Thursday 5 September 2024

Canyons and Amazon trips in Colombia.

 

1)    The Güejar Canyons

 

At the beginning of the year we went with Marcela’s nieces Lucia and Irene, and Sabine, a friend from Germany, to explore the Güejar Canyons. A few years previously this was an area which was not viewed as ideal for tourism, however the communities have now established a rich portfolio of tours based around the canyons, rivers, waterfalls, and walks in this area of the foothills of the Eastern Andean Cordillera. 

 

Getting there involved travelling initially to Villavicencio; the construction on the highway required (and still requires) alternating traffic flow with windows in each direction of two hours, every six hours (at least this was the system when we made the trip. Once into Los Llanos we headed south to Mesetas, where we stayed for four nights, at the friendly Botalón del Abuelo, about 10 minutes outside Mesetas, and a tranquil place,  with a pool, and with  great views to the mountains. We dined in Mesetas. 

 


 

Next day we joined a group at Turem in Mesetas and headed off to Rio Güejar w Juan David to raft in the river: 9 km in 3:55. The following day meant “tubing” on the Umaragua from Uribe on Rio Guape with William, Fernando, Jhon, et al . The next day’s activity was a walk to the Diamante and Encantado waterfalls in the morning, and “tubing” in Rio Cafre in the afternoon. The last day took us to the Maravillas del Güejar, swimming 3.9 km in Caño Laja and Rio Güejar in 3:50 with Adriana and Juan. We returned to the posada in the late afternoon, and then left Mesetas for Villavicencio for the night. In the morning Sabine headed to the airport to fly to Santa Marta, and the rest of us left for Bogotá. 

 


 

The canyons were stunning, and we enjoyed the combination of walking and descending the rivers by various means.

 

2)    Mocoa

 

Another area which had been “off limits” for for us for a long time is Putumayo, however we finally made a trip to Mocoa in May. We travelled with our “costurero” group, and stayed at the Indigenous Women’s Association "La Chagra de la Vida" (ASOMI), which is outside Mocoa, on the road which leads to the Trampolín de la Biodiversidad (sometimes known as the Trampolín de la Muerte). On arrival we settled in and met Sonia, who became our beadwork teacher – we learned to make traditional chaquira “Sol y Luna” necklaces with her over the days of our stay. 

 


 

 

We lunched at the excellent Amazónica restaurant in Mocoa, and explored the town, saying “hello” at the Alcaldia, where we gained some insight into local attractions, walking  to the Kawai Mirador, and visiting Asana for yoga with Natalie. We dined at Kilote.

 

The following day took us to the Fin del Mundo trail, where we walked up to Poso Negro. Some made it further up the trail, however we chose to enjoy a refreshing swim in the Poso before returning, which was down the steep rocky trail, and which proved challenging for Alan, even though the overal distance walked was less than 6 km. Back at ASOMI we experienced a traditional “sanación” with Maria Rosario (Charito), which improved Alan’s knee remarkably.  

 


 

Early the following morning we headed to Reserva Natural Kindiwayra for birdwatching with Carolina and Sandra, we also enjoyed swimming in a pool in the stream, with beautiful waterfalls.  

 


 

 

The following day took us to meet Natalie, Carlos, and Ananda to walk to a finca on the Rio Rumiyaco, where we enjoyed the crystal waters and the tranquiliity of the area. 

 


 

 

We returned to ASOMI where we finished our beadwork before retiring for the night. 

 


 

On our last morning we had another delicious breakfast, then headed off to the airport at Villagarzon to return to Bogotá.

 

 

3)    San Jose del Guaviare

 

Our third trip this year, within Colombia, was to San Jose del Guaviare, which had been on our radar for a long time. One of the principal reasons for this was to visit Cerro Azul, in the Serranía de la Lindosa, which is a 13 km stretch of cliffs with thousands of painted rock art images. These have been estimated to be as much as 12,000 years old, although others claim that they are much more recent in age.

 

We went in July, with Sonny, our friend travelling the world and in Colombia for a few months. We stayed at the excellent Entre el Llano y la Selva, at Puerto Arturo, where hospitality was warm and helpful. On our first day we took a boat into Laguna Negra where we saw a variety of bird life including horned screamers and hoatzin, as well as squirrel, Maizero, and woolly monkeys. 

 



Next day took us to walk to el Laberinto, then Puerta de Orión, and then to Rio Rosado, which has the same coloured life as Caño Cristales, and then to relax at Tranquilandia.

 




 

On the following morning we headed off to Cerro Azul, walking from finca La Florida 4 km to and around the Cerro. The rock paintings were far more extensive than we had expected, and the variety and quality of the art was impressive. 

 

That afternoon we visited Finca la Chontadura, for lunch followed by a “Coca Tour”. This finca had produced coca for the production of cocaine during the period prior to the 2016 peace accord; now it gives an excellent tour showing the different coca species and the process of production. 

 

 





 

The following day took us upriver to Bocas del Raudal, where the river flows quickly through the narrower canyon, then further upstream to Puerto Lucas with Marisol y Ivan, who led us up to rock paintings and another mirador with stunning views from the highest point across the river and with an extensive vista of the forest. On the way back we swam at the waterfall cave. 

 


 

On our last day we went into San Jose, visting the Resguardo Indigena Panure where we met Graciliano and Diana Lorena, and we stopped to meet Elsa Bonilla who showed us her traditional artesanía. After icecream at Amazonika and a walk on the malecon, we headed for the airport and returned to Bogotá.

 

 

These three trips gave us access to places in Colombia which were new to us; we met great people, learned a great deal about the culture and practices of the areas, and experienced amazing natural settings.

 

Hugs!

 

Alan and Marce

 

(photos may be used for non-commercial purposes with credit to alanymarce@gmail.com)

 


 

Thursday 11 April 2024

A brief post about a brief stopover in Istanbul

 2024 Apr 5/6 

 

We had travelled to Delhi on Turkish Airlines, and on the way home had a 22 hour stopover in Istanbul, so took advantage of the opportunity to spend the time in the city. We booked a hotel in Sirkeci, which put us within walking distance of the Hagia Sofia, Blue Mosque, and Grand Bazaar. We were able to enjoy all of these without feeling rushed, which gave us a good taste of this part of the city. There’s so much more to see and appreciate, however we focussed on a few points of interest, leaving others to the next opportunity to visit.

In addition to these places, we had lunch at Şerbethane Cafe & Restaurant,  which proved to be a good place since it has a garden at the back with a great view to the Blue Mosque. 

 


Dinner was at the highly rated Deraliye Terrace, and this proved a good option.

 

So, a few photos for a taste of our brief stopover; more next time : )

 

 

 



Hugs / Abrazos

Alan and Marce

 

Photos may be used for non-commercial purposes with credit to alanymarce@gmail.com

Las fotos pueden usarse para fines no comerciales con crédito a alanymarce@gmail.com

 




Monday 6 November 2023

A celebration in Greece – Athens, Kythira, and points in between.

 

2023 Sep 3-23

 

We had been invited to Gaz’s & Emma’s wedding anniversary celebration in Kythira. So, we put our “Around Canada” travel on hold while attending this. We left Toronto on September 3rd, arriving in London on the 4th, and drove to Norwich to see Tes and Margo for a short visit. We caught up with them, went into Norwich, enjoyed the excellent art gallery at Sainsbury Centre, and walked Whitlingham Little Broad.

 

We returned to Heathrow and flew to Athens, arriving at 0400h, to an amusing (in hindsight) comedy of errors relating to our brief stay in Markopoulo. We had booked a place for what was left of the night, in this town not far from the airport. Getting there turned out to be less efficient than hoped, however in the end we did get a good sleep, before returning to the airport to pick up a rental car, following which we headed into Athens for the next night. We stayed in Charitos, which proved to be an attractive area with cafés, shops, and restaurants, within walking distance of the Acropolis and the Plaka area, where we enjoyed the day.

 



 

We then left Athens to drive to Neapoli, where we spent the night in a howling gale, at a BnB with an excellent view, at least when the wind permitted. On the way we stopped at Mikines (Mycenae) and walked the ruins and the Tomb of Agamemnon, dating from the Mycenaean Period (1600 BCE to about 1100 BCE). 

 



 

The following day we took the ferry to Kythira, in continuing high winds, showing a face of the Aegean which doesn't make it to the tourist brochures. 

 


 

On arrival on the island we headed to Avlemonas, where we were to stay for the following week, with Gaz, Emma, and Robyn; we would also spend some of the time with Pat and Wendy, as well as with friend Greg, all from Australia.

 

Kythira is a sizeable island, one of the Ionian islands, south of the Peloponnese Peninsula. The population is around 5500 people, most of whom we seem to have met at one point or another.

 

Avlemonas is a small village centred on an inlet of the Aegean, perfect for swimming, being protected on three sides and easily accessible from the village, which has several restaurants, a general store, and not a lot else. 

 


 

We spent time with Gaz and Emma, as well as the others in the group, in various restaurants; in Avlemonas, Livadi, Potamos, Milopotamus, Kapsali, Aroniadika. Pierros, in Livadi, was outstanding! Karavas Bakery was an excellent morning stop for coffee and baked goods.

 

We walked the trail at Amir Ali Spring and to Nereida waterfall as well as around many villages and towns.

 

We explored, with Greg’s help, Kastri, Palaiochora castle and Kakia Lagada Gorge, and the Road of Tears and Joy. 

 


 

We wandered around the island, finding our way to Agios Nikolaos Krassas (a tiny church on a cliff), the Holy Pilgrimage of Panagia monastery, the Archæological Museum of Kythera, and with others the Venetian Castle in Chora. To reach the Moudari Lighthouse we took a route which proved to be restricted to 4x4 vehicles, according to a sign visible only when we returned. Beaches included Liminaria beach, Paralia Melidoni beach, Limnionas Beach, and various beaches to which we gained access on a boat from Kapsali.

 









 

 

One evening we enjoyed attending a dance at Livadi, attended by most of the population of the island, it seemed, with traditional dancing and music. 

 










 

 

One afternoon we engaged in helping Greg paint various bits of his house, although some of the effort went into cleaning  up unintended painting of bits which were not intended to be painted...

 

One evening we enjoyed attending a dance at Livadi, attended by most of the population of the island, it seemed, with traditional dancing and music.

 

We left Kythera, returning to Neapoli on the ferry, then continued to Mystras where we stayed at a resort hotel in antique style, which was actually recently built, although very comfortable. The following day we explored the Mystras Byzantine Archæological site – the high Fortress, the upper town, and finally the lower town. This is an impressive ruined town from the Byzantine period, the capital of the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea in the 14th and 15th centuries CE, overlooking the valley with impressive views. 

 



 









 

From here we returned to Athens, stopping on the way to visit the Corinth Canal, cutting across the isthmus to link the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. 

 

 



 

In Athens we visited the National Museum of Contemporary Art Αthens (EMST), wandered through Plaka, Varvakios Central Municipal Market, and Monastiraki Square

 

 

On the way to the airport the following day we stopped at the Artemis Temple in Brauron, then flew to Heathrow. 

 




 

On arrival we stayed with Mark and Beate in Marlow and enjoyed their company, visiting Burger’s, walking to Temple Lock, and catching up with them. We then headed back to Canada, flying from Heathrow to Montréal where we spent the night before taking the train to Ottawa where we went to the Canadian Museum of History and wandered around town before meeting Rose and Justin to return to Perth, pick up the vehicle, and continue our “Around Canada” exploration, captured at https://aroundcanada2022and2023.blogspot.com .

 

 

Hugs / Abrazos

 

Alan and Marce

 

Photos may be used for non-commercial purposes with credit to alanymarce@gmail.com

 

Las fotos pueden usarse para fines no comerciales con crédito a alanymarce@gmail.com