It’s been a while. Five years in fact.
Since my time in a world of contradictions: freezing cold weather in Bolivia; sweltering heat in Columbia; poverty in La Paz; drug wealth in Medellin; and now my new journey has started. But one far closer to my heart.
After having gallivanted far and wide, it’s about time I saw the amazing country called home. And what better way to do that than by hiking.
SOUTH AMERICA – THE JOURNEY PART 30
Colombia’s Caribbean Coast (on a budget)
Normally when you mention sun, beaches and ruby sunsets an explosion of “oohs” resonates around the room. Yet when you disclose the high price tag, the “ooohs” turn to low murmured “arghs”.
But it needn’t be so. Colombia’s Caribbean coast indulges those on a shoestring budget with hammock swinging cheapness, jungle-draped bays and the occasional flamingo.
SOUTH AMERICA – THE JOURNEY PART 29
COLOMBIA
Guatape, near Medellin, central Colombia
Guatape’s animated streets are adorable: a labyrinth of dynamic scenes that adorn house facades and flow into the town’s plaza. Café-goers spill out onto the table-strewn roadsides clutching their café tintos y pan (black coffee and bread) while a few blocks away lies an islet-woven lake, Guatape’s main draw with national tourists.
But the mystery of Guatape is this: despite its undeniable charm and phenomenal views, only a handful of foreign visitors wind up here. Which makes it a perfect getaway destination to spend a few days, but be warned, you may linger longer than expected.
SOUTH AMERICA – THE JOURNEY PART 28
COLOMBIA
Cocora Valley, the coffee zone, central Colombia
Only 11 kilometres from the cappuccino-sipping town of Salento lies another world completely. In Cocora Valley the menu is simple: a dose of tranquility, eye-boggling scenery, a side helping of cowboys and a sprinkling of the world’s tallest palm trees.
Available to devour in one or two days.
Wax plam trees in Cocora Valley, the tallest palms in the world. I’m in the bottom left-hand corner, for scale.
It’s one of the world’s most consumed drugs. It has a lethal dosage intake of 50 percent and withdrawal symptoms can include schizophrenia, anxiety attacks and depression.
Not surprisingly, Colombia is one of the top producers.
The name of the drug?
Caffeine. As found in coffee.
Beans from one of Tim Edward's coffee plants
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COLOMBIA
Tatacoa Desert (El Desierto de la Tatacoa), southwest Colombia
Tucked away between verdant hills lies Colombia’s second largest desert. Tree-lined roads lead to the parched dust bowl of Tatacoa where rust and white sand dunes reach out across the bizarre landscape.
A cactus at twilight in Tatacoa Desert
SOUTH AMERICA
ECUADOR
Quito, the capital of Ecuador
Ecuador’s capital city boasts rich colonial architecture, thronging streets and a transport system that outweighs most other South American metropolises.
Churches abound in the Old Town, with their grand doors and spires spiralling above the city. Columns and balconies adorn many buildings while parks and gardens give the city a ‘green’ streak.
Yes, it’s a place that I loved, a city that outranks all other capitals in South America. It’s Quito.
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ECUADOR
Quito – standing on the equator at Inti-Ñan
I gasped in amazement at the best news I’d heard since eating my greasy breakfast; I’d magically lost over two pounds in weight by simply shifting my location.
A group of six of us were standing in the southern hemisphere in Quito, Ecuador. Several metres away and we’d be in the northern hemisphere.
“Move onto the yellow line,” Nataly, a guide at Inti-Ñan museum told us. We did so dutifully.
“You’re all 2.2 pounds lighter than a few seconds ago.”
Puzzled faces stared back at her waiting for some logical explanation.
“If you look down you’ll see that now you’re all standing on the equator line. Due to less gravitational pull here you weigh less.”
I beamed triumphantly. Weight reduction in South America is about as common as a subtle Latino man – it simply doesn’t exist. In a continent that consumes fried food on a daily basis, any amount of weight shiftage, whether momentary or not, deserves a grin.
Nataly smiled back, proud to show us that we were actually standing on latitude zero. “Follow me,” she said. I did. Maybe I’d lose another few pounds…
Just north of Quito in Ecuador runs the equator line
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ECUADOR
The Quilotoa Loop – for quick facts about the route, scroll to the bottom of the page.
I skidded down the sand path, desperately grasping at tree roots to break my fall. To my left was a 200-metre drop down a rocky outcrop to Quilotoa’s vast crater lake.
“Nothing lives in there except algae, the alkaline water kills all life,” an American had told me the previous evening. His words resonated round my head now, drowned out only by my thumping heart and skidding feet. I lashed out again and caught a clump of grass; I was determined this lake wasn’t going to claim my life.
The evening sun reflects down on Lake Quilotoa
SOUTH AMERICA – THE JOURNEY PART 24
ECUADOR
A 7-minute read
An engine on display at the train station in Alausi
The sleepy town of Alausi was waking up to Sunday market madness. An elderly couple donned in Ecuadorian Andean attire was pulling a herd of reluctant sheep. The livestock had spotted an opportunity to stall their impending sale by munching away on a trail of vegetables, spilt from a vendor’s bag.
Behind them, low-pitch shouts bounced off the colonial buildings, the cream and white exteriors slowly being immersed in the morning light. The humming cacophony was gradually buzzing around the town but that was nothing compared to chaos erupting inside Alausi’s train station.
Nariz del Diablo, the Devil’s Nose, was billed as ‘the most difficult train journey in the world’ and if the inability to buy tickets was anything to go by, it definitely was the most difficult, near becoming the most impossible train journey I’d encountered.
South America Journeys 