roraima / venezuela / part two

on the way up

the trip up the roraima tought me some important and practical things. as a passionate traveller i pass my wisdom on ;)

- less is more (considering your luggage!)
- any path you can manage to go up, you can also manage to come down on (no matter how steep or rocky or dangerous)
- always, always, always spray your butt with mosquito-repellent (your toilet in the gran sabana is the nature and the mean puri puri love bare skin)
- take care of your feet! they are your foundation and only they can carry you anywhere your path leads – hence: choose some good shoes for your trip.
- think about it – 6 days away from anything (computer, cell phone, …) – great feeling. you are on vacation!
- trust the locals. they usually know their way around.

view of the gran sabana

- last but not least: if you do a guided tour, be aware – they feed you tons of food, make you poop in a plastic bag and take your feces down the mountain (as they don’t want to leave it on top, where there is not much s0il to bury it). it’s not the smartest idea and in my eyes an ecological desaster, as there is rumor, that the plastic bags are buried in the gran sabana, but it’s their system. has been for the last 20 years and won’t change anytime soon. it can bug you the whole time you hike, or you can accept it – you are in venezuela :).

up on the roraima

stay tuned – more about the roraima-trek will follow (flora, fauna, history)!

roraima / venezuela / part one

first view of roraima-tepui (right) and the gran sabana

well, in the beginning of this year i did have the intention to post more exciting stories on my blog. yes. but you know, what it’s like with good intentions :) to somewhat keep my promise, here is a short teaser for my next story – a six day trekking tour up to roraima-tepui, the highest table mountain in our world (2.810m), located in the canaima national park (also home to the highest waterfall of the world – angels falls – i’ll write more about that another time :)).

no wonder, this landscape inspired sir arthur conan doyle to write “the lost world“. we started in santa elena de uairen close to the brasilian border. we stayed a night at the yakoo lodge (very clean, very nice natural pool) before we headed off to cross the gran sabana.

morning bath @ rio tek

on our trip we slept in tents, bathed in the rivers, got our butts kicked by puri-puri (mean bloodsuckers!), cooked pasta over a campfire, enjoyed sunsets over the kukenan-tepui and climbed 1.000 meters of altitude difference on 2,5 kilometers in 4 hours (to give you an idea of one of our daytrips :))

campfire @ basecamp with view of kukenan-tepui

so far so good – enjoy the first pics and come back if you are hungry to know more… (i promise, i’ll write more soon! btw we booked our tour with natoura – i can only recommend them!!!)

colonia tovar / venezuela

main square

hessen, frankurt, münchen… greetings from the black forest. yes, you read right! about 60 kilometers west of caracas you find traditional frame houses like in the german black forrest, cafes, hotels or streets named after german cities and of course: typical german food (i recommend strawberries with cream at cafe muhstall, the waitresses wear a real dirndl, but won’t let you take a picture).

where we are? at colonia tovar, of course ;) 1843 the italian agostino codazzi and a couple of german folks thought, it’d be a good idea to move there  – they attended to their traditions (had their own laws until 1942, brewed the first venezuelan beer – cerveza tovar, grew vegetables, taught german at school) and weren’t discovered as a tourist destination until a road was paved in the 1960s. since then tourism has become the main reason to maintain this little disney world à la germany in the middle of venezuela.

greetings from colonia tovar

tons of caracenos come here over the weekend. they play loud music in their big cars (wow – never seen so many pick ups and suvs on one spot), buy fresh strawberries or tomates de arbol, marmelade or salsa, schnapps or some “dirndl & lederhosen“-decorated souvenir from fair-haired descendants of the german settlers and enjoy this “traditional” piece of oddity. nevertheless it’s worth a peek. oh – don’t expect to be understood, if you speak german. most people don’t know the language anymore…

bogota / colombia

you won’t believe it – i didn’t until i was there (just a week ago) – but bogota has a great touch of new york. well, it’s at least my new york of the south american continent (with an extraordinary historic neighbourhood – la candelaria – and its own mountain: monserrate).

going shopping in la zona rosa @ mu

sure – i have only the comparison of quito, caracas, santiago and lima (saw a tiny glimpse of that), but let me say this: when you see the buildings of salmona (right next to the bullfighting arena in la macarena, where dog walkers have up to ten dogs on a leash and the sporty citizens try their newest trend – crossfit -), when you go shopping (or partying at night – big hit and a little touristy: andres in town (the original lies up north in chia). strong cocktails, yummy-steaks and good music!) in the zona rosa with a short stop at la “t” (a t-crossing, also called zona t) for colombian coffee at oma (said to be founded by an austrian) or enjoy asian food in the area of usaquen, you get a certain nyc-feeling (besides that each city is home to over 7 million people).

girls in traditional costums @ plaza santander in front of the museo del oro

the south is a no-go-area for tourists and even most of the bogotanos. the public transportation is a mess – unless you figure out the system of the transmilenio (which most bogotanos don’t) or don’t care too much where the busetas (privately operated busses) drop you off. it’s easier (and rather cheap) to take a cab – no problem during the day, just wave one off the road. as soon as it gets dark, it’s smarter to pay some attention and let the host/restaurant/bar organize a transport than to jump drunk in some taxi. that’s not a good idea, although the city has heavily improved on security in the last ten years. it’s said to be much safer than caracas (just been there too, infos will follow), and that seems to be true.

additional must sees&do’s:
monserrate – it’s a mekka for pilgrims (due to the fallen jesus) and – if it’s not hazy – the spot to grasp the vastness of the city (1,7 square kilometers). if you got religious friends, you can dig in the wide range of rosarys and take some bracelets with jesus-pics home – great souvenir!

plaza bolivar - view of the catedral primada

la candelaria - walk around and find the founding point of bogota, a great graffiti-scene in the east, and the teatro colon (unfortunately closed, when i was there). stroll around plaza bolivar with the catedral primada, the palace of justice and the national capitol. the presidential palacio de narino is near by (president santos works and lives here) as well as the more than curious museo de la policia where the police celebrates itself and the capture of pablo escobar (beware of the life-size puppets of escobar at court, in jail and – well – dead.) you might get lucky and also meet director humberto aparicio, age 76, the “oldest policeman of the world still working” as his employees say, and a guy who isn’t shy to give you some candy and wish you “happiness for you, your family and the people of your country” :)).

un pajaro de botero (a typical botero-bird)

speaking of museums – drop in at the casa de moneda to lose yourself in fernando boteros voluptuous paintings and sculptures, dream of the time where gold was the most precious metal on earth and discover the artistry of the pre-hispanic era at the museo del oro (great artesanias – souvenirshops – there too!) or get to know the history of colombia at museo nacional de colombia (the septima – main road – up north).

if you get hungry in between – try a chocolate completo at la puerta falsa (also a lonely-planet-tip, but i didn’t know that until the owner mentioned it and i had my chocolate half down already). it’s hot chocolate (with water, not milk), bread and butter as well as cheese, which you are supposed to put in your chocolate to let it melt. it’s – although, i admit, it sounds funny – good!!! you can also try this with aguapanela instead of chocolate.

meatmarket @ palomequao

last but not least and not to be missed: my highlight (because i love markets): the plaza del mercado de paloquemao. i’ve seen a wide range of markets on my travels so far, but not whole pigs hanging around, big huge snails at the fish-stand, aloe vera for the cuisine or a flower-market just as colorful as this. go there in the morning and by orchids for practically no money for your beloved ones :)

more info on:
colombia (official tourist information)
bogota (official tourist information)
the city paper bogota (english)

… to be continued …

me / and the blog

in bogota

as my wonderful blog-friend (and gifted cook) queen of soup has recently stated @ esszimmer – i don’t write very often…

i hereby promise to change my habits :)

and give you a tiny overview of what’s coming up next: a trip to bogota, a hike on the table mountain roraima, a short stop at a german colony in venezuela and some insight on caracas. hope to read you soon!