Case sisters hit the road again!

Erica and I had really amazing experiences as we journeyed through some of Colombia's most memorable, exciting, and beautiful sites. Of course, there were times when we were reminded of all of the frustrations of traveling [ahem! Here are some examples: having people try to charge us for a service when we'd already paid someone else for it, being charged the "rich foreigner" price for something, and (the absolute worst) being convinced to pay full-price for a "seat" on an overnight or multi-hour bus ride-- when there actually weren't any seats left-- leaving us to endure hours upon end of extra-uncomfortable traveling... Grrrrrr!]... But, those complaints aside, I can honestly say that we were more than content with all that we saw, did, and felt throughout our travels. Here is a bit about our adventures:

DESTINATION ONE: SAN GIL (and BARICHARA)

After two flights, three taxi rides, and one long bus ride, we finally made it to our first stop: San Gil. We were instantly impressed with the rugged landscapes that surrounded us, and it was relaxing to take it all in with the striking 360-degree natural view from our balcony. Shortly afterward, we found ourselves in the nearby charming and calm, old-fashioned colonial town of Barichara. Our trip was off to a great start!

This is one of the impressive scenes that we photographed during our bus ride into San Gil, which certainly typifies the geography of the area. We were later able to raft down the river featured here. As seasoned rafters, it wasn't exactly thrilling for us, but we enjoyed the scenery and experience nonetheless.

We went on a beautiful waterfall-filled hike to make it to the top of this 180-foot waterfall... Then...

...we got a taste of what the water was like (you can tell how cold it was by Erica's expression here!)... And finally, the next day, ...

... we rappelled down the waterfall-- such an adrenaline rush!

Our adventures also included a very intense spelunking experience. We climbed, crawled, and even slithered through a variety of the "Cueva del Indio's" chambers, which had all sorts of stalactites and stalagmites and varying levels of water. Our caving trek culminated with a very horrifying plunge into a pool of water many feet below a platform, in pure darkness. The guides (it was a one-on-one ratio because there were two guides for the two of us!) explained the pencil-straight jumping technique, mentioning that we must avoid any of the stalagmites that we could not see. They then had to count "uno, dos, tres" about 15 times for each of us before we finally got the courage to jump. (We later redeemed ourselves by climbing up a metal ladder and doing it a second time)... I also must mention the cave was home to many new little friends, including three types of these beautiful...

... bats!

Speaking of beauty, we thoroughly enjoyed the tranquil and cute town of Barichara (just 40 minutes from San Gil). Barichara is known as one of South America's "nicest small towns," and it keeps things "traditional" by using stone roads, instead of pavement; lanterns, instead of streetlights; narrow roads; and traditional materials and construction styles for all homes and buildings.

The town is famous for its stonework. Here I am with two stone oxen statues-- two of many statues skillfully crafted of stone found throughout the pueblo. Barichara even boasts an annual stone sculpting festival, which brings artists from all around the world.

The town's churches and chapels are very unique and also made of stone. If you look closely, you can also see me in this picture! 80)

DESTINATION TWO: SANTA MARTA

Santa Marta was Colombia's first settlement and is home to natural jewels that combine snow-covered mountains, stunning beaches, and jungle. While we had fun exploring the town itself, we enjoyed these outdoor treasures most.

These are my shoes drying on our balcony, happy to be in the sun and adding to the view from our hotel room. (There was even a tinted plastic to prevent any glare-- like built-in sunglasses!).

This is a shot of Parque Tayrona, a national park with gorgeous beaches, surrounded by jungle trails. We didn't have time to do too much exploring, but we hiked around and spent a day playing in the waves.

DESTINATION THREE: [VARIOUS SITES OF] LA GUAJIRA

The department [province] of La Guajira is a little-known destination (in fact, it's not even in my guide book) whose main residents are the Wayuu indigenous people. Like all of the other stops of our trip, it has stunning views... but it also had quite the "off-the-beaten-path" feel to it.

In order to get around Guajira, one must have a special four-wheel drive jeep known as a "bubble." We had the misfortune of riding in one with incredibly bad tires, which forced us to make 5 unexpected stops for flat tires as we journeyed throughout the desert on our first day!!! Ay, ay, ay! (Our poor driver, Jacobo, had some really mad tire-changing skills... and he sure got a lot of practice!).

These stops, however, allowed us to watch the natives go about their daily life. The people mainly live off of goats, who roam about everywhere you go. (I was polite and tried goat meat twice, although I have to admit I was not a fan). This is a local goat herder as he waits for his somewhat rebellious goats to follow his lead.

Aside from goats, the area is able to produce a lot of salt. In another photo, I thought I'd be clever and make a "salt angel"... which was a very baaaaaad idea! I had to endure the rest of the long ride with lots of salt in my pants. =(

This is the site where we watched a couple beautiful sunsets. Behind Erica and me, you can see the various shades of the water; Colombians claim there are places with seven visible colors of the ocean.

We spent our nights sleeping in hammocks by the sea, which sounded pretty idyllic. I soon discovered, though, that I had had a slightly idealized view of this was like. Not only was it rather uncomfortable, but I was also awakened a few times by a stray, smelly (yet friendly) beach dog who came and licked my bottom during the night. Erica (pictured here) also got some pretty bad bug bites.

A small group of Wayuu welcomed us into their community to teach us about their traditional ways of life of yesteryear. The lesson began with them painting our faces with plant dye in the butterfly pattern that women traditionally wore.

Next, they taught us some of their typical dances. Here I am as I attempt to keep up with this little "chief" in a dance that basically involved me chasing him to a very fast drum beat. Funny story: If you look closely, you'll notice this little guy has a bald spot on the top of his head. I asked about it, thinking shaving a portion of a male's head had traditionally had some meaning and wanting to hear more about it. The whole community burst into laughter; it turns out my dancing partner had eaten lots and lots of a fruit that the monkeys of the area love, which tastes a lot like peanuts... Only it makes one's hair fall out! He seemed embarrassed once this was revealed to us and promptly put on a hat. =)

All over La Guajira, the Wayuu send their children out to sell handmade crafts (which, of course, Erica and I could not resist time and time again). I befriended these little girls on the streets of Riohacha (the main city of the department), and their brother begged and begged to take pictures of us with my camera.

Our last day in La Guajira involved riding a canoe to a turtle refuge. We saw many amazing birds on the way, including these wild flamingos. Flamingos are called "flamencos" in Spanish, just like flamenco dancing. I'm not sure which was discovered first (the dancing or the bird), but I can definitely see the connection: flamingos stop their feet like crazy to stir up food from the bottom of the sea floor, and they also swirl their long necks around-- reminding me of the graceful arm movements of flamenco dancers.

DESTINATION FOUR: CARTAGENA DE INDIAS

Cartagena de Indias is a beautiful, historical town on the Caribbean (Colombia's second settlement, after Santa Marta) with lots to see and do, and (once again) our time was too short to really take it all in (rats!). I had been to Cartagena during Cheryl/Kathleen/my mom's visit, but I did feel bad for Erica to "miss out" on all that Cartagena has to offer. I also noticed a huge difference from my previous Cartagena experience, during which there were no cruise ships, and this one-- during which the city was overtaken by loud, rude Americans (OK, so probably not all of them were "loud" and "rude"... but I do have to say that I was not impressed with their behavior!) on a Caribbean cruise. This also changed the dynamic of the city, with the street vendors becoming more aggressive than ever. However, we were still able to visit a few of Cartagena's museums, explore the Castillo de San felipe de Barajas (the largest fortress ever built by Spaniards in their colonies), walk peacefully in the "old town," and marvel at the views and unique architecture found within the city's historic protective walls.

Unfortunately, the cannons were not functional. =(

Cartagena's brightly-colored buildings and flowers are very cheery and uplifting.

This is Erica the in home of Pedro (Peter) Claver, where many scenes of Love in the Time of Cholera were filmed.

And, after all of our explorations and adventures, we were soon back in Cali again-- quite tired, a bit sun burnt, a bit itchy from multiple bug bites, and very satisfied with our new discoveries and freshly-created sister memories.