Bogota, Santa Marta, Minca and Palomino

The plan in South America was always to go to Colombia last as it had the cheapest tickets home. Additionally, I was invited to partake in a 1 kilometer highline project there and could not pass up on that opportunity. We sped up our last leg of the Carretera Austral to leave Chile a bit earlier than planned, on the 1st of January, as flight prices increased drastically in the weeks that followed. 

Nick was not interested in partaking in the highline project but was really passionate about learning to kite surf. We decided it was best if we took a month to each pursue what we really wanted to do then we would return together and continue the trip. We both flew from Santiago to Panama where we had a short layover, then Nick boarded a plane to Cartagena and I went to Bogota. 

Bogota is the capitol of Colombia and nestled into the mountains, sitting at 8,500 ft. Upon arrival in Bogota, I went to La Candelaria, the historical district, and stayed in a hostel for the night. I explored some of the streets and tasted some of Colombia’s street food. The following day I did a walking tour and learned more about the city and district before going to the air b&b that I would meet my American friends, Alex and Danny.

The next morning Alex, Danny and their friend Suzana, who is from Colombia but was traveling around America with her American boyfriend, arrived at the air b&b.    Alex and Danny went to rest and Su and I made the long journey up to the Codito neighborhood where the highlines were set up. We walked two miles down the street then took a tiny collectivo (a mini Astro van type deal with deteriorating seats and outer parts where usually 10/15 people squeeze into a 6 person vehicle) up to the neighborhood on the mountain. 

We ran into May and her sister which was perfect because we didn’t have the necessary equipment to ascend the tree. May and Jonah, friends with Alex, Danny and Su, live up in Codito and we went to their house and then Jonah accompanied us to the line and helped us get set up. The lines were high in a tree so we had to ascend the ropes to get to the highlines. We all took turns on the lines then got some food before Jonah gave Su and I a ride down the hill on his moto and we got on a bus to go to Usaquen where we would meet Alex, Danny and May at a market. 

Danny shared the tragic news that a helicopter had crashed into a 1 kilometer highline in Arizona, killing the 4 people on board. We had many friends who were there and who saw the whole thing happen. They had followed the protocols of what the community took to be sufficient at the time, filing a NOTAM (essentially a notice that there is something in this area) and having visibility flags up on the line. This news was taken very to heart as no one ever thought that we could be putting anyone else in danger but ourselves. Everyone was operating under the assumption that they were doing everything necessary to make it safe. It was a terrible realization that there needs to be more done in regards to communication between pilots and slackliners. 

Due to this, over the course of the week, Alex and Danny would back out of the 1 kilometer project with the Colombians. Additionally, the weather in the area the line would be was not suitable or safe for long lines at this time, so the project itself would be pushed back. Additionally, due to the United States interference in Venezuela, many of the Americans that were going to come backed out of coming to Colombia out of fear that it was unsafe. 

I spent the week with Alex, Danny, Jonah, May and Su until she left to go to Santander where her mom lives. We highlined as much as we could, climbed up Monseratti, an iconic mountain and pilgrimage site, sitting at 10,000 ft, overlooking the city of Bogota. We went on an all day adventure taking multiple buses and cabs to visit el paramo, which is a unique high altitude, cold and wet ecosystem found in the Andes. It is known as a “water factory” and acts as a giant sponge, trapping moisture and providing water for millions. We went rock climbing in Suiza and tasted the delicacies of Colombian fruit salad.

Nearing the end of the week, Alex had decided to go to Argentina and Danny would take a paragliding class in Valle de Calca on the other side of Colombia. I decided that I would stay in Colombia and still use this time to try to highline. First though I would go explore the Caribbean coast for a week with Nick as this would be the best time to see it. 

So I flew from Bogota to Santa Marta where I met up with Nick. We stayed in a hostel the first night, explored the city and the pier the next day then I met up with my friends Yuri and Carmen. Yuri is American/Colombian, his family is from Colombia but he grew up in America, he was already planning to come down for the project and was one of the few to stick with the plan as he was going to see some family too. Carmen is his partner who is also in the highlining scene and lives in Ohio! I got lunch with them and then Nick and I went over to their air b&b later. We got dinner together and walked around a bit before calling it a night. 

The next morning Nick and I went and got a menu del día- a very cheap meal that consists of soup, protein, rice, beans, plantains, potatoes and a juice- then bought some fruit and took a collectivo up to Minca. Minca is nestled in the Sierra Nevada Mountains which is the highest coastal mountain range in the world. We stayed in a hostel in town for the night and hiked up to a cool tiki bar to watch the sunset. 

The next day we rode on the back of two motos up the mountain and got dropped off at an intersection and then hiked a couple miles to a remote finca (farm) hostel where we’d spend the next couple of nights. We went on a walk to a little waterfall down the road and was accompanied by one of the cats at the hostel. Nick got worried when it followed us for so long that it would be too tired to walk back so we took turns carrying it for a bit. We walked down through lush, thick green, tropical vegetation until we reached a little waterfall.

There was no stores or anything around so we had to pay an extra fee for breakfast/lunch/dinner. It was good food and we sat around a large table with travelers from all over. The next day we hiked 6 or so miles to the hidden Jaguar falls. It was a long road walk followed by a steep descent down to the falls and a steep ascent out. It was and amazing waterfall with two levels and because it was so far out of town, there wasn’t anyone else there. At the top there is a little bar/restaurant and I got Nick to try the Colombian delicacy of hot coco with cheese and bread. You are supposed to put the cheese and bread into the coco. Nick wasn’t really sold on it, and preferred it all to be separate.

We walked back to the hostel, showered and hung out in the hammocks until dinner, doing some watercolors of the view. Past all the greenery and banana and papaya trees we could see the ocean from where we were. We enjoyed a nice dinner, played some chess, chatted with fellow travelers and were off to bed. The following morning we hiked out and back to the intersection where we got moto rides back down. Then we made the way back towards Santa Marta where we’d take another bus to Palomino. 

Palomino was my favorite coastal town. There was one main road where we got dropped off on but then dirt roads linked all the streets of the town. There was one main strip full of shops but outside of that it didn’t feel too touristy. On the non ocean side of the main road was where many locals lives and many indigenous people in their traditional white cloth clothing and no shoes. We arrived there, checked into our hostel, which was a cool bamboo bungalow then we made our way through the tourist shops towards the ocean. We did some swimming, bobbing and body surfing before going back and showering and buying some cheap food for the night. 

The next morning we went to get Nick some breakfast back on the main strip. I knew my friend David and his fiancé Natalie would get there today but were surprised when I heard someone calling my name on the crowded street! It was them! David is a fellow highliner and also Colombian but he too grew up in America. We chatted with them a bit but then they went off to their hostel and we went to the beach. We walked down the other way and snuck into a fancy hotels court yard and layed on their fancy cushions overlooking the ocean. We eventually left and met David and Natalie for lunch. 

We then walked the opposite direction on the beach, finding a few Slacklines and walking through some trees until popping out at a larger beach. We got a couple beers and looked out at the ocean. No one was in the water today as the waves were far too high. The river connects to the ocean so we did a loop and followed the river back to town, stopping to take a dip in the river. 

We both went back to our hostels then met later for dinner and then played some pool in a bar. The following morning Nick left to to Cabo de La Vela, further along the coast, to continue his kite surfing journey. I hung around the following day and went on an adventurous/bushwhacking hike with David and Natalie. 

We set off to go to the river but took the wrong road. We were an hour or so in and still didn’t reach our destination. We were at the point of turning back when we ran into a fellow traveler who told us we could follow this stream through the jungle and it would take us to the river. Instead of having to turn around and retrace our steps. So we set off through the river, stone stepping and walking along the edges at first. Then I fully committed to just walking through the water. Then we ended up finding a trail that paralleled the river and got on that. We debated when it left the rivers side but an old man at a finca deep in the jungle told us we could take that to the river. So we kept on, eventually finding the river!

After that we got some lunch and went out separate ways. I would take a bus back to Santa Marta and then a night bus to Bucaramanga where I would re meet up with Su, Yuri and Carmen.