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.
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| Elizabeth and I with our faithful guide, Alejandro. |
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