South America - Columbia & Brazil, August 2010

 

Backpackers I spoke to around S America raved about Colombia, so I was pretty excited as I arrived at the Amazonian outpost of Leticia, my entrance point. Just 10 years ago much of the country was a "no go area", including this city, where the cocaine mafia ruled the roost and tourism was nonexistent. I spoke to many gringos telling funny tales of worried friends and relatives, warning about this dangerous country and of a certain suicide mission! Thankfully in recent years Colombia has become safe and accessible, free from kidnappings, with some of the friendliest and welcoming people on the continent.

Leticia forms a triple frontier with Brazil and Peru, where you can pass between the 3 countries without any formalities. I took advantage of this convenience to visit Tabatinga one afternoon, to watch the Brazil v Chile World Cup clash at the pub. To help blend in, I bought a Brazil football shirt for the occasion! Brazil won comfortably, with rapturous scenes after each goal, but the post match celebrations of this small town was a sight to behold. It seemed every person took to the streets in a sea of yellow, in one never ending parade back and forth along the main street. The country hosts the 2014 World Cup, which is going to be some party!

I flew 2 hours to Colombia’s capital Bogotá, and after buying a new pair of Nike trainers I made a beeline for the coffee region. After 3 months devoid of running (except down the occasional mountain), I was jumping at the bit to get started again. I learnt the art of growing great coffee, visited Colombia’s national tree (the massive wax palm), went for leisurely jogs on the rolling hills, and guzzled unlimited free tasty coffee fresh from the farm!

After visiting Pablo Escobar’s old stomping ground of Medellín (and reading his brother’s biography about him), I hit the hot and humid Caribbean Coast. My runs took me along beaches and the ancient city walls of Cartagena, but I dripped in sweat for half an hour after my cold shower, such was the heat! I couchsurfed with a local lass and her parents, who were super friendly despite my shockingly bad Spanish! I had a lot of fun visiting a mud volcano, a very bazaar experience, with the human body being surprisingly buoyant!

Slowing down my hectic pace of travel, I spent a week in the tranquil Villa de Leyva, finding a lovely relaxing hostel with good company. I then couchsurfed in Bogotá with a girl I´d met in Edinburgh earlier in the year, when I hired a car and guided a few couchsurfers around the Highlands for a day! Her family were lovely, and her grandpa, a retired police sergeant, was happy to be my personal tour guide for the day!

I returned to the jungle to make my journey into Brazil, aboard a triple storey boat down the Amazon River to the city of Manaus. Decks were packed with hammocks on this leisurely 3 day journey, where the bugs were big and numerous, and the passengers ranged from local families to globe-trotting backpackers. With about one-fifth of the world’s total river flow, the Amazon is MASSIVE!!

My final days were spent around the majestic Rio de Janeiro, visiting some squeaky white sand beaches and the tranquil island hideaway of Ilha Grande for my 27th birthday! In Mangaraiba I couchsurfed with a 46 year old local, who owned a super house with great bay and island views. We both ran a nearby 9km Night Trail race with 1250 runners complete with head torches; a fun experience in which I came a respectable 19th! 

In Rio I couchsurfed with a Maths Teacher who took me to his school one morning. His pupils were full of questions for the ‘gringo’, and were particularly curious about the Scottish kilt and whether I had a girlfriend! I explored one of the famous favelas (slums), which my host assured me was safe to visit alone. I was lucky to have 2 blue sky days to visit Christ the Redeemer, the Sugar Loaf mountain, and the popular beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema. Rio is quite possibly the most beautiful city I’ve seen, though a little big for me, with 6 million residents! 

I was happy to return to an English speaking country and my beloved Edinburgh. Since returning, I’ve moved into a cracking 5 bedroom student flat in the heart of Old Town and I’ve completed my first week of teacher training at Moray House. It’ll be an intense and challenging year, but a fun and hopefully successful career shift! South America was an awesome trip, but I will enjoy good times ahead!