Last month, I went to
Colombia, South America, on vacation with my family. We visited different
places and cities such as Cartagena de Indias on the Caribbean coast, el Parque
Tayrona, Bogotá, el Eje Cafetero, Cali and an island in the Pacific Ocean. The
nature of Colombia is breathtaking and well-worth seeing. There are so many
different types of landscape that you feel like you have crossed some border
although you are still on the very warm soil of Colombia. Also, the fact this
country is 37 times the size of Belgium helps spreading the borders.
My favorite part of the
trip might have been the 4 days spent on the Island of Gorgona in the Pacific
Ocean. Getting to the island is the hardest part: you have to fly to Cali, then
to Guapi (one of the poorest towns of Colombia) and then take a boat and cross
the Ocean for an hour and a half to finally reach the Island.
But once you get there, you
are glad you made the trip. After being carried out of the boat like a princess
(whether you are a woman or a man, you ARE being carried out of the boat… ask
my father), you receive the first of many fresh fruit juices you will get while
your stay there. And then, you eat. We ate so much on this island, it was
unbelievable. The food was amazing, always fish, plantains, fruits, vegetables
and rice, with fresh fruit juices at every meal. I admit I was a bit scared of
where we were going to end up, but the place was great.
 |
| Shape of the main island |
Las Islas Gorgona are two islands: Gorgona, the main one in the shape of a whale, and Gorgonilla, a smaller one next to it.The main island was once a
prison for Colombian murderers (like Alcatraz, near San Francisco. Or Azkaban,
it depends on what your brain thought of first). The prison closed its doors in
1984 and the island became a National Natural Reservation Park, where only one
private family has established a hotel, which is more like a bunch of little
houses on the eastern side of the island. It is very, very quiet, and cute and
comfortable. You can still visit the prison now, it was demolished, but not
entirely, and nature has regained control over everything. It is amazing to see
all these buildings surrendered to the jungle.
 |
| Old prison |
The island was named “Isla
Gorgona” in the honor of the Gorgons, three sisters of the Greek mythology who
had hair made of snakes, because of all the snakes on the island. You are
required to wear boots at all times (except when going from your room to the
restaurant, where it is safer, but you still have to be careful) and you cannot
go walk alone in the jungle without a guide. When you arrive on the island,
there is a briefing where you are told all the dangerous things not to do and
all the dangerous animals not to meet, but once you’ve been there a couple
days, you are used to it and it doesn’t seem so dreadful.
Every morning, we went hiking
in the jungle. The hikes are not that hard, but the heat and humidity of the
place tires you faster. The nature is beautiful, and we get to meet so many
tiny animals and types of plants that you are always looking at something
beautiful (except if you just focus on not falling, and you just look at your
feet, but that’s your choice).
My favorite animals on this
island were the ‘basilisco’ (“basiliscus basiliscus”) which is nothing like the
one from Harry Potter and is hilarious (if you are curious, check out this
video: hilariousness, I tell you), and the ‘monos cariblancos’ which are the
cutest little monkeys and they come next to you every day while you are reading
comfortably in your hammock. Both these animals are very nice (except when they
are mad), but we also met some not-so-nice ones.
 |
| Mono cariblanco |
 |
| Basiliscus basiliscus |
I did meet 3 snakes on one
of our walks around the island: 2 corrals (with black and white and red and
black lines) which are venomous and 1 casadora (green) which is not. Even if I was
wearing my boots, I was not that comfortable around them. On the island, you
can also meet the “talla X”, the biggest and most venomous snake of the island.
Alcohol is prohibited on the island: if you are bitten by the talla X and you
have alcohol in your blood, the vaccine will not work.
If you go between May and
October, you will have the chance to see whales passing by in the Ocean! We
first saw one while eating lunch on the day we arrived, we could not believe
it. Then we saw a bunch while on a tiny boat or eating lunch, and they were
surprisingly close to the shore. I didn’t expect to see them coming so close.
Also, while snorkeling in
the “aquarium” of the island (on the eastern side of the island, but north), we
heard a whale sing. And believe me, it is one of the most disturbing things to
hear (especially if you don’t know what it is) but one of the most beautiful. There is
something completely surreal in the fact of swimming with beautiful fishes and
hearing a whale’s song.
Colombia is such a diverse country with so many different things to see that it is definitely worth it. When you get the amazing chance of going to South America, don't hesitate, just go.
 |
| Also, lots of cute crabs. |
 |
| Yes, you do feel small. |
