Saving Brazil and the Amazon for Another Time

Me and my brother, Greg last year.

I did not make it to Brazil as planned for October 1st. I had my hotel reservations, two flight tickets (one to Rio and one to Manaus), and my eVisa for Brazil. I even had my boarding pass downloaded to my phone. I was all ready to leave later that day to Rio de Janeiro for a few days and then fly up Manaus to being my Amazon River trip. The only question was whether I wanted to take a boat into Peru and Ecuador, or head back to Bogota, Colombia afterwards. All that changed in the blink of an eye. Looks like I will have to try to do the Amazon River another season.

Why? Well, early that same morning I got a message about my brother who was found unresponsive after somewhere between 24 and 36 hours alone in his apartment. 'Nuff said. The Brazil tickets were now useless to me. I booked a flight to Texas and was on a plane within hours. I got back and my brother, Greg was in ICU, but stable. I thought he was good to go at that point, only to realize my hopes were lost the next afternoon. An aneurysm from complications with high blood pressure took out my brother at 47 years of age. The whole experience seemed unreal. My sister, Camille was on top of things. She's a nurse and her training was definitely indispensable in helping my mother and family understand what was happening. Beyond that, she was hugely helpful in organizing the arrangements for my brother's funeral and cremation. I'd have needed a couple of weeks before even thinking about contacting a funeral home. And if that wasn't enough, my grandfather died two weeks later. Even though it was not that much of a surprise at his age and condition, the reality of it still took a toll on all of us. October was the worst month of my life. But I'm not going to get into a bunch of "Woe is me" rants. Its done.

My Grandfather's burial site, next to that of his beloved wife who proceeded him.

I spent the entire month in Texas and then I flew back to Colombia on November 3rd. I am currently back in Colombia's capital city, Bogota. I decided to come back here and give this city some more time. I have never really appreciated capital cities that much, so I only scheduled 3 days here on my original visit in September. I quickly deduced that I was wrong. My stay at Selina Hotel was excellent. I met 2 or 3 new people that quite frankly, were very impressionable. And then I took a walking tour of the area I stayed in and learned some more about the city's history as well as where it all fit into Colombia's history as a whole. I may just take that tour again. Fernando Botero is from here and his museum is just down the street! And its free. That was something he was insistent on. No charge for exhibiting his work here.

I re-booked the same Selina Hotel as when I was here in September, but I got the upgraded, Rockstar room for my first 3 days. Its was a beautiful room, but I honestly think the last room may have been preferred. Sometimes it works out like that where the best room on the property actually isn't. Possibly, that's just me, though.

Four balconies (one behind the bed)

That is a stairway to the left that leads to the downstairs living room and bathroom

I wanted to stay in the same district area of La Candelaria, which is the oldest  (500 years old) section of the city. So after leaving Selina, I booked a week at La Candelaria Hostel, near Parque de los Periodistas, or Journalist's Park. Its much more of a basic room compared to my room at Selina, but its also more typical of the hostels I stay in to save money. It's also close to Monserrate, which is another thousand feet of elevation that I'll hike for its excellent views of the city. I'm going to stay here in Bogota for at least a month, but I'm not certain exactly when I'll head out or exactly to where. I know I'll go through Ecuador and see the Galapagos Islands, but I don't know how much I'll see of the county in all. I have to be in Lima, Peru in January. That much I know. My daughter and her husband, along with my cousin and her hubby are coming to meet me there.

So the adventure continues. I'm back on the road and continuing with my journey. So when will I do Brazil and the Amazon River? Good question. The rainy season is well under way there now and flooding is soon to follow. I'd much rather not boat up the Amazon on such flooded currents with the banks overflowed. So possibly, I will likely pass through Paraguay and head into Brazil stopping in at Rio de Janeiro, by next March or April...that's a guess. As for boating up the Amazon River, I can't say for sure. The only possibility is maybe after I am coming back UP South America after Argentina and Chile. Its an option and I'll just have to keep exploring them.

First Month in South America - Colombia

"It's ludicrous that this place exists and everybody doesn't want to live here."
~ Anthony Bourdain speaking about Colombia

Faro Punta Gallinas, the most northern point of South America Very remote and desolate area.

Heading into Cartagena, Colombia from Guatemala, City felt like jumping into a pool of cold water. I knew I was going to do it, but I was highly nervous about it. Colombia represented an entirely unknown for me and while you can research as much as you want, there's nothing like stepping off a plane and feeling that air of a totally different country. What did I notice first? The fact that there were a ton of black Colombians and therefore more people that looked like me. So, like Belize, I wasn't the only black person around. Probably the next thing I noticed was that the only dogs on the street were on leashes being walked by their owners. In several places in Central America, you can expect to see stray dogs in various stages of health.

Ojos de Agua

I was a day late getting to my hotel due to a missed flight. I stayed in Cartagena for two days before heading north to my hotel at Eco Hostel Yuluka near Tayrona National Park. Yuluka is a beautiful property and I had one of their larger and better rooms with an open air shower. It was quite gorgeous. On day two, the weather opened up and so I left for Tayrona just down the street to see what shots I could get. Its definitely wise to bring water as this is about a two-hour hike to get to the main beach at El Cabo. The sun was fierce that day and the return hike was toughest coming back. Its a good thing there are several places to get water as I definitely ran out on the return trip. Awesome hike. Great scenes. Beautiful beaches. Be sure to check out the links because its definitely worth the visit. Consider an over night stay.

Outdoor shower and bath, Guacamaya Room at Eco Hostel Yuluka, Santa Marta, Colombia near Tayrona

I was extremely disappointed that the trek to Ciudid Perdida was closed for the entire month of September. I heard different explanations as to why that was. One was that recent heavy rains destroyed the trails, but I also heard that some of the facilities at the overnight stays were in need of desperate repair. But I got over it. My highlight of Colombia came a week later when I headed further north into La Guajira, and well beyond Uribia.

Tayrona National Park

I took a 2-day 4x4 tour with Alta Guajira Tours up to Punta Gallinas which is the most remote and northern point of South America. My thoughts were to try to do this on my own and I was told by Victor at Yuluka that it was not safe. He was correct. The idea was not only dangerous but also not safe. A single vehicle breaking down out there is not a good position to be in. We passed a broken down tour truck and before long, there were about 4 other trucks there to render aid. Turned out to be nothing serious and we were all back on the road, but imagine 4 tourists stranded out there.

Local native girl of the Jusayan Indians of La Guajira

The first day concluded at Cabo de la Vela which is a small village on the coast were we spent the night in hammocks in an open cabin on the beach. We locked our belonging up in a secure building or left them in the vehicles and then took what we needed to our hammocks. Myself and my other 4 cohorts watched the sun set and called it a night.

Waking up with my cohorts after a night on the beach at Cabo de la Vela

The next day found us continuing our journey with a four hour back-country drive to Punta Gallinas with a few stops to sight-see along the way. These were different beaches and dunes where we were given a few hours to take pictures and enjoy the water. We reached Punta Gallinas right before sundown along with a few other trucks in the convoy that followed. Our lodging for the night was nearby, again in hammocks under a covered pavilion. Out here, though it was dark. The night sky with a new moon was lit up by stars from horizon to horizon. Some saw the Milky Way for the first time in their lives. About 10 of us sat out under the stars and fellowshipped together, represented by countries from Austria, France, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands. I was the only American.

Night under the stars near Punta Gallinas

We talked about a gamut of subject matters, including the suspicious alcohol content in the mysterious whisky-rum type concoction that we were drinking. We definitely discussed what was going on in America with this administration. You might be highly surprised at the world view of the US lately. There's not a place I go that I'm not confronted at some point about the state of our politics. In a discussion with a Canadian couple, I felt the strong impression to apologize on behalf of my country and to reassure them that all of America does not feel the way this administration does.

The last two weeks have been spent in Cartagena, where I got to do some work for a local restaurant, Medellin, and a few days in the capitol city of Bogota. I got to explore these cities, but only a bit. Much of my time was spent editing photos and getting some organization efforts done. Those first two weeks north of Cartagena was probably the busiest two weeks of my entire trip. On October 1st, I fly to Rio de Janeiro and begin the Amazon River trip that I'm looking forward to. So, stay tuned. What I know for sure is that I will have to return here to Colombia. I want Punta Gallinas with a model, spend more time in Cartagena, do Ciudad Perdida, explore some of the islands out this way, and push further through Colombia past Bogota, like Cali. I could do a full 90 days here exploring this country.

UPDATE: This just crossed my mind. I may indeed do the Amazon River gig and then right at the border where I was thinking of crossing into Iquitos, Peru. Well, possibly scratch that. I'm giving serious consideration to crossing into Leticia, Colombia and returning to Bogota. Its only $100 for a flight back here. Who knows? Find a spot to live for a month. Take some Spanish classes. THEN head to Ecuador, by land...do the Galapagos Islands, and slide on into Peru by Christmas. We'll see.