I was busy with my nose in a book on the small Caribbean Island of Providencia when I was interrupted by one of our new Dutch friends, Timo... "Michelle, I was in that hammock yesterday and in the afternoon I looked up and realised my head was right under the coconuts, just like yours is now. You should turn around because it would really hurt if one of those fell on your head!" Sure enough, 'death by coconut' is a thing and, according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_by_coconut,the most recent occurrence was in 2013. A reminder to all to be aware of your surroundings!
Medellin
We attended our first walking tour for the trip in Medellin after hearing excellent reviews. It was the first real history we'd heard on Colombia and it was fascinating. In approximately 20 years, Medellin has gone from being one of the most dangerous cities to live in the world, to winning the "Innovative City of the Year" award in 2012. The city improved accessibility by installing escalators and cable cars so those living in the steep mountainsides could more easily attend school and work. The pride and joy of Medellin is the metro which was installed in 1995 and still has no graffiti!
The city is using 'Democratic Architecture' to transform previously dangerous areas of the city into popular public places.
Lights in Parque de la Luz - illuminating a previously dangerous square at night time
This 'Bird of Peach' statue was blown up in 1995 at a music festival, killing up to 30 people and injuring over 200.
An identical statue has been built next to the old one as a symbol of peace and as a memoir for the victims
We signed up to attend a Futbol game with the hostel and were told we strictly needed to wear white T-shirts. This is because the section we were sitting in were under a sanction from the police following a violent outbreak a few games prior to this one. It was interesting to learn that only fans for the home team are allowed to attend the game because it's not safe for fans of the other team! When we got to the stadium it was easy to see why - the mood was electric and we were pleased the home team won (although curious to know what would happen if the other team scored!).
Antioquia is a great place for downhill mountain biking and as neither of us have tried it before we decided it would be the perfect time to have a go! The bikes were so cool and with very little effort we felt like we were flying down the hills. Most of it was wide gravel road and not terribly steep… until we could prove to the guide we had some balance and could control a bike. Then the fun started… with a Class 5 track! We had no chance and just walked our bikes down that one. After a few more (Class 3 tracks) though we were feeling much more confident and Pah-ritty Ex-treme… until we saw the GoPro footage!
We have a newfound respect for downhill riders that's for sure!
Isla de Providencia
Despite spending time in Cartagena and Santa Marta, we didn't feel like we'd had the true Caribbean experience... so packed up and headed to Isla de Providencia, an island midway between Costa Rica and Jamaica.
Providencia Island and Crab Cay from above
The pace of life certainly changed, with the most difficult decisions being "which hammock shall I use today?" and "which of the fresh lobster/fish/prawns shall we eat for lunch?"
South West Bay - our favourite beach
Big day in the hammock
Sunset beers on our beach
Marty did four diving trips and saw many sharks as well as lion fish and a feisty eel! We also saw sharks and lots of different coral on a snorkelling trip around the island.
View from Crab Cay
Saturday is Race Day on the island. Two horses race along the beach and are shortly followed by a band of shouting locals. Photo credit: Timo
We made friends with a Dutch couple, Brazilian couple and Polish-Italian couple and we formed a (pink) scooter gang and spent most evening searching for places for dinner and beach parties.
Enjoying a limon de coco con ron
Loving the freedom a scooter brings
Guatape (Gwa-ta-pay)
After a week in the Caribbean we flew our newly tanned selves back to Medellin with the plan to spend a few days in Guatape. We had actually already visited Guatape on a day-trip with our Medellin hostel… but there was something about this town that drew us (Marty) back. In the 1960's the government flooded the valley to create a reservoir for a hydro-electric dam. The result is a beautiful body of fresh water which is well protected from wind… perfect conditions for wake boarding!!
El Peñol (top) and the view from the top.
Rather than spending ~$50 on a taxi from the airport to Guatape, it was recommended we try to flag down a bus on the highway that was heading in the direction of the town. One of the things we've found in Colombia is that whenever we are looking lost (usually to do with public transport) someone will approach and offer to help us. After 30 minutes of waiting on the side of the road and trying to get a glimpse of the destination of a bus as it flew past us, a young man left his shop and crossed the six lane highway to assist us. He sat with us for almost another 30 minutes and helped us flag down the correct bus. Muy amable!
The colourful town of Guatape
As it turned out, Sergio (the guy taking us wake boarding) was actually Marty's Colombian soul mate. After an hour on the water, Sergio parked the boat outside his house and invited us in for a drink. Sergio also plays the alto sax, piano and guitar and of course, loves water-sports. His dog, Dexter, joined the three of us for the last run and then for a beer at the marina.
Happy to be on the water
Dexter!!
Salento
From Guatape we caught a bus to Salento, which is in the Zona Cafetera of Colombia. Although Colombia is famous for its coffee, the coffee in Colombia isn't usually that good as they export ~80% of produce to other countries. For this reason we were very excited to be in Salento. We took the Don Elias coffee tour and, I must admit, for someone who loves coffee I really didn't know much about the production of coffee!
Don Elias Coffee Farm
Zona Cafetera is in the mountains and is the perfect climate for coffee plants - they love sun, but not toooo much sun. Don Elias is an organic farm and it's impressive to see how they use other plants to help with the growing of coffee. For example; Avocado trees provide the perfect compost when the fruit falls, plantain (very close relative to banana) trees provide shade and supply water via the root system when the weather is dry and the sweetness of pineapple plants attracts insects to stop them attacking the coffee plant.
Coffee beans
Machine that removes husks (top) and drying the beans (bottom)
Roasting (top) and grinding (bottom)
The final and most important stage...
Salento is definitely on the backpacker trail which has resulted in a few really good western restaurants and (we are a little ashamed to say) we took full advantage of this, enjoying perfectly cooked fillet mignon and many coffees at our favourite cafe 'Jesus Martin' (the name helped).
Backpacking's not so bad...
Marty's new acquaintance...
Although we really liked Salento, we ended up staying longer than anticipated due to Marty's latest acquaintance, Giardia. After 2 weeks of runny tummy we took our medical Spanish to the pharmacy and acquired some antibiotics. This seemed to help but a week later there was still trouble and so a visit to the doctor in Huaraz (Peru) was in order. Thankfully a sample was able to be provided and Giardia, a very common parasite was identified and the appropriate medication provided. After three days all was resolved and just in time for some fantastic hikes! … but we'll save those for the next post :)
More! More!
ReplyDeleteWOW WOW WOW!! What an amazing adventure you're having! Xoxo
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