Colombia Family trip – 2019

Visited: June 2019

Duration of visit: 10 days

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

• Medellin – transformation from drug capital of the world to the most beautiful city in Colombia.
• The tallest palm trees on the planet in Cocora Valley.
• Guambiano Indians belief in the importance of respecting the Earth.
• Exploring the Amazon region.

I had the opportunity to visit Colombia on various occasions as a backpacker for business and later with my family. In this article I describe my family trip to Colombia in 2019: from drugs to fashion and art in Medellin, tall palm trees in Cocora Valley, Guambiano Indians in Silvia.

More articles about my trips to Colombia are available here:

Medellin is the second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia, where proud paisas assure that this is the most beautiful urban area in the whole country.

The City of Eternal Spring is one of the main flowers producing centers in Colombia, famous for beautiful women, Colombian fashion capital and the undisputed city of Pablo Escobar.

We settled down in a basic flat that was booked through Airbnb in a popular barrio well connected to downtown and nearby shopping mall. The access was so complicated that even our taxi driver couldn’t find it. The neglected flat was filled with a multitude of pressure cookers, unusual decoration, rooms filled with stuff, but lacked decent beds. Therefore, my kids had to sleep on the floor, which was actually quite fun for them.

Medellin has made significant progress in transforming its image from that of a no-go zone several decades ago. Today it offers cultural and modern lifestyle attractions, visit of reverted drug dealers’ areas, lively nightlife, coffee tasting and delicious Antioquia cuisine. In 2019 it was amazing to observe how red-light districts can be transformed in top tourist attractions.

Plaza Botero stands as one of the most renowned locations, exhibiting 23 bronze sculptures created by Colombian artist Fernando Botero. The collection features a variety of figures, including curvaceous women, plump felines, and stout Roman soldiers. His figures are known for their exaggerated volume and their voluptuousness.

What used to be one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Medellín, Comuna 13, clinging to the mountainside above the San Javier metro station, is now not only considered safe to visit, but it has actually been converted to a top tourist attraction. The area where two of the bloodiest and most remembered military operations in the city occurred (Operation Marshal and Orion), has undergone an impressive transformation in recent times.

This commune is known as the birthplace of Pablo Escobar, an epicenter of violence, precarious houses built in the slopes of the hills, narrow and steep streets, which generated multiple alleys and viewpoints, ideal for hiding criminals and the drug trade.

One of the things that radically changed the commune was the construction of public escalators between the alleys of the hills with the intention of facilitating access.

Since 2011 more than 12 thousand citizens and tourists are provided access to homes in marginalized barrios that were formerly isolated from the city below. The escalators gave residents newfound freedom and brought a total shift in the local mentality.

In parallel to the construction of the stairs, the young artists of the commune transformed what were humble houses into incredible murals and works of art.

We hired a local guide, who lives in Comuna 13, to take us through the barrio. He explained about dangerous situation and life in the old times, when shooting, robbing and police checkpoints were constant in the area run by violent drug trafficking organizations. The things began to change in 2002 when president Alvaro Uribe launched the brutal and controversial Operation Orion, continued with permanent checkpoints, open street fighting and captures of cartel leaders.

Nevertheless, the real transformation occurred when locals were integrated in the complete makeover of the community, creating new job opportunities, training initiatives and platforms for artistic expressions.

The area is now covered with murals and graffiti, with bright colors and street art decorating walls, small shops offering products of local artisans, coffee shops and degustation centers. Comuna 13 still remains poor; it has a long way to go, but the future seems significantly more optimistic.

An exciting climb to El Peñón de Guatapé, approximately two hours away from Medellin, was one of the most rewarding experiences on this trip. A rock formation that borders a lake represents one of the two biggest monolithic rocks in South America, formed 70 million years ago. With two-thirds of its height below ground, the exposed vertical face is over 200 meters high and visible from throughout the surrounding countryside.

Ascending the rock, which involves traversing a staircase with over 700 steps built into one side, is not a big deal to our physically fit family.

On the flat top of the rock, food vendors offer outdoor tables overlooking vistas that stretch to the horizon in every direction. Beautiful artificial lake Peñol-Guatapé Reservoir, borded by a green landscape, shines idyllically in the afternoon sun, offering opportunities for water activities with the exception of swimming.

On the way back, we stopped in the town of Guatapé, known for its houses decorated with colorful bas-reliefs. Residents paint their houses and businesses in gorgeous bright colors, and decorate the bottom of every building with fresco-like panels called zocalos. The motives on painted panels vary from animals, flowers and plants to business advertisement such as bakery, transportation, commerce, that could be represented with bread loaf, bus or clothes.

An exciting ride in a jeep from Salento on a narrow road through beautiful hilly countryside brought us to the final stop – Cocora Valley. We rented horses for the kids and hiked Bosque de las Palmas circuit.

A leisurely stroll of about four kilometers led us through a palm tree forest situated within Los Nevados National Natural Park, culminating at the summit of a small hill that offers a breathtaking panoramic view of the entire valley.

The landscape of this enclave, habitat of the wax palm is truly extraordinary.

Colombia’s national tree, which can reach 60 meters, grows at an altitude of between 1,500 and 3,000 meters above sea level. The main characteristic of this unique palm tree, in addition to its height, is that its trunk oozes a type of wax that was used to make candles.

Fortunately, the importance of this native trees was recognized in the 1980s, when they were declared a protected species. The palms remain threatened by cattle, which eat the palm tree shoots along with the grass, and by deforestation, which expose the palm trees too much to the sun. Today they are protected as a UNESCO Heritage Site.

The White City of Popayan in the south, was the last stop in Colombia, before crossing to Ecuador. Founded in 1537 and once the capital of Colombia, Popayan is famous for cobblestoned streets, colonial buildings that are all painted in white, and vibrant art scene.

Our jeep ride from Silvia to a nearby village was as funny and exciting as it could get. Women from the Guambian community accompanied by their children, squeezed with us in the back of the jeep, were very communicative and interested in my kids as much as we were in their culture.

A bumpy, winding road made us all laugh, until they were slowly getting off in front of the small paths that were leading uphill between fields to the houses organized in small communities. Our ride was interrupted by a funeral ceremony, where hundreds of locals, dressed in traditional clothes gathered to express condolences to the family of the dead.

Guambiano Indians are one of the most conservative indigenous people, wearing beautiful blue-purple scarfs and ponchos with bowler hats to top it off.

Their cultural belief of respect for the Earth reflects a special relationship with Mother Earth, who is both their livelihood and their spiritual reason of existence.

Due to the high attitude (above 2,500 meters), the land in not very fertile, but with ancient methods of farming they still grow potatoes, maize, wheat, rice, barley, garlic and onions. Trout aquaculture and fishing is also important part of their economy.

The Guambianos remain quite cautious when it comes to interacting with external visitors. Each Tuesday, a large group of Guambianos from the adjacent village participates in the market day in Silvia, where they predominantly engage in trading their crops for various necessary products. We purchased some souvenirs from them.

Although the majority of the population currently communicates in Spanish, they continue to maintain the Wampi language for communication within their community.

After visiting Ecuador and Peru, we returned to Colombia via the Amazon River on a slow boat from Yurimaguas and Iquitos to Leticia. The area of Three Frontiers, where Peru, Brazil and Colombia meet around the Amazon River, is only accessible navigating or flying, without a single road connection with the rest of the world. Only a short boat ride across the river connects Peruvian Santa Rosa to the Brazilian town of Tabatinga, and this crossing is free from immigration or border formalities.

The weather was not ideal, since daily rainfall was increasing the number of mosquitos and complicating travelling to the jungle or camping in the tropical forest. I was not comfortable taking the kids on an overpriced jungle trip, but rather decided to settle down in a community of Puerto Nariño, a short ride along the river from Leticia.

We found simple cabañas, very close to the river. There were macaws, monkeys (monos arañas), macaws and some other animals around the property.

We rented a boat to visit Lake San Francisco and Lake Tarapoto, which are stunning locations for observing river dolphins and swimming, while providing breathtaking views of the surrounding forest.