South America – HandsOnDeck

The Mighty Amazon

Our flight from Cartagena to Bogota was very short. The stewards only just had enough time to deliver each passenger a water before it was time to land in the capital of Colombia. The city seemed to sprawl out for miles as we circled above on our approach. Once landed we then had a short wait for our connecting flight to Leticia, the southern most city in Colombia, bordering Brazil and Peru, and our entrance point to the Amazon.

I was fortunate enough to be able to have a window seat as we flew over the rainforest with views of a meandering river below us and the borderless lines that blur where Colombia finishes and Brazil starts. I was so excited I thought I would burst as I tried to drink in the view that lay beneath us.

We were met at the airport by Sergio, the owner of Amazonas Jungle Tours who we had booked a three day adventure with. After paying a small visitor tax, we were welcomed to Leticia and guided to two tuk-tuks which sped us into town along rutted roads. Once again we were amazed at the driving abilities of road users as tuk-tuks and scooters jostled for position and unmarked crossroads seemed to follow a “who-dares-wins” road code. We splashed through puddles in the potholes, bounced over ruts and swerved to overtake those travelling too slow, sometimes choosing to use the wrong side of a dual carriageway, which on-coming vehicles seemed to take in their stride. I was mesmorised and felt slightly ill when I locked eyes with a young baby – less than 6 months old – being held by its young mother as they were both sped down the road on a scooter while our driver tailgated them at speed.

Once checked into our cheap but adequate accommodation, we took a tuk-tuk into town and had an early dinner where Steve – always food adventurous – tried the Mojojoy platter – a local speciality of tree grub, like Huhu grubs in NZ. I was disgusted but proud of him!!! After our dinner we walked to the main square and climbed the church spire to watch flocks of parrots coming in to roost at dusk. The sky was dark with thousands of parrots as they circled in flocks overhead and landed in the trees surrounding the square, squawking as they approached, drowning out any other noise around as we had to shout to be able to talk to each other!

In the morning we were collected early and taken to catch a small boat to the main port which was across a river that we would normally have walked across but the footbridge had been damaged and repairs were not yet complete. The river was very busy with long wooden pirogues jostling for position as we pushed and squeezed our way out of the estuary and finally into the fast flowing stream of the mighty Amazon where we were loaded onto a much bigger and faster boat for the journey upstream.

We were asked to put on lifejackets as the boat was filled with a mix of tourists and locals, the young captain masterly negotiating debris in the river as we made a highspeed journey upstream. We made short stops at small villages and settlements along the river, depositing passengers on muddy banks and leaving them to scramble up hills as we continued our journey 40 miles up the river. Eventually we reached Puerto Narino where we were met by Brehitner who would be our guide for the next few days. Brehitner was in his late-twenties (I think) from Peru, spoke perfect English as he had trained as an English teacher, was hugely knowledgeable about nature and local tribes/traditions and was altogether a lovely man! We would get to know each other quite well over the following few days.

Puerto Narino is a surprisingly big town populated by about 85% native tribes, with no cars or vehicles and clean, well kept pathways. A waterfront stadium seemed to be in continuous use with football or volleyball games, well supported by enthusiastic spectators. A daily market lined the footpath with fresh fish, fruit and some vegetables for sale as well as a very small amount of jewellery and local art.

Our tour started straight away with a boat trip to see the pink dolphins that feed in the fast flowing waters in front of the town. It didn’t take long before a flash of pink alerted us that we were in the company of a large river dolphin that are unique to the Amazon. Unlike the bottlenose or common dolphins, pink dolphins do not often interact with humans, preferring to keep their distance. They also do not jump out the water but slowly porpoise, showing their pink sides as they move through the water feeding on shrimps and crustacean that give the dolphin its pink colour. They are large mammals – much larger than other dolphins we have seen – and are treasured but also occasionally hunted by the tribes.

After following pink dolphins for a while Brehitner took us to a sandy island in the Amazon, across from Puerto Narino, and in doing so, crossed the invisible border into Peru for the first time. Much to our amazement, we spotted a flash of pink in the shallow waters and we all hurried towards the disturbance where were treated to watching a group of pink dolphins mating, with lots of splashing, thrashing and pink flashes before they parted ways!

Later that afternoon, wearing our gumboots we had been lent in Leticia, Brehitner guided us on a walk through the forest. As we approached a clearance in the trees, we heard how two years ago there had been thick forest, but during Covid the family that owns the land had to clear it to grow food as they had no other means of feeding their family. I get upset at seeing the destruction of part of the forest but struggle with the loss v’s understanding a mans need to feed his family. We saw rubbish strewn along the banks and in the side rivers of the Amazon which are all products of the western world putting our values and lifestyles on every culture we come in contact with. The Catholic Church has a huge dominance in even the smallest communities and it was strange to hear western classical music being played in the jungle to a group of school children, some dressed in traditional costume, as proud nuns looked over the proceedings. Who are we to tell these people they cannot clear some of the jungle to provide food for their families? However, the affect of this clearing is evident in the large mudslides that mark the edge of the fast-flowing river. Big ancient trees have been swept away into the brown waters and Brehitner told us that they believe a large island very close to the town will soon be swept away as the wet season approaches.

Our visit to the Amazon was at the end of the dry season, in the wet months the river swells and floods the villages turning the tall pole houses into homes constructed above fast flowing water and canoes as the only means to leave the house. Gardens are flooded and the mangroves come alive again with fish, Cayman and pink dolphins that live in the shallow water, giving birth amongst the roots of the flooded trees. Houses and trees are stained with muddy lines showing the height of the river when in flood, creating a very different environment to the one we experienced.

We continued our walk through the forest with Brehitner showing us different plants used for medicines or hunting purposes – the bark of a tree to ward off, or cure malaria, the thorn from a tree to make darts, poisoned with a specific tree frog, a rubber tree where the sap was extracted and the scars could still be seen on the bark. It was fascinating to see these trees and hear from someone who knew, and lived in, the forest.

We arrived at a building on tall poles and walked through the grounds to two lakes where the owners had developed a fish farm. In a tree near the house lived a friendly Toucan, free to fly away but comfortable around humans allowing us to get very close to it as it sat in the lower branches of a large tree. They are such beautiful birds with the most stunning colours on their beaks and feathers. I was mesmorised by it! In the lake lived huge Pirarucu fish one of them was enormous and looked like a serpent as it came to the surface to feed. They can grow to 3m in length and this one didn’t seem far off it as it slowly came towards us, grabbed the food being offered and quickly beat its retreat!

We waited until dark, relaxing in hammocks, chatting away until night fell. We then returned to the lake with Brehitner pointing out small colourful frogs along the way. We were on the hunt for Caymans that live in the reeds around the lake and as Brehitner shone his bright torch along the bank, several red eyes were reflected back at us! I was under the misguided impression Cayman were small alligators – not true! They can be very big alligators and I wasn’t too keen to get much closer than just seeing their eyes as we were walking along the waters edge!

We walked back to the village through the forest with Brehitner uncovering interesting critters along the way – plenty of large tarantulas, tiny colourful frogs, lizards, beetles, stick insects and moths. If we’d been on our own we would’ve missed them, but Brehitner knew exactly what to look for and where to look!

The next day we headed back across the river to Peru and a visit to a small indigenous village where a local guide walked us through the forest, pointing out special trees as we went while Brehitner translated. Sloths, curled up in the top of the trees, resembled footballs as they slept the day away – I’m not sure if/when they are ever active! In the wet season the village and forest are flooded and once again there is evidence of large mud slides that have taken a considerable amount of land from the small community where we were treated to a traditional lunch, cooked over open fires in a large communal kitchen.

That evening Brehitner steered us up the river in a small tin dinghy, gave us a fishing rod made from a stripped stick, with a short piece of fishing line attached to it and small hook. It was beautifully old fashioned and child-like as he masterly cut-up some bait and told us to cast the line as far from the boat as possible, first swishing the tip of the rod in the water. This was not just any fishing trip, this was us fishing for piranha!

Nic had the first catch, managing to snare a fish Brehitner identified as a sardine which he then cut up and used as more bait. We then all managed to catch catfish of varying sizes which we immediately threw back. After moving to another part of the river in muddy water and close to the shallows, I successfully landed the first Piranha – a small fish with red sides and very sharp teeth. We had so much fun in the still evening with the sun setting behind us as our catch numbers increased, laughing as Steve caught a large Piranha that I was so afraid was going to land on me that I moved backwards and fell into the bottom of the boat completely beached and unable to do anything but laugh as the caught fish continued to dangle above my head!

We returned to the village for our last night, with four of the nine or so Piranha we had caught, throwing the rest back to fight another day! Brehitner prepared the fish and masterly cooked them for us, showing us the big teeth that were hidden behind their lips. The fish tasted surprisingly delicate and was a lovely way to end a great day.

On our last day we walked through the area’s secondary school and into the grounds of a monkey rescue centre. All the monkeys are uncaged and free to play, live and roam the forest around them but food is easy to find at the centre, so they tend to hang around. There were three types of monkey with the cheeky Capuchin steeling the show with their fearless antics, climbing on our shoulders and arms as we fed them banana. The other monkeys were a lot more fearsome but it was lovely to watch them in the trees, nimbly jumping from branch to branch and calling to each other as they climbed.

After a final walk to the market and visit to a small museum, it was time to leave Puerto Narino and head back to the metropolis of Leticia! As we made our way downstream at high speed, dodging large trees and other organic matter floating down the Amazon, we reflected on the last few days. It had been a magical experience to be in the Amazon, to witness life in an extremely isolated community and to have had the privilege to see so much nature. It had been a dream of mine to one day get to the Amazon, but I was unsure how/if I could ever realise it. How lucky am I to now have memories not dreams…?

Exploring the Sierra Nevada

We had already spent a week in Santa Marta and, as we were only intending to stay one month in Colombia, we needed to start exploring this fascinating country. Early one morning our group of four intrepid explorers made our way towards the busy fruit, vegetable and everything in between market. Stalls spilled out into the road as vehicles tried to squeeze their way through past pedestrians and vendors who wandered out into the traffic without a second look. It seemed totally disorganised as people yelled across the street at each other, drivers shouted at pedestrians and beeped horns, but traffic moved and market stalls had customers and the numerous police we saw on motorcycles and cars turned a blind eye, so the system must work! As we tried to find the bus to take us to Minca, we passed a large butcher shop displaying meat in large cabinets and at the end of the counter stood a tough looking guard with a large automatic rifle slung across his chest with his finger on the trigger. We moved on quickly with a passing thought of what dead remains might have been in the display cabinet of the empty shop!

I’m embarrassed to say that our Spanish is non-existent, limited to words of pleasantries or thanks. Even though I tried learning at least one word a day, my vocabulary was appallingly bad so having Nicki with her good grip of the language was a huge advantage. She managed to organise our bus tickets and get us safely on the waiting bus which wouldn’t leave until all the seats were full – no bus timetables here!

Although there are no timetables, the bus driver appeared to have a schedule of his own and, with passengers bags tied to the roof and a bus crammed with people, he drove like he was in training for a formula one race, overtaking on blind corners and speeding up the narrow hill roads. It was a relief to arrive in Minca 40 minutes later, stepping out into the relatively quiet streets of the hillside settlement.

Motorbikes are the main form of transport in this area and the constant drone of a bike is never far away, often ladened with mum, dad and child(ren), none wearing helmets as they negotiate the potholed roads. The children were balanced between parents, youngest at the front between dad’s legs (we sometimes saw this child asleep resting their head on the handlebars), second child between parents and mum at the rear, often holding shopping!

Minca is the main town for the rural hillside communities that stretch out across the Sierra Nevada. It has an old frontier town feel to it with small buildings lining the rutted roads that have been washed out with the heavy rains that fall in the rainforest that Minca is in the midst of. Brightly coloured birds darted passed us as we walked towards our accommodation, perched high up a steep long pathway overlooking the forest and down towards Santa Marta in the far distance. The relative coolness of the temperature was a welcome relief after the sticky heat of the city, which is why Minca has become a popular place for locals to come to escape the summer temperatures in the lower areas.

Our accommodation was part of a hostel offering varying types of sleeping options from hammocks under a thatched roof shelter to dormitories in the main building and separate thatched huts for those wanting a little more privacy – like us! We seemed to have scored the chiefs hut as it appeared to be the largest one in the group and accommodated the four of us on two levels, accessing the mezzanine floor by a ladder. As the sun set everyone staying at the hostel gathered on a large deck to watch the sun go down and listen to music, watching birds and bats darting below and around us as they caught flies in the fading light. All this for less than US$30 a night B&B per couple!

Next morning we were up early for a birdwatching tour with our knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide, Martin. We walked through the forest with Martin pointing out birds along the way as we all trained our binoculars in the general direction he was excitedly pointing! It was a fabulous trip with some of the highlights being a Toucan which was nesting, a flock of Macaws flying overhead and, right at the end of the walk, a pygmy owl that Martin was determined to find after hearing it calling close by. The Pygmy is the smallest owl in the world and very hard to find so we were lucky to have such a close encounter.

Later that day we headed to Victoria, an organic coffee plantation nestled in the hills and still using the old method of natural flowing water and sunlight to process the beans. The manager took us for a tour, explaining the long and laborious steps taken to ensure we can enjoy a cup of coffee! There are several steps in the process, but the only one that is labour intensive is the picking, everything else can be done by one person. It seemed quite incredible to me that anyone could have come up with the idea of doing all the rinsing, separating, drying, roasting and grinding so we can enjoy a hot drink!

We left the plantation, passing huge clumps of bamboo nestled in the thick forest and climbed up into the hills, expertly driven by Alfredo who we had hired for the afternoon. We wanted to go to an Indian village and understand more about how the aboriginal people live. It was clear that the population of full-bloodied native Indians was greater in Minca than in Santa Marta which is inter-racial with Africans, Europeans, Asians and Indians living harmoniously together, so it is wonderfully impossible to tell where someone’s past family was from. We were in a remote area when we spotted a man walking up the long, narrow, steep road. Alfredo stopped and told the man (we later learned was called Juan) to jump on the back and we’d give him a ride to the top of the hill. Juan gave a beaming smile and jumped on the bumper, holding on to the roof rack as Alfredo increased speed. After a quick conversation, we were invited to meet Juan’s family in his home, so turned down a very rocky road as Juan masterly continued to cling to the back of the truck.

Juan lived in a round thatched house with his wife, two young children and an elderly woman I took to be either his or his wife’s mother or grandmother. Juan showed us how they made twine from flax growing in their garden and dyed it using roots and berries to create bags, bracelets and clothing. He took us to a meeting house where the community discuss local events and happenings and teach children their rituals and traditions. Juan was such a gentle, beautiful person and we must have seemed like giants to him as we towered above his small frame following him back to his house watching his bandy assured walk as his children rushed out to greet us. His children were gorgeous, full of cheeky happiness as their grandmother (who we think we had disturbed having a wash), head wrapped in a towel, tried to control them. It was a very special meeting in a place with views over the surrounding valleys and tree tops.

As dark fell we started our return to Minca, watching a beautiful sunset as we descended further down the hillside. As the sun disappeared the rain started and by the time we returned to Minca the roads already resembled rivers so we asked Alfredo to drop us at a local restaurant so we could wait for the rain to clear. We enjoyed a lovely meal, watching the actual river increasing in volume and strength, as the heavens opened and lightning and thunder crashed around us, reverberating around the surrounding hills.

Our time in Minca was coming to an end and we left behind the brightly coloured humming birds, clear air and chilled atmosphere to catch the bus back to Santa Marta, fortunately with a less urgent driver, who deposited us back into the hurly burly of the market area.

We returned to the boat for one day before starting our next adventure and going much further afield to continue exploring this fabulous country.

Colourful Cartagena

The alarm went off early on Monday morning and we were up and off the boat within half an hour, excited for the next part of our journey of discovery! Together with our trusted friends and companions, Mike and Nicki, we hailed a taxi to take us to the main bus terminal which is on the outskirts of town. We were heading to Cartagena, an old city about 400 miles west of Santa Marta which is steeped in history.

The bus was very comfortable and the roads leading out of Santa Marta were fast and smooth as we slowly left the city behind and started seeing more rural scenes as we sped through the countryside. We passed an estuary with a large flock of pale pink flamingos that all took flight as we approached, flying beside us, much to my delight, their long necks outstretched as they beat their large wings.

A short while later we passed a shanty village built on stilts over the Magdalena River estuary. The river close to the houses was a rubbish tip and we watched someone throw a plastic bottle off their deck to join the rest of the rubbish collecting close to the houses. Further downstream a group of men waded knee deep with a fishing nets in hand and I wondered whether they would catch more rubbish than fish……

We saw large flocks of Egrets and Turkey Vultures along the beach as we followed the coast on our journey west, passing through small towns where horse and carts were used to transport crops and goods. Large Haciendas, marked with imposing gates and the occasional horseback riders gave the impression we were on the set of a movie as we continued our journey through the roads lined with trees ladened with ripening avocados with fallen fruit left to rot around the trunk. It was an enjoyable five hour bus trip giving us a moving window into life in Colombia.

Cartagena was an import port for the export of gold and silver and for importing slaves from Africa. As it is in a key location, close to Central America as well as the Caribbean, and shipping precious cargo, the city was a target for pirates and privateers (pirates that were thieving under the name of royalty, like Sir Francis Drake), so the city was heavily fortified. As well as having a rich maritime history, the city has beautiful historic buildings which have colourful and interesting stories to tell.

Like in Santa Marta, the bus station in Cartagena is on the outskirts of town so we negotiated a low price for a taxi into the old city so we could get our bearings before finding our accommodation. Cartagena has two distinct areas – the old and the new city, and we wanted to focus on the old part. We approached the walled city, walking through Centenario Park where marmoset monkeys climbed in the branches and sloths, introduced to the park a few years ago, lazily sleep in the upper branches of trees.

We had arrived on Cartegena independence Day, a national holiday which is celebrated with a large festival in the city, the culmination being the crowning of Miss Colombia! With the festivities finished, it was now time to focus on Christmas and large decorations were being installed in the main square in front of the gate through the city walls. As we approached the stone arched gateway we started to get a taste of what to expect in the city as men with hats stacked on their heads and arms full of sunglasses approached us trying to sell us their wares. Once inside the walls we were taken aback by the amount of hustling and continuous requests to have us part with our money! However this did not detract from the beauty of the buildings and sense of history in the lovely old city. We were excited to get to know Cartagena over the next few days, but first we took a US$3 taxi ride to our accommodation, on the northern beaches of the city and settled into our modern apartment, wasting no time getting familiar with the washing machine, good showers and swimming pool!

Over the next few days we wandered the city streets, met up with friends for lunch, went on another excellent guided walking tour and enjoyed numerous eating and drinking establishments! The city is vibrant and colourful with lots of beautiful buildings, lovely plazas and some spectacular murals on buildings in the Getsemani district. Some of the old buildings had door knockers which gave an indication of the profession of the people that once lived there – a sea merchant would have a knocker of an anchor, fish or anything to do with the sea; royalty or those from high society would have an iguana; clergy would have a hand and a lion represented members of the army or protectors of the city. The big wooden doors that these knockers decorated often opened into a large lobby that led into a beautiful, enclosed courtyard.

While on the walking tour, we were in the Plaza de la Aduana when our guide abruptly broke off from his speech and stopped a man in the street, introducing him to us as the Mayor of Cartagena. He was very affable and spoke excellent English (we later learned he had lived in the USA for many years) and was very impressed we were from NZ. His security team quickly surrounded him and hustled him away – we learned he is not a very popular Mayor! A little while later we were led to an area where our guide announced he was going to introduce us to his future wife….. he then showed us a pavement dedicated to all the past winners of Miss Colombia, just as the stunning, newly crowned Miss Colombia made an appearance, flashed us a beautiful smile and entered the building. Our guide was speechless as we joked with him that his future wife had just passed him by!

The city had many fine statues and monuments but were outnumbered by the huge array of cafes and bars offering excellent coffee and appetising food! One of our favourites was Abaco Libros y Café which was a small coffee house inside an old bookshop. The walls were lined with thousands of books and gliding ladders gave access to those on the top shelves.

After a few days exploring the city we made our way to the airport for the next leg of our adventure. While we were sad to be leaving Cartagena we were also excited for what lay ahead as we were all about to experience something none of us imagined we would have had the opportunity to do.

The Passage of Pain – Aruba to Colombia

The passage to Colombia is noted as one of the most unpredictable and potentially difficult sails on the cruisers circuit. The high mountains on the headland close to Santa Marta often cause winds to accelerate down the steep slopes and sailing can be treacherous, or at best, uncomfortable with high winds and rolling waves. The weather forecast is only a considered prediction and things can change very quickly, so several things needed to be taken into account before we left the safe and sheltered anchorage of Spanish Waters. First and foremost, we needed to make sure the boat, and we, were ready for the three day passage – tick! We then needed to ensure the different models of wind forecasts we looked at were starting to align and predicted lighter winds than we would normally choose for a short passage. This is because we’ve found the winds are often more than forecast and we didn’t want to risk strong winds close to Colombia. Finally, we needed an alternative plan, in case things turned to custard and we needed to escape somewhere for shelter or wait for a better weather window.

Zen Again had led the way out of Spanish Waters followed a little while later by us and our single-handed octogenarian, Fred who was still unsure if he wanted to go but was being ruled by the company being offered – an unwise thing for a seasoned sailor as its important to make your own decisions when sailing! Aruba is an 80NM sail from Curacao and we found wind keeping close to the Curacao coastline, opting to take the northern route around Aruba, while Fred had already told us he was going south of the island as it was a shorter route. He came on the radio and once again voiced his intention to stop in Aruba as he felt the winds were too light. By this time, we were making good progress and felt confident we could arrive in Santa Marta before a forecast weather system was due to hit in a couple of days.

From a sailing point of view, the passage was perfect! We had excellent wind conditions – all exactly as forecast – and only one squall to deal with in the middle of night one. Sadly though other things didn’t go so well…… Steve had a boom v’s head incident in the middle of the darkest moonless night and ended up with an enormous egg shaped lump above his left eye. This later developed into two black eyes, but at the time caused a painful bruise and pounding headache. Then, the next day as we changed our course and started heading straight towards Santa Marta, I started to feel very unwell. I spent the whole day curled up under a makeshift sunshade on the cockpit floor only moving when I had to vomit or have a drink! If it was seasickness, I have never experienced it as badly as that with a headache that must have matched Steve’s! Fortunately Hilda the Hydrovane was on top form and she steered us all day without even an adjustment needed.

As we approached Santa Marta on the northern coast of Colombia, we heard Fred on the VHF radio trying to raise the Port Authority to ask permission to enter the harbour. We listened with some amusement as Fred, who is as deaf as a post, with his gruff American voice, tried unsuccessfully to communicate with the port and the port tried unsuccessfully to communicate with him! We called the port and received an immediate response so Fred decided to just slip in behind and follow us into the harbour, repeating the same procedure as we contacted the marina to request a berth. After spending about 20 minutes drifting in the port while the marina found us a couple of suitable spaces, we made our way into the small marina with limited information on where we were supposed to go! Once safely tied up and the check in procedure had started, using the very friendly and hard working marina staff, we set out to explore the town!

Santa Marta is a popular destination for Colombians to visit for a few days as the city is small, lively and picturesque. The narrow streets are on an easy to navigate grid system, which are meant to be one-way but we soon learned that traffic rules seem to be optional in Colombia and we frequently had to avoid motorbikes or bicycles careering up streets the wrong way. We soon found the “High Street” lined with busy shops and market stalls set up on the roadside and pavements. A four piece mobile band walked down the street playing beautiful music as they joined the busy afternoon bustle, fruit carts ladened with bananas, oranges and mangos were being pulled by tired looking men while taxis and buses wove their way through the chaotic streets, beeping their horns continuously as they looked for business. It was a senses overload for us as we had not been in a busy city for some time and we were still in awe at the thought of being in South America and tired from the passage, so we soon wound our way back to the marina to have a celebrational drink with Fred and Zen Again who had just arrived.

Over the next few days we explored the city, taking a guided walking tour to learn more about Simon Bolivar, the revolutionary leader born in Venezuela and died in Santa Marta in 1831. He fought the Spanish and led the movement for independence, having a huge influence in several countries due to his leadership qualities and ability to pull people together from different backgrounds and tribes. His dream was to create a “United States” with what is now Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, parts of Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia to form a region known as the United Provinces of New Granada or Republic of Gran Colombia. Gran Colombia did not exist for long as it was dissolved in 1831, but for a time the Republic was among the most powerful and influential regions in the western hemisphere. Not everyone shared Bolivars vision of a centralised government and it is believed by many in Santa Marta that he was in fact poisoned as he died at only age 47. Interestingly, his statue in the main square in Santa Marta has him riding a horse with two legs raised, a symbol of a soldier that died in battle while statues we saw of him riding a horse in other Colombian cities do not have the raised legs.

We enjoyed many cups of delicious coffee and tasty food, running the gauntlet of hustlers and street hawkers as we chose a restaurant in the main dining streets. Eating out is so cheap it was hardly worth cooking on the boat and was a great excuse to socialise and experience the vibrant early evening atmosphere of the central areas.

We set a plan with Zen Again to explore inland Colombia and soon realised that we needed to be very selective in our choice of places to visit – there just wasn’t enough time to do everything we wanted to experience in the country we were fast learning, was a jewel in the crown of South America.