It's difficult to leave Colombia...

In the minds of people who never visited Colombia this country still has a bad reputation of violence, narco-trafficking, the FARC guerrilla, etc. However, as soon as I arrived here I realised that the only risk in Colombia these days is not wanting to leave... 

I am now in the El Dorado airport of Bogota for my second attempt to leave, after having enjoyed a bonus week of holiday in Colombia (thanks to the US customs who refused my emergency passport -which caused no problems at all during 8 months of travelling through South America- for a transit in Atlanta)!

How to enjoy the last days in Colombia to the fullest?!?

First I traveled from the Caribbean coast to 'la zona cafetera' to visit a traditional coffee plantation in Salento, a beautiful small town excellent to relax and to enjoy the 'tinto' -black coffee- which is produced in an organic way in a lot of fincas in this area. Salento was also the perfect base for an early morning trip to the Cocora valley, an amazing valley featuring thousands of wax palm trees, the national tree of Colombia.

Still on a high from the organic coffee I arrived in Bogota and was lucky enough to be invited to stay at Oskar's place, a Colombian friend who I met a couple of weeks ago in the mountains of the Sierra de Cocuy. Oskar and his mum showed me once again the true meaning of Colombian hospitality... 'mi casa es tu casa', amazing food (amongst which all the fruit varieties you can possibly find in Colombia), helping me to find my way in the chaotic Bogotan public transportation system and lots of interesting talks (I remember one evening when I was 'interrogated' by Oskar and his mum about the my job, the international space station and... extraterrestrial life, haha!!!)

Strolling around in 'la Candelaria' -the old city centre-, going up to Montserate -the church and viewpoint on top of one of the mountains surrounding Bogota-, visiting the world famous gold museum, connecting again with some Colombian friends I made in the mountains, going out with these friends and learning how to dance reggeaton and champeta, rock climbing in Suesca during the weekends... Bogota was treating me very very well!!

Thanks to my bonus holiday week I could visit one more place in Colombia... I originally wanted to go to San Agustin, but the strikes and road blockings organised by discontent farmers all over the country decided differently and I ended up in Cali! Not bad either, knowing that Cali is Colombia's salsa capital!! A few lessons in the hostal and then the big test in Tin Tin Deo, one of the oldest and most famous salsa bars in town! It took some guts and quite some Pokers (one of the better Colombian beers) to start dancing and show our basic moves between all the natural-born salseros from Cali, but it made for a special evening out!

Time to board now... yes, this time it looks like I am really coming home.

Hasta luego America del Sur!!

 

   The coffee process from beginning to end - at organic finca Don Eduardo, Salento.

   Lush green scenery around Salento, a quiet and relaxing place.

   Salento's main street full of colourful houses and shops.

   Valley of Cocora...

   ... the early morning mist gave a little extra touch to the thousands of wax palm trees in Cocora!

   Cafe tienda 'Jesus Martin', my favourite place in Salento :-)

   @ the rocks in Suesca!! At the bottom right 'Salsa control', one of my first routes here!

   Between all the green stuff some beautiful routes are hidden!!

   It's Poker-time in Suesca after a weekend climbing with Oskar en Claudia.

   On the look-out...

   Sitting out the rain on a cosy ledge in 'mañana gris', a classic 70m route in Suesca.

   Bogota, seen from the vantage point of Montserate.

   One of the many head masks of the shamans on display in the gold museum.

   Pensador prehispanico. Don't know why, but this little statue inspires me and makes me think :-)

   Plaza Simon Bolivar, the heart of 'la Candelaria' in Bogota.

   The cathedral at Plaza Simon Bolivar with in the background Montserate.

   Plazulea de Chorro de Quevedo... this is where Bogota started, the first houses were built around this little plaza!

   The first church of Bogota on the Plazulea de Chorro de Quevedo...

   Bogota celebrates Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Gabo for the friends! He died recently on April 17th 2014.

   Little streets in 'la Candelaria'.

   Parque de gato in Cali... Me posing with a real 'Calena' :-)

   The last evening in Cali I found this... a sign to come home, I guess.

Chimba Colombia!

Final destination Colombia... 

In one word, Colombia is CHIMBA!! (The local slang for 'cool')

The people here are super friendly, hospitable and the overall vibe in Colombia is very relaxed!

Traveling around in this country makes you instantly happy :-)

My trip starts in the Sierra de Cocuy, an Andes mountain range NE of Bogota where I climb two mountains, and continues to the Caribbean coast where I relax at the incredible beaches of Tayrona, go and look for la Ciudad Perdida (the lost city) and hangout in the must-see city Cartagena! 

Right now I am slowly heading to Bogota, via the famous Colombian coffee region. 

It's almost time to go home...

Sierra de Cocuy

   The final (steep) meters to the summit of Ritakuwa Blanco (5300m).

   Cumbre!! Me and climbing buddy Frey on top of Ritakuwa Blanco.

   Enjoyable evenings in the mountains...

   Beautiful sunrise on Pan de Azucar (right) and Pulpito de Diablo (left).

   Juju, David and me, a great team to climb Pan de Azucar!

   The impressive Pulpito de Diablo seen from high up the mountain...

   Happy being on top of Pan de Azucar (5135m)!

Tayrona and Ciudad Perdida

   From the cold mountains straight to the Caribbean coast... aaaaaah :-)

   Sunsets at the beaches of Tayrona are simply stunning!!

   Yes, that swim was refreshing!!

   Sleeping at the beach, waking up when the sun rises, going for a swim... it's a hard life, especially at this kind of beaches :-)

   Lorenzo, my indigenous 'Wiwa' guide for the Lost City trek (la Ciudad Perdida).

   Indigenous village on the way.

   Wiwa girl.

   The start of the 1200 steps which lead to la Ciudad Perdida...

   I was lucky to have Lorenzo as my private guide, teaching me a lot about the indigenous people.

   La Ciudad Perdida!! A sacred place located high up in the jungle of Tayrona.

Cartagena 

   La Muralla, the city wall, one of the things which makes Cartagena a must-see city in Colombia.

   The old city if full of cosy and colourful small streets.

   'Vinde gij mijn gat nie te dik in deze rok?!?' 

   A Club Colombia beer helps to appreciate the art of Botero on Plaza Santo Domingo :-)

   Martina and me with the skyline of modern Cartagena.

   Typical souvenirs from Cartagena...

Last weeks in Argentina

When I leave Patagonia it is already end of March. This leaves me just two weeks more in Argentina before heading to Colombia. Bariloche and Buenos Aires are the two places I still want to explore!

The town of Bariloche is not that interesting -although it is famous for its good chocolate, ice-cream and artisanale beers- but the surrounding mountains are beautiful and ideal for some more trekking! The days before I arrive it has rained a lot in town and this means snow in the mountains... After the incredible good weather I had in Patagonia, it is a nice change to hike through these winter landscapes. Bariloche is sometimes still considered part of Patagonia and it is obvious why: blue lakes, granite peaks, amazing forests, big glaciers and condors!! After 5 days in the mountains the weather turns bad and it is time to enjoy the beers, chocolate and ice-cream in town :-) unfortunately it doesn't stop raining for 3 days in a row and my bus to Buenos Aires is delayed with 24hours...

But after rain comes sunshine... and eventually I get to Buenos Aires, the second time in my trip after the 1-day visit I did in February on my way to Paraguay. This time I a meeting up with Silvina, an Argentinean girl who lives, works and studies in BA. I got to know her on a bus a couple of months ago and she invited me to stay at her place in the centre of the city and proposed to be my personal guide! Perfect, because BA is quite expensive to stay and is too big to to try to discover on your own in just a couple of days. Especially for my birthday the whole country goes on strike against president Christina and the government who seem unable to stop the massive inflation in Argentina. There is no public transport in the entire city and a lot of highways are blocked... which makes it for us an enjoyable day to stroll around in a remarkably quiet Buenos Aires!! To finish the day we find some nice asado place (typical Argentinean BBQ) and enjoy live music, tango and red wine in a Milonga bar. Birthday in BA... it could be worse ;-)

   Arriving at Refugio Frey, a paradise for climbers (but not with this amount of snow...).

   The lake at Refugio Frey surrounded by hundreds of granite peaks!

   Traversing from Refugio Frey to Refugio Jakob, situated next to this lake.

   One of the many glaciers flowing down from mountain Tronador.

   Refugio Otto Meiling, a stunning location in between two of Tronadors glaciers!!

   Enjoying the views around Refugio Otto Meiling...

   ... and admiring the condors flying over the glaciers!

   5-star hotel Llao Llao at the shore of one of the lakes in Bariloche.

   La Casa Rosada, the government house, is really really pink in the evening/night!

   National strike on my birthday... enables us to enjoy a quiet day in Buenos Aires :-)

   Welcome to La Boca, one of the oldest districts in BA.

   Silvina and me in La Boca.

   Ah, yes, Argentineans are proud of their pope...

   3 famous Argentineans: Diego Maradona, Evita Peron and Carlos Gardel.

   The tomb of Evita Duarte (Peron) in the cemetery of Recoleta.

   In memory of Evita Peron...