Colombia

Prior to arriving I could name three famous Colombians, two footballers, Rene Higuita and Valderamma and one of the most infamous drug lords of all time, Pablo Escobar.  It’s an interesting trio and if you had to field a World XI of Flamboyant Characters of the past few decades you could argue a sound case for including each, their starting positions however may take a bit longer.

Strangely enough not all Colombians take after these three chaps, however from my time here there is a definite zest for life and they know how to enjoy themselves. I’d actually never intended to come to Colombia and it was only an opportune breakfast in Melbourne with a persuasive Bogota native prior to leaving that caused me to change my schedule and pencil in a week in Colombia.

Bogota from La Candelaria

As fortune would have it of the places I’ve visited to date, Colombia, and Bogota in particular, has been the location where I’ve spent time with people I knew, such as Javier (the other Valderamma) from our Sydney office, who just happened to be home for a visit at the same time as I, or friends of friends. 

Mini-Mal  Restaurateur, Eduardo

One of those was Sandra Valenzuela de Narvaez who is a Progamme Director for Colombia, Ecuador and Panama for WWF.  I'd been put in touch with Sandra through Darcey Hile who I'd met in Cambria, California. Sandra and I had a great evening discussing a board range of environmental topics, from Rio to the recently completed open air escalator in a favella in Medellin, Colombia's second city, designed to combat the cycle of social exclusion. Sandra had also suggest I check out a restaurant of a friend of hers, Mini-Mal that focuses on locally sourced Colombian cuisine prepared in a modern approach that seeks to minimise impacts on the environment in the food preparation and sourcing of ingredients. So one evening I took a cab with my camera gear across town and introducing myself to Restaurateur Eduardo sat down to one of the best meals of my trip to date. Unfortunately our Spanish and English abilities didn't allow for a more in depth discussion but I understand from Sandra that Mini-Mal is significantly influencing how food is sourced in the Bogota restaurant scene.

Bogota itself is a sprawling city of around 8 million, groaning under the weight of the associated traffic. It is not however in the same league as Sao Paulo and there are, and have been definite steps towards traffic management and making the city a more accessible location.  Primary amongst these is the dedicated and separated bus lane system that runs through the city, a cheaper and effective alternative to constructing a rail network. Prior to the introduction of this network the bus system was a multitude of smaller privately owned buses that will pick up and set down from any location, causing congestion and general traffic chaos.  These buses still exist, but by all accounts not to the previous extent.

As evidenced by the well heeled and moneyed Colombians the country feels like it is rapidly climbing out of the hole caused by the years lost fighting drug cartels and Pablo Escobar in particular.  A bemusing legacy from this time are Pablo’s hippos, while there are countless examples of the damage caused by introduced species, it will / would be fascinating to see if over time the Colombian hippos evolve differently to their African brethren, potentially developing an innate ability to salsa on cue.

Cartagena Old Town

After the cool of Cusco and similar conditions in Bogota I was hanging out for some heat and so booked myself a few days in Cartagena on the Caribbean Sea. Cartagena is hot and humid, about 33 during the day, dropping to 27 in the evening. Established in the 15th century it's historical significance stems from its ideal location for the Spanish conquistadors to ship the gold plundered from South America back to Spain without circumnavigating Panama.  As such the old walled town and fortifications are full of magnificent Spanish villas and intertwined narrow streets.  The culture is also a blend of African Caribbean and Latin America making for a heady mix and a lively nightlife, as experienced by the US Secret Service.  Added to this are stunning beaches and islands off the coast, that I and some other peeps from the hostel took in on a day trip. 


The time in Cartagena effectively ended the South American leg of my trip, which has felt like a taster that leaves me wanting more and to explore in greater depth what each country has to offer.

Islas del Rosaris