Christmas lights in Medellín

Every year in Medellín the city is decorated with elaborate and creative light displays for Christmas. The lights are mainly along the river and the main Avenida La Playa, but also in the botanical gardens and many of the neighbourhood parks. This year the theme is the ecosystems of Antioquia. Usually the lights are turned on in early December, but I was lucky to see them for a few hours this week as they were illuminated specially for a lighting conference.

Lights along the river

Sierra Nevada and Ciudad Perdida

So far, the six-day trek to visit Ciudad Perdida (Lost City) has been the highlight of my time here. The Lost City is beautifully located up in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada and was the most important site for the indigenous people of the Tayrona region when the Spanish arrived. It is thought to have been founded around 800 AD making it 650 years older than Machu Picchu. The city was abandoned during the wars with the Spanish (who never knew the city existed). Most of the natives were slaughtered in battles or dying from European diseases and the people from the city dispersed. Unfortunately most of the original culture (such as crafting ceramics and gold, and the language) was lost. Some of the descendants of these people have returned to the region and now there are three distinct tribes in the Tayrona, the Kogis, the Arhuacos and the Asarios. The indigenous knew the “Lost” City existed and continued to use it for ceremonies and meetings. It was “discovered” in 1975 by a family of professional grave robbers who looted the city and excavated gold and ceramics. The presence of these treasures on the black market made other grave robbers (and eventually the government) aware that an indigenous city had been found. One of the original thieves became the first guide to the city (firstly for archaeologists, and then tourists) in the late 70’s. Access to the site (for both tourists and the natives) is now strictly controlled by the government. The indigenous have acknowledged the existence of many more “lost” cities in the Sierra Nevada but (understandably) will not reveal the location of them.

Kogi village

Flamingos in La Guajira

La Guajira is the northernmost province of Colombia, bordering Venezuela  Here we visited a small national park, a system of brine water lakes that is a sanctuary for hundreds of types of birds, including flamingos.  

Cartagena de Indias

Cartagena is the second oldest city in Colombia, founded by the Spanish in 1533. It was first a port for exporting gold and silver and then a major slave trading city. After Sir Francis Drake invaded and destroyed a large portion of the city in 1586, the construction of the fortifications (for which Cartagena is now famous) began, and the castle of San Felipe de Barajas was completed during the 17th century. Cartagena achieved independence from the Spanish in 1811, but continued to suffer invasions from the English and North Americans, outbreaks of cholera and famines. Now Cartagena is a popular tourist destination for the well preserved walled city and castle, Colonial houses with colourful balconies and Caribbean beach resorts.

through Córdoba and Sucre...

Leaving Antioquia we travelled through the regions of Córdoba and Sucre on the way to Cartagena, camping on the beaches in Coveñas and searching the artisan villages for hats.  

Arboletes

In the coastal town of Arboletes, we reached the border of Antioquia and Córdoba, wallowed in the mud volcano, relaxed on the beach and made new friends.

Necoclí

I woke to a nice view of the bay, out to the mountains on the other side of the gulf. After a strong breakfast of fresh papaya and bananas, eggs, arepas, and platano and some relaxing in a hammock with my morning coffee, we decided to use our day of relaxing to explore a bit. Our host gave directions and enthusiastic recommendations of beautiful places to see, including the possibility to see monkeys and macaws.