With my 30th post, I am opening the last chapter in Colombia! After almost freezing continuously in Peru and Bolivia during the past German summer, the past 2 months have been the hottest of my life - and that in the German winter. So, it all evens out. In Colombia, this was especially true along the Caribbean coast, but also in cities like Cali and Medellín, as well as in the flat and mountainous interior, the only constant was the heat. Only Bogotá provided a bit of cooling at night. But first, I headed to the vastness of the Llanos - to Villavicencio. This is the area east of the Andes and known primarily for its huge green areas with a lot of livestock and oil industry. It is also extremely hot there all year round. Sometimes with rain and sometimes without. I was there, of course, during the even hotter dry season. One day out in the countryside, another to a river, a horseback riding excursion, and a shopping tour in the numerous air-conditioned malls. That was my program for the days in Villavicencio.
Bogotá
There's not much to say about Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. It is a huge metropolis, with a lot of history, many museums, a few pretty squares, good cafes, and restaurants. But other than that, it's the usual chaotic, noisy picture of a big city. The weather was very pleasant. Not as hot as in Villavicencio, but not as cold as in the other Andean cities at such altitudes. So, I limited myself to the usual tourist program, visited some museums, strolled through the Calendaria neighborhood, went up to Mount Montserrate, explored numerous cafes, and worked on my blog. I also found myself in front of several closed parks, museums, and facilities.
And a few words about the Colombian people. They live basically according to the motto - the main thing is to be loud! It doesn't matter what the situation is, if possible, they shout. Normal conversations hardly take place in public spaces. And if they do, they are fast and chaotic, so that you don't understand anything because then they can repeat everything even louder. That's the jackpot. But even if you understand them, you have to be careful with the information. Often enough, they just tell you something about places you should visit and how to get there, and it turns out to be completely wrong. Again, the principle of '2 people, 3 opinions'. Despite all of this, they are always in a good mood and happy - even the taxi drivers! I think this was the first country where this also applied to this population group. And with the loud music, there is of course always a lot of partying and beer everywhere. The bars are at least as crowded as the churches the next day. The good mood should not disguise the fact that most people here are not doing well economically and almost everyone carries their personal baggage from the many past years of war. Maybe that's why there wasn't much interest in talking about these issues or engaging with history. If these conflicts are almost omnipresent anyway, maybe you don't want to deal with them even more in your 'free time'. Maybe it's all still too fresh. And with these impressions, I now head back to Ecuador, specifically to the Galapagos Islands - a completely different world.