Colombia, this whole time, has been a goal. We have heard such lovely things about Colombia, that we really couldn´t wait to get there. And I must say that Colombia has not disappointed me. Definitely my favorite South American country, among with Brazil.
Although I am really fond of Colombia, I must admit the first days here were a bit rough. Our second day in Colombia we met up with Erla and Snaedís, two Icelandic friends that were travelling around South America as well, in a city called Cali. Cali supposedly is the Salsa capital of South America, and since we are all fans of Salsa, we went out that Friday night with high expectations. When coming back to our hostel that night, after a lot of dancing, we discovered that our security boxes had been broken up, and that all our valuables were gone. Me and Una had locked our things in together: our passports, credit cards, debit cards, cash, cameras, ipods, diaries, kindle, glasses, and so much more, were simply gone.
I felt the world crash. I was stuck in Colombia, with no money and no passport. I went to sleep that morning at 9 AM after a long wait for the police, a police report, and ofcourse, after having been hit on by the police. Yes, apparently they thought it to be very appropriate to compliment our blue eyes, that were all swollen up by crying. Snaedís, my hero, corrected them that this was not the place nor the time.
But here comes the crazy part: The day after, we were awaken shortly after noon, being told that a taxi had just arrived with a bag full of documents. Turns out that the robbers sent back our passports, debit and credit cards, diaries, glasses, and other little things that were of no value to them.
YES! This is no joke! They literally a taxi to send back our passports and cards!! I am still deciding whether to blame the robbers or just be simply grateful. I guess the feelings are a bit mixed.
But after all, we are okay. We are grateful that we have the most important things: passports, credit and debit cards, and last but not least: our health. Our health is undoubtedly the most important thing. At least we didn´t get physically attacked.
So, to get over this dramatic beginning in Colombia, me, Una and Snaedís went to the best place to recover: a small village called Salento. Salento is a tiny, cute village in the coffee zone of Colombia, with beautiful surroundings. We stayed there probably 5 days, doing cute activites like visiting organic coffee farms, going horseback riding, hiking and relaxing. This, literally, was the best place I can imagine to get over that robbery.
Surroundings of Salento
After Salento we went to Bogotá, capital of Colombia. To imagine, that exactly 6 months earlier, me and Una did a connection flight through Bogotá, to get to to Venezuela. There is so much we have done in those 6 short months!
In Bogotá we barely did anything; we walked around, went to the Botero museum (seriously, that painter is a rock star), hiked a mountain and celebrated my birthday - which ended up with Snaedís going drunk in a flight to Cuba. BUUUT that is another story!
In Peru, me and Una volunteered at a Hare Krishna community right outside of Lima. Ofcourse, we are not Hare Krishna, but we are culturally interested and open minded. Since we liked the atmosphere there, we decided to volunteer at another Hare Krishna community right outside of Bogotá. I cannot say that the volunteering was difficult, but we were basically painting mantras the whole time. I LIKE.
After volunteering, me and Una went our separate ways for a few days. She went to Medellin and I went to a small, adrenaline-filled village called San Gil. There you have a big variety of extreme sports you can do. I was able to do exactly what I came there for: River Rafting level V and Bungee Jumping.
You would think that after jumping out of a plane, thousands of meters above the ground, that jumping from a 40 meters high plank wouldn´t be that big of a deal. Well you would be wrong! When bungee jumping, you don´t have your instructor stuck on your back who really does most of the jumping, but basically you stand at the end of a plank, looking at the ground, and by yourself, freewilling, jump into the unknown, like you would jump into a swimming pool. Scary, but a lot of fun.
So after my adventures in San Gil, I met up with Una in Cartagena, for the next adventure: PADI Open Water Diver course. Suddenly I found myself going to classes, and reading a whole school book in my freetime. After a whole year without school, that was an interesting turn of circumstances. But to be honest, after such a long pause, it becomes fun to study. Plus that I can think of way less interesting classes than scuba diving!! So after a lot of reading, a few exams, and some scuba diving in the caribbean, I graduated with an Open Water license. Yay!
After the course, I had no time to relax and restore my energy, since we went straight away to a national park called Tayrona. BEAUTIFUL place with BEAUTIFUL beaches! Takes some effort to get there, but definitely worth it.
Sadly, we didn´t stop for long, since Una had a plane to catch to Puerto Ordaz, her city in Venezuela. So we spent one night in Tayrona, went to Santa Marta, and had to say our goodbyes the day after.
During this trip, we have been separated before for a short periods of time, but this time we were going our separate ways for good (that is, for the rest of our travels). After 6 months together, it was not easy to say goodbye. Like I put it: An End of an Era!
So, long story short: Una is in Venezuela by now with her Icelandic family, and I will carry on by myself for a while. But not for long though, since I´m going back to my city in Venezuela myself next week!
Since I´m not able to upload any photos anymore after the robbery (the photos in the post are either found on the internet or bought), I will do my best to throw in new posts once in a while: So stay tuned to hear about my trek to The Lost City (La Ciudad Perdida), the Flower Festival in Medellin, and my return to Venezuela.
-Svandís
