and ethnic heritage Colombia is a multi-racial country, with Caribbean, Afro-American and Hispanic influences. Although poverty is still a major economic problem, there is a sound Colombian middle class and the minimum wage is on the rise.

Being a tourist was a lot easier here since you could blend in more easily and experience more of Colombia's culture on your own, chatting with the locals on the bus, in a bar or at the beach.

Later on, we stopped at the fruit market where we sampled a few, even new-to-me, fruits. Delicious!

All in all, it was a great start into our Colombian adventure. The day was perfectly rounded up with a dinner at Capital Cocina. A tiny restaurant with little wooden tables and minimalistic interior that could sit in New York or Berlin all the same, where we ordered octopus salad and some nice meats at the price of a New York cocktail. Bon appetit!