Colombiana

As we flew over the same parts of Panama we had just a day before been agonizing about how we were going to get out of, Crystal and I knew we had made the right decision.  Instead of being baked on the open deck of a shoddy cargo boat as it bounced along the guerrilla infested coastline between Panama and Colombia for who knows how many days, we were enjoying the free peanuts and ginger ale in a comfortably climate controlled atmosphere.  We were headed to Taganga, a beach town fairly close to Cartagena in the north of Columbia to meet my buddy Calvin or Chino Mamino as some call him or maybe it's just me.  There were no direct flights to Taganga from Panama as most flights in and out of the country are routed through Bogota.  Although this did make for a longer travel day it had the added benefit of one of us being able to get a bikini wax at the Bogota International Airport during our layover.  

Our arrival in Taganga coincided with Holy Week and Colombians flock to this normally tranquil town to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ by partying all week on the beach in skimpy bikinis.  We met up with Chino who was already enjoying the local customs, not by wearing a bikini but by appreciating them, and had no choice but to join in ourselves.  With the festivities moving from the beach to the bars as the sun set and then going late into the night, Chino and I  were searching for motivation to get up and go diving the next day.  We weren't expecting much from what we had seen but this was supposedly the best dive site in Colombia and with both of us being avid divers we had to at least give it a shot.  We stayed pretty close to each other during the dives as bubbles leaked out of our rented gear while we placed bets on who would have equipment failure first.  Not sure if peeing in your wetsuit counts as equipment failure but with that much beer from the night before, it couldn't be helped.  The dives actually turned out to be better than expected with both of us seeing a few aquatic life firsts.

Overlooking the revelers on the beach in Taganga.

Not a bad spot for our surface interval between dives.

Finally, the evasive and invasive lion fish.

Staying hydrated with the local bag o'water.

The brightly hued Colombian flag waves proud.

Once we had our fill of Taganga we made the short bus trip west to Cartagena.  To me Cartagena is one of those nostalgic cities of lore, like Constantinople (now Istanbul) or Casablanca.  Not that they have to start with a 'C' but the mere mentioning of their names immediately takes your mind to a land filled with with adventure, romance, daring, and sometimes drug runners.  The blame for Cartagena's allure cannot fully be placed on the shoulders of Kurt Douglas and Kathleen Turner when they filmed "Romancing the Stone" or on Gabriel Garcia Marquez for writing "Love in the Time of Cholera".  The city and it's location have captured the minds of many dating back to the Colonial era when it was one of the most valued ports to control and Spain spent the equivalent of 2 trillion dollars to fortify the city.  Although there is much more to the city now, the main attraction is still entering the old town through one of the few gated archways placed in the thick defensive wall that surounds it and meandering aimlessly through the streets taking in all the sites it has to offer from horse drawn carriages to modern night clubs.

Street cheese - a welcoming substitute for street meat.

Street sweets.

Night life in full swing.

The night life begins.

Aside from all the mainstay attractions and throngs of mostly local tourists, the city was also preparing for the upcoming G8 summit which was just a week away.  There was a constant running day and night of  drills with guards in full riot gear filling the streets while helicopters swooped low overhead.  We took pictures of the US Secret Service "preparing" for the event as well and I tried posting those to this blog but for some reason they were blocked.  I also think I am being followed now.

After a few fun days in Cartagena, Chino's vacation time was up and Crystal and I needed to plan the rest of our Colombian escapade.  Colombia is about the same square area as Texas and Oklahoma combined so it can take a while to get from point A to B.  We had about a week left in Colombia before she had to fly back to Canada to get things together for her 'Doctors without Borders' leave in Africa so instead of racing around the entire country spending most of our time on a bus, we decided to take it easy and enjoy what we could on the 2 day bus trip back to Bogota.

Nestled in the mountains halfway between Cartagena and Bogota lies the acclaimed adventure capital of Colombia, San Gil.  This sounded like the perfect spot to break up the bus ride and stay for a few days to see what trouble we could get into.  San Gil has a monumental list of thrill seeking activities to offer:  rafting, caving, sky-diving, rappelling, mountain biking, para-gliding, and ant eating.  We chose the last two.

Soaring high in the clouds.

The only instructions for take off are run, run, run!

Running off a perfectly solid 10,000 ft mountain with a small Colombian strapped to your back and a thin piece of synthetic material overhead connected by a handful of cords holding you in the sky may not appeal to some as relaxing but it was one of the most tranquil and beautiful things I have ever done.  At times we were at a stand still balanced perfectly in a headwind before we found a thermal updraft to climb higher and higher above the mountain peaks until we gently soared down.  Although everyone paid the same price, the flights lasted from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours depending on how attractive you were.  Crystal got the 1.5 hour ride while mine was 45 minutes.  Not sure what that means but the only pain I had in my backside was when my pilot gently landed me in a patch of stickers.

Hormigas Culonas or 'ants with a giant ass' are a local delicacy and everyone is pushed to try at least a handful when visiting the area.  After para-gliding, eating ants didn't seem like too much of a risk so both Crystal and I had our fare share.  Tasting like salty peanut shells, we both agreed  they were better than the hissing cockroaches in Thailand but not as good as the crickets in Cambodia.

San Gil and the surrounding area is not just for thrill seekers.  Old colonial towns with cobble stone streets lined with terra cotta roofed houses dot the area, the most visited being Barichara.  Being well above sea level on the slopped terrain, the cool crisp air made daily strolls amongst the white washed walls a must, stopping to take a picture, grab some food, talk to a goat, or pet a kid.

Barichara photo op.

A handful of Hormigas Culonas or 'big ass ants'.

With just a few days left we still wanted some time to explore Bogota so we said goodbye to San Gil and hopped back on the bus one last time.  Bogota is vast and highly populated with close to 8 million people living in the city.  It is one of the highest capitals in South America which also means it is cold and rains a lot.  Unfortunately for us we weren't too prepared for this type of weather mostly because we had been living on a boat with no shoes for the past few months.  This allowed us the opportunity to really dig deep in our packs and come up with some unique and improvised clothing options to try and stay warm and dry.

They just thought I was from Holland.

Luckily Crystal is from Holland.

The veil of clouds break just enough on a cable car ride to view the sprawling expanse of Bogota.

Fortunately Bogota is filled with great museums and restaurants which meant we could spend a lot of time indoors and not outside battling the elements.  One of our favorites was The Museo del Oro (Gold Museum).  It has the largest collection of pre-Hispanic gold work in the world with more than 6000 pieces on display.  It is easy to imagine why once discovered by Europeans, the New World was a land to be plundered no matter what the costs to either side blinded by the riches in gold alone.  It's amazing that so many pieces have survived in such good health to this day and a privilege to view the advanced skill and knowledge the indigenous people portrayed in their works.

The other great thing about Bogota was the eateries.  We had been looking for authentic good Colombian cuisine for a while and Bogota did not fail us on that.  Tiny two story restaurants squeezed side by side with shared walls were the apparent hot spots for the locals especially to take refuge in when the cold and rain picked up.  A great variety of hot, creamy soups and tamales wrapped in banana leaves that had a half chicken inside never left you hungry but always ready to eat more.  One of the local favorites we had to try was an extremely dark cocoa drink served with warm butter bread and cheese that are supposed to be dipped or soaked in the chocolate and then eaten as you drink.  It seemed like an odd combination but once we tried it we had it after every meal.

Gold place

Gold face

Hot and delicious meals helped us through the days.

Dark chocolate, butter bread, and cheese.

There was the occasional break in weather which gave us enough time to enjoy our strolls throughout the city one of which lead to the grand plaza in front of the nation's capital building.  The plaza is the focal point in the historic La Candelaria district attracting mostly tourists and pigeons which in turn attract a plethora of hawkers selling everything from pigeon feed to mini alpaca rides.

The happiest boy in the world.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words but this one needs a lot more explaining to fully appreciate.  After a long day of walking, Crystal and I ended up in this plaza and once we gently declined the vendors pursuits for the 100th time, we were able to take up residence on the edge of the plaza to relax and take in the sites.  From one of the side streets we could here a small commotion and soon enough three boys came around the corner, one boy being the obvious culprit for most of the noise making.  He was extremely excited to be here, like he had been anticipating this day his entire life and it had finally arrived.  He definitely knew what the plaza had to offer because before he had made it even ten feet into the square he was already yelling his demands with a huge smile on his face: "I want all the pigeon feed you have.  I want all the miniature alpacas here now.  Where is the photographer?"  It didn't take any translating to understand that much.  In the blink of an eye he was on the back of an alpaca with pigeons clambering on his outstretched arms having his picture taken while his two friends grinned at each other and paid for everything he wanted.  I am not sure if he was slightly medicated after just being released from the hospital for a severe illness or this was the Colombian version of the 'Make A Wish Foundation' but if he would have been any happier he would have exploded.  It was like it was his birthday,  Christmas, and the government had declared a holiday in his honor all on the same day.  Crystal and I were astounded that an under-sized alpaca and dirty pigeons could bring so much joy to one person.  It was amazing to watch.  If everyone in the world had just 10% of whatever this kid had it would put an end to famine, war, and poverty in an instant.  We were lucky enough to be the only foreign tourists in the area and once he spotted us he immediately ran our way with a photographer in tow to take a picture with us to commemorate the event.  It was a true honor and pleasure.  Our last day in Colombia couldn't have been any better.

After being together 24/7 for the past 3 months it was odd dropping Crystal off early the next morning at the airport for her flight to Canada.  I am not sure if the bikini wax shop was even open that early.  I still had some work to do since I still didn't have a boat yet to get me across the Atlantic but that is just a minor stumbling block which I will cover next time.

Cheers and hope everyone is well,