I'm back! I know that my blogging has been very limited as of late, but this lack of posting is due to the fact that I was fortunate enough to travel a great deal in June and July, seeing many new sights and learning lots about the diverse settings of Colombia. Within this time frame, I've also had 4 U.S. visitors join me as traveling companions, including the esteemed Issac Allen Andrade.
Issac kindly agreed to share a report of his adventures and insights from his Colombian experience with us, and here it is! He and I mainly concentrated our traveling efforts in the "coffee zone" of the country, which provided us with a beautiful, lush, green, mountainous backdrop. It was nice to let my two lives merge for a bit, and it was very valuable for me to discuss some of the realities of Colombia with someone of my background. I also felt validated in some of the reactions and perceptions that I've had throughout my journey here, as Issac reacted similarly to what I did upon arriving. And, most importantly, we had oodles of fun!
I've included a little slide show of photos of almost everything he references below (please note: due to some "technical difficulties" with both of our cameras, many of our beautiful photos were lost :( ), and I've also added some footage from our thrilling paragliding shenanigans. Enjoy! 80)
**Perhaps it would be best to read the reflections first, as then you would know what the photos feature.Arrival Day: Friday, June 6
My journey to Colombia started with an early morning flight from Los Angeles on June 6, 2008. I arrived in Cali via Miami at a little passed 9:30pm. After spending nearly an hour passing through Immigration and Customs, I finally was free to leave the airport. I was a bundle of nerves at the time for many reasons, some of which included being in a new country, trying to meet up with the people who were picking me up, and finally I was a short time away from seeing someone who is very dear to me for the first time in nearly 6 months. As I exited through the doors of the terminal, I met by a warm, muggy blast of air and a crowd of Colombians that whistled and hollered every time someone came through those doors. Through the crowd, I was able to see a sign with my name on it! To my relief, it was Lilliana who, with her husband, graciously offered me a ride to where I was staying on the other end of town (They were also part of the family that took Hilary in at the beginning of her stay in Cali).
As we rode in the car to my final destination of the evening, I was given an introduction to the history, geography, industries, and other odd facts about Cali from Liliana’s husband, Fernando. Even though I struggled to speak back in Spanish due to my fatigue and rust from lack of use, I was happy that I was able to understand the majority of what he was saying. I learned that Cali was located in the Valle del Cauca, which is in the southern part of the country near the sea. Along the way, everything from major shopping malls to the streets where the transvestite prostitutes congregate was pointed out to me. At long last, we arrived to the place I would be staying for the next couple of days.
As I stood there while Fernando knocked, a bunch of thoughts went through my head: Had Hilary changed? Did she look different? How was she going to react to seeing me standing at her front door after what seemed like a lifetime ago? Well, all my worries were laid to rest the minute I saw her poke her head around the door! She was the same person that I had grown to know and love during the last couple of years.
With the arrival out of the way, I settled into the apartment. It was simple place, nothing how I had imagined it would be. It white tile flooring and white walls with a large window and sliding glass door looking out to a little garden/patio/walkway. There were 3 decent sized rooms, two of which were for Hilary and Melanie, Hilary’s German roommate. The third room was a storage room and would also be where I was staying for the next couple of nights. There was also a simple bathroom with toilet, sink, and shower. In many Latin American countries, you cannot flush toilet paper down the toilet due to the old plumbing system. Also, a rarity in Colombia is hot water-- so cold showers were something that I was going to have to get used to. After an exhausting day and after the adrenaline of arriving wore off, I snuggled up for a good nights sleep!
Day 1: Saturday, June 7
The next day was relatively uneventful at its start. Hilary had class all day, so I relaxed at the apartment watching some soccer, chatted with Melanie, and took my first cold shower! That afternoon, Hilary had come back to the apartment for some things and then headed back to the campus. I decided to join her so I could see where she had been taking classes. It was a very secure campus, with all brick buildings and many trees, mainly palm trees dotting the campus. While I was sitting there finishing my book, a thunderstorm rolled in and a downpour started. I heard that these were a common occurrence, but it was still impressive to me.
In the evening, there was to be a party at the apartment to say good-bye to Melanie since the next day she was headed back to Germany. Hilary and Melanie had spent many hours the previous few days cooking like crazy for this fiesta! There were lentils, toasted bread with a nice spread on it, a turnover with meaty filling called calzones, chips, popcorn, pasta salad, and drinks! It was lot of fun! About 15 people, mainly Colombians with an Austrian and us two Americans, thrown into the mix. We even had a small talent show where there was singing, dancing and even a jump roping demonstration (I’ll give you two guesses as to who did that last one!!). As the evening grew later, we all headed off to a salsa dancing club that was supposedly one of the better ones in town. Cali is known for excellent salsa dancing. The people there were amazing! The way they swivel their hips and move to the beat is very hypnotic in a way. I attempted to get out there and try some moves that I had picked up but unfortunately I still have a long way to go in perfect my salsa skills! I had a great time nonetheless and ended the evening exhausted and ready for bed!
Day 2: Sunday, June 8
Today, we were invited to go to a finca up in the mountains by Liliana and Fernando. Before heading up, there we wanted to get our bus tickets for the next day’s journey to Manizales. It was also at the bus station that we agreed to meet Liliana, who would give us a ride up to the finca. On our way to the bus terminal, we accidentally took a bus that took us a very long to get to where we wanted to go. It wound around the streets of Cali and at times it seemed as though we were making circles. Needless to say, that put us behind schedule. However, on a positive note, it allowed me to see many of Cali’s neighborhoods. We made it to the bus station, and we we hurried at great speed so we could get the tickets and meet our ride. While we were climbing the stairs, I was stopped by a policeman. Hilary had walked off ahead without realizing that I had been stopped. They asked me for my papers and since I had left my passport at the apartment, all I had to pull out was my license. I showed it to them and tried to explain that that was my driver’s license and that I was from the U.S., and I was just visiting. I felt helpless because they just kept asking me for my papers. At the beginning, they were asking me for my papers using the word “papeles” but then they started asking for my “cédula.” At first, I wasn’t sure if I had heard them right, and I asked them to repeat it a few times. Finally, I came to the conclusion that they were asking for my “cellular” phone. I told them I didn’t have it, and they asked me “You don’t have it?” and I said no. At that time, a plain clothed police officer came up and looked at me and took my license from the other guy and looked at it, then gave it back to me and said that I could go. At this time, Hilary had just realized that I was not behind her and had stopped. When I made it to her, I was slightly annoyed due to the fact that she kind of left me behind in a country that I was unfamiliar with. There was also the issue of trying to find a bus company that would take us to Manizales. Many bus companies had stopped going there because of mudslides that had blocked the road. We then found a bus company, bought tickets, and made our way to the meeting place to be picked up.
We were on our way to a finca in the surrounding green Andes Mountains with Liliana and her daughter. It was a nice drive up from the warm valley floor up into the cool, fresh air of the mountains. When we got there, we met Lilana's and Fernando's parents. One of the fathers asked if I was just up there a few weeks earlier because I looked familiar. The group then had a discussion about how I looked Colombian. This would not be the first time that someone mentioned that while I was there. I also experienced my second downpour that equatorial areas are known for. We had an excellent meal that consisted of fried plantains, beans, rice, and shredded beef (a very typical platter). Afterwards, we went on a walk around the village, Pavas. While we were on our walk, Liliana’s step-father bought some fruit in order for us to taste it. There were all sorts of exotic varieties (like granadilla, lulo, curuba, maracuyá, and pitaya), and they were very tasty! After a nice afternoon, we headed back down to Cali to start getting ready for the start of our adventures!
I was not very impressed with Cali. I feel that I got a good sampling of the city, especially after taking that little bus that took us around and around for almost two hours to get to the bus station. I feel that Cali had seen better days, which I later learned was indeed the case. Even as early as 5 years ago, the drug cartels were major players in the running of the city. From what I have been told, they pumped a good amount of money into the economy there, and it was a decent city. When the government decided to crack down and clean up the country, with the cartels gone, there was not as much money coming into the city, thus projects were left incomplete and the city started going downhill. It just didn't appeal to me much. The colors seemed just a bit duller then other cities, and the people didn't seem as friendly. It was also very chaotic and had a lot of poverty. As this was my first impression of Colombia. I thought that maybe the rest of the country was going to be like this, which was not the case. That night, we prepared for our upcoming travels.
Day 3: Monday, June 9
We started the day by putting the finishing touches on our packing and cleaned up from the previous night’s festivities. We made it to the bus station in time to take an 11am bus to Manizales. It is a 5-hour bus ride through the winding roads of the Andes Mountains, located in what is called the “coffee zone” of the country, as the majority of Colombia’s famous coffee is grown in this region. Manizales is located in Caldas deparment of central Colombia and has a population of approx. 415,000. We got there mid-afternoon and tried to find our hotel. It was supposedly right next to the bus station, but we couldn't see it for some reason, so we got in a taxi. Well we drove around in a circle and we ended up right were we started. The place was right across the street from our starting location. When we checked in, they told us about an all-day excursion that took us up into Los Nevados National Park as well as into some hot springs. This sounded perfect because that is one of the big reasons we came to Manizales. So signed up and were excited about the great experience we were sure to have.
We went to dinner that evening at a Chinese restaurant that was not like the Chinese food from back home. It was ok food, but the interesting part of the dinner was towards the end. A beggar entered the restaurant, came to our table, and asked us to give her some food. It was a very awkward situation because we were still eating and someone that works there was yelling at her to get out, and she was yelling back that she was talking to us when in fact we hadn't said anything to her yet. We ended up giving her our left overs, and away she went. Even though she was less fortunate, it still bothered me that she came up to our table while we were eating. I understand that in that situation you must do whatever you need to do to survive, but it still did not sit well with me. I lost my appetite. We spent the last bit of the evening relaxing and prepared for an early wake up the next day.
Day 4: Tuesday, June 10
Our day started bright and early! We were up and waiting in the lobby for our driver to come pick us up and take us up to the Parque National de los Nevados in the high Andes Mountains. Our first stop after our driver came was to pick up two more people for our journey up the mountain. Two new people were a brother and sister from France who were traveling around Colombia as well. We were now set and on our way! Well, we thought we were on our way, but about 30 mins into to journey we ran into a roadblock. The police had shut down the highway due to mudslides farther up the road. As we discovered later, mudslides were very common in this part of Colombia; we saw tons of them throughout our travels. We waited for about 1/2 hour before the policeman let us through. The road winded through the lush green hills, gaining elevation gradually.
The first place we stopped along the way was this little building on the side of the road. This is where we had a nice typical breakfast of tea, egg, cheese and arepa. It was simple but very filling and tasty! Then we were on our way back up the mountain. We started to see lush green valleys and impressive mountains. all the while it was getting cooler as we climbed higher. Our next stop before we got to the park was at a little stand next to a lake named Laguna Negra. It was here were we had a tasty tea made of coca leaves. You are supposed to drink this when you are going up to high elevations because it opens your blood vessels and allows more blood to flow. There were also many military guys there, and they were on their down the mountain after some exercises that they had been conducting for the past few weeks. We were off again to the mountain top!
Our next stop was the park gates at a place called Las Brisas (4050m/13,287ft) , where it was VERY COLD! It was near freezing when we arrived. It was here that we received a presentation about the park and what to expect on our trip the rest of the way. Once that was done, we got back into the truck, this time accompanied by a park guide. Along the way, he pointed out interesting trees named Frailejón. They are very odd shaped tree that is indigenous to only Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. Our next stop was at the Chalet Arenales (4150m/13,615ft), which is a big red barn looking structure that also had a camp ground. It was here that I started feeling the effects of the altitudes that we were at. The clouds parted for brief moments-- opening up to impressive views of cliffs and the surrounding peaks terrain. The terrain at this point was very desert like. It was almost like we were on the moon.
After our stop, we started motoring back up the mountain going back and forth on the switch backs till we go to El Refugio de Ruiz (4800m/15,748ft), which was this little shack way up in the mountains. Since we entered the park, we had driven 10km/6.2miles and had climbed 750m/2441ft. Here the effects of the altitude were very noticeable. It was there that we started the last part of our journey, which was a 200m/656ft hike to our last stop. It took us about an hour to do that hike. We stopped every 10mins because the altitude made it very difficult. When we would start hiking through the mud and snow, and soon while our hearts would beat very fast; we would tire out very easily. We finally made it to our final stop, which was at 5000m/16,404ft! At that point, the clouds decided to part and the sun popped out-- giving us 360 degree views of the neighboring peaks as well as that of Nevado de Ruiz which was the one we were on. Basking in the warmth of the sun and surrounded by snow where the only sound was that of the wind blowing, it truly was a moment to remember. But alas it was time to head back down the mountain to go enjoy our the next part of our adventurous day: the hot springs!
Once we hiked back down to the truck, which was a lot easier then going up, we started the drive back down the mountain. After we exited the park, we took a a left turn down another part of the mountain to a place called Hotel Termales del Ruiz, which at 3500m/11,482ft, is the highest hotel in Colombia. We were provided a nice lunch, but the main attraction was the hot springs bath. It was a big pool full with hot water from the springs. There was a strong sulfur smell and slight tingly feeling when we slid into the water. It was a very nice relaxing treat after straining up the mountain. After a little while we finished up, took a rinse in COLD showers, and headed back to Manizales. That evening we were exhausted, went and had pizza for dinner, and then just went straight to bed for a good night’s rest.
Day 5: Wednesday, June 11th
Today, we had a bus to catch in the afternoon, so we spent the morning packing up our stuff and taking a walk around the city center of Manizales. We started off taking a cab to the Plaza de Bolivar, where we had a nice breakfast and walked around. We visited the Cathedral de Manizales, which was first built in 1854, then destroyed in an earthquake in 1878, and then rebuilt this time in wood, but burned down in 1925. The third version of the church was finished in 1929 and became the tallest church in Colombia. After visiting the cathedral, we wandered down and looked around at the Iglesia de los Padres Agustinos. After a cup of coffee (called “tinto” in Colombia), we wandered back to the hotel, picked up our stuff and headed to the bus station to catch a bus to Armenia.
We arrived in Armenia, which is the capital of the Quindio department and also considered the center of the coffee country. After finding a place to stay, we wandered around the town. We found a large shop-lined pedestrian avenue that we wandered down, and it led us to the main town square named Plaza de Bolivar. We had a dinner at this place that sold typical Colombian "fast food". What made it different and exciting is that it is not like what we have back home. I had an arepa burger that was a hamburger patty, cheese, bacon, and plantain stuffed in an arepa. It was really good! Hilary had a plantain sliced and filled with cheese! It looked like a banana split but with cheese and sauce instead of ice cream; it was super tasty as well. While we were eating, we decided to do something exciting the next day. We decided to do something neither of us had ever done, and that was to go paragliding! We spent the rest of the evening wandering around the square. We checked out the Catedral de la Imaculada Concepcion, which is an odd tent-shaped church, which was very unique. We ended the evening by listening to a mariachi band play at a small concert that the city does once a week. We retired back to the hotel and were super excited for the next days activities.
Day 6: Thursday, June 12th
We started the day off by having a coffee and pastries at a bakery before meeting up with our paragliding guy. Paragliding in Spanish is parapente and is a very adrenaline pumping sport of jumping off the sides of mountains with a parachute and catching air currents to stay afloat. There is nothing but a little seat that separates you and the couple of thousands of feet between you and the ground. He took us to a little place in a neighboring town called Calarca. From there, we joined a few other people in this rickety old jeep that took us to a place called Cerro El Castillo (the ride was an adventure in and of itself), which was on top of this mountain overlooking the city and the coffee country of Colombia. Hilary went first, and I followed for an exciting trip of flying and floating over the land, up and down with the currents, just above the tree line in some spots. Nothing but the sound of the wind and the flapping of the parachute as well as the beeping of the altimeter letting us know whether we were descending or gaining elevation. The whole flight lasted between 25-30 mins but felt like a lifetime. We landed gently in this field not far from where we got on the jeep for our ride. This was definitely a highlight of the trip thus far.
Hilary took this video shortly after her take-off.
This is Hilary's landing.
After our paragliding friend took us back to our hotel, we had lunch and made our way to the airport for our flight to Bogota.
After arriving in Bogota right at sunset, we headed straight for the hotel. It was located in the historic district of La Candelaria. We dropped our things off and wandered around our new surroundings, soon finding this excellent Persian restaurant. We then returned to our latest residence for another good night’s sleep.
Day 7: Friday, June 13th
Today was a big day since it was Hilary's 25th birthday, and I had the honor of celebrating it with her in Bogota. We started the day off by having a tasty arepa from a shop next door, and then we were off to explore the city. Bogota is the capital of Colombia; with a population of about 7,034,000 people, it is also the largest city in Colombia. The city and the surrounding towns are situated on a high plateau in the Andes Mountains, at an elevation of 2640m/8661ft, it is the 3rd highest capital in the world. Our first stop after breakfast, not including another brief stop at a bookstore, was the main square Plaza de Bolivar. You may have noticed that most towns have a Plaza de Bolivar and perhaps are wondering who that was. Simon Bolivar was a very important figure in Spanish America's (the Spanish speaking countries of North and South America) successful struggle for independence from Spain. He was instrumental in the foundation of Gran Colombia, which was a country made of the liberated spanish terrortories. Later this country would split up to make modern day Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela.
The Plaza Bolivar is surrounded by the administrative buildings of the Colombian government, Palacio de Justicia to the North, Edificio Lievano (the mayor's office) to the West, Capitolio Nacional to the South, and to the east there are a cathedral and a chapel, Catedral Primada and Capilla del Sagrario. The Capilla is one of the oldest buildings in the city dating back to the 17th century. After taking in the sights of the large plaza, we headed off to tour some museums. We started off with Botero museum, which houses an impressive collection of Colombia's most famous artist. It has many of his paintings and sculptures as well as some works from Picasso, Chagall, Dali, Renoir, Matisse, and Monet. After finishing our tour there, we headed to a temporary exhibit for the Museo del Oro. The main museum is considered one of the more important gold collections in the world but that was closed due to renovations, so we had to settle for a smaller sampling of the collection. Now it was time for lunch, and we were hungry. We stopped at this restaurant that wasn't to far from the Plaza de Bolivar. It was a more upscale place then what we had been going to throughout our trip, but it was Hilary's birthday so we were going all out. We had very tasty food and fresh juice (which most Colombians are accustomed to drinking regularly)! After our bellies were full with good food, we wandered around town some more. We went and looked at the Casa de Nariño, which is where the president of Colombia lives. Many guards with big guns surround the place. Then we wandered to some shops, which almost like flea markets or swap meets with low cost gifts and other goods. It was mid afternoon and we were a little tired, so we decided to go back to the hotel to rest for a little bit before we started our evening activities.
After our rest, we walked up to the cable car that was to take us up to Cerro de Monserrate. We made it to the top just in time to see the beautiful sunset over the Andes Mountains. Monserrate is a peak of 3160m/10,367ft in the mountain range to the east of the city. It has amazing views of the city down below and the mountains that surround it. We even saw some of the volcano peaks from the Parque de los Nevados where we just were days before. On top, there is a church with a large statue dating from the 1640's and a very nice restaurant. Once the sun set. we went to the restaurant named Casa San Isidro for a birthday dinner. This place we very nice and elegant with an amazing night time view of the city. We started with hot wine and ordered an appetizer of mushrooms in an excellent cheese sauce. Our main course was a plate of nicely cooked vegetables and we topped it off with some very good deserts, a crepe Suzanne and a chocolate tart with a candle on it (which was prepared especially to comemmorate Hilary’s birthday). All in all, it was the perfect ending to a great day. We made it back down the mountain and headed back to the hotel some much-needed rest.
Day 8: Saturday, June 14th
On Saturday, we had planned on waking up earlier then we did, but it still worked out just fine. We went to a cafe and had a coffee and a baked good for breakfast. We then wandered down the street to another market where we bought some coffee and other fun things. Today. we headed to a town called Zipaquira, which is about 50km/31miles north of Bogota in the Cundinamarca Department and has about 70,000 inhabitants. We took a 40-min bus ride on the city’s rapid transit system called TransMilenio, which is like a subway but above ground and in buses. Once we reached the Portal del Norte, we caught a bus for the 1.25hr ride to our destination. Once we arrived, we wandered around and visited the town square and had a lunch before heading to the main attraction. The main attraction in Zipaquira is the salt mines which have been functioning since before the Spanish came to the Americas. 200m/656ft inside the mountain is the Salt Cathedral, which was carved from the salt inside the mine. It was very dark and humid inside the tunnels that we took to get to the cathedral. Once there, it was an impressive display of carved benches and crosses and everything else you needed for a functioning church, including representations of all stations of the cross. We even got to see a 3D video of how the salt deposits were created and how they were mined. After we reached the surface again, we went to a museum explaining more in-depth the history of the salt mines and how they came to be. Once we were done with that, we wandered around town and found some gifts for people and caught the bus back to Bogota. When we arrived back to Bogota, we went back to the markets and bought some more gifts and coffee.
Another interesting situation that happened to us was when we were in a shop buying some coffee to take home. There was a beggar that had asked us for money right before we went into the store, and we said no. He proceeded to follow us into the store, but the store keeper told him to stay outside and there he waited for us to exit the store. It was a little nerve-wracking because it was night and here was this aggressive guy, and we didn't know what his intentions were. When we left, I handed him a coin and we kept on walking, but he followed us some more asking us for more money ‘til he finally got the hint and left. It was another example of how aggressive the less fortunate were. We know that they were doing whatever they could to survive, but it was something that I was not used to seeing. We went and had our final meal in Colombia at a pizza place while watching the Colombian National Soccer team play on TV. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped and stocked up on chocolates and other things that we had come to enjoy during our trip. Back at the hotel, we gathered our things and prepared for an early morning wake up to head to the airport.
Departure Day: Sunday, June 15th
Today we woke up really early and caught a taxi for our flights home. The reason I write about our departure day is because of the amount of security one must go through just to get to the gate. First, off you have to be a passenger just to enter the building, then we went to our respective airlines: me, American and Hilary, Delta. She got through really fast but it took me about an hour to get through and, when I finally got up to the front, I had to go run to across the hall and pay a tax just to leave the country. When we headed up to security, we had to stand in another line to pass through customs and then x-rays. By this time, I was very close to missing my flight. We finally got through security and I had just a few minutes before my flight left. But then there was another security point to pat us down!! Well I finally made it through that and arrived at my gate (where there was yet ANOTHER security pat-down) after the departure time, but luckily the flight was delayed, and it was still there. At the end of the day, I arrived in Seattle, and Hilary arrived an hour after me, and that was the end of our very successful trip.
Epilogue
My experiences in Colombia were full of many memories and adventures. Colombia is a country full of people that feel that Americans have a bad image of their country. Everyone I met there was very nice and helpful. There was a great amount of poverty and less fortunate. The few run-ins with the less fortunate that I had were very interesting and like nothing I had ever experienced. They were very aggressive and didn't take no for an answer. When I think about it though, and if I put myself in their shoes, I would do the same because they are doing anything that they can to survive. I say that Cali was by far my least favorite place. It felt unsafe and not very clean with a lot of air pollution and lots of trash everywhere. My favorite place would have to have been Manizales. It was a trip that I will never forget!
