Nature and stuff…

I’ve been thinking over the last few days how to perfectly describe the ride up to Carpe Diem, our eco lodge in the Sierra Navada. First of all, the driver showed up early, which is completely un-Colombian. I’m almost never early, so we were scrambling to get everything together while they were waiting. We were hurried into the busy streets of Santa Marta, threw our bags in the back of a jeep, and ushered into the back seat, alongside a lovely Dutch woman. Within a mere minute of being outside, I was drenched, and found my legs sticking to the seat of the jeep. We spent the first few minutes chatting with our new Dutch friend, and it wasn’t until we passed a gas station and I habitually looked at the jeep’s gas gage that I took a few minutes to take in my surroundings. The gas gage did not work; it read empty. The speedometer also did not work. The engine light didn’t appear to be on, although I’m certain that was only because that also didn’t work. The doors were metal shells, stripped of anything aesthetically pleasing. There were wires hanging from the dashboard, as well as from the roof. My initial feeling of being in Indian Jones quickly passed as I realized that the jeep was from the 70’s, and has not been well maintained throughout the years. This thought was confirmed when the driver switched gears and my ears were met with an unnatural crunching sound that resembled someone attempting to chew through metal. The seats itched at my bare legs, and as we exited the highway and onto a gravel road, I hit my head on the metal roof for what was surely not the last time. As the bumps got bigger, the metal from the roof began to tangle in my hair, yanking it out strand by strand. At the point in which I had perfected ducking on bumps, the road became entirely bumps and I not only smacked my head, but was jostled into Ryan on my left and the Dutch woman to my right. The sweat on our arms melded together more and more with each divot and turn. Nearly 20 minutes later, we arrived at Carpe Diem, and I was extremely happy to be out of the jeep and on the ground safely.

We were greeted by the friendly staff at Carpe Diem who immediately made us a fresh fruit juice and showed us to our room. The lodge was quaint, made up 4 rooms, 1 dorm room, and 2 washrooms. There was a small terrace with tables and chairs and hammocks throughout the area. I would certainly not describe the lodge as luxury, but it was homey, and suited our needs for the weekend. Immediately after a homemade lunch of vegetable soup, salad, and fried plantains, we headed out on a hike. We hiked down to a beautiful waterfall to swim, and then up to small ruins that they called their version of the Lost City. It was hotter than I expected, and the sun was unrelenting until late into the afternoon. I was grateful for the cold shower as I washed off the dust and dirt from the day. After reading in the hammock for a while, we had another delicious homemade meal and met the rest of the people staying at the lodge. There was an older French couple, a couple from Belgium with a two-year old and a volunteer from Italy, who were all very nice. Although our beds weren’t overly comfortable, I drifted to sleep to the sound of the river roaring beside us. There is really nothing like sleeping somewhere entirely dark and quiet.

Yesterday, we headed out to a nature reserve a little ways away from Carpe Diem. We were toured around the farm and were able to see the medicinal plants, the turtles, cayman, coy fish and wild pigs. We also saw various local plants and flowers. The view from the farm was absolutely fantastic, and the only thing I didn’t enjoy was the gigantic spiders, and the endless trails of ants. The ants must be moving right now because they were everywhere. They have actually cleared away areas for themselves to walk through, and Ryan and I have taken to calling these areas ant highways. I’m all for nature, but I find the giant ants to be fairly disgusting. After the tour, we headed back to Carpe Diem to put on our bathing suits, and headed across the neighbouring river to the natural
“jacuzzi” for an incredibly refreshing swim. Another wonderful lunch was served and we spent a few hours relaxing, reading and practicing Spanish before heading out on another adventure. We went to an organic chocolate farm where we learned about the chocolate making process, tasted the beans at different stages, and then tasted the finished product. It was delicious, and we bought some before leaving! The rest of the evening was fairly uneventful and we spent much of the time relaxing in the peace and quiet.

This morning we went for a final hike to a waterfall, and then were picked up by mototaxi’s who would take us back to the highway. As awful as the jeep ride up to Carpe Diem was, I was fairly terrified to take a motorcycle back down with all my stuff. I prepared for the worst with long pants, closed toe shoes and a sweater. The young boy who drove me down put my small backpack on his front, while I road with my big backpack on my back, propped on the motorcycle like a third person. I clung the boy as we took off back down the mountain. However, as we began our journey, I was pleasantly surprised. The boy manoeuvred the motorcycle with grace, weaving his way down the mountain as gently as I imagine is possible. He must know the route like the back of his hands, because he never hit a bump too quickly, and he missed every rock and branch that passed our way. Needless to say, the ride down was both quicker and more pleasant than the ride up. Upon arriving at the highway, we set out to find a bus or a taxi. Fortunately, the nicest taxi I’ve been in in South America picked us up not long after we were dropped off. He had A/C and despite the strange, sexual music he was playing, I felt as though I was in heaven.

Arriving back in Santa Marta on a Sunday was like arriving in a ghost town. There is almost no one on the streets, and almost everything in the town is closed. We were pleased to find our favourite smoothie shop, Lulo, was open and I enjoyed a delicious coconut, srawberry, mango smoothie. We are back at Masaya Hostel, and have been put back in the same beds, so it is almost as though we never left. We have one more day in Santa Marta before we head off to another coastal paradise, Cartagena.