On april 1st I was laying on a white sand beach while waves lapped at my toes and the sun kept me warm. not bad, huh? CJ and I had made it to Montañita, which in the end we considered an entirely missable town, but the beach is always delightful. We kept our chins up and headed to the next beach town, Canoa. In four days there the pendulum swung from a really uncomfortable visit to a really amazing visit. The not so great part was staying at the cheap "recommended" hostel and getting eaten alive by mosquitos (my face had over 100 bites alone) until we switched and went to a $12 a night place that actually had windows, screens, doors, etc. The really great part (besides the nicer hostel) was an extensive beach with rented colored tents and masses of beautiful seashells and sand dollars.
On the 8th we bussed, boated, and bussed again to Quito. The area most populated with backpackers is La Mariscal, called New Town and is replete with great restaurants, bars, shopping and young people. Old Town is where all the museums, government buildings and monuments are, and we did spend a day there walking around the hilly streets. We saw clowns, a military horn band, government guards who looked like nutcrackers, a strike, and a chorus and guitar band playing on the square. A very odd day. The rest of our time in Quito was about relaxing and planning...CJ planning to go back to the US, me planning my last 4 months in south america. and shopping. on CJ's last day (april 15, ominous for so many reasons) we ate a pancake breakfast, got manicures, pedicures, ate thai for lunch, walked all over the neighborhood, arranged my galapagos trip, watched movies at our hostel while drinking wine and had indian for dinner. At 3AM on the 16th CJ left for the airport and I wondered how i was going to make it on my own.
I didn't have much time to sulk though; on april 18th I hopped on my first flight in 4 months, to Bogotá, Colombia. Bogotá is enormous, the touristy center is fairly compact but the city itself goes on for miles and miles. they have an intricate transportation system called TransMilenio that weaves all over the city, and i used it to get me to the north end where i caught a bus for a day trip to Zipaquira. The town itself doesnt have much attraction, but the hills surrounding it are filled with salt - this is a premier salt mining town. i visited the catedral de sal, which was rebuilt on a grander scale in 1992 when the first one became unsafe to visit. historically it was made as a place for worship for the miners whose lives depended on the salt mines, but the rebuild was adorned by such formidable colombian artists that it is a very popular tourist attraction. our guide Marixa led us down 1,800 meters into the salt caves where we passed through abstract representations of the stations of the cross before weaving through a sinner's labyrinth to the main cathedral. Three naves served different purposes, the first was birth, were baptisms are performed and a wall of bright white salt shows the path of a trickling waterfall that enters the from runoff water. the second was life, where "the world's largest underground crucifix" is positioned and offers a neat optical illusion. finally there is the third nave where rememberances and eulogies are given for the departed, but at the back of the nave is a tunnel that leads right back to the first nave, representing reincarnation. it was pretty cool, and a lot different than i anticipated, as un-worked salt rock is black, not white.
Villa de Leiva was my next stop, an area that used to be completely submerged under a prehistoric sea. Thus the region has a lot of really freaky fossils - i saw a baby and adult kronosaurus - the baby only reached 13 feet, the adult about 29 feet..without its tail. there were a few other fossils in the complex and i was blown away at how huge even snail shells were. god was certainly not messing around with those creatures. "go big or go home" takes on a whole new meaning. that same day i went over to the an open air archeological museum to check out the remains of the Muisca tribes central passion...astronomy and the phallus. in a large field of rather indiscreet rock formations i learned that the way they were placed indicated to the Muisca people different seasons and times of day that would be useful for their agriculture. there was a half buried tomb that was somewhat unimpressive after wandering through a field of...rocks. yeah. back in Villa de Leiva, the town is chock-full of white wash walls, red roof tiles and droopy bouganvilla which was pretty to walk around.
On the 22nd I took a quick morning flight to Cartagena, which is the most beautiful city i have seen so far in South America. the historical center is enclosed in a thick stone wall with turrets and canons, and the city itself looks like a frosted wedding cake in beautiful vibrant colors. I spent some time just walking around the city admiring buildings, the portal de los dulces where candy and cookies are sold all along a portico and even stopping in the museo de oro to admire colombian goldwork. i was staying in a bit nicer hotel for the 2 nights i was there so in down time i sat on the roof terrace and read, or dipped my toes in the jacuzzi. the next day I had arranged for an excursion to the Volcan del Totumo and went along with a really fun group of brits and americans to this giant mud volcano. 20 feet high, the volcano I suppose is really more of a geyser, as it spews hot water into dirt and creates big mud explosions occasionally. it was tame for us (luckily) and we climbed a big dirty staircase up to the top and slipped down into the 500 meter pit of mud. It was a very strange feeling - being completely suspended in really thick creamy mud that kind of felt like pudding. after a few people received massages from the volcano workers we splashed around and tried to see if anyone could get all the way under, which all resulted in a mud fight. to clean off we splashed around in a lake nearby and had our suits and hair washed by the women who worked there. after a coconut and mango break to dry off, we went off to lunch in a restaurant by the caribbean. swimming in mud could be the most fun i've had so far!
I got a debilitating ear infection while in Cartagena, which did put a damper on my fun, but I got myself some antibiotics and got on a flight to Cali in the south of Colombia. The south is known for being unstable politically, and kind of violent in general. a cab driver I rode with at one point scared the hell out of me with stories of what they do to gringas alone in cabs late at night...luckily he worked with the pension i was staying at so i didn't panick too much. I found Cali rather unimpressive...a few museums to see, and after the talk with the cabbie I wasnt super enthused to go out to salsa clubs late at night...alone. I did take a bus out to Popayan which is a very small and very quiet town that has preserved its spanish colonial feel really well.
I am back in Quito today and leave for the amazon jungle on Friday, and the Galapagos Islands the following Thursday. I had a pretty nice time in Colombia, though it would have been more fun with friends, and I really enjoy Quito, it feels like home, strangely enough. not for much longer i suppose!
1 - me and CJ in Vilcabamba at the fountain of youth
2 - the tent man saved us a pink tent every day we were in Canoa!
3 - shortly before a rowdy mud fight broke out
4 - a lovely cartagena church
5 - flowers, emeralds and carriages in cartagena