Carnival in Colombia

So we left  the comfort of our cosy camp in Ecuador and headed for the border safe in the knowledge we would be in Colombia that evening, meaning we were getting close to the 2^nd biggest party in South America, however before we got to Barranquilla there was lots to see and do.

Our border crossing was one of the fastest of the trip and Simon actually had all the papers for the truck sorted to enter Columbia before everyone had stamps in their passport and changed up some dollars to Columbian pesos, (at 2000 to the dollar you feel very rich in Colombia) as soon as we crossed the border we knew we had changed countries as it was a visible change and we were once more aware that we were traveling north up the Andes!

Si and Ithaca entering Colombia

Money changing - want to be a millionaire?  Come to Colombia!

El overlanders

Arriving in Pasto late afternoon meant we had time to have a look around the town before it got dark and left again the next morning safe in the knowledge the next stop would be the last one-night stop for a long time. The drive to Popayan gave yet more spectacular views of the beautiful Colombian countryside.  We stopped for lunch in what can only be described as a one street town, Simon parked up opposite a police checkpoint and thought wise to check that it was ok to leave Ithaca there for an hour before every one spread out to various eating establishments on the road once more we wound our way back up out the valley to Popayan and although this was a one night stop it gave us an idea of what to look forward to on the way back south when we would spend two nights in this beautiful town.

Drive to Popayan

That evening Emma and Simon went and got the food for the next couple of days as we were off to San Augustin and camping the next day. The drive to San Augustin although not very far took 7 hours as we wound our way up and over the mountains spending a lot to time bouncing along the narrow dirt road however the views were spectacular and made the journey fly on by with a quick ‘on the road’ lunch, literally, as there was no other solid ground other than the road. Thankfully this route isn’t very busy although when we did meet oncoming traffic it seemed that it was either in a narrow stretch or on a blind corner keeping Simon on his toes.

Lunch on the road enroute to San Agustin

Only slightly disturbed by a few trucks

San Augustin is full of history and archaeology, while some of us took a jeep tour others went walking but most of us went on a tour of four sights on horseback we had a fantastic guide who sadly only spoke Spanish so once more Emma’s Spanish was put to good use however our local guide was very clear and slow when he spoke so many of us were able to understand a lot of what he was telling us. The whole area was a sacred place for burial and atop of the graves were placed volcanic stone carvings some of owls and others humans with animal features such jaguar teeth and the more elaborate the carving the higher the status in the community.  There is even the tomb of a shaman, the highest ranking person in the community, with sculpture barring the entrance this was a real show of status with the sculptures even having colour. In all the day was a great mix of history and adrenalin as some of us tested our our galloping skills while riding between sites. It was also a sobering reminder of Colombia’s turbulent history when our guide told us that 10 years ago the roads around San Augustin weren’t safe to travel even as a Colombian due to guerrilla fighters and drug cartels, this is a country coming out of a dark period and they are proud and positive about the future, it’s an honour to be here at such an exciting time. The area is now safe as the production of coca has moved further south (as the climate is more suited there) and has now been replaced by crops and coffee!!!

Professional horse team

Indiana Simon

Ann in her element

Bartley and the team

Shaman grave statue

Totem of a mother with baby

Totem and Maddie

Coffee beans grown near San Agustin

San Agustin camp

San Agustin hammock

From San Augustin we headed North to the capital Bogota on yet more mountain roads. It was slow going once again but as always stunning. Bogota is nestled in a hanging valley meaning it is surrounded by mountains making it nice and cool which was just as well as many of the group chose to organize a cycle tour around the city, a great way of visiting many sites in a short space of time. Others simply wandered the streets and squares visiting sights such as the gold museum and Simon Bolivar square to name but a few. We were staying in the student quarter which meant there was no shortage of night life, the students have made the area their own, busking and putting on shows in the squares at night, which draw good sized crowds and were well worth a stop at!

Bogota

Outskirts of Bogota

Bogota bike tour

Lou and Maddie on the bike tour

Bogota graffiti

Simon...  Bolivar...

Eamon's new hat

Lou and Maddie at the bull ring

Had to wait for the security guard to leave to get this one...

Our time in the capital had ended and as the truck was loaded there were a few heavy heads climbing aboard and settling in for another stunning drive this time to San Gil (pronounced ‘San Hill.’) En route we had a lunch stop at the ‘Pork Palace’ where USD$5 buys you a small mountain of pork in various forms. Colombian food is amazing.

House of Pork lunch stop enroute to San Gil

San Gil is the adventure capital of Colombia and saw the group off rafting, river boarding, paragliding and mountain biking. Our man on the ground was local expat Aussie Shaun who was super helpful and met us at a restaurant the first night to give us the lowdown on all the activities. He also went above and beyond after Hannah fell of her mountain bike, helping with translation at the hospital. Thankfully after a thorough check over and some much needed rest she was fine. San Gil has been a tourist town for many years but traditionally it has been domestic tourism so it has retained its air of Colombian chaos to match the rest of the country!

Beautiful San Gil

San "Hill"

Triona and Kelly before paragliding

Kelly

Flying over the canyon

From here the next destination was Tayrona National Park up on the Caribbean coast. This was always going to be a big haul and Simon and Emma debated long and hard on whether it was going to be too far. In the end the decision was made that a long day was preferential to losing a day relaxing on a Caribbean beach (decision well made!) After a very late arrival and midnight dinner we all crashed out either in our tents or at the bar but sunrise gave us our first view of our paradise camp.

Tayrona paradise

For some the thought of lazing in a hammock was perfect and they didn’t move all day, Hannah, Maddie and Glenn got stuck into the surf and others set about mastering the art of slack lining, walking a 2-inch strap stretched between two trees. It sounds easy but isn’t as all those that tried found out at some point . Our second night saw Emma cooking up a storm trying out homemade (well, truckmade) arepas, a local cornmeal cake similar to a potato cake and beach BBQ, well it would have been rude not to! On the second day several people went into the National Park following the trails to the beaches and returned with tails of beautiful bays and jungle walks. Our time in this tropical paradise drew to a close with a lazy start to the day before we headed off to the chaos of carnival in Barranquilla just a couple of hours down the road.

Sand surfing (too hot to stand on)

Tayrona R&R at the bar

Not bad really

Ithaca relaxing under the coconut trees

Ann in the national park

Slack-line AJ

Hannah's permanent home in Tayrona

Team slack line

Simon showing how it's done

Simon showing how it's not done

Maddie follows Simon's advice

Kelly and Johnny (and a few tequilas)

Sunset in Tayrona

Prepping the fire for our BBQ

Carnival could well be described as a tomato puree of Colombia in general, i.e. a super concentrated version of Colombian chaos, with loud, fast music coming from every direction at all times of day and night. Basically it’s pretty well a week long party. Luckily none of us had trouble finding our inner Colombian or releasing our happy hips.

A blur of parades, music, dancing, food, foam, flour and chaos ensued. Most of the group headed down to the main parade on route 40 which shut down for 4 days to host the seemingly non-stop stream of dancers, costumes and music. Everyone embraced the chaos, or should I say created it, in the palco (stand.) But this wasn’t the only parade in town, just around the corner from our hotel a local parade was held where no tickets were required and you merely muscled your way to the front or hired a garden chair for the day and tried to shelter from the intense sunshine. If anything the chaos here was even more extreme as hoards of children armed with ‘espuma’ (foam) cans attacked anyone who moved, particularly innocent looking Gringos. Here the dancers were younger, lots of kids dance troupes showed off the local dances, costumes and traditions, mixed in with boys dressed as girls, people dressed as animals and even a team of very non-professional men doing a storming rendition of the Grease Megamix to break up the Latin American music! There were even ladies in their 70s and 80s dressed up in brilliant colours strutting their stuff. In Colombia you are born with music in your soul, you come in to the world dancing and keep dancing until you drop! The history and culture of this festival is as important as the foam and beer, the dances all tell a story and feature colourful characters. Many originate from Africa from slaves brought over in the days of slavery in Colombia, some from Spain with big frilly skirts and straw hats and some are native Colombian. The culture in this area is a melting pot and very different to the Andean South, it’s a wonderful cross between laid back Caribbean island and fast-paced chaotic Latin American.

Ready for carnival

Aguadiente (Colombian spirit) carrying device

Triona

Colombians start dancing young and never stop

Floats

The crowd descends into chaos...  the ever present 'espuma' (foam)

Though admittedly the chaos was led mainly by us

Johnny

Lou

Kelly

AJ and Hannah aftermath

AJ and Hannah after-aftermath

'removing cornflour from eye' technique

Donna

Hannah (apparently)

Glenn and Donna post-foam (it dries pretty quickly in the blistering Caribbean sun)

After the days of mayhem and rum many of us would retreat to what was to become our local beer establishment for a nightly after party. Our venue was a corner shop which came armed with a juke box. We were given dancing lessons by the locals and thoroughly adopted by every Colombian we met, they’d hand out food, drink, foam and flowers to all of us and give us the usual chorus of ‘Welcome to Colombia, do you like my country? We are happy to have you here. I hope you enjoy it!’

Bartley and Triona at the best after party around the corner from the hotel

Si and Em

Adopted by the locals

The best hangover cure in the world - Barranquilla chicken, served complete with plastic gloves.  Pure class.

Day three followed the same routine of get up for breakfast late then head out to find the party. A group of us headed out to the Festival of the Orchestras which started around 1pm and finished in the small hours of the morning but only Kelly had the staying power left for that.

We all finally collapsed in our beds the last night thoroughly broken but happy and in a very good mood with this fantastic country, there was a lot of discussion about it possibly being people’s favourite so far. Maybe it’s the constant music, dancing and smiles, not just in Barranquilla but across the country, whatever it is, we are more than happy to have the whole country stretching ahead of us as we start our journey back South.