Living the Dream in Tayrona

Although Cartagena is often described as Colombia's tourist gem, I fell in love with in the area around Santa Marta, which is about a 5-7 hour drive east along the Caribbean coast. I stayed at The Dreamer Hostel  which is more of a small resort for hostel prices. It was incredibly clean with a beautiful pool and a super tasty kitchen (the owner is Italian and the food reflects this!). The Dreamer organized day trips so that you had plenty to do while in the area, and the atmosphere was friendly but not too wild. I spent my first afternoon relaxing at the hostel after the morning drive in from Cartagena. The second day, I took a boat out to Playa Blanca, which was touristy but the water was clean and refreshing and a boat ride is always fun. It was also a local tourist beach, so I had an awesome and authentic Colombian meal on the beach.

The Dreamer Hostel - Santa Marta

El Rodadero Beach on the way to Playa Blanca

By my third day, I had met up with an American couple (Doug and Christine) and a young woman from Denver named Jaime, and we checked out the western side of Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona. The park is incredible, and it is a must visit if you spend any time in north Colombia.We took a taxi along the bumpy roads to the beach and got to see the outer neighborhoods of Santa Marta. This experience that brought me back to my days in Central America; the car swerved quickly around potholes, dodged people walking around in the streets, and avoided a stray soccer ball that flew out of reach of the players on nearby dirt fields. Anyway, eventually we ended up at Bahia Concha, one of the nicer beaches close to my hostel.  The American crew and I spent the morning at the beach itself, and then went out on a boat to a cove nearby for some surprisingly amazing snorkeling for the afternoon. We saw thousands of brightly colored fish and corals, which was impressive for the proximity to the beach.

View from the boat at Bahia Concha

Bahia Concha beach

My second day in Tayrona was my favorite day of the trip. Jaime left for the Lost Trek, but Doug and Christine and I hiked into the park through the main entrance at the center of the park. The hike took about an hour through the jungle to get the first glimpse of the beach, but the wait was well worth it and that first view of the water was breathtaking. The second hour of the hike was along the most gorgeous and pristine beaches (which is closed to swimming due to currents, but this makes for better photos!). Finally we ended up at Cabo San Juan beach, which is the swimming beach. You can also camp overnight here in hammocks, and if I ever came back I would definitely plan to do this. 

First beach at Tayrona

Second Beach

Peeking through the jungle to find the beach

Where does this trial lead?? To a gorgeous beach?

"Leave your footprint... not your trash"

A cerveza for a reward at the end of our hike

Just a boat in its harbor

We only did a day trip, but it was well worth it nonetheless. As you can see, it was a pretty spectacular place. This was my favorite 5 days in Colombia, and I would definitely come back to this part of the country to spend some time in Palomino (a beach that I didn't have time to visit, and home of another location of The Dreamer Hostel) as well as Minca, a small coffee town nearby that I also ran out of time for. I'd also love to some day do the Lost Trek, which is a three day hike to an ancient Mayan city. Anyway, gives me an excuse to come back some day!

My final stop in Colombia before heading home was the beautiful city of Medellin! 

First Stop Bogotá

I began my journey in Colombia in the capital city of Bogotá. Like I mentioned in my first post about Colombia, the people there are super friendly, so I actually met Luisa and Juan within my first five minutes at my hostel. As I was settling in and unpacking my bag, Luisa and Juan came into my room and invited me to lunch. We ended up spending the whole weekend together, and I also met up with Luisa again later in Medellin (she was there for a business trip the same time that I was)! Luisa and Juan were childhood friends who had lived together growing up, and were keen to show me what Bogotá had to offer.

We spent our first night in Bogotá's Zona Rosa with a crew from the hostel. After dinner of empanadas we headed out to La Villa for happy hour drinks and later Colombian Pub for drinks and dancing. Colombians definitely know how to celebrate. Being Christmas season, the streets were brightly adorned in lights, and a Colombian night out involves simply buying a bottle of booze for the table at prices that aren't much higher than normal liquor store prices. We had a great introductory night to Colombia!

Zona Rosa with decor

Christmas tree in the square

Juan, Luisa and Lars

Bottle service

The next night we also went out, to the funky Andres Carne de Res. The restaurant/bar was enormous, with (I think) 8 floors of dancing, food, and enormous drinks. The decor was extremely strange, and part of the fun of the atmosphere is that the staff walks around in very weird costumes. Imagine if you are just enjoying yourself at dinner, and this scary pregnant man clown slowly walks by your table, with a zombie-like pace and demeanor? Needless to say, the night was certainly entertaining!

Pregnant zombie clown at Andres

The next morning I woke up and did the Bogota Bike Tours which is an amazing way to see a lot of the city in one day. Bogotá is the capital of Colombia, and also home to many of the countries most famed museums and architecture. Highlights of this tour include an informative and knowledgeable guide, the bullfighting stadium, the interesting graffiti, the red light district (would have never seen this area without the tour), and all the beautiful city parks.

My bike on the tour

The Bullfighting Plaza

Bogota is known for its political graffiti artists

Nacional Museum that details Bogota's turbulent history

Plaza Bolivar

The next week was spent taking Spanish classes at Nueva Lengua, which is an impressive Spanish school only blocks away from the hostel I was staying at (La Pinta), in the friendly and comfortable Chapinero neighborhood. The classes were really incredible and highly recommended if you are looking for a Spanish class in Bogotá. Class days run from 8-12pm on Mondays through Fridays and are broken up into grammar, reading and listening, and speaking sections with three different teachers a day. I liked this approach because then you could learn from teachers who were teaching the subjects that they enjoyed most, and you also had an opportunity to experience three different teaching styles.

In the afternoons I did some exploring around Bogotá in nearby towns. Keep posted for a blog update about my day trips to Monserrate and Zipaquira as well as my tips for the museums and food in La Candelaria!

Colombia. Que Chévere!

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of the country of Colombia? For most, Colombia is thought of as the land of cocaine and kidnappings -- certainly not a place that a young, independent female traveler like myself would be signing up to visit. While the country is certainly plagued with a violent history, in fact there has been quite an amazing turnaround in the years since Pablo Escobar was assassinated, and the drug cartels and danger has mostly left the country. I had heard wonderful things about the country from fellow backpackers and travelers, so when I came across a RT ticket for under $500 from the US to Bogota, I decided that I better see Colombia for myself!

Zipaquira, Colombia town square and Christmas tree

Ajiaco, a tasty, traditional Colombian soup

The lovely beaches at Tayrona National Park

Let's just say that I'm happy that I have been to Colombia before the crowds have discovered it. Throughout my time there, I realized that it despite its ugly stereotypes, it is actually a safe and beautiful place to visit-- and a place that I predict will have an influx of tourism in upcoming decades. In addition to the country's extensive natural beauty, Colombians are an extremely hospitable bunch. I have run into many friendly people throughout my travels, but it's fair to say that the Colombians I met and spent time with were over the top-- they introduced me to their families and best friends, and welcomed me into their world with an open embrace, in a way that I have never seen before in another country. At first, I suspected that this desire to please tourists and foreigners stems from the fact that so many tourists are still scared to visit, and the Colombians have an ulterior motive of tourism promotion through their kindness. Throughout my travels however, I realized that most Colombian's generosity is far from insincere. As some of my new Colombian friends told me, "This is just our culture. This is how we are."

My trip to Colombia began in Bogota, where I took Spanish lessons from an awesome language school called Nueva Lengua. Next, I traveled to the sunny Caribbean coastal cities of Cartagena and Santa Marta, where I took an amazing mud bath at the Totumo Volcano and visited the Tayrona National Park. Finally I visited Medellin, a city known for its impeccable climate and one of the most amazing turnarounds-- going from one of the most dangerous cities in the world to one of the cleanest in just a few decades.

Stay posted, as I will update this blog with highlights and photos from each city in the next few weeks. As the Colombians say, Colombia is "muy chévere!"

Wanderlust: Northern Guate and Belize

After leaving Santiago, I met up with Casey and Lisa (my friends I'd met in Xela) and we toured northern Guatemala together! We had a truly amazing time filled with adventure, crazy bus rides and new friends. I also met up with Kate (from Santa Cruz) in Belize and we had an incredible snorkeling adventure. Here is a glimpse of some of the highlights of my trip on my way home to the states!

Casey and I at Volcan Pacaya roasting marshmallows in a heat vent

Volcan Pacaya, an active volcano

Semuc Champey- beautiful spot

Semuc Champey limestone pools from the ridge above

About to go for a swim!

Semuc Champey

Lanquin River, view from Zephyr Lodge

One of the world's largest Mayan ruins

Buildings poking through the canopy

Tikal

Main center of town

Ready for battle!

Welcome to Belize

Morning watching the sunrise on Caye Caulker

Belize motto

Snorkeling with sharks

We're about to dive in!

Kate and I on the sailboat after snorkeling

Beautiful Caribbean water

Caye Caulker

Only About One Week Left in Santiago!

You wish surprise, will never stop wonders

You wish sunrise, will never fall under

We should always know that we can do everything 

- “Go Do” by Jonsi

This weekend I visited the city of Quetzaltenango, known to locals as Xela, which is the second largest city in Guatemala. The town is known for its language schools, universities, cultural history and music scene, and what I had heard about the town proved to be a rather accurate assessment of the city. It really does seem like the perfect place to study Spanish and experience cultural immersion. While Antigua felt domineered by tourism, Xela is a much more workaday town, so there is an overwhelming sense that you are experiencing the "real Guatemala" when you are staying there. The city has the perfect mix of just enough infrastructure to make tourists and language learners feel welcome but the vibe isn’t overwhelmingly touristy. Instead of being outsiders looking at the Guatemalan way of life through the lens of an expensive camera or through the window of an air conditioned bus, Xela seems inviting and accessible for the international community that comes there to truly learn about life in Guatemala.

I arrived on Thursday night and indulged in some of the town's live music and restaurants in Xela's Zona Viva, which was within walking distance from my hostel. I highly recommend the Black Cat Hostel if you are looking for a hostel in Xela. It was clean with friendly staff, has good group of backpackers to connect with (at least on the weekend I was there), and is very centrally located. Your stay includes a huge breakfast, and the staff offers lots of tips for activities to do nearby.

Church in Parque Benito Jaurez

Parque Central

Parque Benito Juarez

On Friday morning I headed to Fuentes Georginas, a natural hot springs located in Zunil, Guatemala which is about a 30 min drive through the countryside from Xela. I met some new friends, Casey and Lisa who are studying Spanish in Xela, and spent the morning enjoying the pools with them and hiking around the jungle trails that surround the pools. It turns out that we will be traveling on about the same route in the beginning of August through northern Guatemala, so we have temporary plans to meet up again and travel together in a few weeks!

Enjoying the hot springs

Fuentes Georginas

Fuentes Georginas

 I did a two-hour walking tour of the city on Friday afternoon, and on Friday night I went to Salon Tecun, which claims to be the oldest bar in the country (opened in 1935), with another group of backpackers that I met at the Black Cat. I fulfilled my pizza and beer craving and had a lot of fun getting to know the group and sharing travel stories.

Saturday morning I hiked the ridge outside the city up to the church and enjoyed the view of the town.

Xela from the mountainside

I spent some time reading in the Central Park on Saturday afternoon, and was approached by a university student who was doing a survey of the international opinion on the land acquirement conflict between Belize and Guatemala. I agreed and answered her survey, but I was curious to learn more. First of all, this was a conflict that I didn't even know existed. Secondly, I had noticed that the map of Central America in the main municipal building close to the central park didn’t have Belize on the map. My Lonely Planet Book had the answer:

In 1859 Britain and Guatemala signed a treaty that gave Britain the rights to the (Belize) land provided that the British built a road from Guatemala to the Caribbean coast. The treaty still stands, but the road has never been built, and many Guatemalan-made maps show Guatemala—which has never formally accepted Belize as a separate territory— extending all the way through Belize to the coast. - “Central America on a Shoestring” pg. 219

It makes me think about the subjective nature of history, and how what we know about history is greatly dependent upon who wrote the history book. I wonder what Belizeans will say about the conflict when I visit Belize at the beginning of next month?

I returned to Santiago on Sunday to visit with the scholarship students at the Puerto Abierta Library. Natik sponsors 33 scholarship students, and I was able to interview several and take photos of the students. One of my last projects here in Santiago will be collecting letters from all of the students to send to the donors who have contributed to their scholarships. I'm working on collecting, scanning and translating the letters and then drafting emails to the donors to fill them in on the dreams and plans of the students that they sponsor.

Scholarship students working on their letters

I have less than two weeks left in Santiago, so I've begun to reflect upon my time here and have started to think about my work within the bigger scale of international development work as a whole. So here I am, having lived in this community for a little over 6 weeks now, with the best of intentions to assist members of this community and help improve the livelihoods of the people here. For me and for this trip, my success is measured in smiles and small-scale economic improvements. If I've shared a laugh and contributed to the employment opportunities for a few families, I have done what I came for. However, have I really made a large difference in the community? When I leave at the end of the month, will the project be sustainable? I hope that by applying for a grant funding, we will be able to hire a fellow who will be able to continue to manage the project on the ground in Santiago, as my time here has shown that this project really has so much positive potential. However, I’ve learned that development work is very delicate work. We need someone who has a dedicated interest in the community, and who is able to triage complicated issues, and most importantly, communicate effectively and work together with the community in order to actually make a difference.

I was sitting in the park the other day watching several dozen women do their weekly washing in the lake, and saw an example of something that clearly meant well but for some reason was poorly executed. A newly constructed washing station was left completely empty, and women were still using the lake and the rocks to do their washing. It made me think about how many development projects, though usually well intentioned, can easily fail for myriad reasons. I didn't ask any of the women why they weren't using the washing station. Maybe the development workers who built the station didn't ask the women about their washing needs before they built it, either.

Washing station- not occupied

Women washing in the lake