Once again, it's been several weeks since our last update. We aren't very good at blogging.
To get to Playa Blanca, we rode a city bus for about an hour to a little suburb of Cartagena called Pasacaballo. From there we took a motor taxi, out to the beach. Kim was a little hesitant to get on the back of a motorcycle, but it was the cheapest option and probably the most fun option as well.
We got off the motorcycles and walked a short ways down to the beach. After 2 weeks in Colombia, we were finally on a beautiful white sand blue water beach. Kim and I found a nice cabana, dropped our stuff off, and laid on the beach drinking coke and rum all afternoon. The first night was peaceful and relaxing, with just a few people on the beach besides us. The next morning however, we got a taste of why some people left negative reviews of the beach. Big motor boats come roaring in at 9am and drop off between 10 and 30 people each, which means the beach is crowded and there are a lot of boats moving around in the water which really discourged us from swimming. Everything was a little more expensive on the beach, and we had a limited amount of cash, so after one day we headed back to Cartagena to pick up our things from Jaime and Yaneth and get ready to head onto Santa Marta.
The bus to Santa Marta was pretty easy, about 4 hours, and really more of a van than a bus. We stayed in a gigantic hostel called La Brisa Loca (I think their website says they have room for 72 people). The rooftop has been converted into a lounge area with couches and hammocks and we spent our first afternoon relaxing on the roof reading. There isn't a whole lot for foreigners to do in Santa Marta, it's more of a jumping point for tourists who are heading off to other nearby attractions. For us, we had two days before we were heading to Barranquilla to see the second largest Carnaval in South America (Rio de Janeiro being the largest). Our plan was to meet up with some people we knew from language school in Catagena, and we wanted to get an early start and avoid any extra traffic heading to Barranquilla for Carnaval. So we decided we would wake up at 6:30am and try to be on a bus by 8am heading to Barranquilla.
Our hostel, however, was having a party to celebrate the beginning of Carnaval. They had two DJ's, one for the rooftop and one for the bar on the floor we were staying on. The music was blasted until around 3am. Neither of us were really able to sleep, but I was able to drift into a quasi-slumber around 1:30am. And this was promptly ruined by a fine gentleman who decided to quit partying around 2:30am. I believe he had been dancing at the party for quite some time. He decided it would be fine to blast the AC, which just happened to blow directly onto the bunk I was half sleeping in. It took me an hour of trying to find a mixture of bundled sheets and then looking for the AC remote before I crawled into bed with Kim - who was also having issues sleeping. In all, I think we both had about 3 hours of sleep, before we headed off to the second biggest party on the continent.
We made our bus and caught an extra hour of sleep on the way to Barranquilla. Upon arrival, we dropped our stuff off at the house we were staying at - a local family that our friends from school had connections with. Then we walked down towards the parade, but since the tickets to get into the parade are quite expensive on day one, we decided to try and find a spot outside of the gates and watch the parade from there. It was quite obvious that the organizers of Carnaval knew how to make their money, as there were very few spaces to catch a free glimpse of the parade, and they really were just glimpses. Ultimately we saw a group of Colombians standing on a balcony, and we decided to climb up the wall and join them for the afternoon. At first, I think they were surprised and maybe a little hesitant to have 5 gringos joining them for Carnaval. The balcony really did have quite a poor view of the parade, and I think the locals assume that most tourists want to pay to get into the stands for the parade. But we stuck it out, and although we couldn't really see much of the parade, we had an absolute blast partying with the Colombians on the rooftop. As soon as the parade started, they broke out canisters of foam with which to spray everyone around them, including us. The foam continued for several hours, as if the Colombian canisters never actually empied of foam. Eventually I did climb back down and buy a few cans of foam so we could take some revenge on them for all the foam they had dowsed us with. But the foam was followed with handfuls of flour being tossed into your face. In the end, the Colombians genuinely seemed to enjoy our company, and were sad when we told them we were leaving (although it ended up being just to use the bathroom and find some quick food, as the balcony was by far the best place to be - both for fun and to see the parade without paying).
At the end of the parade, we all took quick showers, went and had some dinner in Barranquilla, and then walked to a plaza that one of our fellow balcony members had suggested as a place to go dance after the parade. There were probably thousands of people dancing and eating and drinking in this plaza, and of course we could see more foam and more flour flying through the air. We plunged into the sea of people and made some room for ourselves and danced our version of salsa for an hour or two (we had the opportunity to take Salsa dance lessons in Cartagena, but Kim wanted to focus on studying Spanish, so now she just mocks my inability to dance like the locals).
The next day, Kim and I weren't really sure whether we would head back to Santa Marta early or try to buy tickets and have a better view of the parade. It was Sunday morning, and we had booked a 5 day backpacking trip to the Ciudad Perdida (Lost City) which started on Monday - more on that to follow. In the end we decided to go for it, and although it meant getting less rest before our trip to the Ciudad Perdida, we had such a different experience inside the gates of the parade. Aside from being able to take a ton of pictures of Carnaval, the experience in the stands is far more tranquil than if you're on the outside. I noticed that the police were confiscating bottles of liquor and foam from people trying to enter the stands - it had more of a family vibe. Between our two days at Carnaval, we had an amazing and exhausting experience. I'm hoping to post some of the pictures from Carnaval (and from the rest of our trip), on facebook shortly after this blog post.
After spending a second day at Carnaval, Kim and I dragged ourselves onto a bus back to Santa Marta. I only brought one set of clothes to Carnaval, I guess I wasn't expecting to be assaulted with foam and flour, so I was quite disgusting. We had less than 24 hours to clean up, and then pack a bag for a 5 day backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevada jungle. For both of us, it was our first experience backpacking with a guide, but you aren't allowed to hike the trail without a guide. What this meant as far as planning goes is that we only had to pack the clothes we needed, and any extras like cameras and toiletries. The guide company cooks your meals and they have beds set up for you in designated areas on the way.
The Ciudad Perdida - the Lost City - is the ruins of a city formerly inhabited by at least 2000 indigenous people known as the Taironas. The city was built around 800 AD, but it was likely abandoned around the time the Spanish arrived as the people began to contract European diseases. Known as Teyuna, many of the native groups that live in the area likely knew about the city - but chose not to share information about it with outsiders - well before it was "rediscovered" in the 70's. The city gained popularity in the 80's when National Geographic wrote an article about it, and then again in 2003 when tourists who had been camping in the ruins were kidnapped by the FARC. Increasing tourism in Colombia was a focus of the governement, and the Colombian army was sent into the Sierra Nevadas around Santa Marta and helped to remove the presence of the FARC and allow multiple tour groups to run trips to the city without issues. When we reached the city on the 3rd day, we saw armed soldiers in what seemed to be a permanent military post in the city.
The hike itself was quite challening, most of the trail was either steep incline or decline. On one hand, I felt that we didn't need a guide - Kim and I both have a pretty solid background of backpacking and a 5 day hike isn't so difficult. The trail, while challenging physically, is very easy to follow. You would really have to try and get lost. But Kim pointed out that having a guide helps to make sure that tourists are being respectful of the environment (something we noticed was lacking when we backpacked in Patagonia), and also to be respectful of the native people who live near the trail. In the end, we had some pretty good food and our guide was informative (see most of the last paragraph) and friendly - each morning before we started hiking we would hear him shouting to us in a thick accent, "Okay! Chicos! Shake - and - bake - man!"
After spending one more night in Santa Marta, we made it out to a beautifully empty beach in Palomino. The waves here are very rough, and there are multiple signs all over the beach warning of the rip tide - we saw someone being helped back to shore by a local with a surfboard the other day. The water here isn't as stunningly blue as at Playa Blanca, but I feel as though I could spend a month here on the beach and it would feel like 5 days. The pace is perpetually slow, and we're both enjoying it. We went tubing on the Palomino River yesterday - a very slow, lazy river - and hopefully I will get to try to surf for the first time. Life is great here, and if it wasn't so expensive to be on the beach, we would probably stay here for much longer. But we sent out emails to farms last Friday, Feb 20th, and we will be making phone calls if we don't hear back from them soon. We're trying to keep an open mind about the work exchange, but there is a community for people with disabilities about an hour outside of Bogota, and I think both of us are hoping to hear back from them and maybe spend 4 to 6 weeks volunteering there before heading to Ecuador.
Also, I asked Kim to marry me tonight and she said yes. We've got the rest of this year to enjoy traveling, but now I'm traveling with my fiancee.
Our hostel, however, was having a party to celebrate the beginning of Carnaval. They had two DJ's, one for the rooftop and one for the bar on the floor we were staying on. The music was blasted until around 3am. Neither of us were really able to sleep, but I was able to drift into a quasi-slumber around 1:30am. And this was promptly ruined by a fine gentleman who decided to quit partying around 2:30am. I believe he had been dancing at the party for quite some time. He decided it would be fine to blast the AC, which just happened to blow directly onto the bunk I was half sleeping in. It took me an hour of trying to find a mixture of bundled sheets and then looking for the AC remote before I crawled into bed with Kim - who was also having issues sleeping. In all, I think we both had about 3 hours of sleep, before we headed off to the second biggest party on the continent.
We made our bus and caught an extra hour of sleep on the way to Barranquilla. Upon arrival, we dropped our stuff off at the house we were staying at - a local family that our friends from school had connections with. Then we walked down towards the parade, but since the tickets to get into the parade are quite expensive on day one, we decided to try and find a spot outside of the gates and watch the parade from there. It was quite obvious that the organizers of Carnaval knew how to make their money, as there were very few spaces to catch a free glimpse of the parade, and they really were just glimpses. Ultimately we saw a group of Colombians standing on a balcony, and we decided to climb up the wall and join them for the afternoon. At first, I think they were surprised and maybe a little hesitant to have 5 gringos joining them for Carnaval. The balcony really did have quite a poor view of the parade, and I think the locals assume that most tourists want to pay to get into the stands for the parade. But we stuck it out, and although we couldn't really see much of the parade, we had an absolute blast partying with the Colombians on the rooftop. As soon as the parade started, they broke out canisters of foam with which to spray everyone around them, including us. The foam continued for several hours, as if the Colombian canisters never actually empied of foam. Eventually I did climb back down and buy a few cans of foam so we could take some revenge on them for all the foam they had dowsed us with. But the foam was followed with handfuls of flour being tossed into your face. In the end, the Colombians genuinely seemed to enjoy our company, and were sad when we told them we were leaving (although it ended up being just to use the bathroom and find some quick food, as the balcony was by far the best place to be - both for fun and to see the parade without paying).
At the end of the parade, we all took quick showers, went and had some dinner in Barranquilla, and then walked to a plaza that one of our fellow balcony members had suggested as a place to go dance after the parade. There were probably thousands of people dancing and eating and drinking in this plaza, and of course we could see more foam and more flour flying through the air. We plunged into the sea of people and made some room for ourselves and danced our version of salsa for an hour or two (we had the opportunity to take Salsa dance lessons in Cartagena, but Kim wanted to focus on studying Spanish, so now she just mocks my inability to dance like the locals).
The next day, Kim and I weren't really sure whether we would head back to Santa Marta early or try to buy tickets and have a better view of the parade. It was Sunday morning, and we had booked a 5 day backpacking trip to the Ciudad Perdida (Lost City) which started on Monday - more on that to follow. In the end we decided to go for it, and although it meant getting less rest before our trip to the Ciudad Perdida, we had such a different experience inside the gates of the parade. Aside from being able to take a ton of pictures of Carnaval, the experience in the stands is far more tranquil than if you're on the outside. I noticed that the police were confiscating bottles of liquor and foam from people trying to enter the stands - it had more of a family vibe. Between our two days at Carnaval, we had an amazing and exhausting experience. I'm hoping to post some of the pictures from Carnaval (and from the rest of our trip), on facebook shortly after this blog post.
After spending a second day at Carnaval, Kim and I dragged ourselves onto a bus back to Santa Marta. I only brought one set of clothes to Carnaval, I guess I wasn't expecting to be assaulted with foam and flour, so I was quite disgusting. We had less than 24 hours to clean up, and then pack a bag for a 5 day backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevada jungle. For both of us, it was our first experience backpacking with a guide, but you aren't allowed to hike the trail without a guide. What this meant as far as planning goes is that we only had to pack the clothes we needed, and any extras like cameras and toiletries. The guide company cooks your meals and they have beds set up for you in designated areas on the way.
The Ciudad Perdida - the Lost City - is the ruins of a city formerly inhabited by at least 2000 indigenous people known as the Taironas. The city was built around 800 AD, but it was likely abandoned around the time the Spanish arrived as the people began to contract European diseases. Known as Teyuna, many of the native groups that live in the area likely knew about the city - but chose not to share information about it with outsiders - well before it was "rediscovered" in the 70's. The city gained popularity in the 80's when National Geographic wrote an article about it, and then again in 2003 when tourists who had been camping in the ruins were kidnapped by the FARC. Increasing tourism in Colombia was a focus of the governement, and the Colombian army was sent into the Sierra Nevadas around Santa Marta and helped to remove the presence of the FARC and allow multiple tour groups to run trips to the city without issues. When we reached the city on the 3rd day, we saw armed soldiers in what seemed to be a permanent military post in the city.
The hike itself was quite challening, most of the trail was either steep incline or decline. On one hand, I felt that we didn't need a guide - Kim and I both have a pretty solid background of backpacking and a 5 day hike isn't so difficult. The trail, while challenging physically, is very easy to follow. You would really have to try and get lost. But Kim pointed out that having a guide helps to make sure that tourists are being respectful of the environment (something we noticed was lacking when we backpacked in Patagonia), and also to be respectful of the native people who live near the trail. In the end, we had some pretty good food and our guide was informative (see most of the last paragraph) and friendly - each morning before we started hiking we would hear him shouting to us in a thick accent, "Okay! Chicos! Shake - and - bake - man!"
After spending one more night in Santa Marta, we made it out to a beautifully empty beach in Palomino. The waves here are very rough, and there are multiple signs all over the beach warning of the rip tide - we saw someone being helped back to shore by a local with a surfboard the other day. The water here isn't as stunningly blue as at Playa Blanca, but I feel as though I could spend a month here on the beach and it would feel like 5 days. The pace is perpetually slow, and we're both enjoying it. We went tubing on the Palomino River yesterday - a very slow, lazy river - and hopefully I will get to try to surf for the first time. Life is great here, and if it wasn't so expensive to be on the beach, we would probably stay here for much longer. But we sent out emails to farms last Friday, Feb 20th, and we will be making phone calls if we don't hear back from them soon. We're trying to keep an open mind about the work exchange, but there is a community for people with disabilities about an hour outside of Bogota, and I think both of us are hoping to hear back from them and maybe spend 4 to 6 weeks volunteering there before heading to Ecuador.
Also, I asked Kim to marry me tonight and she said yes. We've got the rest of this year to enjoy traveling, but now I'm traveling with my fiancee.
Love the update...can't wait to see photos. Congratulations to you both. Dad and I love you both and just want you to have the best time.
ReplyDelete