The Valentine’s Day I’ll never forget

Yes it involves a girl, but not in the way you’re thinking…

Morning sunrise in Arrecifes

I woke up in a hammock, close enough to see the ocean waves, in a shithole place in Arrecifes.  Flies everywhere, chickens and roosters running around, bathroom had a good ½ inch of water covering the whole floor, always, and the toilet had no seat.

Found this dragonfly on the morning walk

These crabs were all over the beach where i found Lesley

View from Cabo San Juan

Lesley had gotten up from her tent and found me reading in my hammock, only to tell me that she’d been up all night puking on that disgusting bathroom floor.  She suspected food poisoning from the previous day’s lunch.  Whatever it was, she was moving very slowly, so she marched on ahead of me.  I told her I’d catch up.

The beginning of the hike was really nice, walking right on the sand, jungle to the left, waves crashing on the right, it was like something out of LOST.  A few beaches over, at La Piscina, I found Lesley laying face down in the sand, not looking good.

She had the look of someone who had drank 25 beers the night before (yes we had a bit of rum and she claimed to be hungover, but I’d guess that was the dehydration talking).  It’s like when a friend is really hungover but you’re not, she looked fine on the outside, but I could tell she was aching inside.

We continued on together, slowly, to the most famous beach in Tayrona Parque – Cabo San Juan.  It really was an amazing spot, like right out of the pictures you see of the Caribbean.  For that reason, though, it was missing the one element of a perfect beach, seclusion.  I went in search of something far less crowded.

Lesley wanted to sleep, face down in the sand a little more, so after a big lunch, I took the opportunity to leave my bag with her and have a little adventure…

11:45am – I bolt out of Cabo San Juan beach for Playa Brava, a secluded beach about 3 hours hike away, through the hills and jungle above.

11:47 – I’m already lost (a theme for the day), I haven’t even started the trek and I’m lost.

11:55 – back on the trail I have to stop to remove my shoes for a shallow stream crossing, I get passed by a fellow hiker who just trudges through, shoes, backpack and all.

12:15 – The trail turns from a normal flat dirt trail, to just rocks and bolters, and very steep.  Most people coming down were sliding on their butts.

1:15 – I reach Pueblito (the half way point).  It’s a place with ruins of some kind, but I wasn’t that impressed and moved on down the other side.

1:20 – I meet Thomas, a German (who passed me at the river) and was headed to the same beach.  We decided to team up, America and Germany, to help navigate the near invisible trail, that was mostly covered in leaves.

1:30 – there were a ton of these really big/cool violet butterflies, we tried to get photos.

Playa Brava

Had time for one photo after swimming

2:12 – We finally reach the beach as I get the terrible news that there was not a super fast way back (like I suspected there was).  There was a slightly easier 2 ½ hour route back that didn’t require as much climbing, that was it.  I was in a bit of a pickle.

2:30 – I swam, took photos, and weighed my options.

1. Stay there and sleep in a hammock, but all my clothes were soaked in sweat and I had nothing warm for the night, or a blanket
2. I was hungry, out of food, with some water left, but I could just walk back.

2:31 – I took option 2 and tried to find the shorter path back, I followed the directions exactly: walk along the dry river bed until it turns upward, take the path on the left, and then later take the path marked Boca del Saco.  Seemed easy enough… only the path didn’t exist, or I couldn’t find it.  I even tried ‘off road’ hiking by following anything that appeared to ‘might be a trail,’ to no avail.

3:03 – so I’m back at the beach, back at square one, having just killed 30 minutes (of both time and energy), and now only have the 3 hour option to get back.  I was also pissed that I couldn’t find the trial and for the guy’s terrible directions, ‘it’s super easy you just walk up the river and find the path on the left,’ – yeah no shit, any trail is easy when you know the way!!

3:04 – I said ‘f this’ and sprinted up the trail.

I don’t remember the timing for the rest, I just know that the trail is said to take 3 hours, and it gets dark at 6pm.  I had no flashlight, and getting caught in the jungle at night might be worse than falling off a cliff.

I thought of nothing but making it out, going faster, and how stupid I’m probably being.  I ran the flat parts and walked the rest, getting very tired and hungry along the way.  I began to think, ‘why am I traveling again, this feels a lot like work.’  The jungle was also starting to make some strange sounds.

About an hour later I made it to a junction, to a trail that led down to another beach.  I didn’t care which, I could sleep on the beach if I needed, I just wanted to get out of the jungle.  I was down the steep slopes to the beach in the next hour, and back to camp before the sun was down.  I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was lay down, hiked a good 7 hours that day.

Cabo San Juan - right after the hike

Unfortunately the story continues, as Lesley was nowhere to be found.  I checked the beach where I left her, all the hammocks, and even the outside of all the tents for any sign of her, nothing… (on a side note, there was a good soccer game going on between people from Chili and Argentina – had I not been exhausted and missing my friend, it would have been cool).

I went to the check-in area where people pay for tents/hammocks, hoping she either left a note, or they’d know where she was (they usually take your passport info).  Lesley didn’t seem the type to just disappear.

Or was she… in broken English I learned that Lesley had fainted, fallen backwards, and hit her head.  She needed stitches to stop the bleeding and had gotten a ride back to Taganga.  My backpack was luckily stashed in a back room.

I really had no idea what to make of all that, my exhausted brain was just struggling to keep my eyes open.  I got in my hammock and fell asleep instantly, trying to wrap my head around what had happened, what had happened on Valentine’s Day.

The next morning I got up right as the sun rose, to hit up a change of scenery, to move on and try some place else, possibly were life threatening situation don’t seem to be the norm…  

Tayrona Parque

Saw this iguana on the walk into Tayrona

I’m in Tayrona Parque, ‘sleeping’ in a hammock, listening to the sounds of roosters crowing left and right, they really do make the worst sound in the world.  It’s like a person snoring, only earplugs don’t block it out, and in my mind it sounds like something dying… no wondering I can’t get any sleep on this trip.

I woke up in Taganga the morning after getting back from the Ciudad Perdida, just enough time for one good night’s sleep (I was so tired I fell asleep with my stuff still in my bed), and get all cleaned up.

I met up with Lesley Kay at check out time, we got ourselves ready: ATM because the nearest one is miles and miles away, food and rum because everything is expensive inside the park, goggle because Lesley forgot hers, and got ourselves to the bus stop just as the 4pm bus was pulling away.

Riding in a Colombian operated vehicle is always an experience, this driver was confused, thinking this massive bus was a sports car, ripping through corners and slamming on the brakes.  Also my legs were too big to sit facing forwards – stupid tiny Colombians.

We get dropped off at the entrance gate to Tayrona with just minutes to spare before the park was closed for the night.  We paid our 35 thousand, got our wristbands, and hurried in before the mosquitoes and darkness got us.

First view of the beach

It was a 3km hike from the trailhead to our beds (a hammock).  The start of the hike was very neat, saw home huge iguanas (white with a black striped tail), bats flying low enough I would duck to avoid getting hit in the face, and monkey in the trees.

Right as the sun was setting we got our first view of the ocean, and it as gorgeous.  A real beach!! and it was incredible looking.

From there though, the trail turned back into the jungle, where it quickly got very dark, and we had to walk the last 10 minutes with flashlights.  We were happy to see Arrifices and be done for the night.

Lesley Kay and I ate a few of our snacks from the market (pound cake, integral crackers, almonds) and drank rum and coke light.  We talked and got to know each other a bit better before calling it a night.

200 mosquito bites, and counting….

Ciudad Perdida (Lost City)

Day 1 - A New Adventure

And the adventure would start mighty early.  The day before I had gotten some new roommates, 2 Irish girls.  That night, the girls didn’t make it back to the room, and had talked about going fishing at 6am the next day.  Sure enough, 5:40am rolls around, and one of the girls alarm is going off, super loud, locked inside her locker…

Instead of lying there, suffering, I just got up and went down stairs to read.  I ended up falling asleep, waking up with just enough time to get my stuff packed, my big backpack stored at my hostel, and get a little breakfast before my 8:30am ride picked me up.

Our group consisted of 11 brave souls heading into the jungle, however the real trouble was getting all eleven, plus a driver, into a tiny Land Cruiser.  It was a tight squeeze, but quickly became real friendly with my fellow travelers: 3 from the UK (London, Dublin, Scotland), 2 Germans, 4 Dutch, 1 Norwegian, and I rounded out the group as the lone American.  Everyone spoke really good English, a nice change of pace.

Three hours in the jeep, half of which was insane off-roading, had everyone feeling stiff right before the hike.  We all had lunch together and were becoming fast friends.  Lunch was sandwiches, except they gave us tons of bread, very little ham, and even less cheese.  So more accurately, lunch was bread.

The hike today was only about 8kms, but it felt a lot further than that.  It started pretty flat with a couple stream crossings and with a great swimming hole where lots of little fish hungout in the water right around you.  Then the trail turned uphill, and I got super sweaty, like through my shirt sweaty.  We stopped for oranges and watermelon along the way.

I was so hungry I thought I’d die that night, dinner was amazing, piles of rice, chicken in pineapple tropical sauce.  And because we were traveling with half girls, I got lots more to eat!

I was absolutely exhausted and went to bed quite early while the ruckus group was still drinking beer and building a pyramid.

Day 2 – The Heat & Hunger

Three members of our group disappeared last night, they had to get up super early this morning and hike all day, as they were doing the whole hike in 4 days, so the 2 Germans and the Dutchman were gone.

Today was another sweet day, a big climb in the morning, with a large decent in the afternoon, and oranges and pineapples for snacks.  We were all delighted by today’s swimming hole, cooler water, but surrounded by warm sunny rocks, big open area to swim, with several rocks of varying height to jump.

We also saw the natives (Koguis), where they have their ceremonies and weddings, and one of the huts they live in.  It’s just weird to think that there are people that still live off the land like this, no technology, just cloth for clothing, rubber boots for shoes, the kids still run around barefoot.

At the ceremony place, a child walk right up to our group and we gave him candy, then he ran off.  It’s just crazy to image being in their world, and slowly enter ours.  It sometimes is hard to say which way is better way of life… I paid money to come out and experience this life, I’d never wanted to pay to go to work.

We just a huge delicious lunch at the end of our second day of hiking, soup (which at first I was like, ’Soup?! Are you kidding? I’m starving!!’) which ended up being incredibly filling and satisfying.  So much so that our entire group and the rest of the camp just passed out for about an hour.

This trail is pretty tough, but not in the traditional hiking sense.  It is pretty steep, and we seem to always be either climbing straight up or going straight down.  For me though, the toughest part of this trip (the whole trip really) is food.  I just feel so hungry all the time.  For the hike, it just makes it so you struggle towards the end of each day, and then get a huge food coma after you eat.  You are only fed three times a day, so if you miss it or don’t each enough, tough, and you go hungry.  The heat is another beast, the sun, heat, and humidity all combine in a sweltering combination.  It just makes hiking that much tougher.

I’ve been getting eaten to shit by the sand flies, the mosquitoes are manageable, but the sand flies are way smaller and there are way more of them.  I also found a tick on me today.

We had diner again as a group, this time by candle light.  We learned about the local’s tradition of using crushed up snail shells and coca leaves, mixed with saliva, to build a large circle around their crushing device.  When the boy is 17 he starts, when he turns 18 he’s finished and takes a wife.  I was again exhausted, and with no electricity, it was again an early night.

Day 3 – Finding a Groove

Ladies and gentleman, this is what traveling is all about.  After just another incredible day hiking around the jungle, it’s now late afternoon, just been fed a delicious pasta lunch, lounging in a hammock, overlooking a pleasant river, that fills the air with a consistent relaxing melody.  It’s these moments that I’ll always remember, cherish, and make life truly special.

As the days wear on, we continue to get deeper into the jungle, more treacherous, and more dangerous.

We crossed a bridge supported by big cables, that had only been constructed and in use for 2 weeks – I believe that’s called a guinea pig.  We also crossed another bridge that appeared to have been constructed that day.

I was talking to a Dutch girl today, Sonne.  The guide was a little ways in front, and after he passed (but before me) this huge snake launched out in front from my left across the trail, and disappeared into the brush on the right.  It was crazy! It was mostly black with a red or orange stripe on top.  I couldn’t be 100% sure, but it looked an awful lot like the one our guide warmed us about, in my broken Spanish I understood – dangerous (peligrosa), don’t stop to take pictures, just move along.

The rest of the day was great, another nice swimming hole with super clean water.

My body is getting used to the food, not nearly as hungry – breakfast of eggs, toast, and fruit was very filling today.  But the bites are terrible, itchy, relentless… I can’t stop scratching them.

Finished up the day playing asshole, then werewolves, which is basically mafia, had a nice dinner, and then chilled out. It’s been nice the last few days to really get to know the group.

Day 4 – The Lost City

Today was the lost city, but it didn’t start off that great.  We got up at 6am for breakfast and got on the road early.

I was told that there were 5 stream crossings on the way up, so 10 total, so I just blew into the first river crossing in my shoes.  As it turns out, that would be the first and only water crossing so I had wet shoes all day.  And my camera battery died on the first photo opp of the day.  I had 2 other batteries with, but they were in my pack, back at camp, blast!

The lost city trail ends with a 300m climb up to 1200m, and with 1200 steps.  After that we were eager to sit down at the top, and have a history lesson –

The people lived there from 500-1600 AD, but when the Spanish arrived at Santa Marta, killing and enslaving the people, the tribe got scared and retreated higher into the mountains.  They went so high (4000m) they eventually died, leaving their city and wealth untouched.

The city was discovered in 1973, the first to find it gathered all the gold they could find and took it back to town, talked of the treasure, and it brought out a ton of thieves.  They would ultimately destroy 80% of the original structures digging for gold.  Also the homes were all build out of wood, so the only remains today are the stones.

Eventually the police stepped in, to stop the digging and destruction, but police corruption allowed it to continue.  One day, when all the treasure had been unburied, all the police officers except the captain went down for a swim in the river.  The captain took the opportunity to kill all the cops, thieves, and locals, and stole all the treasure, disappearing forever.

Today, the Koguis are the ancestors of the original Ciudad Perdida tribe.  However, the ones living close to town are beginning to use money and trade, which is started to ruin their culture. 

Tours have been coming since 1983.  In 2000, a group of 8 tourists were taken hostage by gorillas and demanded that a prisoner be released.  Three months later the prison and hostages were released with no one being harmed.  That is why today there is military atop the ruins with large guns.

There used to be cocaine production along the trail, it wasn’t officially part of the hike, but all the guides knew about it, and tourists could pay a few extra pesos and check it out.  About 10 months ago, the president of Colombia went on the tour and learned about the drug production, and shut it down :(

After the history lesson, we spent another hours at the top before heading down the mountain, being careful not to fall and break something.  Unfortunately there was a Slovakian couple that was not so lucky, or the woman for that matter, as she fell on the way down the stairs and broke her arm.  She had to wear a sling the rest of the way down the mountain, it did not look fun.

We stopped at camp 3 for lunch, rice and sausage, and got some quality time with a hammock while my socks and shoes were able to dry in the hot sun.

There was a clear shift going on today, maybe the waking up early or the extra miles, but we were all a bit quieter on the decent at the end of the day.  At camp 2 we stopped for the night, I finally had a shower, and then read until it was dark.  We got to have one last group dinner, with a side of sorrow, as it would be the last big family dinner of the trip.

As the candles were again beginning to burn low, everyone was tired but no one wanted to leave the table, to say goodbye to that little part of the trip, and our lives.  We all exchanged emails and agreed to meet up again soon, possibly for dinner or carnival next week.  Then we retired for the evening.

Day 5 - The Finale

The day was actually quite nice, we had to get up and eat breakfast for the first time without the others, which was sad.  The hike itself was nice, but also long and full of downhill switchbacks on tired legs and aching knees.

We didn’t talk too much on the walk back, I was already thinking about the next few days of the trip.  I tried to stay in the moment, but couldn’t.

We got snacks back at camp one, before the huge decent to the end.  The celebratory beers and Champaign were mighty tasty, along with the fish and fried bananas.

Jesus (our guide) was a funny guy, big fat belly (seemed strange for a guide whose job it is to walk).  He only spoke Spanish but luckily Anna was nearly fluent and could translate everything.  The best though was when he’d yell for Anna to tell the group to ‘vamos’ or ‘desayuno’ words anyone traveling in South America for more than a minute know by heart.

But when we got back to town, Jesus’ appearance made a ton of sense, he was literally chugging beers and double fisting.  I couldn’t decide if he was an alcoholic, or if in his little Colombian brain we were really that annoying.

The worst part came when we got back into the jeep, and perform the whole off-roading fiasco all over again.

The last interesting things I noticed – much of the driving takes place out in the country, and I hadn’t noticed many (if any) gas stations along the way.  But how silly of me, the dude holding up the hose is actually a gas station, and he’ll siphon gas into your car, if the price is right…

Learning Spanish – Part Dos

My Spanish teacher - Yelisa

I had my final Spanish lesson today, and for a variety of reasons I’m very glad to done.  I was getting a little tired of having the middle of my day dedicated to studying, and I’m super ready to blow town.  Taganga is cool, but really small, I’ve pretty much seen it all… twice. 

The Spanish really started to click after about the third day, I had a few legit conversations with my Spanish teacher, and actually kinda knew what she was saying (she was talking very slowly, and using 2 year old language, but still).

As the lessons continued and I studied in my free time, I could order more effectively in restaurants, pay for my hostel, get directions, and ride the bus, it made it just so much easier.  These weren’t conversations so much as me saying something in Spanish and having the other person not be totally confused, but it’s a good start.  I know enough now to get around South America.

However, I’m pretty convinced that right now, this is the most Spanish I’m going to know the whole trip.  I write in English, read books in English, seek out other English speakers, it’s just how it is.  Even if I only remember the most important 25%, that’ll be plenty to get me around… I’m ouza!!

Ok, headin into the jungle, be back in 5 days!!

I’m 27…

How weird, today is my birthday, but it oddly doesn’t feel like it.  It could be the obnoxiously warm weather in what usually feels like winter, or the fact that everyone is speaking Spanish, whatever it is, something just feels different.

I didn’t do anything too crazy today, just hit up breakfast, lunch and dinner at my 3 favorite spots in Taganga, had a Spanish lesson in the afternoon, relaxed on the beach as the sun was setting, and had a few beers down by the beach that night.

The setting sun in Taganga

I also got another chance to hangout with my new friend Zach.  He’s a pretty interesting dude, lives on a boat, rocks a mohawk, yet is super knowledgeable about South America after traveling in these parts for over a year.  After being around him for just a couple days, I have about 100 places to check out over the next few months.

I went down to the beach that night, and found a big group of locals and backpackers playing music and hanging out, right by the water.  It was pretty sweet.

All in all, I wouldn’t say this was my favorite birthday, but it’s certainly one I’ll never forget…

PS.  Thanks to everyone for the birthday messages and cards.  You guys all rock and I miss you.  Wish you all could be here with me along the way!

Football, not futball…

Santa Marta coastline

I guess today is the Super Bowl, or at least that’s what the calendar is telling me, however, it doesn’t really feel like it.  I went back to the Santa Marta market, except I got lost trying to find the actual market, in the massive amounts of street venture people selling everything from a potato to half a cow. The market literally stretched for 4 city blocks in each direction.  At one point, I found myself inside, in a poorly ventilated area, walking through vegetable of all kinds, and then it started to smell terrible.  Then came the ¼ mile of nothing but (what smelt like) the spoiling meat of the butchers.  It’s a strange place, it smells like garbage, there are random spots with standing water, always, and the meat just sits in the 90 degree heat, all day, flies all over it, people touching it.  It smelt so terrible I had to almost run out of there, I was pretty sure I might throw up.  It was bad enough that I actually located a tall blue bin, that I half thought I might need to contain my mess, except when I peered inside I found more heaping piles of rotten disgusting meat… that did not help things.

I guess it doesn’t spoil though, because it is the same food that I eat when I go to restaurants, but I’m not sure how it’s still fine.  The cheese is the same way, it’s odd.

Finally I got to the actual store, which was the busiest grocery store I’ve been inside in my life.  I chuckled a little when one of the locals had her tiny bag searched by the police, yet my giant backpack was no problem at all, not even getting a second glance.  The strangest part was all these people, but no Super Bowl parties, no cases of beer, and carts full of snacks, it was just tons of Spanish speakers that thought football was played with a little round ball.

That night I watched the Super Bowl, I mean I guess I did, but it felt strangely different.  It was me and a guy I met, Zach, from the states watching the game at our hostel.  No one else cared that the game was going on, or probably even knew it was the Super Bowl.  The game being televised in Spanish didn’t help the cause one bit, and with the lack of a Super Bowl party, and the Super Bowl commercials (they don’t show those in Colombia either), it felt more like just another game, than the grand daddy of them all.

Things in the world to see before I die

When you travel, it’s addicting, and all you want is more.  It’s that thirst that inspired this list, feel free to add to it:

See a total solar eclipse – the next one to hit the US occurs on August 21, 2017, get yourself to Mills City, OR! (and just for clarity, this is the kind where the sun is totally blocked out, it goes from day to night in an instant and you can see the stars, and happens in the US every 10-20 years) 

Visit all 7 wonders of the world:

• Chichen Itza (Mayan City) – Mexico
• Christ Redeemer (Large Statue) – Brazil
• The Great Wall – China
• Machu Picchu – Peru
• Petra (Ancient City) – Jordan
• The Roman Colosseum – Italy
• The Taj Mahal – India

Step foot on each continent (especially Antarctica) and the North Pole

Swim in the Dead Sea

Festivals:

• Carnival in Rio
• Oktoberfest in Munich
• Running of the Bulls in Pamplona 

Activities:

• Scuba dive on The Great Barrier Reef
• Raft the Grand Canyon
• Play golf at Pebble Beach

Top 3 Mountains to Climb

1. Kilimanjaro – Tanzania – 19,340ft
2. Mt. McKinley (Denali) – Alaska – 20,320ft
3. The Matterhorn – Switzerland – 14,700ft

Top 5 sporting events to attend:

1. Super Bowl (hopefully to watch the 49ers)
2. World Cup
3. Champion’s League Final
4. Olympics (Summer & Winter)
5. The Masters

Drink the big 5 in their homeland:

• Vodka in Russia
• Tequila in Mexico
• Gin in London
• Whiskey in Scotland
• Rum on a Caribbean Island