As we entered the town , we hit the congestion. Manizales was just starting to celebrate its Feria (Fair). Thousands of tourist flock to this event and most of the industry in the area packs up for the week to take part in this annual festival, which sadly revolved around the historic and once popular practice of "Bull Fighting"
Manizales is one of the few remaining locations in Colombia that has an active Bull Ring. Although distasteful to many, Bull Fighting has played a huge part in Colombian culture and tradition. For the Matadors who take part, winning a tournament is similar to winning an Olympic gold medal or the World Cup. Statues of previous immortal heroes adorn the town.
Having spent an hour or so feeding though the very steep streets of the town we arrived at Camping Santa Luis perched on the very top of large hill about 2 km outside town.
Our online Camp site guide ( ioverlander ) and some friends who had recently visited the site both suggested that the size of our vehicle wouldn't be a problem. The last 100m of the the long single track pathway to the site got narrower and narrower. With 25m to go and our mirrors folded back we ground to a halt. A bank of earth on the right, a steep drop on the left and overhanging trees stopped us in our tracks with no way forward or backward.
After a few stressful minutes salvation appeared in the form of the owner Patricia, armed with a large saw and a shovel. Thirty minutes later the path was 1 meter wider and the trees were all looking trimmed.
The descriptions were correct. The site was perched on an outcrop with 270 degree views into 3 different valleys. It was fantastic.
The owner Patricia was wonderful, and we knew that leaving this place wasn't going to be easy.
Whilst chilling out at camp in Santa Luis, two other great things happened. Firstly we got a surprise visit from a fellow traveller "Francis" who we had previously met in Filandia over Christmas and secondly Pat decided we needed a holiday in Brazil. Buts that's another story for a later blog entry.
The day came when we had to leave and tears were shed when saying farewell to the beautiful owner Patricia, who had made our stay there very special.
The three and a half hour , 128 km, drive to the pretty town of Jardin took 2 days. It was mostly off road but a really great drive .
Jardin is a similar town to Filandia in that it revolves around a large colourfully painted town square, flanked with nice restaurants and cafe's. A pleasant place for a few days.
Throughout Ecuador and Colombia we have made several efforts to get a glimpse of a rare bird known as "The Cock of the Rock".
Rumour had it that they might be seen in a private garden on the edge of town. Armed with our best anoraks and binoculars we set off for the location.
We got lucky
The pretty town of Jerico will always be remembered for the worst reasons.
Having spent three days camping at the take off point of a local Paragliding centre enjoying the beautiful views and the local town's festival, our peace was shattered.
By coincidence the festival in question was the Literary "Hay Festival". We tried to claim that we were delegates from the UK and that our surname proved that we were from the festivals founding family. Didn't work
This location is on the bucket list for many experienced or would be paragliders and its easy to see why . It was beautiful, the steep views down into the valley below were stunning. We spent hours chatting with pilots from many nationalities who were waiting for the perfect moment to launch.
It was during the afternoon of day three that we heard a commotion occurring at the centre. Upon investigation we discovered that a very experienced American pilot had not checked in upon landing and his personal GPS was suggesting that he was located in a very dense jungle area and hadn't moved for the the last two hours.
Everyone was very concerned and a search and rescue party was assembled. I obviously grabbed some water, a couple of torches and my boots and set off , hoping for the best.
We drove to as near as we could get to the signal and along with some volunteer firemen we set of into the night on foot. The high altitude, humidity, constant steep incline and millions of biting insects made the 3 hour hike into the dense forest pretty tough. Eventually with our lungs screaming and hearts beating out of our chests we arrived at an area that was within 25 meters of the GPS beacon.
Despite shouting and searching we could not find the pilots exact location.
We found ourselves standing on the top edge of a very high cliff that was densely covered in thick vegetation.
Having searched the area at the top to no avail we could only conclude that the pilot must either be trapped out of site on the cliff face or at the bottom of the cliff.
The fire Officers very carefully lowered themselves over the cliff on what could only be described as a totally inadequate piece of rope. After several descents they announced that they could see the canopy of the glider entangled in the vegetation on the cliff about 10 meters below them. They couldn't however see the pilot or descend any lower as the rope was just too short.
Getting to him was impossible.
At 3 am we all sat on the top of the cliff and made the very painful decision that we were unable to progress any further and despite locating the pilot, we had to abandon the rescue and return to base.
The journey back down was very quiet and everyones spirits were rock bottom.
The next day a search and rescue team was from Medellin was despatched and very sadly the Pilots body was recovered from the cliff face.
This was a very very sad experience.
We are not really city people, preferring to spend our time relaxing in open spaces and countryside.
We do however make an effort, but usually find that a few days in a city is our maximum. Medellin was no exception.
Once the Murder capital of the world, Medellin has over the last decade cleaned its act up and has now become very popular tourist destination. This change has partly come about by the glamorising of the ruthless drug dealing murderer Pablo Escobar who lived there.
I have no doubt people will forget what he stood for and the thousands of people he murdered. In 20 years time we will all be wearing T shirts with the a black and white image of his face on it, like Che Guavara .
We camped in the city in a small town square and did the tour. We didnt do the Escobar tour opting for the cultural experience.
Medellin, in the district of Antioquia, is Colombia second largest city and is home to about 2.5 million people.
It is divided into "Communes" which have both names and numbers. One popular Commune for tourists is that of "San Javier" also known as district 13.
This area was once the most violent, lawless regions. It was ruled totally by the drug cartels. With one of the highest murder rates in the world Comuna 13 was not on the tourist menu. Its steep hillside Favelas look across and down onto the city.
Now however, after huge investment and law enforcement, it has become probably the number one attraction in the city. People come from all over the world to see the amazing street art, painted by locals.
Young people who's futures would have been uncertain now embrace the changes by turning their attention to more creative trades.
Another very popular feature in the city centre is Plaza Botero. This is the home of 23 Bronze sculptures that were created by locally born artist Fernando Botero.
These figures are famous for their unique style, depicting slightly out of proprtion characters.
Although, Botero now resides in Italy he still invests a huge amount promoting culture and art within the city.
Our tour guides for the day were Luis and Carolina of Super Tours Medellin . Just Brilliant. Very Recommended
Still within the region of Antioquia, the Lake district of Guatape lies about 100km east of Medellin.
This large man made lake called the "Penol Guatape Reservoir" is overlooked by a peculiar outcrop of stone called the "Piedra de Penol". Its summit is 200m above the lake and it takes 649 steps to reach the top.
Colombia is without doubt a beautiful country full of amazing landscapes and hidden gems.
Hasta Luego
