While I realize it’s the middle of the month already, I’ve been steadily on the go and my blog has suffered. My apologies. I am here to fix that now with what will probably be the longest blog ever, in history….okay, maybe just the history of my blog, but still, long!
I spent my New Year by subjecting myself to what can only be described as self inflicted torture! I spent five days hiking to and from the Lost City in the mountains of Columbia. The essential outline of the trip is this:
Day One: Climb over a mountain
Day Two: Climb over a mountain
Day Three: Climb over a mountain, scale a cliff, cross a river several times and then climb 2000 ancient stairs to finally reach the Lost City (Yay)
Day Four: Climb down those stairs, back across that cliff and back over that mountain.
Day Five: Day One and Two combined!
It was physically exhausting, but one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done! Being in the middle of the mountains in that city and seeing the work that the ancient Columbians put into this place without the benefit of mules, guides and direction like we had was eye opening. Our group of 9 was led by Miguel, a 23 year old Columbian who has spent his life showing tourists his country’s heritage. His mother and father were our additional cooks, porters and guides. Truly a family affair.
We rang in the New Year with Champagne and Rum that was (carefully) schlepped the whole way with spectacular views of the city and jungle. Being true to the diverse nature of our group, we had several New Year toasts, following the various time zones of all the Nations represented by our group. The following morning during our official tour of the city, we were all surprised when one of the men in our group proposed to his longtime girlfriend. It was a touching moment that we were all privileged to witness. We couldn’t have been happier for them.
We unfortunately had a bad surprise as well. During the last day of our trip, one of our fellow trekkers slipped off a rock during a river crossing and broke his ankle. He was carried over the final mountain at impressive speed in a hammock strung up on a bamboo pole by several guides and porters. He has since has surgery to repair all the ripped tendons and had 4 screws placed in his leg. We all visited him once we got back to Santa Marta and he was in amazing spirits. He is a friend we will all be happy to have for the rest of our lives. Here’s to a quick recovery!
After recovering on the beach for a day or two in Santa Marta, I said goodbye to my friends and headed off to Bogota. What a change to be in a hectic city again after the tranquility of the remote jungle. After getting over the startling temperature change (an almost 20 degree drop), I soaked up the culture of the bustling city. I visited both the Gold Museum and the Botero Museum and was impressed with both.
The Gold Museum did not fail to deliver on its name with an amazing collection of local gold artifacts from a variety of time periods. While it included other precious metals and a variety of artifacts, the gold is definitely the star.
The Botero Museum features work by Fernando Botero, a treasured Columbian artist. His work is best described as fat. People, animals and even inanimate objects are all a rotund version of their proper selves. He uses all sorts of mediums to bring this unique vision to the world. The museum also features works by other artists such as Picasso, Monet and Dali to name a few. A good way to spend a couple of hours and free to boot!
From Bogota, I headed off the Ecuador. I decided to stay with the big city vibe and head for Guayaquil. It’s a hectic place and its main drag, 9 de Octubre, feels a little like walking down 5th Avenue in New York City...almost. The city has an amazing waterfront promenade called Malecon 2000 that covers 2.5 kms of the river. It has something for everyone. I spent a lazy afternoon eating lunch by a pond feeding ducks and coy fish and then headed down to the full shopping mall on the other end.
At one end of the promenade are the historic neighborhoods of Las Penas and Cerro Santa Ana, which are both located on the upward slope of a small hill overlooking the whole city. The buildings and walkways have all been refurbished and repaved to offer a casual walking experience similar to that of any small European village. There is a never ending, winding flight of stairs weaves through the entire place and culminates at the top of the hill with a lighthouse and a church. The stairs are numbered as well, so you know when you’ve taken your last step up the 444 stairs. The view from the top is beautiful and the walk down is twice pleasant as the climb!
Aside from these main tourist stops, there is the requisite Central Park and accompanying Cathedral. The smaller Park Bolivar however, had much more interesting patrons! There were fish and turtles in the small pond and around 50 lizards of varying sizes! At first I thought they were contained to the small fenced in area surrounding the pond, but then I spotted a couple lounging of the grass behind a bench. And then I saw a couple at the base of a tree. And then I saw one climb up a tree. And that’s when I looked up. Each branch of the tree was weighed down with several large lizards like a scene out of a Hitchcock movie. While I’m typically not too squeamish about animals of any kind, this sent a shiver up my spine! Realizing that there were several trees in the park probably teeming with giant Komodo Dragons (overactive imagination), I quickly fled…
All the way to Lima, Peru! I only spent a couple of days in Lima as a travel point for the rest of Peru, but saw a few things in yet another bustling Metropolis. I saw the parks and churches, walked the main tourist strips and got a nice view of the beach. The coolest thing I checked out however was the Huaca Pucllana, which is a crumbling Pyramid in the center of town. The ruin is pre Incan and the people who built it can be claimed by the city of Lima only. They are working to restore much of the mud-brick structure that has been destroyed by human interference. The actual underlying structure has held up well however as it was built in such a way to stand up to earthquakes. A good little tour with a English speaking guide was only 3 bucks and we even got to pet a llama (named Paco).
I also tried to go on a tandem paragliding trip, but got rained out twice. Boo. Oh well, maybe the next time I make it Lima.
My last destination (at least for this post) was Nazca. A small city that lies in the middle of the desert. Famed for the massive lines and geoglyphs that cover the desert, it easy to see that tourism is the main money making venture as soon as you step off the bus. A dozen guys are immediately on you trying to sell you a flight over the lines. I, however, booked mine in advance. Finally a chance to use my aerial setting on my camera.
From the small local airport, dozens upon dozens of flights leave all day to head over the open desert. We were in a small 4 person plane and while I have no real fear of flying, even that was a bit much for me at first. Once the pictures started showing up though, I was pleasantly distracted. There are 14 very clear pictures that are amazing and several other shapes and partial pictures to see. My favorite was either the monkey, with the crazy spiral tail or the baby condor. It baffles the mind to think how these shapes were made so big and so perfect with no real indication that they were visible from above as we were lucky enough to see them. They’re still trying to figure it out…
Well that’s all for now. *catches breath* I am headed off to Cuzco next and am trying to work myself up to eating Guinea Pig; apparently it’s a local delicacy.
Aynsley out!
