The night is over way too early - I was told to be at the airport at half past six. It´s a short but relatively expensive taxi ride but getting there doesn´t get me any closer to today´s destination La Macarena. What I can observe in the "office" (some kind of garage) is a perfect example for working highly inefficiently. Don Jesús probably knows my passport and all the stamps in it by heart - he must have thumbed through it at least a dozen times. The problem seems to be my voucher which for some reason or another doesn´t look familiar to them. Instead of calling the people of their agency they do - nothing. For quite a while. Passengers come and go but I´m still left sitting on a plastic chair in the garage. Suddenly another passenger shows up, together with another agent of the company - and she seems to be able to solve the mystery. We both receive our boarding passes and are then escorted to the security check. Finally - we´ve made it to the waiting area. I guess that means I´m going to leave for Caño Cristales... The only other people in the waiting area is a couple from Medellín, currently living in Bogotá, Jhancir and Liliana. The door to the aprom opens, we are taken to our plane, a little Cessna. And I can sit next to the pilot, which makes me co-pilot, right?
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| "My" plane |
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| Still in use - "ancient" DC-3 |
It´s great to fly in a small aircraft for a change - the view over the endless, scarcely populated plains of the Llanos is captivating. Oil palm plantations, rice paddies, oil fields, farmland, tropical forests and cattle stations - the Llanos are home of the Colombian cowboys. After a while the flat lands turns into hills - we have reached the Guyana shield.
It takes 1 1/4 hours to fly to La Macarena, the base camp for the next three days. The door opens and tropically humid and hot air fills the cabin at once. Our bags are loaded onto a donkey cart that has been waiting next to the plain. We have to clear the security military post and then Erika, our guide, welcomes us to La Macarena, tells us about the next days and takes us to the hotel.
The hotel is far less basic than I had expected: electricity 24/7, fan, flatscreen TV. Even my mobile is working. We have got a bit of time to change and freshen up before we leave for Caño Cristales. Despite the temperature I opt to keep my trouser legs zipped on as protection from the sun - I´m not allowed to put on sunscreen or repellent as this would damage the ecosystem.
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| Very decent room in hotel "La Cascada" |
The Colombian Deicy, Erika and I walk to the little jetty with heavy military presence by the river and get into a beautiful wooden boat. The ride takes round about 10 minutes and while on the boat we see squirrel monkeys, babillas (a kind of small croc, not a gator or caiman) and all sorts of birds.
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| Downtown La Macarena |
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| Erika in the boat |
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| "Pavos hediondos" |
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| kingfisher |
The next leg of the trip to Caño Cristales is in the back of an old and battered Nissan Patrol. It´s not what I´d call a smooth ride, thanks to a dirt and rock track that doesn´t deserve the name "road". The overland trip to the next village connected to the Colombian road network takes 8 to 10 hours on this track - and it becomes even worse the further you go... Jeiner (spelling?), the three-year old grandson of the driver doesn´t seem to mind at all. The trip takes a rattling 25 minutes and takes us through shrubland and savannah vegetation.
From where we get off the jeep it´s a hot 2km walk on a beautiful trail to Caño Cristales. Quite a long way for...well, a river. But not just any old river. We´re talking about the supposedly most beautiful river in the world. Another nickname ist the liquid rainbow. So what´s all this special about Caño Cristales? We are in the peculiarly prehistoric-looking Serranía de La Macarena, part of the Guyana shield, one of the oldest parts of Gondwana, so prehistoric is not all that far-fetched. The rock, which also forms the river bed during the rainy season contains bauxite, a mineral that lets grow aquatic plants. These plants are green when they are young or when they are protected from the rays of the sun, otherwise they turn a bright red, pink, purple or sometimes yellow. We´re not talking about algae, these are real plants and they are pretty rare. We follow the stream and the first impression is overwhelming, even though the sun´s not out (yet). Every so often the narrow riverbed widens and forms deep pools of crystal-clear water. You can clearly see the rocks meters below the water surface. Countless smaller and bigger cascades and waterfalls and circular basins that look like jacuzzis create a stunning landscape.
We continue our walk through the peculiar vegetation that primarily consists of thousands of Vellocia plants and the Morachales - typical palm trees. The sun has fought its way through the clouds and it´s next to unbearably hot - especially as there is very little shade and the black rock gets very warm. But Erika was absolutely right - the sun intensifies the colours of the plants. Our walk has taken us to the Piscina de los turistas, the tourists´ swimming pool. Hey, but we ARE tourists! In we go! The water is gorgeous, very refreshing. And you don´t have to worry about animals - we´re swimming in distilled water and there is only one kind of fish that can survive in this environment. We´ve already spent a lot of time in the water when Erika gives us a shout - lunch is served. Or better said "fiambre" - lunch wrapped in banana leaves. Today´s fiambre is chicken, rice with raisins, plantain and a potato. The food is delicious - even more so with a view like this.
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| The piscina de los turistas |
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| Tourist in piscina de los turistas |
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| fiambre |
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| The plants are not poisonous at all |
Deicy and I are quite happy that the other three of our group have arrived late due to road blocks between Bogotá and Villavicencio. We don´t have to share this beauty with anyone else. Had we known at that time just how nice the other three are, we would have happily shared this glory with them...
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| The piscina de los turistas in all its splendor |
We continue our walk and enjoy every yard. Erika shows us a few more of the most beautiful spots and then walk back to the piscina de los turistas. But darn, this time we have to share. Which is not too bad, because it´s Jhancir and Liliana from the plane and their very pleasant guide Lisandro.
It´s time to head back to La Macarena. So we walk back to the jeep in the blazing heat. I hope I haven´t burnt myself too badly (I haven´t). It´s another rough ride back to the boat. There are few alternatives for
the people of La Macarena if they want to get to Villavicencio or even
Bogotá - it´s either the jeep and a bus ride or a boat to another
department capital or the plane. No matter what, it´s always expensive.
Not surprisingly, the people of La Macarena don´t usually travel a lot.
The boat trip is so much smoother and for this very pleasant. A few minutes later the friendy soldiers at the jetty welcome us back. They protect and guard La Macarena, a town that only a few years ago suffered more under the guerrilla than any other town in Colombia. Today everything is peaceful and quiet - also in town, but for another reason. It´s Wednesday, and Wednesdays are La Macarena´s Sundays. Almost all shops are closed. They couldn´t close on Sunday because that´s when all the farmers come to town to buy whatever they need.
Before we go back to the hotel for a shower and clean clothes we have quick look at the church that sports a very original wall painting with Jesus and Llaneros in folcloristic attire. Not something you can see in many places!
After the shower I get ready for dinner. Erika comes to pick us up andsees us to the restaurant at the other end of the central plaza. It´s pork loin with rice and plantain. Yummy! And we wash it down with large quantities of sugarcane juice with a twist of lemon. Finally we get to know the rest of the group: Mercedes from Lanzarote / Spain and Daphne and Theo from Groningen / Netherlands.We spend some time talking over some beers then walk back to the hotel and get ready for the night. Before I switch off the light, I show Deicy some selected photos I took at the Caño Cristales.
Breakfast is at 7 but Mercedes needs a bit longer. I´ve slept really well despite the hard bed. We have scrambled eggs, arepas and soup (for those who want it). I rather go to a nearby bakery and buy fresh orange juice. Then it´s time to get moving. The same as yesterday: boat - jeep - walk until we reach the farm of an old man who claims he owns Caño Cristales - the government doesn´t see it this way, though.
At first we walk to the same places as yesterday, because the others don´t know them yet. The piscina de los turistas is packed - a not overly nice French party claims the piscina and makes it very clear that they don´t want us there. But Erika says she can show us another nice spot for a splash. Okay, let´s wait then. The scenery is breathtaking and beyond words. The sun is back and turns the black rock into a sauna, but I couldn´t care less!
Sometimes the vegetation gets very dense and the trail very narrow. Sometimes we have to climb up steep hills but we are compensated for all the effort: a big cascade with a beautiful pool is waiting for us. And a hydromassage by the waterfall. Needless to say that we don´t have to share this beauty with anybody.
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| Vellozia - can withstand brushfires |
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| Flower of the vellozia |
After a long while Erika forces us to end our splash, otherwise we might still be there. We follow the Caño Cristales and time and again the colours we are overwhelmed by the beauty of the vibrant colours. Especially when we reach our next rest area - the cascada del piano. What a gorgeous place for a splash and our fiambre - fish, rice, plantain and potato. We spend a lot of time in the water and enjoy every second.
We continue our walk to the Salto de la Vírgen and then back to the piscina de los turistas. The French are back, too, but this time we don´t care if they want us there or not and jump into the water. The way back is the same like yesterday, with one difference. This time our boat is a speed boat and we´re back in no time at all.
Back in the village we have a cool beer, then another one and then we walk down to the river to see the sunset. We stay quite a bit, it´s really nice, but after a while we surrender - way too many moskitoes there.
Dinner is fish again, and again it´s very good. And fish needs to swim...so, more beers, please! ;-) Just when we want to go back to the hotel the tropical rain begins. Never mind, we walk back once it eases off a bit. On the way back I get dessert in the bakery. Mercedes, Deicy and I have a look at some of the pictures, talk and then go to bed. Pity we won´t spend the day together tomorrow as they stay a day longer. Only Deicy and I return.
We´re still together for breakfast, though. Several times tropical downpours make it impossible to leave and we use the time to exchange addresses. Then Mercedes, Daphne and Theo go with Erika while Deicy and I join another guide plus Eugen from Switzerland and his girlfriend Katrin from the Philippines. We will go to Caño Cristalito today. It´s a longer boat trip today but no jeep. We take a muddy trail uphill and finally reach the smaller version of Caño Cristales. It´s nice and would be even more so with sunshine instead of the light drizzle. The weather doesn´t keep us from getting into the cool water for a last dip. A bit later Jhancir, Liliana and guide Lisandro appear at Caño Cristales, too and we spend some time chatting. Then it´s time to leave the water and the magic of the Caños. On our way back a farmer shows us a very poisonous snake he just killed and then wer´re off, back to La Macarena.
We return to our hotel, get our stuff ready and do as Edinson, our newly appointed guide has told us - we leave the bag at the reception. The plan is that a mototaxi, which he calls in our presence, comes, picks up the two light bags and takes them to the plane. We are more than willing to carry the bags ourselves but Edinson won´t have any of this. We walk over to the restaurant and have lunch - a huge chicken breast with rice and plantain. I sure won´t need anything else for the rest of the day but just hope we won´t be too heavy now for the little plane. A cargo motorbike takes us to the airport. We ask for the bags and at the office another guide tells us that they arrived a good while ago and that they are already on the plane. The flight is great - I´m co-pilot again.
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| Last views of Caño Cristales |
70 Minutes later we are in Villavicencio - but guess what, our bags aren´t. I knew it, I just knew it! We tell the guys at the office / garage and it takes a while until they seem willing to understand our problem. It wasn´t much of a language problem - Deicy tries her best, but Don Jesús doesn´t seem to be the sharpest tool in the shed... We call La Macarena and the airline agency confirms that the bags are still where we left them. Great, this is awesome. At least there is another plane leaving in half an hour, which means that in 2 hours our bags should be in Villavicencio. Deicy and I take a cab to the centre of town and have my photos copied onto a DVD, then we go back. We ask the tour company for the USD$ 7,50 for the taxi back to the airport which we only needed to get our bags but they refuse to give us anything because our time wasn´t worth a cent. They say a few more rude things and we leave, being not half as rude. Deicy and I say good-bye and I flag down a cab to the bus station. The bus ride to Bogotá takes 4 hours. During the trip I buy a flight to Bucaramanga for tomorrow as the road is blocked by protesting farmers, and has been so for a few days already. How could I ever live without my smartphone?! In Bogotá I find out that I was lucky - two bags were stolen, but mine is still there. Another cab and I´m at Fran´s. I tell her about Caño Cristales and then go to bed at around 11:30 pm.
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