Colombia Part 1 2018

Buenas Dias Chicos!!

Deputy Captain Alex here with an update from Ari B in Colombia.

First of all, there are a good few new people who may (or may not ) read this update, normally our Captain Bonzo (in all his stuffed dog glory) writes these updates, but over the last 3 months we have been in a marina and Carla and I have been off the boat exploring Colombia. Captain Bonzo elected to stay behind and take care of the boat (and enjoy some peace and quiet) so he asked me to write this update – I’ll do my very best! We’ve been busy so it will take a few instalments.

As you may remember, we arrived here in Colombia in the middle of May after a tough crossing from Jamaica, looking forward to exploring a new country, new continent and also a new culture. After many Caribbean islands over the last couple of years, dare I say it but we were a bit bored and we were eager to see something entirely new. Also we have heard nothing but positive reports of Colombia. Due to the size of the country (over 3,000km top to bottom ) we chose a safe marina for our stay, so we could leave the boat and travel the country. In preparation, we have had a go at learning some Spanish, which doesn’t come easy. It’s a hard language to learn (at least for us) and almost one of the first things we did was to hire a tutor to make our rudimentary traces of Spanish a little more sociably acceptable.

In between lessons we were exploring Santa Marta, with it’s Cathedral (the oldest in South America), vibrant street life, yummy street foods and South American smells, vibes and sounds. The marina is in town, so we can walk around easily without the need for a taxi, it’s safe and charming- and entertaining, new and cool (clearly, this is still South America, so all of the above is relative...). After a few weeks we had our bearings and had discovered the best places to shop and had found our favourite smoothie man. Fresh fruit smoothies/juices are a big thing in this part of Colombia, served from a semi permanent stall, often wired into the street lighting for the blender, with a wide choice of fruits (many of which have never seen a European store), all delicious, and normally about 1.30 US$ for a jug that’s enough for two. We even managed to find virtually all consumable spares we needed for our servicing of our engines. Prices for imported goods are medium to high, local stuff (food) is very cheap, transport is cheap too – 60 cents for a 40 minute bus ride to the airport, 15 dollars for a 45 minute taxi ride. National support for the football (soccer) team was beyond crazy and we watched all the Colombia World Cup matches in local bars with the Colombian supporters and cheered for their team – when they score, you need earplugs!! The only exception may have been when Colombia played England – Carla had to stay quiet, I cheered for Colombia.. J

A word on the people that make this country – they are friendly, relaxed, curious, polite, helpful and very kind to each other and foreigners – but most of all they have a very positive outlook on life – even if they don’t have much. We feel we can learn from their attitude. While we are sure it exists on some level, we have not seen racism- a truly cosmopolitan mix of races and colour with all shades populates this country, and they are getting on with it....

As a country, Colombia still has issues– and is still a major producer of Cocaine for the global market – but the (armed) rebel/ guerrilla groups that have previously controlled and terrorised much of the country (and were responsible for the killings and kidnappings that made the global headlines)  are in conversation with the government and the improvements to the life of the average Columbian have been enormous.  Clearly, there are still problems, and only a few weeks ago a drug sniffer dog had to be transferred to another part of the country after finding so many drugs that the cartels put a US$ 60,000 price on his head! Captain Bonzo was horrified.

 We have heard firsthand accounts on what it was like only 15 years ago (more on that in the Medellin section), and what has been achieved since. Impressive, and the economy is growing in double figures too. Of course, as in any town or country, there are areas and times you need to be cautious, but we have felt safer here than in many other places prior.

Village of Minca in the Santa Marta area

We took advantage of the time in the marina while we were learning Spanish to work on the boat and go through our annual servicing of engines, generators etc, so time flew by and it was a good 4 weeks before our first trip, a 3 day visit to the village of Minca. It is set in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains above Santa Marta, surrounded by coffee farms and picturesque waterfalls and we embarked on a 24km long hike with a 1000m elevation gain. On the way back we stopped at an asadero (grill restaurant) with an amazing view over the valley and homemade chorizo sausages hanging over the wood fire oven. A couple of chorizos served with a baked potato and some salad set us back the huge amount of 4000cop (less than $1.50)! Whilst in Minca we stayed in a beautiful hostel for a couple of nights with views over the valley to Santa Marta and we entertained the assembled travellers (most of whom could have been our children) with stories of our travels at sea. Apparently we are cool!  (Well, at least until we got sick that night I guess.....)

Cartagena

Whilst in Colombia you can’t not visit Cartagena, famous for its walled old city, so we took the bus from Santa Marta and stayed with our friends Robin (French) and Carolina (Colombian) for three nights. They have a beautiful apartment that they run as an airbnb and it’s only a ten minute walk to the old city. Unfortunately we got our timing a bit wrong and timed our visit with the presidential election weekend. As a result no alcohol was served or could even be bought in a supermarket from 6pm Friday until 10am Sunday! Never mind, we made the most of it!

Cartagena’s old town is amazing, still surrounded by a wall, it sits calmly in the middle of what is otherwise a massive, sprawling and modern town, with plenty of high apartment blocks on the fashionable beach front parts of town. The old city is in two parts – the historical centre with beautiful architecture, statues, cathedrals and museums, and Getsemanii which is where the people in the old city live. It’s also the place where Zumba was invented (global fitness dance craziness that I happily leave to younger people). Very hot though, so most of the action is early or late – night life in Getsemanii is very vibrant, with loads of bars, restaurants and street performers trying to make living. Clearly Cartagena is very touristy and the second most expensive place Bogota, but it’s still a must visit in Colombia.

The Lost City

The 24km hike in Minca was preparation for the 4 day trek through the tropical rainforest to Ciudad Perdida (the Lost City). The Lost City was forgotten by the local tribes during the years (many decades) of relentless pursuit by the Spanish, during which time they went further and further up into the mountains to escape slaughter. If you have some spare time and want to gain a little understanding on what the “civilised” Europeans did to South America have a little read and brace yourself for an endless list of unspeakable cruelty.

The hike with a tour company that supplies food, water, beds etc was tough, through steep rainforest terrain, through rivers and challenging conditions (heat, humidity), but an unforgettable experience. It was a 3 hour hike on day one and 6 hours each for the following 3 days – and there wasn’t really any flat ground. The camps had rows of bunk beds and hammocks each surrounded by a mosquito net and clean toilets and showers. There was also a river close by each overnight camp and at some of the lunch stops where we could have a much needed refreshing dip. This whole area was heavily farmed for cocaine and until recent years was very dangerous and off limits. An estimated 70% of the Sierra Nevada native forests were burned to clear the way for farms. The indigenous people in this area are the Kogi and we were lucky enough to be given a talk by one of their elders in the evening. They worship the Sun and Mother Earth and as such are very in tune with nature and experience first hand the negative changes that are occurring to our planet. They are self-sufficient and still live in accordance to ancient customs, dressing in white smocks and trousers and a mochilla (woven bag) containing coca leaves that they chew on. For the Kogi, coca and marijuana are important plants that they use largely for medicinal purposes. As the forests prime inhabitants they suffered dearly from the drug farming and are sceptical of the outside world. The trail to the Lost City (the Kogis call it Teyuna) is actually closed for the whole of September so that the Kogi tribe can spiritually cleanse the land. Given the income that the trail generates from tourism, it is really encouraging that this is allowed to happen and that the Kogi customs and beliefs are finally being respected.

 Whilst cocaine and marijuana still grows here and is indigenous to the area, the farmers now make their living from tourism which for them is more profitable and they no longer live in fear. The actual Lost City itself was a lot more spectacular than we expected with layers of structures surrounded by mountains on all sides. Unlike Machu Picchu which has had lots of restoration work, the Lost City remains pretty much as it was found and with trekking being the only means of access, there is a fraction of the people. As always, pictures say a lot more than a thousand words, so go and have a look...

Next time – Medellin, once the most dangerous city in the world.

Hasta Luego

Ari B out

Cartagena

The Journey to Ciudad Perdida - Teyuna - The Lost City

Sporting a lovely black eye after I fell off of the boat and headbutted the pontoon. The pontoon won!