Crazy for Colombia!

You know the feeling, the plane hits the tarmac, there isn’t a cloud in the sky, the doors open and you feel like you’ve just walked into a sauna – that’s the moment the holiday starts. This was Cali, our first stop in Colombia. We were really feeling the buzz (and heat) of a new country, this was a big change from the overcast, cold days we’d endured in Ecuador and we couldn’t stop smiling or even singing (Rosh had cleverly come up with track 1 of our Colombia mix-tape – the classic, ‘Cally in Cali’, complete with accompanying dance moves). To sum up, we were very excited.

Our first few days of easing into Colombian life involved sampling tasty cafes and restaurants (including delicious veggie fare) and the more we sampled, the more we found ourselves nodding and murmuring in a quiet, appreciative love, ‘oh, Colombia’! We also couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get down at the home of the salsa! Taking a dance class was a slightly more alien experience to Cal and his wavy limbs than Rosh, but nevertheless, we both really loved it. We did not necessarily find all of the right steps and Cal was often prone to moments of panic (during which the default move was to spin Rosh), so we are not quite salsa masters, maybe enthusiasts is a better description.

After a couple of days of Cali chill we decided to get off the beaten track and take a day trip to San Cipriano – a small, very isolated Afro-Colombian community towards to the Pacific coast. Overcoming initial difficulties with a flat tire on our bus, we made it to a connecting town. Here we had to take a ‘brujita’, this was a motorbike with a wooden exoskeleton attached to it, forming a carriage-type of transportation system that zipped along a railway track. It was as crazy as it sounds.

After 20 minutes clinging on to the side of the brujita, we reached San Cipriano. We headed straight for the river that carved it’s way through the jungle, renting a rubber dinghy tube and spending the afternoon floating down gentle rapids. On the way home, whilst tucking into salty banana chips (a favourite journey-time snack) we raved about how this was what we had expected from South America, rugged travel, swimming in clear waters, all amongst the dense, tropical foliage.

Feeling suitably pumped up and relaxed (including purchase of a hammock to remind us of these wonderful days – now just to get the giant souvenir home…), our next stop was Salento – a small town in the rolling, green hills. The journey there had been breathtaking (literally in some cases when carrying the bags up 45 degree hills in town) and the views from our hostel were just as scenic. The home of Colombia’s national tree (back to the foliage), and the largest coffee region in the country, we knew we had a few blissful days to come amidst some spectacular scenery.

The following day we ventured to Valle de Cocora to discover the spirit tree of Cal. We wandered into the park and were instantly gobsmacked by the size of the enormous palm trees. We spent around 4 hours wandering amongst giants, straining our necks to glimpse the top.

Cal standing tall with his best palm impression alongside his brothers

The coffee farms were equally as impressive, set in the beautiful area around Salento surrounded by rolling hills. For the first time in 9 months, we were put to work picking our own coffee beans! Learning about the process end to end definitely highlighted how hard these small fincas work (or make us work), and it turned out the coffee (which was very good) was much needed. Nothing beats the smell of freshly roasted beans.

After all that manual labour, we relaxed with a game of Colombia’s national game. Thankfully this fantastic pastime requires a beer in hand to play. The game is called Tejo. The aim is to throw a heavy weight towards a square of clay, sitting on a 45 degree angle – you are aiming for a metal circle, planted in the centre of the clay. Laying on top of the circle are paper explosives, filled with gunpowder. As you can imagine, you want an explosion. After several attempts, and we don’t want to boast here, we were nailing it. BANG, BANG BANG! We were exploding these things every 5 minutes. Beer and explosions, you don’t get that in dominoes! What a game.

The first explosion of many, and highlighting that tough-wearing hiking boots were needed for this extreme pasttime

Next up, and 7 hours later of winding, bumping and crazy bus driving later, we arrived in Medellin. The once notorious city was now viewed amongst travellers as one of the must see cities in all of South America. We could see why.

Our time in the city was split into 2 parts – we spent around a week exploring the city and getting to know it’s history. From the hipsters hangout, the overpriced-cocktail-in-a-jam-jar neighbourhood of El Poblado (also known as gringolandia) to the university area of Laureles, it was really fun and we loved the vibe of the place, it felt like we were back in Brazil with dancing, music and a buzz around every corner. We also made it to our first ‘big’ game in South America (sorry Sucre FC). We met up with several Aussies, two of which had been on our boat in the Galápagos, and all went to the game together – drinking beers and purchasing ‘authentic’ shirts en route to the stadium. While the quality of the game was not quite the same as in Europe, the atmosphere was like nothing we had seen before. Fans hanging from the stands, constantly singing, dancing and the brass band in full swing throughout the game. It was crazy.

Alongside that we delved further into Medellin’s history and visited the Museo Casa de la Memoria which gave us a very vivid view of how life used to be in Medellin, the former murder capital of the world. The pictures were horrifying but the stories displayed on the museum walls were haunting enough to bring you close to tears.

In danger of becoming further disheartened, we had lunch in a popular hang out for workers escaping the doldrums of the office. We discovered a huge indoor market with every kind of food stall enclosed, not looking out of place in London. We felt like everything was a surprise in Colombia – once dangerous areas were now happening places. It seemed refreshing and exciting. Of course, we learned more about how this optimism had engulfed the city on a walking tour that afternoon. Our guide was very happy to discuss all topics relating country and specifically Medellin but he seemed delighted to express how the city had transformed itself into an innovative, welcoming city for all to see. We left thinking we had even more reasons for falling in love with Colombia.

Doing our best to shake the impression that we were in Shoreditch

Surrounding Medellin there are a few pueblos (small towns) that still retain a lot of charm and character from yesteryear. Wanting to break up our time in the city, we spent a few nights in the small picturesque town of Jardin. It was as if time moved slower in this town – men rode into town on horseback, people gathered in the cobblestone square till dark, drinking beers on colourful tables lit with candles. There was not much to do other than drink, play cards, take in the colourful surroundings and enjoy. It was awful, such a hard life.

The town that time forgot, the perfect place to spend days just watching the world go by

Another day, another colourful town. Guatape is surrounded by lakes and in the shadow of a giant, protruding rock – it was just beautiful. Our hostel was in a secluded, lake side spot, complete with a giant hammock and friendly dog. We wandered around the town, making our way to the top of the rock! We had 360 views of everything around, enjoying it with fresh mango slices, covered in pepper, lime juice and sugar (weird sounding and absolutely divine)!

The land around Guatape was flooded to provide hydroelectricity – the result is this ridiculous area of the world which is simply stunning

For the days we were in Guatape we had also been in contact with Amit. He was still lingering around the north coast of Colombia and we decided that we should all meet up again. We left Medellin feeling like we had been engulfed by Colombia – the history, the people, culture, football, everything. It had been the most incredible 3 weeks so far and we couldn’t wait to explore even more!

He who must not be named: While on our walking tour of Medellin, we learned a lot about the history of Colombia and the city itself. While most may not know everything about Colombia’s past, almost everyone will have heard of Pablo Escobar (the drug trafficker from Medellin who was the central figure in a period of terrible bloodshed across the country). Our guide would not say his name, mainly through fear of being confronted by locals. We don’t want to bore you with a historical account of everything that happened but in short, Escobar and armed guerrilla groups in Colombia, in the 1980s and 90s particularly, ensued in a violence that meant bombings, deaths and murders were a normality of life in Medellin, fuelled by the demand and trafficking of cocaine.

What we saw in Medellin was a city desperately trying to invent a new identity – a centre of innovation, creativity and enjoyment. However, as our guide stressed emphatically, tourism was an enabler to this – it could both contribute or decay the progress of the city. There was a balance to be struck. Those who wanted to see the city and embrace everything it had to offer, were welcomed openly, but those who sought out drugs or homages to Escobar were merely dishonouring and insulting the people who lived through the violence.

Colombian artist Fernando Botero has sculptures all over the city but the above may be the most famous. This bird on the left was bombed by a guerilla group during a concert in the 90s, killing and injuring hundreds. Botero then donated a similar bird to the city in 2000 and insisted it sat next to the bombed bird as a symbol of peace and change in Medellin and Colombia.

And on a cheery note…

What we’re listening to: From the salsa swing of Cali to the quiet hum from the bars of Jardin’s square – we listening to all sorts. However, certainly for Cal, listening and discussing the music of Mi Casa in Guatape was a welcome break from the (occasionally) monotonous sounds of Regaeton. He liked it so much, the hostel playlist is now a part of our Spotify collection.

Love & hugs,

Cal & Rosh xxx