Colombia - Mass tourism at Caribbean coast and lost city
While I thought San Andrés was a shock in terms of city noise and buzz, arriving in Cartagena was another level. Especially within (and on) the walls of the historic center and the colorful neighbourhood of Getsemani there was neither a quiet corner nor moment; street parties, rooftop clubs and bars, and a lively restaurant scene (broad range and high standard) make Colombia‘s 5th largest city an attractive place for international tourists as well as local visitors. To my surprise I actually appreciated this colonial city and its vibes, with a blend of Caribbean, African and Spanish culture and colors, as touristy as it might be: sitting on the city wall sipping a beer and watching the sun set over the Caribbean seawith the distinguished skyline looming in from the left, busy street sellers offering beers, soft drinks and souvenirs, enjoying a good coffee in Getsemani among tons of street art...
Further to the East along the coast is Taganga, a small fishing village nestled in a tiny bay. This was the spot I had considered to stay for a month and obtain my dive master certification, as it is known for it‘s hippie vibes, classy but cheap scuba diving and beach parties.. I found the diving to be so so (the usual things, but a lot of dead corals), the entire village obnoxiously loud and I was not impressed by constantly being offered drugs. The first night I could barely sleep as a random neighbour of the hostel decided to put his sound system to the terrace and on full blast, no wonder people here need to shout always to make themselves heard; not my vibe and probably for the better I only stayed for two days of diving. At least one of the dives was good preparation for Galapagos with strong current and cold‘ish water (only 25°C 😉).
What was much more my vibe was the 4-day trek to the lost city (Ciudad Perdida). Though touristy, too, the trek offered a good physical challenge (60km+ with almost 3,000m altitude covered including a steep climb of 1,200 stony stairs to reach the actual lost city) at extreme humidity, and quite a spiritual experience on the top. Our group of 11 other internationals between 24-46 years old and two guides (one acting as interpreter) had a great energy and immediately felt like yet another travel family, not even a snake bite and evacuation of one other tourist (most venomous snake in South America, the guy felt better after 2 days) could ruin our spirit. Sleeping in bunk beds protected by mosquitos nets since the „buildings“ only had a roof but no walls, we got up around 5am every morning to beat the heat and cover most of the distance of the day before noon already; with heavy legs and darkness by 6pm (if generators were available they were switched off between 8-8.30pm) we turned in and slept super early and deep. Through different vegetation zones we passed farm land, then entered indigenous territory and gained some insights into the lifes of the Kogey tribe, even had the chance to meet their spiritual leader in the lost city. Every hill we climbed offered yet another great vista and regular dips into the river offered a cool-down; only to be drenched in sweat again five minutes later 😂
The climb was all worth it when we reached the top early morning on day 3, we were the first group to reach and just sitting down and meditating let me really feel the energy and peace of this place, a very spiritual experience with only the noise of birds around. Once a year in September the Ciudad Perdida is closed so that the indigenous can clear all the negative energy that tourists bring, a belief they have.
My last stop in Colombia for now (I might come back mid-May with Diana, though probably a different area then) was Santa Marta, Colombia‘s oldest colonial town from 1525, an ideal tourist hub to get to Ciudad Perdida, Minca and last city before Tayrona Nationalpark and eventually the Guijarra desert bordering Venezuela. I enjoyed some good international cuisine in Santa Marta, and did two day trips to the national park to visit Playa Cabo San Juan resp. Palomino, both of which are quite touristy but would have made a good choice to stay at for a night or two by the beach. The nationalpark offers some relaxed walks around palm trees, jungle or even right by the beach, unfortunately due to strong currents and swell a lot of beaches are not safe to swim. Due to a lack of time I wasn‘t able to visit the lesser visited beaches in between, those are bit more difficult to access.
Now it‘s time for a change of scenery again, leaving the Caribbean and its relentless sun behind and return to the Pacific Ocean - I’ll be following Darwin‘s footsteps the next two weeks on the Galapagos islands & hoping to see (and dive with) a great range of wildlife :)
Comments
es ist einfach toll deine Tour zu verfolgen! Pass auf dich auf! Ich hoffe, dass du nicht schon bald zurück musst.
Liebe Grüße,
Andy J.