Mompox

The day after returning from Villavicencio, Elizabeth and I were picked up at four in the morning by Toto Express, a transportation company.  We were on our way to Mompox (or Mompos), a colonial town butting up along the banks of the Magdelena River.  

Although we were told the ride would take about four hours, we weren't surprised when it turned into seven.  The most interesting thing that happened was that halfway through, our driver stopped the van a few times to pick up some traffic cones for apparently no reason.  He hoisted a couple onto the roof, but we were lucky enough to have one squeezed inside the van with us. 

Once we arrived, we set our luggage down and headed out to explore.  We saw pretty much the whole colonial part of town within an hour or so but enjoyed walking around viewing the architecture.  Mompox is hot and extremely humid.  There is no cooling ocean breeze, so we were drenched within minutes.  The town is very laid-back and has a familial atmosphere: kids and families hanging out were everywhere.

Only one church was open for viewing the entire time we were there.

A market area by the river.

Our hotel was an old colonial house situated right along the river bank, so we were constantly strolling up and down a cobblestone walkway bordering the river.  Although this iguana is just a baby, we saw several giant, scaly ones as well.

Do you see the iguana?

As we went to dinner the first night, we were accosted by a friendly but pushy paisa lady who insisted we have a drink with her and her family.  They were all nice but quite drunk and a wee bit dysfunctional.  A bottle of aguardiente and some delicious Italian food later, we said our goodbyes to their generous hospitality and relaxed the rest of the evening.

The next morning, we spent some time in the cemetery.  I realize this sounds a little macabre, but in all the literature we read on Mompox, the cemetery was a must-visit site.  Although it was pretty rundown, there were tombstones ranging from hundreds of years old to weeks old, so it was at least something to do.

Finally, it was time to jewelry shop!  I am not much of a shopper, but this took way longer than we expected due to there being so many pieces to choose from.  Mompox is known for its handmade, filigree silver jewelry, and Elizabeth and I wanted to take full advantage of it.  We visited several shops and walked away with a small trove of plata.  I could have bought everything at the last store but decided that wouldn't be very practical of me.

In the afternoon, we took a three-hour "river" tour.  We thought we'd be on the river the whole time viewing wildlife, but there was some island hopping as well.  

Many different species of birds lined the banks.  When we passed the blackbirds roosting in the trees, I just kept hoping they'd find someone else's eyeballs to peck out.

After twenty minutes on the boat, we disembarked onto a dirt road and took a donkey-pulled cart to the opposite side of the island, sitting on life vests to cushion our tushes.  The mosquitoes immediately smelled our blood and began attacking.  "Always be prepared" is my motto (and maybe the Boy Scout's as well), so I took out my spray only to find that it had exploded at some point during the flights from Cano Cristales.  Greeeeeaaaaaattttttt...... With the daylight, I could at least see the mosquitoes buzzing around and whack at them, but on the return trip, I was theirs for the feasting.  

We had ridden to a tributary of the river and proceeded to plow through an island of water plants at full speed to continue on our journey.  Spiders, leaves, and grasshoppers flew into the boat, suddenly joining us on our tour.

We hung out at another island for a while just talking and enjoying the sunset before returning to Mompox the same way we had come.  

That night, we enjoyed a delicious dinner before turning in early for our four a.m. pickup the next morning.  All in all, it was nice to see another part of Colombia and relax a bit before beginning classes again. 

Caño Cristales: Part Two

On the second night of our tour in La Macarena, Alejandro took us to a show where we ate hunks of beef, potatoes and yucca with our hands.  Can I just say how hard it is to act like a lady when I'm using my incisors to rip off pieces of poor, well-done Betsie?  While I worried about something being in my teeth, we were entertained with singing, cowboy poetry and dancing.  Below is a clip of some of the dancing.  It was amazing how quickly their feet moved.

The next morning, we took an early morning hike to el Mirador (Lookout).  Although the trail was only a half-hour jaunt, it had a decent ascent and went through a bit of forest.  Of course, with the humidity, we were drenched, but I loved it.  

We could see three different ecological regions from where we stood and the Guayabero River stretching out for miles.

Thankfully, we had time to shower and relax a bit while Alejandro took our bags and IDs to the airport to get us all checked in.  (It's obviously very official there.)

This was my lunch, which was delicious....and huge.  The steak was cooked perfectly and full of flavor. Unfortunately, I had to eat quickly because we knew the plane would be taking off soon.  I was disappointed when Alejandro told us we had to leave since I hadn't finished every morsel on my plate yet.  (I really do have an eating issue.)  It ended up being a blessing in disguise.

The candle kept the flies away....an amazing invention!

Arriving at the airport, we bid adieu to Alejandro and naively followed the rest of the passengers aboard this gigantic silver plane.  We should've known something was up when a lady had to pull us onto the plane from the stairs since there was no handrail....anywhere.  

Imagine our surprise when we saw all the luggage right there in the back of the plane and bench seats on the side. This was a cargo plane! I had never ridden a cargo plane before and was excited to experience something different.  There was no flight attendant telling us what to do in case of an emergency.  Of course, that's probably because there were no lighted aisles, life jackets, inflatable slides, oxygen masks, or parachutes.  I was impressed we even had seat belts.  The lack of air conditioning and bathrooms told us we were in a plane not designed for passengers.

By the time the plane took off, we were dripping with sweat again.  We felt every air pocket, and I was beginning to think that maybe eating lunch right before departure wasn't such a good idea.  Thankfully, as we gained altitude, the cold air came through the mighty cracks around the door and who knows where else.  There was even a triangular hole in the ceiling that was dripping condensation from the clouds.  Lovely.  

Alas, the pilots decided to fly lower after only about fifteen minutes with our natural air conditioning.  The heat mixed with the turbulence and full stomach did not bode well for me, and it was all I could do to keep the freshly digested food in place.  Although there were no barf bags on the plane (the biggest oversight of all), I held tight to a plastic bag I had just in case.  It's only a forty-five minute flight, right?  No, that's for passenger planes.  Lo and behold, the cargo plane took over an hour to land....an hour that dragged on like no other.  I would have kissed the ground when we landed but was nervous of what reaction any sudden movement would have had on my barely-holding-it-in body.

Wanting to capture our final moments before takeoff. Do you see the excitement and a little fear in our eyes?

Arriving at our hostel a while later, I checked with a lady there on what there was to do in Villavicencio since we still had most of the afternoon left.  The options: a hike or rounding up the cattle at a nearby finca.  Elizabeth wasn't game for either one (she has only ridden a horse once and was nervous to try again), so I made a reservation with Finca Marsella and headed off to the outskirts of town.

 Not only was I given a slow horse, but there was a sign posted on the corral that stated no running was allowed.  Bummer.  That's what I had really wanted to do.  There were a couple families in the group, and I was pretty much ignored for the first thirty minutes.  It had begun to seem like a waste of time. 

 Luckily, as we crested a hill, my lazy horse fell behind, and one of the guides, Carlos, started up a conversation.  When the others heard us talking, they joined in.  Well, the two men and kids did. The women barely looked at me.  Thanks to Carlos, I was now a part of the group. 

The most social guy was Juan Camilo from Cali but living in Bogota, there with his two sons and sister's family.  (His wife had to work.)  When the ride was over, he offered me a lift to where they were staying, which was closer to town.  During the fifteen-minute ride, we listened to Cat Steven's "Father and Son" a few times, with the seven-year-old son singing along.  It was rather sweet.  When Juan Camilo dropped me off, he flagged down a taxi and made sure I was safely inside before driving on.  It made the trip worthwhile to have that friendliness shown.  Although the views on the finca with the sunset were beautiful, the people were the ones who made the difference.

Caño Cristales: Part One

This past week was October Break, a government-mandated holiday for all schoolchildren to boost the country's economy.  Elizabeth and I traveled to a few different out-of-the-way places:  Caño Cristales and Mompox.  Let's begin with Caño Cristales, shall we?  

We left Saturday, October 3rd, on a flight from Cartagena to Bogota and then took the four-hour bus ride to Villavicencio, the capital of the La Meta region and also the only place I've ever attended church where the people avoided eye contact and shaking my hand during the Sign of the Peace.  

Early the next morning, we arrived at a podunk airport and flew on a comfortable 19-passenger plane, landing forty-five minutes later in La Macarena where we parked on the grass. We even saw a horse towing a cart with the luggage.  La Macarena is a small town in Los Llanos (The Plains) with 5,000 people, including the countryside areas, and the base for Caño Cristales tours.

At the airport, our guide, Alejandro, met us and gave us the lowdown for the day.  Alejandro is a 20 year old who has been giving tours for four years.  All the guides are trained for six months so are incredibly knowledgeable.  Alejandro was also fun and made the trip that much better.  Plus, we spoke Spanish the whole time, giving me tons of practice.

For the first day, it was just Elizabeth, Alejandro and I.  After that, an older French couple, Claudette and Patrick, joined us.  In order to get to the actual river, we first had to take a short trip down the Guayabero River.  Why, you ask, are we covered from head to toe when it is at least 90 degrees with 100% humidity?  Great question!  The Colombians are doing a fine job of protecting Caño Cristales and do not allow you to swim if you have on sunscreen or insect repellent.  Our hats are brand-spanking new from La Macarena.  Stylish, I know.

 Although a lot of money comes into the town from tourism, many people still rely on agriculture and raising livestock.  In fact, one of the main thoroughfares for the cattle was used by the guerrillas for transporting "goods" and themselves throughout the area.  The guerrillas actually have a lot to do with the state of preservation of Caño Cristales: thanks to their activity in the area, the site was closed for several years and only reopened in 2009.  

After an hour-long hike through some semi-desert-looking terrain, we finally came upon "The Most Beautiful River in the World".  In many parts of the river, colored algae flourishes and makes the river a spectacular sight, especially when the sun shines on it.  Although this season has been a dry one for the river and we were told it can get much prettier, it was impossible not to appreciate every new view of waterfalls, fascinating rocks, and the colors bursting throughout.  

The picture above was our first place to swim.  The best part, besides cooling off, was that we had the place to ourselves for almost a half an hour, enough to enjoy the tranquility and beauty without a bunch of tourists clambering for the best shot.  In fact, this happened at every site we stopped at and made the scenery more memorable because of it.

Seriously, there were so many pictures I wanted to post, and I know I already went overboard, but Caño Cristales really is a gem.

The first two days, the hotel gave us a packed lunch to eat during our hiking.  Wrapped in banana leaves, the rice, meat, potatoes, and platano maduro were still warm several hours later and left us full until dinner.  Plus, Alejandro always had a pitcher of limon panela (brown sugar lemonade) and a little chocolate bar for dessert.  The life of a king!

This spot is named Los Ochos because the water goes through these holes in a figure eight.  

Elizabeth and I with our faithful guide, Alejandro.