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)
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