Colombia!

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Hello!

Hoping everyone is well and continuing to enjoy the many engagements, "big" birthdays, baby having, wedding type malarky that seems to be cluttering up my Facebook of late! It's all go!

So the next installment of the wild and wonderful adventures this side of the pond was Colombia baby. School was absolutely mad the last couple of weeks before end of term with reports and special weeks and "green" things happening - the usual. We were all in great need of a big break! Sara, Lucinda, Doug and I went to Colombia together with the first stop in Bogota. It was SO nice to get out of Venezuela where we could use our "real" money and meet other English speaking travellers and walk around without fear of muggings/kidnap/etc. Some kind and random person has commented on my previous blog that I am "playing with fire" by living in Caracas without a notion of the consequences... helpful, and thanks, but I assure you I am FULLY aware of the dangers of living here and perhaps like to make light of it on silly blogs such as this.

Anyway. Bogota. Beautiful, historical, SAFE!, and a lot of fun. On our arrival, we were met with an actual swamp of people outside the airport. It was insane. People queuing for what seemed like days to get a taxi and such. Anyway, we got there. We stayed in a really nice, clean hostel close to the historical centre and on the first night, were greeted by a young Australian chap whose first words to us were "Fiesta noche?!"... This amused me greatly - you're clearly an English speaker, we're clearly English speakers, why are you speaking to us in (incorrect) Spanish??! Anyway, these boys turned out to be a highlight of our trip with hours of endless amusement of their escapades. We spent the following day wandering around the city, visiting the Gold Museum (SNORE!) and the Police Museum, learning all about the history of the police in Colombia and what they've done to take down the drug trade. My friend Lucinda has a somewhat unhealthy obsession with Pablo Escobar and kept hinting to the nice young tour policeman that she wanted to go and see his famous jacket. Instead, we went through ALL the different parts of the museum, including the weapons room - yuck - and the room that told us of police force dedicated to the environment (WTF??!) before being lead to the basement and some rather hilarious life sized dolls of the man himself. The history itself of how they finally took him down is fascinating and well worth reading about if you have time/inclination. Totals up to Colombia being a much safer place to be over the last 20 years. Seems that Venezuela is heading the other way...

After that, Mansi and I hit the shops. Oooooooh, it was FUN!!!! I think around 5 solid hours of shopping and a happy girl with a heavier rucksack I was. :-) we are STARVED of shopping in Caracas - jeez, a big loud band has just started up outside my apartment (it's Labour Day), scared the bejeezuz out of me! - and so hit it large. Then off out to experience the nightlife Bogota has to offer. Fun, dancing, same rum, good times. The next day we were headed, somewhat reluctantly, to Cartagena. The flight is around 1.5 hours and then Doug, Lucinda and I were to get a 3.5 hour bus journey to Santa Marta to begin La Ciudad Perdida trek the next day. I had expressed some concern that we were travelling all day one day and beginning a 5 day, at times gruelling, trek the next...but..."it's only a 3 hour journey, we'll be fine...". One thing I have learned in my travelling time is that, in countries such as these, it is NEVER "only" 3 hours. It is likely to take the entire day. And so. At 10pm we rolled up to our hostel, exhausted, and Doug managed to postpone our trek for a day. Yippee! Not so yippee...I was in a 4 bed dorm room with 3 other boys! Oof! The life of a single traveller! That next day was spent lying by the pool, reading, more shopping, generally chilling. Onto Perdida...

We left the hostel at a very respectable 10am for a 2-3 hour truck-type-vehicle trip to the base. It was buuuuummmmmppppppyyyyy, with hair raising turns on the track etc. Should be used to this by now. Still clinging to my seat with fear!! We had a lovely lunch in the little village that is the base of the trek and where I witnessed one of my favourite things about Colombia, people there still use horses for transport. It's incredible. Even in the cities, there's horse drawn carriages used for actual work! So off we set, a group of 9 of us - 2 Scots, 4 English (including the Youths on their Gap Year - man, I felt old), 2 Swiss and and Argentine. Our Colombian guide, William, and a local boy were to lead the way. The first part of the trek was relatively easy, just some river crossings and the like, a little swim in the river and then ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH... The main phrases I used on this trek were "No mas arriba porfa!" and "Estoy cansada"...The up was UP! V steep, v long, v dusty route up the mountain - when we finally reached the top I looked like I'd been to a Bikram Yoga sesh (Mucky, you'll understand)...and this was to be the look for the rest of the trek. After that, it was a much less taxing walk to our first night's accommodation (complete with showers!) - a kind of outdoor barn with rows of hammocks all swinging. It was fun! The next day was a really easy day, only 3 hours walking to the next camp - more hammocks - and so we all went for a swim in the river (cue boys jumping off of high rocks!) and just chilled out. Nice. The following day was a tough one. We had a 5am start and off we went, now in the heart of the jungle, walking up and down and along and more up (again, NO MAS ARRIBA!) and over some questionable terrain. I wasn't scared, not once! Hah. One particularly interesting part was when we were to walk 3 people at a time over a "bridge". It was slats with a wire fence type thing at the sides...not attached to the bottom though, so if you fell, well... Beside this "new" crossing was the old one. A rusty metal cage that you used to have to get in and be pulled over to the other side. NO THANK YOU!!!!! So this is really where the scenery was just spectacular. At one point, we came to a sort of clearing in the jungle and came across some indigenous children, 2 cows, a turkey and a pig! Not the sort of animals I'd expected to see! Onwards, onwards and I think the most fascinating part of doing this trek was that you just felt like you'd stepped back in time. Now and then we would see some indigenous people in the jungle, dressed in plain white tunics, often carrying a machete and with the look of Native Americans - just couldn't be further from our time and way of life. Living in little croft style houses, they are miles from any city or town and live and work off the land. So interesting to see and somewhat humbling as well. The children are schooled by a teacher from Santa Marta who comes up the mountain and teaches them all for a set amount of time - maybe I should apply?!!

Anyway. Day 3 was the arrival at the base camp for the actual site. We decided to just wait until the following morning to go up because it wasn't very good weather so more reading, more swimming in the river and more playing cards. Fun. The earllllllllyyyyyyy start the next day was well worth it...I wouldn't have fancied doing 1000 steps up to the site in the midday heat. It was such hard work getting up there and I was AMAZED to see the "older" group still going strong up these tiny, uneven, slippery, steep steps! I have to say, the actual site of the Lost City isn't as spectacular as the journey to get there. There aren't many ruins left but the guide gave us an excellent account of the people who lived there, how the Spanish basically killed them all off and what each ruin was used for (or what they can make educated guesses about). The view from up there is breathtaking, mountains all around and a really peaceful place. Hard to picture the Farc running about close by...but the soldiers stationed at the site says it all.

After we'd spent a few hours up there exploring, off we went back to base with our wee 4 legged friend, Camacho, who'd followed us up! Lunch, a quick rest and then we set off back to the next camp on the way down. I'd say the first, third, fourth and fifth days of the trek were possibly the hardest physical thing I've ever done. I say it now, mainly because I'm unable to think of anything that compares to it, but perhaps I'm blocking something!! However, we all powered through, well, us oldies did - the youngsters were practically running! Back to another camp with beds this time and cards, beer and banter before dinner. One of the most interesting guys I've ever met delighted us with stories of his travels, specifically, to Antartica. Amazing. This guy left university and has been travelling for 27 years. Something to aspire to! One final night kipping in the jungle before the final stretch home. Day 5 began just as early and was just as hard but I tried to keep pace with one of the mules so I'd get back quicker! Heehee. I can't describe the delight I felt at reaching the river (of the first day swim) and having a final, refreshing swim before heading back to base... blood, sweat and (very nearly) tears and some happy trekkers arrived back for lunch, beer and a BUMPY ride back to the hostel.

An amazing trek if you ever have the opportunity, where the journey most definitely outweighs the destination. Bring on Macchu Picchu!

More on Colombia soon....

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Photos

Base!
Where we had lunch on Day 1 of Ciudad Perdida