Colombia | Keeping it balanced

Please listen to this song while reading the post. This song will always remind me of Colombia. After everything by Carlos Vives, of course.

Costa Rica and our two weeks of bliss were not enough for me. I was still tired and in need of an energy boost. After a chilled Christmas and New Year's (we were in bed at 12:01am), we landed in Bogota exhausted. Not so much physically, since all we did in Guatemala was eat bucketloads of tacos and avocados, but mentally. The first problem was that we arrived in Colombia with no plan, a situation I absolutely despise. And secondly, I started to feel an echo of the exhaustion from moving around and sleeping in random beds that I experienced in Nepal and Bhutan. So, without even planning it (since there was no plan!) Colombia became a place where we had to force ourselves to really slow down (Oskar) and let go of seeing everything (me).

We started with a few days of recharging in Bogota where we stayed at an absolutely amazing apartment of our dear friend’s sister. It was carefully designed, filled with art, souvenirs from around the world and good books. Ok, it was actually a penthouse overlooking main attractions of the city, so we didn’t really feel the need to leave the place. To get a bit of a cultural fix in between the naps, meals and countless coffees we managed to visit famous Museo del Oro and Museo Botero. It seems, however, that other than in the apartment we actually spent most time at the shopping mall where I was waiting for 2 hours for Oskar to have his hair done (yes, you are reading it correctly). Only to see him transformed into some sort of reggaeton star thanks to his carefully sculpted beard. Think about this guy - Nicky Jam. I guess he was trying to fit in with all the Colombian guys who on many occasions looked more made up than girls.

THE view.

Proof we checked out art when in Bogota. Botero!

Me after 5 months of travelling.

Pure gold!

Local specialty - hot chocolate with cheese.

Is gooood!

Ok, I may be cheating a bit. We ventured out to see a pretty town of Villa de Leyva.

After exploring Bogota and surrounding area we moved on to Zona Cafetera and the famous Valle de Cocora. Yes, we learnt heaps about coffee, visited sleepy villages of Filandia and Salento and saw 30 meters tall wax palms which created an absolutely surreal scenery. What I will remember most from these days, however, are colourful villages, friendly paisas (people from the countryside) and their beautiful white and red houses with wraparound balconies, hammocks, and rocking chairs. Just perfect for watching sunsets, spotting hummingbirds or reading 'Hundred Years of Solitude’ to get under the skin of Colombia a bit more.

When you dress like the cute house you meet on the way...

Hiking in the wet jungle of the Cocora Valley.

Fresh juice all day everyday, for pennies.

Guard dogs, the Colombian version.

Typical local house.

When I grow old I want to sit in a chair like this, solve crosswords and drink Colombian coffee all day.

Of course there were also cool cafes!

From the coffee region we moved on to the mountains in the north of Colombia - Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. It quickly became apparent that our hotel was run by a wannabe marijuana farmer who is just waiting for it to be legalised in Colombia (soon we hear) and was busy hosting potential business partners from Amsterdam and Colorado. Pot aside, the lodge was set by a river and surrounded by lush vegetation. The cook must have had some sort of MasterChef experience as the food was to die for. The reason we came there (other than to do nothing) was to visit the local Kogui tribes. They are a secretive and private indigenous tribe that doesn’t normally welcome tourists, but the owner of the lodge was friends with the headman of the nearby village, so we had a chance to hang out with the locals for few hours, see how they live and learn about their beliefs and history. Again, like so many times during this trip, the truth was confronting. For years Kogui were trapped in the middle of the civil war and drug conflict in Colombia. They still live under the poverty line, lack access to the basic health and medical care and few kids go to school. We left with mixed feelings, both happy to get an inside view of Kogui way of life and at the same time saddened and unsure about what awaits for them in the future.

One cannot start a day with a bad mood when breakfast looks like this.

Oskar with a dink? Why are you not surprised?

Kids from the village.

Oskar contemplating, who knows what (jokes welcome).

I guess he was trying not to burst out laughing!

Coffee with a view of Santa Marta in the background.

The last place we went to was a tiny island of Providencia in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. It didn't have secluded and pristine beaches like Costa Rica, but it won us over with a super chilled atmosphere, great cocktails, simple and fresh seafood and funky beach bars (all three of them). Although far away from the mainland, it was still Colombia, so music was pumping from each house, restaurant, car, motorcycle, and boat. Thankfully the locals developed a great love for reggae and Colombian Elton John, immortal Carlos Vives, so at least our musical tastes were aligned. Other than listening to music, swimming, snorkeling, reading and staring at the Caribbean sea in all colours of blue there was not much else to do. I guess the highlight was Oskar catching a barracuda for dinner after solid 6 hours on the boat. In the process, he discovered that he doesn’t have the patience for fishing (surprise, surprise). Soon after, I noticed some unsettling tan-lines that would definitely show in my wedding dress, so we both felt that it is high time to end the laziness and move to colder climates - Patagonia, here we come!

Welcome to Paradise!

Yep, this is for real.

Yeah... this one is real too. They say water here has seven colours of blue. I counted 'only' six.

I didn't catch anything.

Oskar did, a freaking barracuda! FOR REAL!

We also ate the inside of this pretty shell. No jokes please.

Sunsets on the island made us jump out of our havaianas, literally.

I finally finished 'One hundred years of solitude'.

One has to love an island where bus stops look like this. There was also an octopus, manta ray and crab!

Locals got a bit political.

Our favourite bar - Richard's Place.