Colombia: the good, the wonderful and the ugly
I’d taken the step. The flights were booked. I’d be on my way to Colombia in no time! The months leading up to my trip, however, made me somewhat apprehensive. ‘Don’t get kidnapped by drug barons’ one friend joked to me. The worry that washed over my relative’s face when I told her I was heading to Colombia sent my stomach turning.
To add to my growing anxiety, a friend was telling me about his trip to Colombia only a few months before. His friend was shot in the face during a robbery gone wrong. By some miracle, she was okay but, if that didn’t instil fear, then I don’t know what would.
And before I knew it, touch down. I had arrived in this country that spiked my curiosity and scared the hell out of me all at the same time. After jumping in an Uber from the airport, I watched from the window as Bogota after dark passed me by. With my friend’s chilling recount of his time here not budging from my mind, I tried to imagine all the good things I’d find in this intriguing country.
And, you know, I can safely say that Colombia really is one the most beautiful countries I’ve ever visited.
My first morning didn’t start off as planned. Lying frustrated in bed at 5am, my brain wired, but mainly confused from jetlag, I decided to get up. As always when I arrive in a new country, the first thing to do is chat to people in my hostel and learn about things to see, what to eat and general tips for this unknown land.
The receptionist at the hostel showed me a city map of Bogota. He drew a red line along a nearby road and said ‘Basically, just don’t go past this street’. Venturing out, I wondered what lingered beyond that red line. I’m sure I imagined something worse than reality but, I wasn’t planning on crossing it.
A full day of sightseeing passed, experiencing beautiful graffiti, learning about the history of Colombia and generally just taking in the atmosphere of this new culture. In the evening, I sat in the bar of the hostel where I met three Colombians over a game of La Rana (a traditional game of throwing disks into holes to score points).
Between me trying to dig up my Spanish that had been buried somewhere in my mind and Carlos, who spoke much better English than my Spanish, we had a great time learning about each other’s lives. The next day, we all met up for a hike to the best view point in Bogota, Monserrat. It was something to remember but, what was even more memorable was spending time with people from Colombia. I learnt so much about their views, way of life and actually how similar we are in many ways.
I moved on to the mountains, specifically Salento. Surrounded by coffee farms, plantain trees and exotic birds everywhere, this place was paradise. I went horse-riding up the river which was a serene experience and hiked through Cocora Valley, home to the tallest palm trees in the world.
“my heart felt warmed, and not just from the rum”
I headed to a billiards bar where ‘Tres Bandas’, a popular Colombian game, had me peering across to the next table. Involving just three balls and no pockets (yes, a pool table without pockets) players aim to hit three sides of the table and all the balls in play. I ended up playing with a Colombian family and, due to their Colombian kindness, they starting buying me drinks.
After many shots of Ron Viejo de Caldas (the tastiest rum I’ve ever tried!), it was time to go home. My heart felt warmed, and not just from the rum. Genuine kindness to strangers is not so common in the UK and it still surprises me. It seems to be common amongst what they call ‘third-world’ countries. After a sweet goodbye, they insisted I contact them in case I needed anything during my time in Colombia.
A couple of weeks later on my adventures in Colombia and I arrived in Barranquilla. Hosting the second largest carnival in South America, I knew I couldn’t miss it. Evening festivities were kicking off as my bus arrived in the city at 6pm.
Suddenly, the carnival had surrounded us. The banging drums sent the sound waves reverberating through the street. Hordes of people jumped, danced and ambled around the cars. Despite the tinted windows of the cool air-conditioned bus, I could see pops of neon all around. I was desperate to get out there, especially as it looked warm, and this bus was blasting cold air. After a 30-minute hold-up, the bus pulled into its destination.
Barely a moment passed to get settled into the hostel and I was off out. With some friends I had met in Palomino, we went out to see what carnival was all about. Right around the corner from our hostel, we came across a block party full of people crowded in front of a mammoth speaker. We slipped in amongst the crowd and took in our surroundings. Occasionally, someone would fly above the crowd, being thrown up by friends.
White spray was being squirted everywhere, as well as bags of flour. People passed us, faces covered in the stuff. Amidst the madness, I spotted couples embracing each other, dancing bachata (a sensual dance focused on the hips and small steps). This is one thing I love about Colombia; everyone knows how to dance. It was mesmerising to watch these couples. The two days I spent at carnival were chaos but I loved it. Despite a few of my friends getting pickpocketed, it was a fun and joyful experience. A true example of how Colombians like to party.
Last stop before heading back to Bogota was San Gil. A nice quiet mountain town was exactly what I wanted. If it was anything like my time in Salento, it would be a perfect end to my trip. Boy, was I wrong.
It was very hot with the midday sun beating down. All I wanted to do was cool off in a fresh waterfall. So, I headed to the closest one I could find online. An old man sat at the gate to the waterfall in a worn wooden chair. He told me it was 5000 pesos entry, to which I obliged. I walked down and found exactly what I needed. A blue, fresh waterfall with a deep pool to swim in. Perfect.
I left my stuff on a rock which I kept an eye on and plunged. A group of boys were jumping from the waterfall and showing me where to jump. Despite their encouragement, I didn’t want to jump. Not out of fear, but I wanted to stay close to my stuff, though it clearly wasn’t close enough. For their kindness was merely a distraction and, before I knew it, they ran off with my bag. Phone, money, cards and all. As soon as I realised, I chased them onto the street (imagine me standing soaking wet in a bikini in the middle of a main road with big trucks passing by). But it was too late.
The next day, I spent the whole morning trying to report the crime to the police (much more difficult than it sounds). Having explained what happened, they also told me the guy charging us entry to the waterfalls was not legitimate. Great.
“when we started spinning upwards, things turned sideways”
The original reason I came to San Gil was to paraglide. I decided, despite this knockback, I still needed to enjoy my last few days. To end my trip on a high, literally. Before I knew it, I was soaring through the air, it was exhilarating. However, when we started spinning upwards things turned sideways. Let’s just put it this way, landing with your own bag of sick in your hand is not quite the exhilarating adventure it sounds.
What I learnt in Colombia, and even just writing this blog post on my return, is that there is light everywhere you go. Of course, some places can be tarnished by certain experiences, ideas or even individual people but, those beautiful experiences you do have, shine through.
Despite meeting people who had bad experiences, despite being robbed myself in my last few days of my trip in Colombia, I know I would go back in a heartbeat. You do have to be careful and you can’t go round trusting everyone but, when you follow your intuition and meet those people who are also on your wavelength, it’s totally worth it.
To share one piece of advice if you are thinking of visiting Colombia; always follow your gut.
But also, DO IT! One stolen phone versus a month of incredible memories, new friends around the world and exposure to one of the most vibrant, passionate cultures is really a no-brainer.
