Cloudsalat

Rainy Cloud Forests

Julian — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We had a bit of bad luck with the weather in Costa Rica, which annoyed us especially given the cost of living in the country. Not only were accommodations and entry to touristic attractions expensive even by European standards, basic food was almost not affordable either. And then we ended up not seeing anything of the volcanoes we visited due to weather conditions - although I did quite like the cloud forests we walked through.

It gave us an opportunity to put our rain ponchos to good use and created an atmospheric scene for some nice photos.

In lower regions, the weather remained quite unpredictable. At one point we took our swimwear to a series of beautiful natural pool leading up to a spectacular waterfall, only to enjoy the place under umbrellas again.

Ships & Skyscrapers

Julian — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Panama City is an interesting city I didn't really have a clue about before visiting. With more than 1.2 million people in the metropolitan area, it has its fair share of busy streets and traffic of course.

Since the city is probably best known for its proximity to the Panama Canal, it also makes a lot of sense there are a lot of really massive tankers and cargo ships in the ocean right off the city. We were able to watch them from up close when taking the ferry to the beautiful island of Taboga to enjoy some nature and beaches. Even though I'm very aware of the industry's impact on the environment, I find big ships fascinating and found VesselFinder</a> as a great tool to get an idea about what they are up to.

What I definitely didn't expect was the number of high-rise buildings concentrated along the coast - even though this may well be a consequence of the city's strategic position as a major logistics hub.

The green Parque Natural Metropolitano therefore does its name more than justice. When we hiked through the forest on a warm morning, we both encountered a number of agoutis, turtles, a sloth slowly descending a tree and even lizards running over water as well as this great view of the skyline.

Then again, Panama City is not all residential area and skyscrapers either. The Casco Viejo neighbourhood is a very old part of the city that has been heavily renovated and gentrified in recent years. Right by the seaside it has a high number of pricey hotels, bars and restaurants as well as some really good coffee shops (which are not cheap either, though). As so often, it seemed to me that many original residents of the area did not profit from the investment in the area at all.

Sunsets, Sand & Snorkeling

Julian — Sat, 01 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Since we unexpectedly had some more time to spend in Panama than expected, we decided to relax a few days on the Pacific coast in Santa Catalina. There's not much to do in the former fishing village other than surfing, enjoying the rather wild beaches and environment or eating a good pizza. However, it's located close to a number of islands and reefs around the former prison island of Coiba, which a lot of local operators offer boat and snorkeling tours to.
Besides swimming with an incredible amount of diverse marine wildlife such as various puffer and other fish, reef sharks and turtles, we also landed at some beaches for a break. This one on Coibita especially looked like a painting - with hermit crabs roaming the sand, clear blue water and coconut palms providing some shade.
The only building on the island seemed rather abandoned.

Beaches of the Caribbean

Julian — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The postcard-worthy landscape of Tayrona national park is located just about one hour by public transport from Santa Marta. Sure, it's another hour walking a road through the jungle and then folloing the trail along the coast, but with a bit of luck there is a lot of wildlife waiting on the way. Just on our first day in the park we encountered a family of howler monkeys, several groups of tamarin jumping through the trees, some agoutis, a sleeping sloth and lots of colourful lizards.
We slept in hammocks under mosquito nets on a local campground and went for a morning swim in peaceful warm water, before enjoying our breakfast with a priceless view. On our way back to the bus stop, we met another cappucchin monkey eyeing our remaining snacks from only a couple meters distance.

Contrasts in Medellín

Julian — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Medellín's infamous Comuna 13, a neighbourhood formerly known for its violent history of gangs, guerilla groups, drug trafficking and brutal police raids, is a major tourist attraction today. Its integration with the remainder of the city often seen as a leading example of urban development in South America.
After the barrios' residents finally found peace, they now proudly showcase their talent for rap, DJing, breakdance and colourful street art.
At the other end of town, we found an original German bakery amid all the (from a spoilt European perspective) rather questionable baked goods. We enjoyed some really delicious pastries and happily left with some fresh pretzels as well as a nice, heavy wholegrain bread.

Street Art, Salsa & 10 Million People

Julian — Sat, 15 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I think it's not exaggerated to say Colombia's capital Bogotá is huge - the whole metropolitan area houses about 10 million people and stretches as far as one can see.
The very accessible Monserrate mountain provides a break from the noisy traffic and a great view of the city. It's also home to a statue titled Homeless Jesus, right in front of a church.
The bordering district La Candelaria is known both for its historic buildings and masterful street art, often highlighting the struggle of indigenous tribes with problems like corruption, poverty and general under-representation. I didn't take a lot of pictures in the streets though since that's a good way to loose one's phone. Local artist Carlos Trilleras however supports up and coming artists in his gallery.
While the locals don't seem as salsa-crazy as in Cali, we managed to find a nice bar even with live music!

Coffee & Wax Palms

Julian — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

On our weekend off from the cocoa business in Ibagué, we hopped on the public bus to visit the nearby town of Salento. The highland region between Cali, Medellin and Bogotá is widely know as the coffee triangle of Colombia, so of course we took the chance to visit a local finca that organically grows and processes the beans.
We learned a lot about the entire process from planting, maintaining and harvesting the different types of arabica trees over drying and processing the beans to roasting and finally brewing a good cup. Of course we also got to taste the end product and I liked it so much I had to buy some for the little Bialetti pot I'm travelling with 😄
Another attraction that draws many tourists to Salento is the Valle de Cocora, a nearby green valley full of tall wax palms.
The valley was a beautiful place for a day hike, with sheep feeding in the sunny lower parts and foggy clouds creating a spooky atmosphere only a bit higher in altitude.

Cocoa Farming

Julian — Sat, 08 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Since we both love good chocolate and wanted to learn more about both the chocolate production process and life in Colombia, my girlfriend and me volunteered at a Finca near Ibagué in December. The small, organic chocolate business was run by Luis, a former school teacher and his family - which appeared to consider us members of it as well from the very minute we arrived, as they were always very concerned with our well-being and seemed to enjoy our company as much as we did theirs.
The finca mainly consisted of a house inhabited by Luis' brother in law Oscar with his wife Nancy, some guest rooms and a good amount of hilly forest. With Oscar's son Oliver as an expert in forest biology and cocoa plantation, the group had considerably reforested the property with both different varieties of cocoa and other (native) trees, creating a syntropic system allowing them to grow and harvest the cocoa without any use of synthetic fertilisers, insecticides or other major, unsustainable disruptions of the local ecosystem.
We arrived just in time for the cocoa harvest, which can take place twice a year (depending on the variety of cocoa tree). We learnt to tell ripe fruits from immature ones and had a lot of sweat and fun navigating the sometimes challenging forest terrain in tropical climate. In the afternoon we would always end up with our clothes covered in velcro-like grass seeds :D
After opening the the fruits and extracting the beans, they need to ferment for two days in a leaf-covered bucket and then dry in the sun.
Besides harvesting cocoa and cutting excess branches from the trees, we also planted new ones - here's one of two young mangostan trees at its new home.
After a sweaty day in the forest, we would often cool down in the little waterfall produced by the brook at the lower part of the property, right next to a huge, flowering heliconia plant.
Not only because waste disposal is not trivial in rural Colombia, the inhabitants of the finca fondly recycled both all kinds of materials as well as seeds or saplings to decorate the grounds. Luna the dog didn't care a lot about plants, but seemed to appreciate her favourite spot under the suspended wooden bench!

Cali es Cali

Julian — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

One of our first stays in Colombia was in Cali. While most of the city itself is not classically beautiful, it is always warm and occasionally has some nicely green streets.
It's also home to a botanical garden with funny looking cacti beside other plants in a shady forest. Just watch out for sizeable iguanas falling from the trees from time to time!
Public transport by buses (partially in a dedicated lane) works quite well and on weekends many locals use it to escape the town and cool down in the nearby Rio Pance.
However, the one thing Cali is justifiably known for is its enthusiasm for salsa music. The music is heard all over the place and you'll find bars full of dancing people on a regular Wednesday evening. You can also learn about both the music's and the city's history in a dedicated salsa museum featuring photos of artists visiting Cali over more than 40 years.
Each Friday night, everyone gathers around Boulevard del Rio to dance while others bring typical percussion instruments and a DJ plays - you guessed it - salsa. When we attended in December, the scene was additionally illuminated by colourful Christmas lights.

Thin Air

Julian — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This is how our hike up to the summit of Cotopaxi started in the late afternoon. We only walked up to the shelter at the volcano's foot in daylight to get some (pretty tasty) food and take a nap.
At 23:00 we would get up again, gear up in all our thick clothes, harness, helmet, ice pick and torchlight to start the actual ascend at midnight. Our guide led us through about 2 hours of sandy trails followed by another 4 hours over snow and ice before we reached the summit at almost 5900 meters above sea level.
Of course any spectacular view of the landscape in the light of a rising sun was obscured by foggy clouds. So we only peeled the gloves from our hands to take some quick selfies and started the descend - at least we had daylight now.