La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

La Ciudad Perdida, or 'The Lost City', are ruins of an ancient civilization hidden in the dense jungle of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia. I signed up for a tour of these ruins with Expotur thinking that a five-day hike would be a nice break from the hustle-and-bustle of Cartagena. It turned out to be a much more rich experience than I had anticipated. In addition to the gorgeous scenery, I learned about the drug conflict that had plagued the Sierra Nevada just a decade earlier, the culture of the indigenous Kogis and, of course, the Lost City.

Toyota Land Cruiser

On January 24th, 2014, we drove an hour east from Santa Marta in a Toyota Land Cruiser before turning off onto a dirt road carved into the mountain-sides of the Sierra Nevada. After a bumpy, hour-long ride crossing numerous rivers and climbing even more mountains we arrived at the end of the road, El Mamey - formerly known as 'Machete'.

El Mamey, or 'Machete'

The 1970s to the mid-2000s was a dark period in the Sierra Nevada, when drug cultivation and trafficking were rampant. Its proximity to the Caribbean coast made it a strategic point for the paramilitary and guerrilla groups, who could easily distribute the copious amounts of coca and marijuana they had farmers cultivate to finance their movement. During this time, and still to this day, El Mamey was the last town accessible by road and the only town with a consistent power supply. Consequently, it became a watering hole for the farmers of the Sierra Nevada. Equipped with their principal farming tool, the machete, drunken fights often led to severed digits and limbs. Accordingly, El Mamey was dubbed 'Machete'. And it was here that I began my trek to the Lost City.

The farmlands of the Sierra Nevada

Colombian soldiers patrolling the area

The first day and a half involved hiking through the farmlands. We shared the trail with mules that carried supplies to the homes of the local farmers and Colombian soldiers who prevented the paramilitaries and guerrillas from regaining a foothold in the region. Thanks to the latter, the Sierra Nevada was safe: the cultivation of coca and marijuana had been replaced with crops and livestock, and the kidnapping of tourists was no longer a major concern.

The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

Our guide, Carlos, with wild sugar cane

Cacao

Wild pineapple

Coca

The remainder of the journey to the Lost City was through the dense jungle of the Sierra Nevada. Along the way our guides pointed out and let us sample various wild plant life, including sugarcane, coca, cacao and coffea. However, the highlight for me was learning about the indigenous Kogis.

A Kogi village

The Kogis inhabit the dense jungle of the Sierra Nevada, just a short hike from the farmlands. They have just recently descended from higher altitudes and begun to interact with the outside world; our guide Carlos recalled that during the first tours of the Lost City these indigenous people avoided tourists. They are now accustomed to tourists, accepting dulces (sweets) in exchange for photographs. While this exchange made it feel awkward, somewhat like a petting zoo, and makes one wonder about the influence of the outside world on their culture, it was reassuring to know that there remain Kogis deep in the Sierra Nevada who have yet to contact the outside world.

The Kogis are small in stature, are without facial hair and do not cut their hair. Children wear robes, and boys and girls are differentiated by the hand-woven mochillas (bags) and colourful beads they wear, respectively. Adult males wear pants and carry with them a hollowed pumpkin that serves as a diary with which they record their thoughts with a mixture of saliva, coca and ground sea shells. They have their own language, and only the Kogis that have been in contact with the outside world speak Spanish.

The hollowed pumpkin that serves as a diary for adult male Kogis. They crush sea shells within the pumpkin with a stick, and dip the sea shell-dust -covered stick in their mouths full of chewed coca before rubbing it against the neck of the pumpkin. This dried mixture of coca, sea shells and saliva is how they record their thoughts every day.

The Mamas are the shamans of the Kogis and play a very significant role in their culture. They are selected by the previous shaman while in the womb and, upon birth, are isolated from the rest of the community for the first seven years of their lives during which they are taught and nurtured by the current shaman and mother. The shaman predicts weather and natural disasters; decides when a boy turns into a man, as he is the only person in the community who knows the age of each Kogi; dictates when a married couple can reproduce (of the approximate 15 babies each couple will have, only about 5 will survive into adulthood); administers punishments based on his reading of Kogis' personal diaries; and heals illnesses. We were lucky to meet with one of the three shamans and ask him a few questions.

Me with one of the shamans, who's funky hat is actually a map of the Sierra Nevada

The third day we climbed the 1200 or so steps to La Ciudad Perdida. It was these steps that led to its discovery by treasure hunters in the 1970s. Not much is known about these ruins because the local Kogis won't allow archeologists to dig up the site. However, it is thought to have been built by the nomadic Tayrona after defeating another tribe of the Sierra Nevada in battle in the 11th century. In the late 1500s the Tayrona were conquered by the Spaniards, and the thirty acre city was abandoned and reclaimed by the jungle. When sitting on one of the many terraces overlooking the ruins, one can only imagine what it used to be like.

The Lost City hike surpassed my expectations by far. The guides were very knowledgable about the history of the area and the various wild- and plant-life. The trip was also exceptionally organized with hammocks or beds and a hot meal waiting for us at every camp. The only catch was that the tour was solely in Spanish, so understanding everything is a challenge for non-native Spanish speakers. If you're ever in Colombia, you have to fit this into the itinerary!

Cooking over wood-stoves

Candle-lit pescado dinner

Big thanks to our guides Carlos & Ali and the cooks

A Pirate of the Caribbean: Sailing to Sur America

As I originally intended to spend the majority of my time in South America I spent the days prior to my departure for Central America searching for cheap flights to Ecuador. But for reasons I cannot fathom I could not find a flight from Panama to Ecuador for less than $750 US – more than three times the cost of getting to Costa Rica from my hometown of Toronto, Canada. Seeing my frustration, my father suggested I try to take a boat. And so, as I started researching alternative means of getting to South America I discovered a blog that offered a solution to my dilemma: befriend captains at the harbour in Panama City and try to hitch a ride to Ecuador in exchange for working in the crew. Despite my mother’s fears that the boat may capsize, they would steal my belongings and throw me overboard, they may be trafficking drugs, etc., I decided that I would give it a try. It would surely be an adventure.

Upon arriving to Costa Rica, however, my plans changed. Everybody I met who was working their way north from South America insisted I must go to Colombia, a country which I had originally planned to avoid due to its recent history of drug cartels, guerilla warfare and political instability. Supposedly Colombia was not as dangerous as everyone made it out to be, the people were among the friendliest in South America, and it’s rich culture (and beautiful women) made it a major destination for travelers. Accordingly, Colombia was added to my itinerary.

As with the flights to Ecuador, the flights to Colombia from Central America were prohibitively expensive. And while Colombia neighbours Panama, there are no buses that dare to travel the road through Darien’s Gap whether it be due to the dense jungle or rebel factions that are rumoured to hide in the area. Furthermore, I was set on the idea of sailing to South America. Luckily someone told me about BlueSailing, a company that arranges chartered yachts to Colombia for backpackers such as myself. The price was comparable to that of the one-and-a-half hour flight to Colombia and included five days of sailing with three square meals a day. The decision was easy. And just days before I planned to depart Panama for Colombia I suffered a middle-ear barotrauma scuba diving in Santa Catalina, which, while precluding me from flying anywhere for several weeks, would not be an issue sailing. Perhaps this was another omen in my journey?

The route from Panama City to Cartagena

On January 17^th I woke at 4:30 in the morning and crawled into a jeep that would take me from Panama City, down a road that does not yet exist on Google Maps, to the Caribbean Coast where the yacht awaited my arrival. After several hours in the jeep and a rough, hour-long ride in a speed boat I finally arrived to the ‘Big Fish’, my home for the next five days.

The Big Fish was a wide, 43-foot single-hull Dufour sailboat. It had four double cabins, two single beds and two bathrooms – i.e. it was very spacious for the ten guests and three crew members. Furthermore, it was equipped with beanie bags on both the roof of the cabin and front of the boat making it seem quite empty despite the thirteen people on board.

The first three days were spent sailing around the San Blas islands off the coast of Panama. The countless palm trees sprouting from the white, sun-bleached sand of the islands, coupled with the clear, blue waters, hardly looked real; the San Blas islands were postcard-perfect. The islands were inhabited by the Kuna Yala, who are semi-autonomous indigenous people of Panama with their own laws, police and army. We spent our days snorkeling the reefs and numerous shipwrecks and kayaking around the islands. And when we returned to the boat, we’d always be surprised by Luana’s cooking, whether it be fresh, home-made brownies or a lobster dinner.

Fresh langosta!

My new favourite fruit, granadilla

The last two days of the trip comprised of sailing the stretch from San Blas to Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. Tilson Castro, the captain of the Big Fish, sailed the boat for nearly 48 hours straight. For a good portion of that we were in swells several metres tall without land in sight. During this time we were confined to the small cabin, where most of us were attempting to deal with our sea-sickness. It was definitely the quietest the boat had been throughout the five days. But we made it safe-and-sound and were definitely happy to set foot on South American soil!

Captain Tilson

Sea-sickness management

Glad to be pulling into Cartagena after 48 hours of non-stop sailing

Cartagena was much larger than I expected. Being the major gateway to the North of South America, I was pretty naïve to expect a small harbour-town. Similar to Panama City, it had both a new and old portion. I stayed at Hostel The Roof, which was situated in the old-town. I spent my time there wandering the streets and getting lost in the alleyways among the colourful, colonial-style buildings of the walled-in city. Cartagena definitely had a lot more character than Panama City and I’m glad I decided to work Colombia into my itinerary. Can’t wait to see what Colombia has in store for me next!

A Jurassic Park Hidden Amongst a Surfer's Paradise in Santa Catalina

“Think of the number of fish you have seen elsewhere and double it. Think about the size of the fish you have seen and double that as well. That sums up the promise of diving… Coiba.”

-       Diver Magazine, May 2005

When I began my journey three and a half months ago I had planned no more than to start in Costa Rica and head south, with hopes of ultimately reaching Patagonia. Everywhere I ventured was based on the recommendations of fellow travellers. And Santa Catalina was no exception. It was rumoured to have every type of break you can possibly imagine, including the best point break in all of Central America. I decided to spend my remaining days in Panama surfing here, but little did I know what would lie just twenty-two metres under my board...

Upon arriving to Santa Catalina late January 4^th, 2014 I hitched a ride from a Panamanian man to where he claimed was the best spot in town, Hostal Surfer's Paradise. It was a quaint, family-run hostel perched on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I pitched my tiny, single-man tent on a patch of grass under the shade of a palm tree at the edge of this cliff. In the evenings it gave me a front-row seat to the most gorgeous sunsets and, in the mornings, to Santa Catalina’s infamous point break, ‘La Punta’.

Stoked to discover that Santa Catalina has not one, but several fruit & vegetable trucks!

Crowd starting to gather at La Punta

La Punta was a challenge to get to: I cut-up my feet while getting into the water, had to negotiate numerous rocks and paddle 350 – 500 metres to get to the break. However, the beautiful, ‘A’-frame –shaped wave was well worth the hassle. Besides the fun wave, the water was crystal clear such that I could see the rocks just a few feet below my board as I surfed. Unfortunately, out of my time in Santa Catalina I only managed to get in four days of surfing due to a lack of swell. On the other hand, this also prompted me to make use of my new PADI certification and scuba dive, which proved to be a real adventure.

Santa Catalina (A) & Coiba National Park (B)

While I was well aware of the world-class surfing Santa Catalina had to offer, I had no idea that it was also a huge diving destination. Located in the Gulf of Chiriquí, Coiba National Park’s underwater topography was linked to that of the Coco and Galapagos Islands by way of the Cordillera mountain range. This means that all three spots provide habitat to many of the same species. Nevertheless, I was skeptical of the quality of diving here due to the poor visibility I experienced spear-fishing in the Pacific Ocean. But after several days with no surfing and lots of reading, I was itching to do something...

Scuba diving was the solution. After checking out every dive shop in town I decided to go with Scuba Coiba, the first to open in Santa Catalina. A group of us boarded the boat early in the morning and began the hour-long ride to Coiba National Park. Within minutes I saw dolphins jumping straight-up and completely out of the water as if putting on a show for us in an aquarium. The closer we got to the national park the more and more it seemed we were going back in time to the Jurassic era. There was not a sign of human life among the numerous, densely forested islands. The water was clear and ranged from shades of turquoise to baby blue. Before long we dropped anchor at our first dive site, ‘Iglesia’.

Iglesia dive site

Hasta luego

Diving at Iglesia was a wild experience. The thermoclines here were incredible. I could see a clear line where there was a significant and sudden drop in temperature by what felt like 10ºC - on the cold side of this thermocline, one could see a mirage resembling the waves of heat rising from a barbeque. Furthermore, when we descended to twenty-two metres we were immediately at the mercy of the ocean current, just as in the movie Finding Nemo. I felt as if I were diving in the rapids of a river; we would establish neutral buoyancy and just let the current take us over the terrain, taking hold of rocks or ducking into eddies behind rocks if we wanted to pause to look at something a little more closely.

While there was no colourful reef as there was in the Caribbean, the animals here were bigger, more plentiful and more spectacular. The jacks, barracudas, and every other fish I saw was bigger than I thought possible. They often swam in schools of hundreds, creating the impression that they were even larger. Even the conches were of gigantic proportions. But there were also small creatures, such as seahorses that wrapped their tails around vegetation on the ocean floor as monkeys do around tree branches. But for me, the highlight was swimming with the white-tip reef sharks. I was definitely a little nervous at first, which may explain why I ran out of air in only 39 minutes as opposed to my 45-55 minute norm.

White-tip reef shark

School of mobula

Eel

Sea horse

Frogfish

After lunch we headed to our second dive spot, ‘Wahoo’. This spot is famous because of it’s saturation with algae and plankton which attracts giant mantarays, whale sharks and, depending on the time of year, whales. While we didn’t spot any of these on our dive, we were fortunate to witness a school of mobula fluttering near the surface of the water, several massive eels hiding between rocks and a frogfish chilling on the ocean floor.

While it was disappointing that I didn't get to witness the full potential of Santa Catalina's breaks, I am thankful for the small swell for it encouraged me to dive in Coiba National Park. Prior to this experience I was unaware of the variety of animals that roamed just metres under the surface of the ocean, and I must say that this revelation has piqued my interest in scuba diving.