Colorful Colombia Part IV: On the road to the Caribbean

In-between the Colombian highlands and the Caribbean coast there was quite a distance to cover - a lot of bus fun for two days straight but we tried to make the most of it, breaking the journey in half in San Gil, Colombia's adventure capital. While we didn't have the time to stay over to get an adrenaline rush with rafting, paragliding or abseiling, we participated in a round of "tejo", a typical Colombian game involving dynamite and booze. The next morning we embarked on a 15-hour bus ride up to Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast. It was long...very long, but given the air-con and wifi on the bus, it could have been a lot worse. And our hostel had a pool and a roof-top bar so that was something to look forward to....and we were excited for our jungle trek to the Ciudad Perdida but more on that on the next post! Stay tuned!

A so call mystical urban forest in San Gil. Unfortunately, the park was closed so we could only snap a few pictures from outside but I would have loved to wander around under those trees.

On the Plaza Mayor in San Gil before the storm rolled in. We were just enjoying a cold beer after the first stretch of our long trip up north when the rain drops made us run in search of a nice place for dinner.

We found this little Colombian gem in a side street. A full Colombian meal - comida corriente - with soup, a main plate with meat, rice and vegetables and some cake for dessert and a lemonade for less than 4 € total. Buen aproveche!

The "tejo" situation - throwing stone disks on those mud covered platforms where the little pink envelopes are filled with dynamite. If you hit them, a loud bang announces you won 9 points for your team. Admittedly, we only achieved this from like a 2 m distance ;-)
But the beers and the company made it a great night out!

A stroll through Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast - this little coastal town mostly serves as a base for treks to the Sierra Nevada or trips to the Tayrona National Park but the city center had a calm colonial attire with a Caribbean touch to it - a bit of how I imagine Cuba to be like.
And there were quite a few nice restaurants and bars allowing for some delicious treats at still reasonable prices.

In case you haven't noticed yet, I have a thing for colored walls...my poor brother had to snap a picture of me posing in front of a wall every few meters. Since they were even prettier in Cartagena I'll save those for another post, but I couldn't help but include at least one ;-) Thanks to Felix for his patience!

And again, great graffitis!

The best juice bar! Also great for a some good non-Colombian dinner with pitas, fajitas and salads! Just in case you had enough "pollo con arroz", chicken with rice, for a while....

Ah and in case anybody plans on visiting Colombia... the Masaya Hostel in Santa Marta is a great place to stay with its rooftop pool and bar. Private rooms are quite expensive for a hostel but the pool and atmosphere are definitely a pro argument. On sundays, there is even a rooftop pool party .... :-)

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...