Lost in the Lost City, Sierra Nevada, Colombia

Actually I wasn't lost but at times I felt a bit left behind on such an arduous trek.

Oh yeah, let me back up a bit as it's been weeks since I last blogged.  Time has been flying by here in Santa Marta working with Padre and his community.  English classes have now been scheduled to Saturday morning as school started for most people this week.  The summer holiday period here is December and January and schools are opening back up this week and next week.  Summer in Santa Marta is over (but thankfully not the hot weather!)

Weather has greatly improved here from when I first arrived.  It's now very hot and dry - no more torrential humid rain (thankfully for my laptop and cameras).  It's gorgeous and I can't believe I only have about two more weeks in Santa Marta.

Preparing for the Feria, January 29th.  When I first arrived here I asked Padre what artisan projects people made or knew how to make and he didn't know.  It was my idea to host a Feria de Artisanales where people could show us what they were good at making (for creating and selling items to sell to tourists).  The girls and boys have been working very hard at promoting the event throughout the barrios with homemade posters and flyers.  Padre has also made some good announcements at church on Sunday.  People here like to gamble so the first prize for the Artists Fair will be the money we collect from the entries (2000 pesos per entry).  We've had a few people enter already but I am hoping they will all come on the 29th.  I have heard people are busy making things and getting ready to enter.  Colombians don't work to a schedule nor are they very good at planning things so it's sometimes a bit of a challenge for this gringa.  

Back to getting lost in the Lost City.  After visiting the Santa Marta museum when I first arrived I learned about the Lost City through their small collection of artifacts.  I was mesmerized that there was a lost city located up in the Sierra Nevada mountains so close to where I was staying I suggested for Padre and I to go.  It is a very expensive and timely trip as it takes 2 days trekking up the mountain to view the lost city and then 2 days trekking back down.  It's a five day trip of mud, sweat, grueling uphill hikes under a blazing sun with mosquitoes everywhere.  I can't believe I put myself up for this challenge to see a lost civilization in the mountains of Colombia! 

You can read more about the lost city http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciudad_Perdida

I actually (and thankfully) did not get lost in the lost city nor on the way but at times I thought I was as the trekking guides don't really wait for you.  Everyone must keep up a strong pace at all times.  There were moments when I was walking by myself on the path in this jungly type of dense growth for 15-20 minutes just concentrating on my breath, not tripping over any rocks and not getting lost.  It was grueling for me as I'm not as in good of shape as I was a few years ago training for marathons.  This was certainly a good reminder for me to get back into shape!

We had some really good fruit breaks on the way up the mountain and my favorite was the first stop after 3 hours of serious hiking where we had fresh watermelon awaiting us.  I had never tasted such sweet and succulent watermelon as I did this day.  

I ate all kinds of colombian sugary snacks along the way that I would never think to eat during any other time but I was happily surprised that they were so good!  Guava sugar cubes that melted in my mouth and gave me quick energy spurts.

The toughest days were definitely the first two days on the way as you are almost hiking vertically up a mountain in serious mud.  You can not go on this trek expecting not to get muddy and wet.

Day three we finally reached our base camp to the Lost City.  We dropped off our over night items and crossed the river waist high to greet the famous stone stairway to take us up to the Lost City - all 1250 steps.  This was a serious stair master test.  The stones are very small (geez these indigenous people must of had very small feet!) and they are slippery from the moss and moisture of frequent rain.  

I can't tell you the sense of achievement of reaching atop of those 1250 stairs!  Padre was kind enough to carry my camera so he snapped of couple of photos of me gasping for air and water.

We spent a few hours at the Lost City viewing all the terraces and meeting the famous Colombian army who are based there 24/7.  These young soldiers spend 3 months at a time living there keeping tourists safe (and the Lost City remains).  They are more excited to see us then we are to see them and all of them certainly enjoy getting their pictures taken with all of us gringos.

You can view many of my photos on flickr.  I will have to apologize in advance for the many green and green pictures but hey that's what it was like trekking to the Lost City - very green!

I'm glad I made it and I'm glad I didn't break any bones on the way down.  It was one of the best experiences of my life and was it worth it?  You bet!

4 January

Wow!  Time is flying by here in Santa Marta.  I have been helping Augusto every day with various things but mainly looking at sustainability and tourism opportunities for his community.  There is so much work to be done here.  I am only here to scratch the surface and create a beginning.  It will be up to the people here in the community and other volunteers who come to Santa Marta to take on further work.

R2 D2 buseta

Sunday I rode in my first R2 D2 buseta.  All the busetas (mini-vans) here are very personalized by the owner/drivers.  They often have hanging toys or stickers that reflect the aspirations of the driver (e.g. more women, more booze or simply a better car)  My favorite thus far was this green buseta that we rode in when Mervy and I went to the beach on Sunday.  It had a picture of a ferrari above the picture of the buseta (obviously the driver thought of his car as the ferrari of Santa Marta) but the funniest thing was when he honked his horn to let cyclists or other busetas know that he was driving down the road.  The horn or sound that emitted from this green and white mini van sounded liked a broken down R2 D2 from Star Wars.  It was quite amusing for me and although i tried to capture the sound on video he never seemed to use the horn when I was filming.

New Year’s Eve in Colombia

I spent most of the day with Padre visiting a few people in the poor area of his neighborhood delivering some food parcels.  Padre will often buy or get donations of food from other people and then he passes it out to those most in need.   We drove on his motorcycle to visit a few people.  In particular I had the opportunity to meet Alberto and his family who Padre featured in one of his spanish videos on the community website:  www.puentesfoundation.org  Alberto was one of the farmers that was exploited and forced to move out of his home several years ago during the guerilla wars in the Sierra Madre.  He was allowed to leave alive with his family with just the clothes on his back and nothing else.  Alberto is a very humble and hardworking man who has been trying to rebuild his life in Santa Marta.  His family live in a very poor ram-shackled house built of left over wood and building materials.  He is trying to build himself a new home as well as build a small garden to sustain himself.  He is the first one growing aloe vera plants in his area and he hopes to make some kind of product out of the aloe vera.  They also grow Arnica trees so this is another product that Padre is looking into.  Anyone with good knowledge of products that can be derived from aloe vera or arnica are greatly in need. I have been googling products and recipes but I think the first step is to get some knowledgeable farmers (besides Alberto) in the community to help the rest of the village begin to plant sustaining gardens.

Lastly as we departed Alberto’s neighborhood I couldn’t help notice (and to want to take photos) of all the stuffed men lying about.  It is traditional here in Colombia that they burn last year’s man (2010) to welcome the new year.   They create a dummy filled with newspapers or bags and dress him up in some kind of theme.  It was fun seeing all these dummies lying about in front of shops and cars and posed in different positions (this one in particular was a bit naughty!)  There were many more but these were the ones where we stopped the motorcycle long enough for me to snap a quick photo.

Sustainability y inglés

I’ve been teaching English everyday and started this week to teach english to the Ninas and Ninos.  They are very cute and my class today grew from about 18 to 27!  So word is getting out.  I wanted to limit the class to 20 but it’s hard to say no to kids who want to learn.

The kids are very cute and are learning very basic english for starters like “hello” “how are you?” “Good morning”, etc.  Most of the little ones haven’t had any english experience at all and they are keen to learn a few words.  I have had Lady (one of the younger girls that’s very involved with the church and community) helping me translate when needed.  Her english is very good and she is also a very good teacher’s assistant.  I have already discussed with Padre that she should continue the English lessons after I leave.  Tourism in Santa Marta will be on the rise in the next few years as the government is planning on investing and developing more into this area for the future.  Santa Marta is a conservation hot spot in Colombia as well as being a lovely holiday destination for not only Colombians but also international visitors.  If these kids can understand that learning English (or another language) will be vital to their future employment opportunities later.  It’s a lot to teach but I do my best in simple lessons and many games that we play in the classroom.  I love to engage the kids by getting them to stand up and we do games using the English from today’s lesson.  I love to teach them about conservation and the environment so we talk about the playa (beach) and the beautiful areas that surround Santa Marta (the reasons to why tourists would come here).  

My afternoon English Club with the older girls has been going well and we are more into action of trying to create some ideas whilst I’m here.  I have given them the idea of making a simple bag (like a recyclable grocery or shopping bag) that tourists or people might want to buy.  They have the assignment this week of researching fabric, costs and to come up with some unique Santa Marta or Colombian designs.  It’s been really rewarding for me to get them thinking and add a bit of inspiration.  I only hope that they take this as a stepping stone and continue to make things happen after I leave - that’s the real challenge!

I do believe in the power of one and how much even one person can give or inspire to a community.  I take Padre Augusto as a wonderful example of how much one person can give and do for various people.  He is always busy and always helping people every day.  I can’t say the same for his cat though (Tiger el Gato).  Tiger and I have bonded but he is the laziest cat I have ever met.  He has now rightly earned his name “El Gato Flojo.”

So hope everyone that’s reading this is off to a good new year. 

More pictures soon but you can see all of them on my flickr account:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/thedogreporter/sets/

Gracias!

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