Backpacking South America

We spent months in the mountains, often in chillier than expected temperatures. The promise was always that we will thaw out with good beach time in Colombia. Fortunately, we found the beach a bit sooner in Ecuador and Peru. But we knowingly saved the best for last – Tayrona National Park.

All along, it was our plan to end our trip at the beaches of Colombia – take some time to relax and enjoy our final days of travel in South America. All our expectations and hopes were totally fulfilled by our 3 day trip to Tayrona National Park.

We set off from La Casa de Felipe (recommended) in Taganga early in the morning. Unfortunately, our taxi kept breaking down, so the hour trip was about 30 minutes longer than it should have been. But we made it and we were soon walking on the trail to El Cabo, where we would spend the night in hammocks perched on top of a rock in a small bay.

After hiking 1.5 hours, we made it, but were slightly bummed that there was no room in the hammocks on the rock – only down below. Oh well, it was still nice to be so close to the beach. Plus, you can’t complain about comfortably sleeping in an open-air hut in hammocks.

At first, sleeping in hammocks was a bit strange. But we caught the hang of it and by the second night, it felt quite natural. We may not actually need to get our bed out of storage anytime soon…

The following day we hiked a short distance through the jungle to the next beach along the coast. With only a few other beach bums, we spent the entire morning in peace and felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. It was a day of supreme leisure.

Not so long ago, our adventure in Tayrona would not have been possible. It was a hideout for drug traffickers and guerillas. The deep sandy bays and thick jungle provided shelter for these below-the-law types. But as with most of Colombia, the last 5-10 years has been a period of drastic improvements in security and formerly dangerous areas like Tayrona are now open to local and foreign travelers.

For our final day, we hiked a short way back to the beach at La Piscina, which is also a beautiful beach with great swimming conditions. Of all the days, the sun seemed most intense on our final day. It was so hot, about the only place to feel comfortable was in the crystal water or to sit in the sand and have the waves roll up on you. We soaked it all in and baked for a few hours. Eventually though, it was time to make our way back to the entrance to catch our 5pm ride back to Taganga – which actually never showed. We did some waiting and finally found a ride around 6pm.

This was our final adventure of our travels in South America. It was more relaxation than anything else, but it was amazing to explore the beautiful coastline of Colombia.

Have you ever read the book “Love in the Time of Cholera?” It is this amazing story written by the creative, artistic writer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, another brilliant Colombian. It is a story entwining, love, of course, and the deepness and sickness thereof. As a reader you’re made to believe of a hopeless romantic, but as an observer and an analysis of the story, you are drawn into the many facets of the story and their potential meaning. It is an extremely intriguing story to digest and supposedly many of the sights and inspiration came from Cartagena, Colombia.

I just knew, even before we arrived, that we were going to love Cartagena and I was not disappointed. With it’s cobblestoned streets, Colombian, African and Spanish infused heritage, rich and poor neighborhoods and a walled in city to bat, the history of this city runs deep. There are so many corners of this city that could be adapted to storytelling.

We spent the better part of one day exploring the inside of the old city. We climbed the walls and had a beautiful view of the ocean and Castillo San Felipe de Barajas. The streets are so photogenic with the old colonial buildings and beautiful floral vines crawling up and along the walls. Not to mention, the Food! If you are a foodie, this city is a must. The diversity and the talent cooking up in these kitchens deserve bragging rights. Unfortunately, for us, as budget travelers, we were not able to descend into all it has to offer. However, we did splurge and treat ourselves to an evening of foodie enjoyment at “Oh, La La!” and we were not disappointed.

The following day we headed out to Castillo San Felipe de Barajas and explored the ins and outs of the Fort sitting on the outskirts of Cartagena. Castillo San Felipe de Barajas is said to be the third largest Spanish fort in the Americas. It was constructed to protect the city of Cartagena from any attacks or invaders. It served to be successful several times over.

After several days of exploration, it was time to hit a beach. Everybody said Cartagena was hot, and they weren’t kidding. It’s extremely hot and humid. And in fact, it’s hotter in the winter because it lacks a coastal breeze. I can’t even imagine. So, we took a boat from Mercado Bazurto to Playa Blanca, supposedly one of the most beautiful beaches in Colombia. This stands to be a true statement.

We decided to take a local boat from Mercado Bazurto because it was supposed to be the fastest and easiest route. Unfortunately, it didn’t pose to be the most efficient route. After arriving at the market shortly after 7:30am, for an hour long boat ride, we didn’t end up leaving the disgustingly, dirty inlet until 3 hours later. We were under the impression that boats left relatively frequently between 7am and 9am.

So there we sat, on the boat, with one other lady, while the men loaded up the boat with food and goods for the other part of the “island.” We thought, fine, all boats leave at 9am. 9am came and went and people were still loading the boat. Finally, some time after 10am, the boat was determined to be sufficiently full and we could leave. From our assessment, no boats leave before 9am, and most actually leave around 10am.

With the boat fully loaded, we were thankful we didn’t sink. It was actually a speedy trip across the water. About 30 minutes later we arrived at our destination, found us a little tent and chairs and set up shop for the rest of the day.

We were told our boat would return to pick us up at 4:00PM. However, around 3:30PM we asked the owner of our tent where to catch the boat and he said that a tour boat off shore was the last boat leaving the island. We were not quite sure who to believe, our captain from the morning or the people on the beach, but we did not want to get stuck there for the evening, so we quickly grabbed our things and went with everyone else to hitch a ride back to Cartagena. There are just certain situations, where to pay a little more money, may guarantee a better result.

One final plug for Cartagena, and much of Colombia, is that it’s the Mecca for Emeralds. Some of the most notable places where emeralds are mined are in Colombia, Brazil and Africa. On just about every other corner of this town there is a shop selling emeralds. Perhaps that’s what makes this city sparkle so much.

While in Colombia we were excited about the fact that we were going to be able to see some Fernando Botero pieces of art. We have seen several pieces in other art galleries in our lifetime, but we’re in Colombia, it’s time to see some true Colombian art.

Fernando Botero is one of Colombia’s leading, contemporary artists, who I would say, is most famous for painting exaggerated pieces of large people or still lifes. He’s a bit of an abstract artist with a unique eye for color and wider dimensions. In Medellín, they have a whole plaza filled with Botero sculptures and several other sculptures scattered around the city.

So, we hopped on the subway and headed downtown to Plaza Botero one Sunday afternoon to see for ourselves. While downtown wasn’t anything special, Plaza Botero was quite impressive with its huge collection of large Botero sculptures – it made us feel as if we were something out of “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.”

After Plaza Botero, we headed over to Parque San Antonio, where we saw the ‘Torso Masculino’ and the ‘Bird of Peace,’ which was damaged by a guerrilla bomb in 1996. At the insistence of Botero himself, the original ‘Bird of Peace’ was never restored in order to display the “futility of violence.” Instead, he created a second one alongside the original to make his point more emphatic.

After our Botero tour, we ventured downtown to Parque de Bolivar, which on a Sunday seemed to be a bit dodgy. We were beginning to wonder if we were the only gringos in town. Aside from the fact that we didn’t seem to see any other gringos around, we were getting quite a number to stares.

What’s interesting about Colombia is that due to its history of instability (drugs and FARC), it hasn’t received a significant amount of tourists. However, with increased security and stabilization of the government, tourism has been growing about 10% each year over the past 10 years, but it is still relatively new. For some Colombians, especially of the older generation, a blond-haired American walking around their city does seem a bit curious.

Despite the onlookers, we wanted to see the Cathedral Metropolitana, which was built between 1875 and 1931 and said to be the third largest brick building in the world. And rest assured there were a lot of bricks.

We had a great stay in the El Poblado neighborhood at The Blacksheep Hostel, but we were anxious to get on our way. There are many places to visit in and around the city, so we definitely could’ve spent more time in Medellín, but after seeing the sights that interested us on Sunday, it was off to our next stop: Cartagena.

Our first stop in Colombia was the heart of La Zona Cafetera – the coffee region. Now, it seems coffee can actually be grown in many parts of Colombia, but this just happens to be the most concentrated area.

We pulled into Salento, Colombia – a quaint, quiet town near coffee farms and the Cocora valley. Our first day, we walked around town, tried our first Jesus Martin coffee (delicious!) and at about 11 am, got our act together and caught a Willy’s jeep up the Cocora Valley to do a bit of hiking through the jungle.

The Cocora Valley is famous for its Wax Palm trees, which grow really, really high and stick out above everything. After hiking for about 2 hours, we reached our lunch stop at a home up in the jungle – after a quick egg salad sandwich and snapping a few photographs of the resident hummingbirds, it was on our way up to a Mirador.

After a bit of effort (and lots of sweating), we reached the top. At first, it was a bit disappointing, all we could see was across the valley and a big rock. Impressive, but not as grand as it had been built up to be.

So on we went, down the hill to catch our jeep back to Salento. As we rounded a few corners, we found what we came for – spectacular views over the valley with needle thin Wax Palms protruding out of the green pastures.

It was amazing to see these palms stand out along the ridgelines. They are so tall and thin, one would think they would tip right over. Also, you could see a storm brewing off in the distance, which only enhanced the views.  It was a spectacular walk out of the jungle.

Getting our Coffee Fix

Our next day began with a tour of the local, boutique coffee roasting factory. We went through the entire process and got our hands on some freshly roasted beans (yummy). The whole process is very manual. First, they sort the beans by their size by placing them on a tray and shaking them out. Then, they inspect and remove any bad beans by hand. Once they collect 7 kilos of good beans, they throw them into the roaster for 15-18 minutes, cool them off and let them sit for a bit and then bag them up. Each step requires incredible attention to detail, but the result is a delicious cup of coffee.

After getting all hopped up by munching on coffee beans and drinking some delicious coffee, we took a small break before heading off to the coffee farm at the Plantation House. The owner, Tim, of the Plantation House, through a random set of events, found himself with the opportunity to purchase a coffee farm in disrepair. He has spent a few years rehabbing the place and is starting to turn out some excellent coffee.

From the Plantation House, we walked down to the property and got an exceptional tour of the grounds (no pun intended) and explanation of the entire process. Tim is trying to do something a bit different from the rest of the coffee growers around him – he is keeping his varieties of coffee separate, so that you end up with distinct coffee. Most Colombian coffee is a blend of many varieties of Arabica coffee. So, by keeping the varieties separate, there can be variation of flavors, much like that of keeping wine varieties separate and blending judiciously.

Regardless, it was a splendid tour and we were delighted to have a number of good cups of coffee. While Colombia is one of the top producing countries for coffee, most of the good stuff is exported. So we’ve been hard pressed to find that good cup of coffee, fortunately, good coffee was everywhere in Salento.

While in Ecuador, we stopped in to visit an old friend from college. It was a good stop over. A little bit longer than expected, but that was a good thing. It was just what we needed, some home baked cookies, home-cooked food and quality time with friends. The question at hand is, when did we all grow up?

One of the things we miss most while traveling is the one-on-one time we get hanging out with friends and catching up on life. We miss the long-term relationships we have with other people. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve met some wonderful and interesting people along the way, but often times those relationships are short lived – a few days or weeks, then only via email and facebook. So, we spent most of our time just visiting and helping out where we could. It felt really good.

We had a wonderful time being able to see their home, meet their friends and just be a part of their life for a short while. Since we saw them last, they have had a baby, who is quickly growing into an active little boy.

Aside from visiting friends, having a cook-out, making new friends, participating in a little gardening and playing some little kid soccer, we did get out and see some sites in and around Quito. We made it to Mitad del Mundo – which is a large monument and park that rests on the equator (actually, it is a bit off, but it still counts). So we were able to straddle the equator, one foot firmly in the Northern Hemisphere and one foot in the Southern Hemisphere.

We also took an afternoon visiting the Old City of Quito, which has some very eclectic looking buildings. The Basilica was one of our favorites. It’s a very old church that you can climb to top for a bird’s eye view of the city. I had a nice view of the city from where I stood…however, Jared got the bird’s eye view from the tippy-top.

Quito was a bustling city, with a lot to offer (Gringolandia), plenty of places to eat, museums, churches, and a number of parks. You can make it what you want. What’s nice about Ecuador and Quito is that it’s relatively easy to come back to and from Quito, you can make a lot of day trips to the surrounding area. We’re thinking may just have to return.

About our friend Paul, Hacienda El Refugio and Youth World

For the past seven years, Paul has been working with an organization called Hacienda El Refugio, an outdoor adventure camp and conference center. He has built ropes courses, a beautiful and huge tree house, and is now focusing on a climbing wall made from recycled radio towers and a botanical garden.

He not only works on projects around El Refugio, but helps in facilitating leadership programs for both young people and adults, while empowering them with the skills needed to be good leaders, enjoying nature and getting away from the business of life and deepening their faith. It was truly an enriching experience to be able to see how God has used both Paul and Beth over these past few years to help grow and develop the program at El Refugio. It is even more impressive to see how Paul actually knows how to build this stuff. However, he is a little more outdoorsy than me.

Hacienda El Refugio is associated with other organizations and works in connection with Youth World, reaching out to the youth of Quito and in Ecuador giving them an outlet to find support and mentoring and developing the skills needed to be leaders and disciples of Jesus Christ. Since these programs are continuing to grow and develop year after year, it has left a huge impact on the youth of Quito and demonstrated the need for such programs and support. As they continue to raise support for these programs they are able to complete a little more work on these projects. For example, there aren’t many opportunities for climbers or many rock walls in Quito, so the construction of this climbing wall will be huge for the people who love to climb, and at the same time is using recycled products. And just recently, Youth World is working with another branch building a huge skate park, which has taken off and attracted a number of youth. Construction costs money, safety costs money and proper training costs money. These are great programs for the community of Quito, but continually need funding to progress. If you are interested in the work or programs going on at El Refugio or interested in donating or sponsoring a project, please let us know and we would be happy to put in touch with Paul and Beth.