The only risk is that you'll want to stay
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By Kristin Brinner
Part six of a series covering the 70,000 km odyssey of two young Americans who left San Francisco and their safe jobs to fulfill a travel dream.
We began our travels in South America with some trepidation. We had survived Central America without any robberies, kidnappings, carjackings or murders - all things people who had never visited Central America claimed would happen to us on our travels.
When we had left our friends and families in the United States, we had promised them that we wouldn't be crazy enough to visit Colombia. Yet here we were, getting off the boat in the Caribbean city of Cartagena, Colombia. We had changed our minds about our travel route when we were dealing with the complex car shipping process in Panama.
The shipping agent did not recommend us shipping our car to Ecuador, as she had shipped only 3 out of the last 200 cars there. Also, many travelers we had met on the road had loved Colombia, listing it as one of their favorite countries in South America. So we decided to go for it.
Colombian flag waves over the streets of Cartagena
As an introduction to Colombia, you can hardly do better than to start in the gorgeous city of Cartagena. Founded in 1533 as an important Spanish port for shipping gold pillaged from the native populations of South America, the old section of Cartagena is one of the best preserved colonial towns in all of Latin America.
We wandered its narrow shaded streets, and admired the colorful buildings and ornate balconies. We cooled off during the sweltering days by gulping down icy jugos (juices) and snacking on freshly cut fruit available from street vendors displaying their wares on small wooden carts.
In addition to the succulent and juicy watermelon, mango, and pineapple, Colombia has an amazing variety of tropical fruits, many of which I had never even heard of. I sampled them all: tart lulo, delicious maracuya, mildly sweet zapote, and strange but delicious tomate de arbol.
While the colonial architecture and wonderful food is enough to make anyone fall in love with Cartagena, we also were struck by the friendliness of Colombian people . We had waiters, police officers, a television crew, and random people on the street striking up conversations with us. They were curious about where we were from and also wanted to tell us about the history of Cartagena. They are proud of their country but also know that many people have preconceived notions about Colombia because of the many years of violence and fear caused by drug wars and guerrilla organizations.
We quickly understood that this was largely in Colombia's past, and that except for a few isolated areas in the jungle the country is safe, lhough there are areas where drug wars continue. Colombians keenly want the world to know their country as where the people are: welcoming, the beaches beautiful, the mountains stunning, and the cities wondeful.
One refrain we heard often as we strolled the streets, ate at restaurants, or browsed at vendor's stalls was a la orden, roughly translated to ''at your service''. This was meant honestly and we felt like it reflected the Colombian peoples' true welcome for any foreign visitors.
Tayrona National Park
Driving 5 hours northeast from Cartagena along the Caribbean coast of Colombia, we arrived in Tayrona National Park. The park stretches for 34 miles along the coast, and ranges from lush jungles to dry forests. The first night we camped under palm trees and listened to the waves crash on the beautiful Cañaveral beach a short path away from the campsite.
While this beach is stunning, the severe waves and extreme currents make it unsafe for swimming. A forty five minute hike through the jungle led to the sparkling white sand beaches at Arrecifes, where huge boulders jutted out of the turquoise waters and it was safe to swim.
Wanting to see more of the diverse park, we drove for about an hour to enter the west park entrance and a different world. Leaving the thick jungle, we drove through steep hills covered with red rocks and cactus to arrive in the starkly beautiful Bahia de Concha. Dry hills with scrubby brush rose dramatically around the horse-shoe shaped bay.
As we initially realized in Cartagena, one of the best things about Colombia is the Colombian people themselves. They are extremely friendly, always asking us if we are enjoying their country and then offering suggestions as to what we should see next. A colleague of my father's in the United States insisted we had to visit his wife's family while we were in Colombia.
We were warmly welcomed by her parents and sister when we entered the hilly green city of Bucaramanga. Staying with the Ricaurtes for 3 days, we were introduced to a city not often visited by foreign tourists, but with plenty of wonderful attractions. We had a great time seeing the sights, but our favorite part of Bucaramanga was getting to know the Ricaurtes. Words can not adequately describe how welcoming and friendly the Ricaurtes were to people with only the most tenuous connection to their family. Every time we thanked them for their generous hospitality, they sincerely responded 'con mucho gusto' (with much pleasure).
