Hola amigos! Minju and I have spent the last 12 days exploring Colombia and we have loved it so far! At home, Colombia has a reputation for drugs, violence, and guerilla activity, but based on what we have seen and heard thus far, I would say that the reputation is largely undeserved. This stigma comes from a scary past, but the country has changed significantly in the past 5 years and tourism is becoming an established industry here. Guerilla activity is a thing of the past in most parts of the country. Also, the people are possibly the warmest yet in South America. Whenever we ask a question here, the locals go out of their way to help us out. They have welcomed us with open arms, which has made me feel safe and comfortable everywhere we’ve been.
We started off in Bogota, Colombia’s sprawling capital of 7.5 million people, and a place where, even in July, you need to wear jeans. My favourite part of Bogota was the Candelaria, which is an old part of the city with artistic and bohemian influences. Bogota is at an elevation of 2600m, so often you would find yourself out of breath while walking on the hilly cobblestoned roads of the Candelaria. We also visited the Museo Botero and looked at fat everything: fat people, fat hands, fat mona lisa, fat birds, fat horses, fat fruits, fat guitars, fat buildings. Botero’s artistic niche is taking regular objects and making them big-boned. He had some funny stuff.
A local culinary specialty in Bogota is the “chocolate completo”, which is hot chocolate that is served with a block of cheese. You put the cheese straight in the chocolate and eat it with a spoon. It sounds weird, but it works.
After Bogota, we headed to the Zona Cafetera, which is Colombia’s mountainous coffee growing region. We stayed in the small town of Salento, which I loved for its relaxed feel and mountain views. Also, we were there on a holiday weekend, so the streets were constantly packed with excessively festive locals! In Salento, we got to visit a finca, a small private coffee farm. The tour was great and we learned everything that we ever had hoped to know about farming coffee in Colombia. We saw the entire process in action, starting from the “coffee cherry” right up to the roasted bean. Coffee is grown on chaotic looking hillsides that contain plantains, trees, bamboo, pineapples, and other plants, as well as rows and rows of coffee plants. The farm looked very natural and was much less structured than I envisioned. Coffee exists in two main varieties: Arabica and Robusta. Colombia produces exclusively Arabica coffee, which is supposed to be the richer and more flavourful type. There are 10 different types of Arabica coffee and generally the beans are all mixed together during the roasting process. The finca owner has an interesting approach: he is roasting pure versions of the different varieties of Arabica coffee, something that is extremely difficult to find. I bought some of the “bourbon” variety beans. If you want to experience the pure Arabica flavour, stop by my house for a cup when I get home!
From Salento, we also took a great hike in the beautiful Cocora Valley. We rented rubber boots and spent the day trudging through mud and admiring the views. The valley is famous for the spectacular wax palms, which stand out in an extreme way from the rest of the forest. Most of the growth is quite low and dense, except for the wax palms, which are tall and thin and tower at up to 60m. The palms used to exist at an altitude close to sea level but were pushed up when the Andes were formed. They are still in the mode of "jungle competition" and thus have not adapated their height to their new much smaller competitors. The first part of the hike was through the valley surrounded by mountains and wax palms on both sides. Later, we entered a jungle potion, with thick vegetation and a river running along the trail. There were some points when the trail ended and we had to cross the river on bridges made of 3 logs tied together with wire. Some of the crossings were a little nerve wracking, but they were a lot of fun. We climbed up to a mountain lookout and finished by descending into the valley in the rain. With the mist, the jungle, and the palms, it felt a bit like a set for Jurassic Park. We saw some wild horses running through the misty wax palm forest. It was spectacular.
After getting our caffeine fix, we followed the heat up to Colombia’s north coast and the city of Cartagena. Cartagena had been billed to me as one of South America’s most beautiful cities. It fit the bill. It feels European in terms of architecture and layout but has a distinct island feel. The air is warm and the vibe is relaxed. We strolled around the streets taking in the colourful buildings, balconies with hanging flowers and the cobblestones. I also developed an insatiable addiction to the fresh limeade that they sell on street corners for 50 cents.
From Cartagena we took a trip to visit the Volcan del Tutomo—the mud volcano. I always thought that volcanoes were filled with hot magma: not this one! It’s full of warm grayish-black mud and people pay for the privilege to hop into the crater and take a bath in it. We were obviously game. We climbed up the 15m volcano staircase and jumped into the chaos that is a volcano mud bath. The mud felt like quicksand! It was thick and heavy, and it felt almost impossible to move in it. I had to get pulled across the tub by a guy to get into the right position. The mud was very buoyant (it was mid chest when I was floating in it) and our bodies tended to drift in directions that were completely unintended. We covered each other from head to toe and by the end resembled something utterly inhuman. It was tons of fun!
We also took a trip to visit the white sand paradise that is Playa Blanca (the term paradise applies outside the hours of 1pm-5pm, when the tourist boats crowd the beach). We slept in tents literally on the beach front and had the beach all to ourselves in the morning and at night. The calm clear blue morning water was a beautiful sight. It was the perfect spot to swim, read, and eat mangoes.
Next, we are continuing along the coast to Santa Marta. See you at the Lost City!
-M
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