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Female solo traveler. In love with Latin America, wilderness, camping, indigenous cultures. Read more Lebane, Serbia
  • TravelerCentral to South America
    Day 68

    Rafting Rio Suarez 5/5

    February 22, 2023 in Colombia ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    As the most important day trip in Santander I would definitely choose rafting in Rio Suarez.

    Who knows me, knows that I am a new swimmer and rather uncomfortable in the turbulent waters. Well, the best way to get rid of a fear is face it - and in my case face it in a turbulent and crazy white-waters with waves up to two meters at certain parts.

    It was absolutely amazing experience. Level 5 rafting is forbidden in most countries for safety, but not Colombia! Truly unique experience, a mix of constant adrenaline, being present in the every moment, physical effort. I loved every part of it, and even jumped in the river myself when it got a bit more peaceful, just to relax and enjoy the flow. Of course I was not able to swim back so had to just relax and let our rafting guide find me and pull me up. Hey, the gravity helped!

    As a side effect of this amazing experience I became friends with group of four other travelers that were my rafting pals and we spend next couple of days together.

    And I have only two shitty photos to prove all that 😄    Read more

  • TravelerCentral to South America
    Day 67

    Day trip to Barichara and Juan Curi

    February 21, 2023 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    During my time in San Gil, my friend Carolina decided to join me and we explored the area together for a couple of days, while chilling and catching up.

    We visited beautiful village Barichara, just in time for sunset…enjoyed dreamy colonial architecture (the all-white look really gives it unusual romantic feeling) and tried the delicacy of the region in a Michelin star restaurant ✨ants✨

    Another day we visited Juan Curi waterfall, an easy walk through the forest where we took so many photos and enjoyed the nature, managing to find our own private spot even though it was rather crowded.

    Not something that I would particular li enjoy on my own, it was great experience with Caro as we got to spend more time together doing new activities.    Read more

  • TravelerCentral to South America
    Day 66

    San Gil, Colombian adventure capital

    February 20, 2023 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    After a big city restlessness I headed towards the mountains to a place I just have recently discovered by recommendations, as it usually happens, San Gil in Santander department.

    I stayed in one of the most famous hostels, and it had a perfect view, nice crew and great adventure activities offer. San Gil is famous as an adventure hub - everything is available from rock climbing, hiking, caving to extreme white water rafting and kayaking. I decided for the most famous ones - rafting level 5 in the Suarez River and paragliding. Besides that I spent couple of days just chilling in San Gil, which had a nice “hub” vibe even though it was rather small and peaceful town, enjoying amazing local coffee and pastries.

    Huge recommendation for a local coffee farm and bar just in the center of San Gil - Las Cruces. Amazing coffee, great ambience and you’ll get to support a young entrepreneur who takes his family coffee business to a next level. He even put illustration of his parents on the packaging of the two most famous coffee blends from their farm. How cute is that! 😍    Read more

  • TravelerCentral to South America
    Day 64

    Bogota

    February 18, 2023 in Colombia ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    After additional night in Riohacha we headed to Bogota.

    Bogota is an organism - nice and terrifying big city, like most of them feel to me. There is something for everyone and competitive spirit between Medellin and Bogota .

    It seems very unsafe, not by a general vibe on the street, but by what other people have told me. Everyone, literally everyone I’ve met from Bogota warned me about not walking in the city alone, avoiding crowded places, etc. During our time there we were approached multiple times by random people asking for money, “favors”, etc. Nothing happened and I can see that in Bogota you need to know your way around, contrary to what I usually do as a traveler - aimlessly wander until something captures my attention.

    However, at the same time, we visited restaurants, bars, spas, and museums that Belgrade for example can only dream of. Big clash of everything, and that’s why I liked it.    Read more

  • TravelerCentral to South America
    Day 62

    La Guajira - sand, poverty and resilence

    February 16, 2023 in Colombia ⋅ 🌬 27 °C

    The next day we hopped on a 3-day desert tour of La Guajira, from the sand dunes, through the lakes and cactus fields to Punta Gallina, the most northern point of South America.

    The trip was exhausting and intense, in every possible way.

    The ride through the desert is a bumpy and slow one, and the countless kids holding chain and rope barricades don’t help. We had to stop every 5-6 meters at one point, paying for our passage by money, water, sweets and other food. We were prepared, but not sufficiently - we ran out of everything half way through the day and the driver was just heading straight through the ropes/chains and people who would drop them down and jump away to the side.

    Our car was bad and it broke down - luckily very close to a big gathering in the middle of the desert. I thought it was a restaurant, curiously poking around and asking for coffee. They didn’t let me pay, the main lady took my arm and walked me around the wooden establishment while the driver was negotiating how to fix the car. It was the anniversary of her father’s death - 8 years - and all the attendees were extended family, cherishing and remembering his existence. We went in the back of the kitchen and there was a big altar and more people sitting around it, everyone dressed up and looking very formal. She said that the closest family members came the day before to help clean the bones (remains) of the father, which are dug out every year, to show respect and love, and then put back after the feast. It was intense for me, but I was amazed at the lightness and ease these people showed in dealing with death and remembering the dead.

    Punta Gallina although very famous and praised for tourism is nothing really - a short car stop to observe the raging ocean and take a photo at the most northern point of the South American continent.

    After that however, we went to see the dunes and have a lunch there (turns out that our hostel was near the dunes as well).

    Crazy, crazy, crazy.

    One of my favorite landscapes in my life. Imagine big nothing of the desert. Soft sand, wind, blinding sun. Thirst. Salt in the air. Slippery sand where each step becomes two steps and your foot disappears u til the ankle with each.

    Then with one step the mighty ocean shows itself, previously only hinted by the sound. Never have I seen before these two deadly environments coming together so well, and people living happily at their intersection. Tall, dark-skinned, skinny people. Happy people.    Read more

  • TravelerCentral to South America
    Day 62

    Cabo de la Vela

    February 16, 2023 in Colombia ⋅ 🌬 27 °C

    Our next stop was Cabo de la Vela - the starting point for exploration of La Guajira desert. We spent two days there. The local Wayuu people hold a sort of monopoly - prices are double of what they are in Riohacha and although it is supposed to be authentic experience and backpacker’s spot, tourism is highly developed and everything revolves around it.

    There is a slight feeling of a ghost town. The majority of people rushed to advertise their hotel and restaurants but the hoards of tourists never came, so now they are a bit resentful and exploiting towards anyone who does come for a visit. The life there is tough - most of the children you see on the street will try to get any money from you, mostly through begging, selling, or even asking for water. Cabo de la Vela’s beach is very shallow but with constant strong winds, hence a kite surfing paradise. There is a small and lively kite surfing community here.

    We did a 4x4 desert tour. As there is not a lot of things you can do on your own, this is a good option. I am not particularly fan of spending a day in a car and stopping just to get photos, but those were some nice photos. The sea is restless with heavy currents and wind, so when we were there, it was not really possible to swim.

    Everything seems harsh and unwelcoming but beautiful to see. In Riohacha, I learned couple of Wayu words, since learning a local dialect previously helped me when traveling. Not this time, people that I tried to connect with were not only unimpressed, but kinda confused what to make out of my efforts.    Read more

  • TravelerCentral to South America
    Day 59

    Mayapo beach and immigration

    February 13, 2023 in Colombia ⋅ 🌬 28 °C

    While enjoying Riohacha to the maximum contrary to the all expectations, Milan and I wanted to see at least one more of the praised beaches in the surounding.

    We went to the Mayapo beach, and while Milan spent hours swimming, I didn’t really like the brownish color of water close to the coast (due to the wind and sand), so I stayed outside and read a book. The beach was sandy and extensive but vacant and with odd feel to it.

    A local boy soon joined me. He looked young and skinny and was interested in us - where did we come from, why, how. Likewise, I was interested in the way he lived. He told me that he came from the nearby village and that he comes everyday to swim and collect shells. We played some of his games - one was a guessing game, trying to identify which object the other person chose. The second one was guessing how many shells has the other person hidden in the sand. Very simple and straightforward games - he told me they play them often in the village.

    Then we talked a bit about life, and the boy revealed to me that he was not local Wayu, but that his parents came from Caracas in Venezuela, when he was born. I think at that moment I realized the proportion of the horror of Venezuelan situation that caused all the immigration. What was a couple with a newborn baby running away from, if they found peace in a desert, where nothing except cactus grows, without drinkable water and the highest poverty rates in Colombia? Whatever it was, it for sure meant death for them. The boy revealed that he is 14 years old - not as young as he looked, but was probably underdeveloped due to the conditions of life.

    My life shook a bit that day, but that was just a glimpse of what was about to come in the following days.    Read more

  • TravelerCentral to South America
    Day 56

    Riohacha, my secret favorite

    February 10, 2023 in Colombia ⋅ 🌬 32 °C

    Riohacha is a small city on the Carribbean and a capital of the Guajira department. It is not touristy and there is not a lot to do - most people use it as a gateway to La Guajira desert tours.

    I loved it. We stayed in a small hotel with great breakfast and rooftop chill zone over looking city and sea which is where I spent most of my time. There is even a coworking that charged you by hour which adds up to be super economic if you work part time like me.

    I could swear that in 4 days we spent there we saw like 4-5 other tourists. We loved the fact.

    There is one common piece of advice we heard from everyone: so it’s worth mentioning: don’t go to the beach in the night, it is super dangerous.

    The local indigenous Wayu people come to Riohacha to work and sell their handycrafts so there is a lot of movement and selling involved in the city. The market is where we tried the best arepa con queso in all of Colombia and ended up returning 3 times there for more.

    Riohacha might be the cheapest place I’ve visited in Colombia. There are also nice cafes and bars and even a craft beer stand. One night we went looking for the craft beer and ended up talking to the local lady who lives there. She said that the stand would open tomorrow and if we want she can also cook for us traditional food of the region for the fraction of the price it would cost anywhere else (3$ or 2.5e).

    Next day when we came back for the food, I asked if I can wash my hands and was escorted to the very modest bathroom inside, and what called my attention were three of the young girls diligently making Wayu crafts in silence.

    After couple of days, we visited some surrounding places and headed to Cabo de la Vela, in order to go on a desert exhibition.    Read more

  • TravelerCentral to South America
    Day 53

    Cerro Kennedy and Sierra Nevada

    February 7, 2023 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    There is a certain melody in which I pronounce “Sierra Nevada” because it awakes a distant childhood memory when I read a book of the same name.

    Little did I know then that I would be literally a breath away from its snowy peaks some 20 years later. Cerro Kennedy seemed like a logical choice for two nature lovers and adventure seekers like Milan and I. It meant two days without internet, inability to book accommodation in advance and just being completely cut off the world and most of the touristy craziness happening in the lower altitudes.

    We opted for a hostel called El Ramo, as a recommendation of another traveler. I cannot express my happiness when I discovered many hammocks and swings waiting for me to jump in. To get there, we first had to take a bus for half an hour. Then we had to walk some 20 kilometers uphills. At some point we officially entered national park, and it was a subtle change of environment: air thickened, light was dimmed with constantly passing fog (read: cloud forest) and pine trees mixed with tropical trees scents started tickling our alveolars.

    On the way up, a dog, looking very much like German Shepard, started following us. Over the next three days he will prove to be one of the most loyal animal buddies that I’ve ever had. He followed everywhere, waited patiently for us, led the way when we were not sure which trail to take. Miss you Hassan 💕

    El Ramo is run by a local family of very modest and easy-going people. The place is full of plants, flowers and humming birds. They were literally everywhere and really added up to the special warmth of this place.

    Cerro Kennedy itself is closed for visitors as it is a military property, but a viewpoint on the way to it is really a perfect spot to wait for the sunrise and admire the vastness of the snowy massif of Sierra Nevada.    Read more

  • TravelerCentral to South America
    Day 51

    Minca and its hikes

    February 5, 2023 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Minca, Minca, Minca… cute, touristy, hippie. Lots of backpackers, but also lots of people who just stayed there. I liked it.

    We did two different hikes starting and ending in Minca and enjoyed both of them.

    Cool waterfalls, natural pools in the river, several nice viewpoints overlooking the village with the views stretching even all the way to the sea. Then, amazing craft beer brewery in the middle of nowhere, reached only by couple of hours of hiking (well, there might be other road, but we didn’t see it).

    Strong presence of indigenous people and culture, intertwined with backpackers. Felt like I would go back. The definite highlight was Cerro Kennedy, but more on that in the next post.    Read more

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