Day 1 - 2
Day 1 Bogota
It's a gray, rainy day in Bogota! Our flight arrived at 4:45 am. Despite my battle-tested sensory deprivation setup (eye mask, travel pillow, noise cancelling headphones), I didn't sleep on the flight so I was a little....grumpy...upon arrival. Luckily, Deyanira planned for this and built a few hours of much-needed nap time in at el Hotel La Manor Egina.
Our in-country contacts work for la Universidad Autonoma de Bucaramanga (UNAB). They arranged for us to tour one of their super high-tech branch campuses in Bogota before handing us off to a local guide who gave us a tour of the city, el Museo de Oro, and the historic Candelaria (sp?) district.
After that, my night went downhill very quickly in the form of projectile vomiting on the half hour for the next 4 hours.
Day 2: Pereira and Quimbaya
We had an early in-country flight from Bogota to Pereira followed by a 2 hour bus ride to Quimbaya, located in a rural area known for coffee production. I am still feeling pretty rough, but I'm getting to try all of the finest oral rehydration beverages that Colombia has to offer.
Despite feeling like hot-trash-garbage, I am so thrilled to be in Quimbaya for the next several days. This trip has once again confirmed that I am a country mouse, not a city mouse. We are staying at el Hotel del Campo-I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Students had free time in the afternoon to swim, hike, enjoy the hammocks, etc. I'm still trying to kick this stomach issue so I missed out on afternoon fun in favor of resting.
Tomorrow we head to our first Paramo - Santa Isabel. I'll describe paramos in my next entry, but tomorrow's schedule should be a highlight for me and other outdoor enthusiasts.
Day 3
I could have sworn I wrote an entry for this day, but I don't know where it went so I'll do a brief recap.
We woke up at 3:30 to take a 2 hour bus ride to....somewhere? Before switching to 4WD vehicles for an ...unadvertised... three hour trek on muddy mountain roads to the Santa Isabel paramo. Paramos are a unique ecosystem. Read about them here. We started at about 4,500 ft at the hotel and climbed to 12,500 in the cars. The hike itself wasn't too steep--about a 1000 feet over 3 miles one way---but the altitude and cold rainy conditions definitely affected some of the students more than others.
We returned to base for a hot meal and then had another 3+ 2 hour ride back to the hotel. Basically 5 hour ride,5 hour hike, 5 hour ride. Long day.
Day 4
The only thing worse than not watching Game of Thrones at all is getting 30 minutes into the final episode and having HBO Now crap out on you.
While I'm waiting for HBO Now to buffer for the 4 millionth time, I figured it was a good time to give a recap of the day.
Today. Was. Awesome.
We got to sleep in until 7:30 (!!) before taking a 2 hour bus ride to Pijao, a small farming community nestled in the central Andes. We met Juan David, one of the owners of Experiencia Cafeteria, a guiding service that partners with local coffee producers and other locals to share knowledge of coffee production, locally owned businesses, and local plant/indigenous knowledge with travelers who are interested in learning about Colombian history and culture.
He first invited us into his home to have Chicha, an indigenous drink made from maiz (corn). We split into two groups -- one group toured a coffee farm and the second group went to a local nursery to learn about healing plants before switching.
Our group started in the nursery. The local plant expert had a vast amount of knowledge (passed down orally) regarding the herbs and fruits grown in the nursery. We tasted and smelled varieties of mint, basil, rosemary and more obscure herbs such as orozul--I think I butchered that spelling but I think (?) it's the basis for Stevia, maybe?
The guides pulled various herbs to infuse into a tea. Given the number of folks who have experienced car sickness/general nausea, the guides specifically chose herbs for our tea that are beneficial for the stomach.
We then went to the central plaza to learn about the function of the plaza as it pertains to forming and maintaining relationships among the people of Pijao.
Next, we visited the only coffee shop owned and managed by one of the local farmers. We learned about three styles of preparing coffee beans (washed, with honey, natural). Each style has a distinct period of washing, drying, and roasting and consequently has very different aromas and floors.
We then hopped in the back of a 1954 Jeep to trek through the mountains to meet Leo, a local farmer and coffee roaster. Leo invited us into his home, served us a delicious lunch, and gave us a hands-on tour of the coffee harvesting and roasting process. We even got to help with bean sorting.
There's an episode of Futurama where Fry gets a tax rebate and spends his money on 100 cups of coffee in a day. That's kind of how we all felt yesterday, but #noregrets. The coffee was delicious.
Day 5
Day 5 is off to a rough start. We have a 6+ hour drive to Medellin (second largest city in Colombia). 30 minutes into the ride and we've already had a student leave their luggage at the hotel. This is the latest in a string of "I forgot XXX on a bus."
- Passport (recovered eventually)
- IPad (recovered eventually)
- Diary
We were able to recover the IPad and passport (at the expense of some time and energy) and just recovered the luggage after a 45 minute delay, but the diary isn't looking likely.
After 4 teachable moments, if students don't figure out how to check their bus seats for personal items by now, we are probably a lost cause. Now that I've said that, I'll inevitably leave a bag on the bus...
6 hours later...
Time telling in Colombia is about as useless is a two-legged table.
It's almost 5PM. We left at 8AM. The drive was advertised as 6 hours but somehow we're still 5 hours away. Math?
On a positive note, we broke up the drive by stopping in Salentos to do a short hike in el Valle de Coroca. I'll let the internet describe:
Had a nice lunch (trout and platacon). And now we're back on the bus. I don't think we're ever getting off the bus. I think I live here now.
Day 6 - 10
Medellin
If this trip has confirmed anything about my travel preferences, it's that visiting large cities is generally not among my list of must-do's. I've heard great things about Medellin--namely, that it's touted to be one of the most innovative cities in the world--but I think somewhat as a result of a less-than-thrilling itinerary selected by our guide (part of a paid-for service arranged by our travel agency), Medellin kind of fell flat for me. We did a driving tour through some neighborhoods and stopped at a few touristy destinations that were so unmemorable I can't even name them. We did ride the Metrocable up in order to get a good view of the city, and that was fun. Enough people that I trust have given Medellin rave reviews, so I'm just gonna chalk this one up to a bad planned tour. If I'm lucky enough to return to Colombia one day, I'd give the city another shot.
We really only had about 3-4 hours in the city--in the afternoon, we drove about an hour to Santa Elena (outskirts of Medellin) to an incredible farm -- La Finca Selletera El Pensamiento (named after the owner's favorite flowers). This farm produces flowers for the Fiesta de los Flores in Medellin in August (as well as producing flowers for sale year-round). We got a demonstration on how the farmers arrange the chairs for the silleteros (seat carriers) with flowers for the annual festival. That night, Deyanira booked us rooms at a boogie-ass hotel near the airport so that we could be ready to fly out at 5AM the next morning.
Day 7 - Bucaramanga
Man, Colombia is wreaking havoc on my digestive tract. Without getting into the gory details, I'll simply say that I've had more days in country being heinously sick than I've had days without any issues. My 4AM alarm went off and was immediately followed by me puking my brains out before loading up the bus to get to the airport.
We boarded the flight only to wait on the tarmac for an hour before being told that we needed to deplane because the plane was broken. We were rescheduled to fly out about 3 hours later, but you can imagine what sort of mood a bunch of 18-22 year olds were in after waking up at 4AM for no reason.
The students, faculty, 47 liters of pedialite, and I eventually got to Bucaramanga and were welcomed by the staff of UNAB and the families who were providing the homestays. After a brief break to shower and change, we reunited at a fancy downtown dining club for a lovely lunch hosted by Deyanira's brother, a highly respected government official in the city. He surprised us all with a dance and musical performance put on by several of his employees and then gave us all flowers. It was very touching.
We wrapped up the afternoon by visiting various government agencies. Our group had an opportunity to meet with the secretary of education and the lieutenant governor, but to be honest, after 7 non-stop days with little sleep (did I mention the multiple days with 4AM start times??), the entire group looked and felt pretty spent by the end of the afternoon. Thankfully Deyanira put the faculty up in yet another *very nice* hotel--as much as I looked forward to a night of uninterrupted sleep, by intestines had other plans.
Day 8 - Cafe Madrid
Another 4AM wake up (but this one prompted by my stomach). The group met at UNAB to be transported to a K-11 public school called Cafe Madrid. At this school, we divided into 3 groups for service projects. One group was responsible for painting a mural; another was digging beds and planting seeds in a new garden, and the last group potted flowers in planters to be hung around the school. I was in the planter group and we finished really quickly, so we divided our group between the remaining projects. After deciding that there were a few too many cooks in the kitchen at the mural station, I joined the crew that was working on the garden. Hot damn that was tough work. My stomach gave me a few hours of reprieve (I also started my Cipro this morning, so that may have had something to do with it...) so I was able to swing a pickax for a while. As all 3 of the people reading this know, I kind of don't love little kids because I genuinely don't know how to interact with them, so I really enjoyed working in the garden because we were with the 11th graders and were able to talk and laugh and accomplish quite a bit of manual labor over the course of the day.
This evening, UNAB hosted a reception for all international students, which included the Westminster group. The president of the university spoke to us as well as a few university officials, and then we were treated to some phenomenal music and dance demonstrations. It was a lovely reception. Students started tearing it up on the dance floor right as I started feeling like garbage again, so I called it an early night and returned back to my hotel room.
Day 9 - Cafe Madrid part II
We continued our service at Cafe Madrid and were also treated to a demonstration by several of the student clubs at school, namely, a musical performance group and the robotics club. The students thoroughly enjoyed the experience at Cafe Madrid and seemed pretty revitalized. It probably also helped that we cancelled evening plans to give students free time. Pictures of mural below.
Sarah, one of the students, and I took a few hours in the afternoon to get pedicures. I haven't had a pedicure in at least 6 years, but my toes look great and it cost $7 USD so #noregrets
Day 10 - Dance lessons, Girón, and Eco Park
We started the morning off with an hour long dance lesson on the UNAB campus, instructed by Marianela Ramirez, a talented dancer and Zumba instructor. What our students (and I) lack in coordination, we sure do make up for in effort and enthusiasm. Within 5 minutes, we were completely soaked in sweat but having a hell of a time.
After the lesson, we boarded the bus for Girón, a small colonial town about 30 minutes outside of Bucaramanga. We ate a fancy lunch at La Casona and had a few hours to walk around the town. Girón is a relatively popular local destination for tourism and they are known for serving fancy ice cream inside casks of various fruits, so the students were well fed and seemed to enjoy themselves.
Last on the agenda for this day was a trip to an eco park that provided spectacular views of Bucaramanga and the surrounding metropolis as well as a GIANT spaceship sized Jesus. Deyanira treated everyone to a local treat, Obleas, which are a local treat with dulce de Leche, whipped cream, and blackberry jam sandwiched between two wafers. After sundown, we watched a short music, water, and light show before having dinner at the base of the park.
Day 11 - Day - 12
We are leaving Bucaramanga today to visit the Berlin paramo. Our first stop was a restaurant called La Niebla, which is nestled at about 6000 feet. The restaurant is surrounded by a really dense and lush landscape. We had about two hours to tool around on our own before eating, and I took advantage of time alone to go for a short hike and read a book in silence. Silence/solitude on study abroad trips is a rare treat.
A few hours later, we arrived at our hotel/hostel for the next two nights: La Piedra de Parada (?), which is a relatively new facility located at 11,000 feet in the middle of lots of farm land. The lodging situation was really cool--we stayed in these super cute wooden pods and dined in a central cafeteria in the front of the facility. There were a bunch of amenities for guests, including fishing, mountain bikes, paddle boats, and a few others. Sarah and I took out bikes and boats on the first afternoon. The bikes didn't have functioning brakes, so our ride was a little short, but it felt good to get on spinning wheels. The paddleboat was a great way to view the sunset.
Day 12
Day 12 got off to a slightly bumpy start as our bus got stuck in the mud so we had to wait about 90 minutes for it to get unstuck before we could continue with our plan to hike the Santurban Paramo. We eventually got on the road and made it to the trailhead around 11. We collaborated with the local Civil Defense and police force (who sort of double as environmental police) to hike to a lagoon at about 12,500 feet. The weather was uncharacteristically sunny and clear for hiking a paramo, so we had great views and no complaints from students being wet or uncomfortable.
We had a late lunch at about 3:30 and the free time before dinner, which was a perfect opportunity for me to take a much needed interrupted nap. I had every intention of getting back out on one of the paddle boats but ended up sleeping until right before dinner. We all karaoked in the cafe after dinner and I will leave it at that. I'm sure a video will surface of me singing Dance Magic Dance (from the Labyrinth) at a really inopportune time...
Day 13
Things are really starting to blur together. We went to Curití today, which is a small colonial town about 2 hours away from the paramo that we visited yesterday. Half the group went caving (me among them) and the other half went to a shop to learn about fique (fiber), which is used to make many local crafts. I always enjoy caving, and this one was particularly fun because it was a wet cave. We trekked through about 2 feet of water for most of it but at times it was up to our waist. The cave formations definitely had significant damage from careless human interactions, but there were still plenty of untouched formations that were stunning. Students had a blast.
The group that went to the fique shop also seemed to have a good time and came back with lots of souvenirs. Students had the rest of the afternoon to explore the city and I took advantage of a quiet hotel room.
Day 14
Yesterday we hopped on the bus (a theme) to Barichara, another small colonial town and popular tourist destination. We hiked the 6km Camino Real between Barichara and Guane, an indigenous village and took chivas back to Barichara after the hike. Students again had the rest of the evening to explore the town, so the rest of the faculty and I went in search of empanadas and grabbed a drink at a local watering hole before I called it an early evening. Also a theme.
Day 15
All caught up. We are back in the bus...again...headed to Chicamocha national park.
The park was...interesting. The canyon landscape was incredible, but the park itself resembled more of a theme park than what I envision when thinking of a (US) national park. There was a giant swing, zip line, water park, etc., as well as a museum of indigenous Guane culture, but it just felt really developed. We took a 20 minute cable car over the canyon to the other side to have lunch at La Chiva and then drove to Mesa de los Santos, who, in the opinion of my beloved colleague, produces the best coffee not only in Colombia, but in the world.
Now we are on the way back to Bucaramanga for our last night in the central Andes region before flying to Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast. Bucaramanga has been really nice, but I think we are all ready for some beach time.
Day 16
After two early AM flights, we have arrived in Santa Marta in the Caribbean region, meaning that we are on the last leg (ish) of our trip. Currently aboard a bus on the way to Minca, which I believe (?) is a relatively small coastal town that most likely caters to tourists and beach activities.
Well, I found where all the dirtbaggy backpackers are hanging out in Colombia--definitely Minca. It's a town full of ecolodges and dirt bike taxis and it's quite lovely. We had lunch at a riverside restaurant and already the food on the coast has more spice and flavor than the cities of the country's interior. After lunch, we crammed (and I mean CRAMMED) into 4x4 Land Cruisers to drive to the Pozo Azul trailhead. Pozo Azul is a watering hole with lovely waterfalls that is a popular swimming destination among tourists. Despite normally being clear and blue, heavy rains alier in the day turned Pozo Azul into Pozo Café. We spent about an hour splashing around at the base of the waterfall and then hopped back in the Land Cruisers to head to our ecolodge.
Los Colores de la Sierra is probably my favorite lodging that we've had on the trip thus far. It's a pretty standard ecolodge as far as accommodations are concerned--open air cafeteria and hangout spaces, bug nets and no AC in the guest rooms, but it is so incredibly beautiful and peaceful. There's a trail leading to a swimming pool in the middle of the jungle and a mirador on top of a lookout with hammocks. After dinner last night, I donned my headlamp in the rain and went up to the mirador to read my book in a hammock (again, alone time on study abroad is a rare treat) and had an absolutely fantastic evening.
Day 17
We had an early breakfast, hopped in the Land Cruisers, and transferred to vans once we arrived in Minca proper. Our destination is Tayrona National Park, slated to be one of the prettiest areas of the country. From what I understand, the park has a combination of jungle and coastal spaces as well as some archeological sites. Currently sitting in the van as I type this--will report more later.
Tayrona Park was great. Lots of animal sightings. We had a 4km hike one-way from the trailhead to Cabo San ...., a popular beach where the group was able to swim, eat lunch, and relax for a few hours before hiking the 4km back to the vans. We had lots of animal sightings on the hike---American crocodile, cotton tail tamarins, some other sort of monkey (?), a snake (DON'T TOUCH SNAKES), and some other odds and ends.
The beach was nice. It's been over a year since I was on any sort of coast, so I was grateful for a few hours to spend in and around the water.
Days 18 -19
We are back on a bus! We have about a 5 hour ride from Minca/Santa Marta to Cartagena.
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We stopped in Barranquilla for lunch. Sarah and I ventured out in search of empanadas--only ones within walking distance were at "Empanadas Típicas," which is basically a Colombian fast food chain. It was also housed inside a Colombian home improvement store, so it would be like going to a McDonalds inside of a Home Depot.
We arrived in Cartagena--despite my earlier misgivings about crowded and/or touristy cities, I really loved Cartagena. We didn't spend any time in the metropolitan center. We stayed exclusively in the historic (walled) city, which was good because it limited the amount of trouble students could get into :)
After checking into the hotel, we gave students a few hours of free time to explore and grab dinner on their own. I took the opportunity to venture out as well. I ended up walking the entire walled perimeter and stopping for empanadas in Getsemane at a little park along the pier that had a bunch of hipster food trucks.
We all reunited in the evening to board a Chiva party bus. It's exactly what it sounds like. We drove around the city in the bus dancing and listening to reggaeton. About half the group went out after the party bus, but this trip has turned me into an introvert, so I gave them the safety talk and bid them farewell.
Day 19
Having had an opportunity to scope out the city, I invited the students and faculty to join me on an early morning run. I had three takers--two students and Sarah. We had a lovely sunrise run along the wall before returning to the hotel to meet the rest of the group.
We started the morning off with an hour long bus ride to the National Aviary. I like aviaries. Birds are rad. When it comes to biodiversity, Colombia has the widest array of birds of any country. We saw Harpy eagles, king vultures, a condor, and a bunch of brightly colored birds whose exact species I can't recall.
After the aviary, we were running a little late so we were hustled to Playa Blanca to board a boat for snorkeling around Rosario Island. I love the ocean always, but this wasn't the greatest snorkeling experience. Our guides weren't great, the reef was heavily damaged and crowded, and our time in the water was very short. That being said, seemed like everyone still had a good time. We returned to playa blanca for lunch and free time. PB is what you would imagine most Caribbean tourist beaches to look like-really aggressive vendors trying to rip off unwitting tourists, tons of bars slinging coco Locos and daiquiris, and tons and tons of people. Again, not my idea of a good time, but if the students are happy (and making good choices), I'm happy.
Returned to Cartagena for a few hours free time and a fantastic farewell dinner at Juan Del Mar. knowing that I am returning to Utah on the 5th, I wanted to get my fill of seafood so I doubled down and got ceviche and ahi tuna. No regrets.
In short, of all of the cities we have visited, Cartagena was hands down my favorite. Can't wait to go back. The city is beautiful, as are its sunsets. I didn't have a chance to do much history hunting, so if I am lucky enough to make a return trip, i would want to spend more time learning about the history of the city.
Day 20 -last day
Another 5AM wake up call in order to board an early flight back to Bogota. Typing this on the plane. We have one more full day in country. My mantra is "no emergencies, no injuries, no incidents." Just gotta make it one more day.
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The last day in Bogota really changed my perspective on the city. I wasn't particularly pro-Bogota after our first day, and I definitely still prefer rural/country pueblos to large cities, but our last day in Bogota was really fantastic. Sarah arranged for our group to take the Bogota Street Art Tour, which is among the most highly rated tours in the city on TripAdivsor. She's taken the tour a few times previously and suggested it as a good wrap to the trip--it didn't disappoint. Our guide was knowledgeable, funny, spoke excellent English, and was well prepared. Even though we were all exhausted from our 5AM wake up, I think the entire group thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Carlos (our guide) provided historical, cultural, and political context for each work and also gave us background information on many of the artists. My favorite piece was a painting of two parakeets (the word for parakeet in Spanish is also slang for cocaine)--the image has two birds as well as two planes leaving the country. The message from the artist is that the cocaine problem is both the responsibility of Colombia (represented by the parakeets) as well as the importers (represented by the planes). After the tour, we ate at a well-known restaurant in the Candalaria district of downtown. We ate ajiaco, a traditional Colombian soup of potatoes and chicken that is very popular in Bogota. After lunch, we checked into the hotel and gave students a few hours of free time before dinner. I took the time to get my nails done (yeah, out of character, I know, but it WAS Treat Yo'Self Tuesday and my French manicure cost me $8 USD...) and buy a few thank you gifts for my dog watchers.
We had dinner in Usag...(?), a super cute little area about 15 minutes from our hotel. We gave the students the option to explore the area and have dinner on their own, but a few students and the faculty ended up getting together and walking around in search of empanadas. After a few misfires, we found an AMAZING little Argentinian restaurant where we had lively conversation, a wonderful server, a variety of empanadas, and some tasty desserts. It was an absolutely wonderful way to end the trip.
Day 21
Last early AM wake-up call! Today was 4:15....yikes.
We are all currently aboard a flight to Houston. In some ways, this trip flew by--in other ways, it crawled. If you'd asked me during the first week if I was enjoying myself, I would have taken a long time to respond. The first week of the trip was really stressful for a number of reasons. The second half of the trip was a little more relaxed in terms of logistics and I think our group finally figured out how to travel together effectively.
The last week, in particular, was a real highlight. Honestly, I think having more free time/along time was good for everyone, but especially for me.
I leave Colombia with extremely fond memories, new friendships with Westminster faculty as well as our Colombian hosts, and an appreciation for a really enthusiastic group of students. Don't get me wrong, these students *definitely* had some moments, but 95% of the time, they were really eager to learn and engage with our host and guides. I feel like I can say with confidence that everyone is grateful that they participated in this experience and have come away with a very strong appreciation for Colombian culture, history, and its people.
After back-to-back study abroad trips, I don't have any other trips abroad planned for a while, but I am going to try and see if I can tag along on another May term trip next year if a faculty position opens up.
Until then, I look forward to having a relatively relaxed summer full of local outdoor adventures and time spent with good friends. Cheers!
