Pictures from the last few weeks

Visit to Bogota by fellow UNC alum Nancy Fernandez

Me, at the start of salsa show, "El Gringo"

Me, after transformation to salsa superstar

Playa Blanca, near Cartagena on the Caribbean Coast

What would have been our beds at Playa Blanca, until rain sent us back to Cartagena

At Cafe del Mar in Cartagena

End of summer travels

Walking to plane en route to Bahia Solano

The last time I wrote, my break from classes had just begun. As of yesterday, summer is officially over, and it’s back to university life for me. I spent much of my vacation in Bogotá, preparing for a salsa competition that took place in early July. Our group, Afrolatina Salsa Show, took third place out of sixteen groups with our fifteen-minute piece entitled “El gringo.” The storyline behind the show is that a foreigner (me) arrives to Colombia hoping to learn salsa. Our choreography featured different styles of salsa as well as monologues by yours truly in an exaggerated gringo accent. The show brought a lot of laughs from the hundreds of spectators at the event. Once the video gets up on YouTube, I’ll make sure to post a link.

Drinking a coconut on island south of El Valle

In mid July, my girlfriend, Paula, got back from volunteering in Peru, and we left Bogotá to explore other parts of Colombia. We decided to head to the Pacific coast, in the department of Chocó, which is much less developed than the Caribbean coast. Chocó is still a conflict area, though the coast is safe given the presence of a military base. However, due to both the conflict and, more importantly, the fact that Chocó is essentially covered by rainforest, it is impossible to arrive by land. For that reason, we had to take a tiny plane—only 15 passengers when full—from Medellín to Bahía Solano, Chocó, and from there hitch a ride on a jeep to a small fishing town, El Valle, about forty-five minutes away.

Playa Almejal in El Valle

El Valle is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It is essentially ocean, beach, and rainforest, with nothing in between. The endless stretches of beach are essentially vacant, as El Valle is visited by relatively few tourists; Paula and I often had kilometers of beach to ourselves. Two hours south of El Valle on foot begins Utría National Park, which protects vast areas of jungle and mangrove swamps. We had an opportunity to hike in the park with a local guide—necessary given the lack of defined trails. Unfortunately, the guide did not alert us to the length of our journey (nine hours) nor did he encourage us to carry any more the dry crackers and salty cheese. Despite my hunger, I still finished the day feeling quite the jungle man.

View from the bar, El Mirador

Almejal at sunset (rocks in background are El Mirador)

In contrast with our rainforest trek, the rest of our time in coast was quite relaxing. Many days we spent at the beach—boogie boarding, reading, or visiting a random bar located on the beach overlooking the ocean. We also had the opportunity to go back to Utría, this time in boat. We spent the afternoon at an island that is part of the park and snorkeled by reefs close to shore. I was lucky enough to see an enormous sting ray in addition to loads of brightly colored fish. We spent the boat ride back to El Valle whale watching. Whales from Antarctica migrate each year to the area, many of which can be observed from shore during peak whale watching time. Although we were there at the beginning of whale season, we were able to see one whale…though from quite a distance.

Soccer on the beach

It was hard to leave El Valle, not because of the greatness of the place (though true), but rather the lack of transportation in which to leave the area. We had planned to take a cargo boat down the coast to Colombia’s largest port, Buenaventura. Locals commonly travel on boat if they need to leave the area, and I was determined to prove I could hang with the best of them by surviving a 24-hour trip in a boat not designed for passengers. Unfortunately, three days in a row the boat’s departure was delayed until the next day. On the third day, after having spent more money than planned in lodging and food, we decided to fly back to Medellín, a luxury that cost us little money and saved us a lot of time.

Paula and I at beach

From Medellín, we continued on to Cali, where we visited Paula’s extended family, went out, and nursed our sunburns. I returned to Bogotá on Sunday in order to start classes. A quick trip to the Caribbean coast this weekend will end a summer of relaxation. I have less than four months left before I head back to Iowa, which is bound to greet me with snow and freezing cold temperatures. I plan to take advantage of my remaining time by visiting as many warm places as possible…and will do my best to post about the latest happenings as they occur.

Sunset from El Mirador