South America: Colombia, an extended coffee break

August 2010

Flying into Bogota from Lima, I meet up with my friend Mark who has come over for a month's holiday. I've known Mark since I was 8, both of us from military families, with English fathers who married tough foreign women. That, and being introverts, maybe all we have in common, but back in the days of boarding-school friendships were how you survived, and maybe this alone was enough to make us brothers. So every now and then we meet up in random places.

We stay in Candelaria, a dodgy district towards the south of Bogota, but it's pretty enough and convenient for the main tourist attractions. The hotel is basic, a bit like boarding school, but without the early morning bell or sadistic housemaster, though sometimes with occasional armed raids (ok only one in 50 years)

Fernando Botero
I'm pleased that after solo travelling a while I can sit back and not think for a while. Mark has planned out the first day of sightseeing - the excellent Botero gallery and the Gold museum being the main highlights. Fernando Botero has made a successful but unusual career by painting a world in which everyone and everything is fat.

Some pictures I nicked off the internet. Lovely floor.

Next day we aim for a hill that borders Bogota on the east, in search of a good view of the city. On the way I'm distracted by another good view - an impromptu fashion show, and force Mark into staying for this cheap display.

I try to get some after-party tickets but no luck. We move on, taking a cable-car up the hill for some impressive, though less exciting, views of the city.

In the evening after dinner, against the advice of guidebooks, we hail a cab to get home. Well the cabbie appears a little off his head, and slightly lost in finding his way to our destination. He appears to be going in circles, so I decide to give him directions. A right-turn instruction the cabbie takes quite literally, not bothering to give way, and we come to an abrupt stop against another car. It's only a slight crash, but it means our cabbie isn't going anywhere in a hurry. Luckily the street seems to be full of cabs, so while ours is arguing with the other victim, we get out without paying, jump straight into another, and tell new cabbie to drive off quickly. This seems to work, we make a swift get-away, and our new driver proves to be a much better navigator.

At night I dream I went with Mark to visit an old boarding house we used to live at, called Orchard house. We go to see Mr Footner, the housemaster, but he is no longer living there. We argue about how the playing fields have changed since we were there. Nothing interesting happens.

Salt cathedral

More sightseeing. Today the famous Salt mine cathedral - a salt mine still in production, but one where they have cunningly turned some of the disused caverns into a cathedral. It's pretty impressive, complete with 3D movie explaining the salt mining process.

Afterwards, we stop for tea like a couple of retired old men, it's a challenge to find a decent cup of tea in this coffee country, Mark is not amused.

Zona Cafetera (Coffee zone)

If you can't beat them, join them, and the next day we head west directly into the coffee-growing district of Colombia - Zona Cafetera. We catch the bus to Manizales, which takes ages - the roads are narrow and winding (the Andes passes through Colombia as well), and there is a major accident on the way delaying us further by hours. Eventually we pass by the still-smoking remnants of an over-turned and burnt-out lorry. I don't think the poor driver made it. RIP.

Manizales

A well-kept town surrounded by stunning country-side. The hostel is quiet, and the smart and tidy neighbourhood strangely reminded me of Germany.

We book a tour to climb a volcano the next day, sounds sort of exciting, going up 5000 metres into the snowy heights.

Nevado del Ruiz
Up early for the tour, I'm a little bored by the prospect of the drive, some 3 hours just to get there. When we eventually arrive the hike is just 1 hour! Ok it's high up, the altitude makes it tough, you have to take tiny baby-sized steps very slowly to avoid fainting, but still... well I suppose I was spoilt from hiking in Chile and Argentina. But the pics look good...

Before heading back the driver starts the engine early to warm up the van, something to do with the altitude. Someone complains we're wasting fuel. I wonder what then is choosing to fly halfway round the world and purchasing a tour to the middle of no-where? However just to put things into some sort of context, on a daily basis the earth receives more than ten thousand times more energy from the sun than is burnt in fossil fuels. This is not to say that burning fossil fuels willy nilly is fine, but it gives a pretty good clue as to the potential of solar energy - just 2% of an area the size of the Sahara dessert covered in solar panels with just 20% efficiency would generate the same amount of energy as is burnt globally in fossil fuels on a daily basis.

On the way back we stop at a thermal spa pool, no argument here - the heat is volcanic.

More pics

Pereira

We pass through this allegedly horny little town, meet up with Mark's friend Richie who lives nearby, have a few beers, and listen to some great tales of freelance swiss hitmen. You'd have to hear it from Richie else it's not funny, sorry.