Colombia - The Highlights

Once again, I hate to summarize the last few weeks of travel, especially an entire country, but I'm afraid it's either that, or spend tens of thousands of pesos on the internet while I try to document every detail. Bare with me, I will try to stay more current!

Before leaving Peru, I spent my last day back in my village of Socma. It is not the easiest journey to make. You have to know whether there is a big truck, carrying people and supplies going up and which town it is leaving from. I left Cusco around 6am in order to get to Pachar, a small town just before Ollantaytambo, by 8am. From there, I walked for about 20 min to a point at which I'd been told that there may be a truck passing by and into the valley. I was in luck. I climbed in the back to find several ladies from Socma and a nearby village also heading up. It was so nice to be recognized and we shared bread and chatted all the way up.

Once we arrived in Socma, I climbed down and was instantly surrounded by the people that had been working in the main field. I had been looking forward to surprising them and it was such a warm feeling to be amongst the people Id become so close to again! I toured the coops of some of the houses, visited with those that were still home and when I returned to the school grounds, the kids saw me and came running over. I've said this before, but there simply is nothing like the love of a child and to have 3o of them rush towards you, calling your name and scrambling to hug you... ahhh, words cannot suffice. They even broke into song and dance and I caught it on video! Eventually, I had to pull myself away. After being invited for soup at one home, I was told I must join the ladies down by the river for their artisans training. I sat in the circle of ladies, watching them learn to sew dolls and weave the most intricate designs. I shared in their snack of corn and rice and even helped sew a little. My heart swelled - those are the moments (days) that stay with you and that you can never get as a tourist!

I said my final goodbyes to Cusco (for now at least) and boarded 3 planes to Barranquilla, Colombia. I did not have much of a plan, so I just chose an airport in the north. Turns out, my instinct did not choose well this time and Barranquilla is just a big city. Luckily, I stayed with a sweet couchsurfing couple, one American and one Colombian and they got me started. I had a fantastic night of dancing before I left for Cartagena.

Cartagena

• A famously romantic city, with 3 distinct areas: The charming old city, surrounded by castle-like walls and towers, rainbow colored buildings, women in Columbian flag ruffled dresses selling fruit from baskets on their heads, horse drawn carriages, jungle-like plazas and latin music reverberating from one venue or another. Boca Grande, a lizard tail peninsula of expensive high-rises and packed beaches and what I consider the real city, a fairly dirty, congested and poor area with a lack of green and too many vehicles.
  
• Incredible heat and humidity!
• Delicious variety of street foods, especially the cups of fruit.
• Interesting night life, with dancers performing in the streets, salsa, rock and reggaeton. The juice shops begin selling smoothies with a dash of rum - yum!
• A friend of mine and I, went to Columbia's largest mud volcano (I don't know how many actually exist) by bus and motorbike. Through lush green scenery, as I imagine the african savanah to look, we zipped until we came to the base. Up the ladder we climbed and it was one of the coolest experiences that I've had in Columbia. You submerge yourself, but only just below the surface. You can't reach the bottom, but you can't go further down. It was almost like anti-gravity! Men in the crater push you to a spot and then give you a massage (for a tip of course) and then afterwards you descend to a lake nearby where a lady grabs you and begins to bathe you. She reached in my top and cleaned out my ears... Ha, I knew they would also ask for a tip, but how often do you get bathed these days! I wish I could do it again!

Medellin

• Again, as a tourist/backpacker you don't really get to see the real city. Most of the hostels are in a ritzy, very safe and cool area, quite removed from down town.
  
• THE place to hang out is "the park". Surrounded by cafés, restaurants and clubs, you will most likely meet everyone there at some point. Most nights started here with a bottle or two and eventually the group, that had slowly grown over time, would decide on one club or another to dance the early AM hours away.
• My hostel had everything. A restaurant, bar, internet, comfy TV lounge with cable and a huge DVD library and even a pool. When the weather was rainy, I found myself more than once cuddled up amongst the pillows and 10 other backpackers watching movies - quite nice for a change.
• I spent one day seeing the rest of Medellin. I joined a worker from the hostel on his bike around down town, not much to see really besides a couple nice buildings, statues, a nice big market with whole animal carcasses on display and more prostitutes than I've seen anywhere else. We continued about an hour out of town to Santa Elena, a tiny town set in lush greens and flowers. I spent the day relaxing in the fresh air, hiking around the paths and generally enjoying the slow pace of the countryside.
• I was lucky enough to be in town to see Colombia play Chile in their quest to qualify for the World Cup! Ahh, there is nothing like football in South America and even though they lost, I relished in the competitive, happy, frenetic atmosphere of a crowded stadium.

Bogota

• I had been warned against Bogota on grounds of violence and theft. I decided I wanted to see for myself and was rewarded with a holiday in town and therefore an extended cyclovia where several of the main roads are closed and thousands of people ride bikes, rollerblade, jog and walk their dogs through town. I was delighted to find families, kids and friends of all ages outside, enjoying their city, watching an interesting mix of street performers (a great guineapig show and a talented set of rappers to start) and getting some exercize!
• El Monserrate is an imposing mountain looking over Bogota with a pretty church atop. I was only able to admire it from below unfortunately because the rainy weather would not have permitted a view.
• Once again, the bakeries and street food stalls were like magnets. I cannot resist trying something new and there seems to be no end! Delicious.
• Being a bit museum-jaded, the Gold Museum is definitely worth a visit.
  
• San, a new traveling buddy and I decided to check out the famous Salt Cathedral. I was not expecting much, since I'd been to the salt capital of the world in Bolivia, but this was apparently the number one marvel in Columbia. I was so very impressed! The town that it is situated in, Zipaquirá, was a lovely little town, clean, wide streets and friendly plazas. The salt cathedral itself was actually carved inside the mountain and incredibly unique. Symbolic chambers, cool lighting, a beautiful mirror pond, a great guide and a cheesy but funny 3D movie! I just wish I had had time for Colombia's highest rock climbing wall!
• I couchsurfed once again with a guy named Oliver and he was a wonderful host! These interactions truly enrich my experience and I want to send a big thank you out to him!

I left cold and rainy Bogota with a list of things to see when I return. What was supposed to be an 11hr journey turned into 15 for some reason and I am now in the salsa capital of Colombia, Cali. Last night, I joined a friend at his dance studio for a class and it was fantastic! They even mixed it was a little hiphop and reggaeton - so fun! Afterwards, we went to one of the hottest salsotecas in town and I was in such awe of pure talent there! I can only hope that one day I will be able to dance like them!

Salt and Silver

Bolivia has more than made up for it's complicated border process. Uyuni, a town set hundreds of kilometeres from any other city, on one side a bleak landscape of desert and lifeless plains and on the other side, the world's largest (more than 12,000sq K) salt flats. Wide open streets that allow the icy winds to race through, chilling everyone to the bone. Curiously, I couldn's help but notice how the town seemed deserted besides the central tourist plaza. Very few people could be seen outside, doors always seemed shut and the animals that normally run rampant were missing.

The only reason I was there was to witness this saline wonder and it was every bit as impressive as I'd been told. I joined another british traveling pair and a japanese boy in a jeep and after stopping in the famous train cementary, rusting engines and cars sunken into the ground, pieces of track that once carried these proud machines and their treasures to the coast, strewn about along with piles of several hundred year old parts left to the elements, we were soon on the trail, smoothed and darkened by caravans of tour jeeps. Our first stop was a salt hotel/museum where everything from the tables and chairs to the beds and walls were made of salt and then on to the Isla Incawasi, a cactus island in a blinding sea - simply indescribable. Gleaming white and flat until the clear blue horizon like someone forgot to draw the flora onto this page of Bolvia.

There is a tradition of taking cheesy perspective photos and who am I to go against tradition ;) Each little group set about getting the funniest pics and I think we got a few keepers. The view from the top of the island allowed us to take in the vast expanse of blank earth - so beautiful in it's own right.

The next day I found my way to Potosi, the world's highest city and once one of the world's largest and richest as well with the discovery of it's silver mine. I decided to try couchsurfing for the first time in South America since it had been a great way to meet locals in India and provided a much more immersive experience and it was a great decision! For those of you that don't know about this awesome travelers network, check it out at http://www.couchsurfing.com/. Juan Carlos not only provided me a room and bathroom in his family's manor house in the heart of the city but also picked me up from the bus station and showed me around to some of the main sights. We stumbled upon a small parade of cars decorated from bumper to bumper in fuzzy blankets, stuffed animals and dolls. I saw archways decorated in fruit and silver - what's this? There was a band and people were dancing around the cars - ha! I just adore random festivals like this! I tried to take a couple pictures, the people not only encouraged it but one little old lady gave me a shot of a mystery orange alcohol and another man came up to explain what was going on. Everyone in Bolivia has been SO friendly and helpful!

A week never goes by that I don't find myself on a dance floor and this was no exception. The first night, I joined Juan and his friends for some latin dancing and in the world's highest city - that's quite a work out! The next day I wandered the city, my favorite pasttime, getting a feel for Potosi and that evening I was invited to a BBQ - something backpackers don't get very often! I met more friendly Bolvians and we ended up with plates of delicious food followed by games I haven't played since Highschool. I'm talking spin the bottle, truth or dare, King Elephant (Shout out to my PWs!) and that kissing the card game... haha, it was actually a lot of fun!

The highlight of Potosi besides the people was definitely the tour of the mine. As I've said before, I generally try to avoid organized tours but this is not possible for the mines, nor desireable. You need someone who knows where they are going and get explain the history. It was fantastic! Our first stop, after changing into miner's gear, not a toursit gimmick but for protection while underground, was in the miner's market. We could buy real dynamite, the only place in the world that it's legal, as well as coca leaves and drinks as gifts for the miners. The miners work as a part of a cooperative, each milking their own claim and work an average of 8 hours every day. They eat nothing, simply chewing coca leaves with a catalyst such as quinoa ash that numbs their mouth, their appetite and gives them energy - so interesting. Because of the mountains volcanic history, the beginning of the tunnels actually had icicles hanging precariously in our way and amazingly, just one level down, the temperature must have been at least 85-90 degrees F! We clamored through the shafts, sometimes able to walk upright, sometimes barely able to walk at all. We met some of the miners, gave them the gifts we had brought and I even chipped in when one of the heavy carts arrived, being pulled and pushed by four men, and shovelled rock to the other side of the tracks - he asked if I could come back the next day! :)

Two thirds of our group could not go to the next level down because of troubles breathing, claustrophobia etc so a couple of us continued down a rickety ladder to see "El Tio" the local deified statue that protects the miners from trouble. Everything was just so real, such an unproduced, raw look at life in the mines and I learned so much! Wow am I lucky not to have that profession!

I've now arrived in the sweet city of Sucre and thus far, I am quite enamored! There is a massive festival this weekend with an expected attendance of 25,000 people and I can't wait!