Volcanoes, Flat Tires, and Rain
Erin and I decided to do a highly recommended hike up to the Purace Volcanoe. We left our hostel in Popayan and caught a two hour bus to the park entrance. As soon as we got off the bus, a friendly fellow traveler, with a german accent, asked if Erin and I would like to join him and his three friends, and split the cost of a guide up the volcano. I said “sure” before I could see the look on Erin’s face that suggested we didn’t want a guide. He did prove useful in finding the park though, it turns out the bus actually dropped us off at a turnout and we had to walk through some farmland and various gates to get to the entry.
At the park entrance we paid an entry fee and began following the guide up the trail. The german man was very chatty and a little strange, in a good way. He struck me as a bit of a goofy fun loving kind of guy. He wore a black hoodie, baggy multi coloured pants, and what appeared to be worn out combat boots. He also had with him a satchel that, as best I could tell, contained only his phone, camera, and a blue tooth speaker so he could play music from his phone, which was actually quite enjoyable. The four people we were hiking with, and Erin, were all wearing jackets and scarves and couldn’t believe I wasn’t cold in just my button up flannel shirt. It wasn’t cold, but it was windy and luckily all my clothes seemed to be pretty good at blocking wind. As the hike progressed it was clear that Erin and I were a little faster than the rest of the group and began to pull ahead. Usually we would hike ahead, stop for a break and our german friend would catch up and say hello.
Approaching The Volcano
My Attempt At Artistic Photography
As we got higher and higher it began to get a little chilly and very windy. I pulled my gloves out of my backpack and clipped them to a belt loop via a carabiner, I didn’t need my gloves yet but I figured it wouldn’t be too long before I did. I also clipped my hat to the carabiner and pulled the buff from my neck and spun it into a toque for extra warmth. As we started walking again the german guy caught up and asked if I was cold. To which I replied “not really”, he then pointed at my gloves and asked “Can I borrow?” not wanting to be rude, I handed them over. He was clearly cold as he had wrapped his head with a scarf and pulled his hood up already. I told him I needed them back once the trail got steep because I tend to crawl on all fours due to my fear of heights.
Erin Navigating Some Cattle
Working Our Way Up
Surrounding Landscape
After another hour or so, the trail started to get steep and he quickly handed the gloves back and thanked me. I was glad to have them back, I was getting chilly and my hands were getting weak… I even had to roll down my sleeves. Finally we could see the top of the volcano, we were on a peak beside it. We had to walk down a little valley then up a series of switchbacks to make it to the summit. Unfortunately, just as soon as we saw the top of the volcano, clouds rolled in and covered it. Erin and I climbed into the clouds and the wind howled. Finally, after I nearly gave up from exhaustion, we made it to the summit… and we couldn’t see a thing. The clouds were so thick that we could only see a few meters and the wind was so strong we had to lean into it. It was an amazing experience but the view was non existent. I was also a little proud of myself as we were the first people to reach to summit that day.
Switchbacks To The Top
Almost At The Top
View At The Top
View At The Top
We headed down and passed the german and his group and informed him they were only a few hundred meters from the finale. They were very glad to hear it. On the way down we also passed a lot of people who got a later start and a few that seemed to be having a really hard time with the cold. It made me sad to see such small kids having such a hard time, but in hind sight it was impressive they made it that far.
View From The Top
On Our Way Down, Passing People Going Up
The Way Way Back
Eventually we made it back to where the bus dropped us off, there was a nice dutch couple who had been waiting for an hour already. I guess the 2:30 bus didn’t make it, a common occurrence in Colombia. We stood around for another two hours or so, and a few other people joined us in waiting on the side of the road. Finally a collectivo arrived. For those who don’t know, a collectivo is a pick-up truck with two bench seats in the back, facing each other and a canvas top covering it. There is also always a rack on top of the canvas for luggage. They run much like a bus just with less capacity. This collectivo had room for about 2.5 people. The dutch couple climbed in first, then Erin squeezed in beside the dutch girl and I handed her the backpack. The truck then started to drive away. I didn’t have a lot of time to think so I just jumped on the bumper and grabbed the luggage rack. I have a fear about splitting up when travelling and Erin was carrying the money, so it would have been a long walk home. In a panic, the dutch girl got Erin to sit on her lap and I sat where Erin was and left my legs hanging out over the tail gate.
Watching The World Go By At 40 km/h
A few bumpy and uncomfortable miles down the road the truck stopped. I peered around the side and saw that we had a flat tire. I was actually really happy about that, it gave us a chance to get out and stretch, they replaced the tire with a spare and then we got back in with a better plan. The dutchman and I sat on the benches with our legs out the back and Erin sat in the middle on the spare tire with her legs out the back as well. The dutch girl got a crammed, but safer, seat behind her boyfriend. It was a far more comfortable arrangement.
Legs Off The Back
Having A Great Time
Unfortunately as we got closer to town, it started raining.. Hard. We dropped the canvas cover down to protect us from the rain but the trade off was that we got covered in dust. It wasn’t so bad, and we had a lot of fun. We made it to town and shared a taxi back to the hostel where a hot shower was a welcome thing. Post shower, the only thing on my mind was food, lucky for us only a few blocks from the hostel was an Italian restaurant that served the best steak I have had since getting to South America.
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Tyson Goes To Scuba School
It seems that I’ve been facing a lot of fears these days. They are silly little fears, as most are, but they are dug in deep. For many years I’ve been afraid of swimming in large bodies of water, especially if I can’t see the bottom. I just don’t know what’s down there, and in my mind I am always just on the brink of some terrifying attack from a creature of the deep. Kayaking forced me to face these fears, scuba diving even more so. I don’t pretend that I don’t have these fears anymore, but its nice to know that I have survived facing them and I intend to face them again and again… and again if necessary.
We arrived in Taganga after taking an all-night bus from San Gil to Santa Marta. We stayed in a hostel called Villa Mary, run by David, energetic and helpful man who spoke excellent english. His family lived at the hostel and he treated us more like welcome house guests than paying customers. We asked him for a recommendation for a scuba school, as I was interested in getting my Open Water certification, since Erin already has her Advanced Open Water. David recommended Reef Shepherd, so we walked over to inquire.
It turns out there are multiple courses for essentially the same certification all with varying focus on various aspects. The most common training is PADI, which is what Erin has. I opted to go for SDI because to me it appeared to show more how to dive with modern technology and had less theory and class room work. SDI was also the cheaper option. I did a lot of research between the two online and found that they are pretty similar and there is no right or wrong answer.
The dive shop gave me a USB stick of videos and a text book to take a look at and fill out. We went for a walk on the beach, it had rained very heavily two days before and it washed a lot of litter into the ocean which then washed up on the beach. It was sad to see all that garbage, but over the following days it was cleaned up by some sort of town employees.
Garbage Washed Up Along The Beach
The next morning I met my instructor, Fabio. He looked a lot like a stereotypical handsome scuba instructor in a Colombian beach town. After introductions he gave me a quick overview of the equipment, most of which I remembered from my two prior dives in Fiji, and all the info I had studied the day before. From there we jumped into an old Land Rover and headed to a nearby hotel to use their pool to go over basics and confirm the fact that I can swim.
We did a few laps around the pool, and I was shown how to clear water out of my mask, and what to do if a companions or my air quits flowing. I was also shown how to use a compass while diving. I already had a good idea as I know how to use a compass on land, but I didn’t mention it to him because its always good to refresh… and no one likes a wise ass.
The first day of training was done within a few short hours. Erin and I wandered around the beach a bit, got some lunch and relaxed in the hostel. That night, a woman came by and sold us fresh loaves of homemade bread, still warm from the oven. It was amazing. She came back every night, and every night I bought at least one little loaf to eat.
The next day I was ready to dive in the ocean. We did two dives in the morning. On the boat there was Fabio and I, as well as about four other Colombians who were going spear fishing with another dive master. At first, I was a little nervous to get out of the boat and into the ocean. Something about it being so big scares me.
I didn’t want to be embarrassed, so I swallowed my fears and tipped myself backwards off the side of the boat. Soon Fabio was in the water too, and he explained what we were going to do. I had to do a few tests, things like: taking my mask off and putting it back on while under water, sharing oxygen, and emergency surfacing.
After all that was done, we did our dive around an island with a lighthouse. I saw a very large eel and a barracuda, along with a variety of other small fish unknown to me. We surfaced and loaded into the boat. The other group surfaced shortly after, and one of them was holding a trident with a lion fish on it.
They climbed in and we started chatting. It turns out lion fish are an invasive species in the Caribbean and they are edible. He told me they are a delicious white meat. To me, it sounded like they were similar to our Walleye.
The second dive started with more testing, mostly for my buoyancy. In this case I had to put my feet in the ocean floor and hold the rest of my body at a steady 45 degree angle. Easier said than done, but with careful, calm, shallow breathing I was able to do it.
We then swam along another coral reef to a sunken boat. It was a large piece of hull about ten meters across. I was told later that it sank and broke into three pieces which all found their way to different depths. As we were looking at the hull I swam around the side and was startled by three scuba divers, one of which had a large trident with a lion fish on it. It was the other group of divers from the boat, but it sure surprised me when I came around the side.
The day wrapped up around noon, so Erin and I walked over a small ridge to another beach called Playa Grande, which was crowded with Colombian tourists enjoying the sand and sun. We sat in the sand and royally over paid for a juice and a coke, but I guess thats just the cost of travel sometimes.
Caribbean Sunset
When I awoke on the third and final day of my course, I wasn’t feeling too well. Erin had scheduled to dive with me for my final two dives. Luckily the dive shop was pretty easy going and let us reschedule to the afternoon. We relaxed all morning and walked around town a bit. In the afternoon we went to the shop and geared up, Erin refreshed her memory and we met another Canadian who would be joining us on the dive.
We loaded into the boat and there was another group on their second day of the same course I was taking. On our first dive I had to do one more test, a basic compass navigation. I had to set a heading on the compass and swim 12 fin cycles (leg kicks) then turn around and follow the opposite heading back with the same number of fin cycles, I was allowed a two meter window of error. I was quite nervous, but on the return trip I almost crashed into the instructor who was waiting at the endpoint, so maybe I just expected it being harder than it was.
We then began our dive. It was a nice dive along some corals. We saw a large green eel, some lobsters, and a very large eel with a sort of leopard print. At first we only saw its head sticking out of the sand but when it spooked and swam away, we saw six feet of body emerge from under the sand.
Erin and I
Leading The Pack
Lobster Love
We surfaced and started heading to the beach for lunch. Suddenly the boat stopped and Fabio told me to jump in and swim to shore. Naturally I gave him a funny look and asked “Why am I the only one swimming to shore?” He replied “Oh its your final test, I need to see that you can swim two hundred meters and then float or tread water for ten minutes, these two are also going to do it.” The other students jumped in and started swimming.
I sat hesitantly for a moment. Swimming in the ocean is one of my bigger fears. The ocean is big and deep, and I can’t see whats under me. Again, I didn’t want to embarrass myself, so I swallowed my fear and started swimming. The boat motored around us to shore. When I got close they singled to stop and tread water. It was the longest ten minutes my memory can recall.
We had some sandwiches and iced tea on the shore, then went back out for our second dive. We dove another reef just off shore. As soon as we descended to the bottom, Fabio pointed out an octopus hiding behind a rock. We kept swimming and saw a variety of fish and swam through a tear in net. Just passed it I saw our guide pick up some litter and stuff it in his pocket. A little farther down he grabbed a broken water gun and started pointing it at us and waving it around. It’s nice to see people having fun at work.
Just before the end of our dive we spotted a lion fish resting in a nook in a rock. From there we began to surface. We did a safety stop, where we stopped at five meters for three minutes. It was during the safety stop that a school of silver fish swam by. One of them was very curious and swam several laps around and between us. It got close enough that I could have touched it were I brave enough. Erin, of course, was brave enough and did touch it.
I Don’t Know The Name Of This Species
Say “Bllblblblbble!”
Handsome Bunch
The next morning I went back to the dive shop and they printed my new certification card. I chatted with the owner of the dive shop about his Land Rover, of which I am a fan. He was also kind enough to tell me all about lion fish which are and invasive species in the Caribbean, originally from the Pacific ocean. Heres what I learned:
He said he first reported them in the area about seven years ago, and as best he could tell they came from Florida. They are an expensive and prized aquarium fish. It appears that some got out either by accident, sloppy tank draining procedures, or possibly poor weather, such as hurricane Katrina breaking open houses and aquariums. He also said that for many years they weren’t found south of the amazon river as it drains into the ocean with too much force.
Unfortunately one year, with El Niño, they were able to cross the weakend river drainage. There have been reports of them south of the Amazon for the last three years. He also told me that they hold competitions to see who can spear fish the most and the largest lion fish. Sadly, though, it does not appear that they will ever be able to get rid of them entirely, the ocean is just too big and they reproduce too fast. Further research here and here showed me that they are believe to have a founding population of only a handful of individual lion fish.
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From Colombia With Love
It’s been a while since I posted something and even longer since I gave an update of my trip, here’s some of what Erin and I have been up to since you last heard from us. I also have a video for you all to check out (link at the end). It’s a little rough, feel free to give me some feedback on it.
“Feel the fear and do it anyway” – Unknown
When Erin and I left New York for Ecuador, the airline wouldn’t let us on to the plane without some proof that we intended to leave the country. Many countries have this “onward ticket” rule, but it generally seems to be only sporadically enforced. In a panic, we booked a bus ticket from Quito, Ecuador to Bogotá, Colombia, just so they would let us on the plane. Once in Ecuador, we took a closer look at the ticket and realized we had signed ourselves up for a 30 hour bus ride. Great.
We contacted the company to see about a refund, but the best they would do was let us change the dates on the tickets. So, two days after the home invasion, we packed some snacks into our new daypack, and climbed aboard. The ride wasn’t actually too terrible, just long. The real excitement was at the Colombian border when we were informed that, as Canadians we are required to pay a “reciprocity fee” of $160,000 pesos (roughly $50 USD) to get in. We weren’t sure we had enough money, and the closest ATM was 7 km back, in town. We emptied all our pockets, pulled out our emergency stash, counted up all of our change, and we had just enough to pay our fees. We had about $4 left when it was all said and done. Good think we brought our own food for the bus trip, because we had no money left to buy dinner or lunch when the bus stopped for breaks.
Bogota Bound
Eventually we made it to Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia. Bogota is a huge city. To put it in perspective, there are more people living in Bogotá then in the whole province of Alberta. We stayed at a hostel in the old part of the city (La Candelaria), and, for the most part we just wandered around and took in the sights. We went to the Museo Del Oro (Gold Museum), which featured a lot of indigenous and pre-colombian gold works and sculptures, – all owned by the bank, oddly enough. The bank started the museum after finding a particularly beautiful piece, and deciding maybe they shouldn’t be melting down all this ancient artwork. We also did a bicycle tour of the city, it seems on every block in Bogotá someone important has been assassinated. I’m glad things have calmed down lately, because it is a beautiful, chaotic city and certainly worth seeing.
The Piece That Started The Collection
Ready to Ride
From Bogotá, we took a short ride on the bus to Zipaquira. We spent a single night in a very run down and poorly kept hostel, and saw the Salt Cathedral in the morning. It’s a salt mine carved into a cathedral complete with some very impressive sculptures.
Salt Cathedral
Next up was the picturesque colonial town of Villa De Leyva, where we spent a few days relaxing. One day, Erin and I decided to do a hike up one of the small mountains nearby. At first I wasn’t sure we were even on a trail, but eventually we saw some other footprints and were reassured. After the first forty five minutes in the heat and high altitude, I was worried I wouldn’t make it to the top. After the second forty five minutes, I was worried I wouldn’t make it home alive. Erin just rolled her eyes at my bellyaching, and kept on climbing.
Just Leave Me Here to Die
Eventually, the trail stopped leading upward and levelled off. Suddenly the trail was leading between fields of grazing sheep and cows, and small houses dotted the landscape on the sides of the mountains. We stopped and had some lunch (fresh baked bread and gingerale). As we headed back down, I was looking out at the houses and I realized something. There were no cars or motorcycles, these people commuted to town via the trail that I barely survived. Suddenly I felt a little silly and plenty weak. On our way down, my theory was confirmed as we passed several groups of people, many walking and some riding donkeys laden down with supplies. One man we passed was talking on a cell phone while riding a donkey up the hill, it was just an interesting sight to see.
Life At High Altitudes
View From The Top
Donkeys and Mobile Phones
The day after our hike we decided to rent some mountain bikes and do a self guided tour to a local park with a few nice waterfalls. We biked up hill the whole way there along a gravel road. We arrived at the park, paid our fees, and hiked down into the valley to see the waterfalls. We passed a few people on the trails but didn’t see anyone at the waterfall. We sat on a rock at the bottom and had some lunch and then we climbed up the slippery rock to the top of the falls, which was really just some water trickling down the rocks, as it had been very dry lately.
Thundering Waterfall
Not Much Water Falling
After taking some photos and admiring the scenery we came down and grabbed our gear. Before we could leave a local man explained in Spanish that there was a nicer, larger waterfall further down the trail. He was pretty adamant and got us to follow him, until we saw a sign that clearly denoted the end of the trail. He waved his hand in a “ah its nothing” fashion and kept walking, we went a little further and then Erin said “I’ll wait here.” We were both a bit concerned that it might be a set up, trap, or ambush of sorts. My Spanish wasn’t good enough to give and excuse not to follow him also I was aware that my paranoia was still a little high from the previous weeks excitement in Quito. After a bit more following we showed up at a really big waterfall, and I was quite relieved. We felt bad for being suspicious of him. Erin and I headed back to the park entrance, grabbed a lemon aid, and headed back towards town. On the way, we made one more stop near a small pond and had a light snack before finishing our tour.
From Villa De Leyva, we made our way to San Gil, the adventure capital of Colombia. We stayed at a nice hostel run by an Australian man who organized activities with other local businesses. I signed up for kayaking course and was up bright and early the next morning ready to go. Unfortunately, they had forgotten about me. Erin had left before I was supposed to be picked up so while she was off exploring nearby towns with new friends, I sat in my room, grumpy that I had been forgotten. Oh well, I needed the rest and relaxation. That evening I mentioned to the owner what happened and he immediately called the company and confirmed I would be picked up for classes the following day.
There Was a Parade in Town For Some Reason
The next morning, they called the company to re-confirm. Sure enough, they showed up this time. The first day, I was told, would be in a pool working on basic skills. I expected a normal swimming pool, but we actually went to a local waterfall that had been dammed up down stream to create a semi natural pool. The class consisted of myself and one other traveller who was staying at the same hostel. We worked on basic paddling and maneuvering and then started to work on eskimo rolls. An eskimo roll is the ability to roll a kayak from upside down to right side up using a lot of hip and a bit of paddle… and from what I could tell, a bit of magic. By the end of the first day I was sore, tired, and still unable to do the roll.
Erin Abseiled this Waterfall While I Kayaked
On the second day of kayaking lessons, we were taken for a trip down the river over some light rapids. It was pretty exciting. I had to bail out of my kayak more than once, and be rescued by the instructor. After the first crash it was a lot less frightening. My classmate had a few spills that day too, but he had figured out the eskimo roll on the first day, so he was a little ahead of me. Throughout the day, we stopped along the shore a few times to go over more techniques and practice our eskimo rolls. I was still having trouble with it. Eventually, we were on a nice slow and deep patch of river. JD, my classmate, did an eskimo roll at the teachers request. Then the instructor looked at me and said “Ok, this is it Tyson, you’re going to do and eskimo roll right here, right now. Go for it!”
I assumed the position, rolled under, and sat for a moment, I regrouped mentally, loosed and tightened my grip on the paddle, and visualized what I wanted to happen. I thrust my right hip “up” and my left knee “down” and popped out of the water like a cork. I had done it. I looked around, amazed as both my companions cheered and clapped. For the first few seconds I didn’t believe I had done it myself. As we neared the end of our route, the instructor told us there was a huge wave just before where we get out of the river, and he wanted us to hit it head on. I was happy to oblige, worst case I crash into water and sure enough, thats what happened. I went straight up the side of that wave, went right upside down, and couldn’t roll out of it, so I had to eject from the kayak and swim to shore… how embarrassing. We were then told that the following day we would hit some harder rapids and do a longer trip.
Erin Whitewater Rafting While I Practiced Eskimo Rolls
The next morning my stomach was in my throat. I was very nervous about hitting bigger rapids. The instructor assured me I would be fine. Worst case, I have to get rescued. I decided to bring my action camera and get some footage. The three of us headed down the river, and more than once I was tossed from the kayak and had to be saved. We then met up with another instructor and a student on his second day. We did some more work on our rolls, and I was introduced to the kayak equivalent of water boarding. The instructor flipped my kayak and then I had to roll to correct it, at which point he would flip it again as fast as he could, over and over until I couldn’t roll anymore. I did six and got it on film. Later on down the river on calm flat water without someone flipping me upside down, I was able to do eight rolls in a row unassisted. It was an amazing feeling of accomplishment.
We finished out the trip and had a few more crashes along the way. When we finally made it to land, we were offered a second run on the river, we both declined. JD had hurt his shoulder in a crash and I was so tired I was worried it would be a safety concern. I had also taken a good bump to the rib cage, courtesy of a large rock, during one of my rescues. So I headed back to the hostel to recover before taking an overnight bus to the Caribbean coast, but I’ll tell you about that in my next story.
Heres the youtube video of my trip down the river.
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