Visiting Colombia was a lifelong dream of mine. To be able to experience the people, culture and the animals was a life changing experience. Colombia has 19.5% of the world's bird species (1978 identified species), and is a bird lovers paradise! The following photos are just a glimpse into the beautiful views that Colombia has to offer.
Cali
We flew into Cali and stayed at this beautiful Airbnb near the Universidad del Valle where we were running the wildlife monitoring technology conference and workshops for the month. The flat we were staying at had a balcony which is where I found my self at 6am in the morning with a cup of coffee and watching the busy morning life on the street. I heard and saw so many amazing birds just sitting there and then saw my first Hummingbird feeding off the beautiful orange flowers of the flame tree in front of the building. Little did I know that my months would be full of watching and hearing some of the most amazing animals I have had the pleasure of seeing.
I had two main highlights in my 45 days in Cali. The first was working at night with a group of students catching neotropical bats on the university campus. Neotropical bats have always been on my bucket list and not only did I get to see them, I got to work with 17 different species in my time there!
The second was the visits to local reserves like El topacio and birding at KM18! Both of these are located in the cloud forests that surround Cali and they have some of the most breathtaking views as well as some amazing fauna and flora.
Leticia and the Columbian Amazon
Of course I went to the amazon! Like why would I not? And it was the most magical experience of my life. The boat ride to our accomodation, the simple wooden hut with mesh walls, from where you could hear the dawn and dusk chorus, the nighttime orchestra of tree frogs and Potoo, and the day time cacophony of insect sounds. The simple food of freshly caught pirarucu from the river and fried plantain! Even the giant cockroaches that scared the living hell out of me at night. I loved every moment of it.
5 days was not enough time for me and I am already planning a return.
Cartagena and Islas de Baru in the Caribbean
After the short trip to the Amazon, we headed out for some tourist style sightseeing in Cartagena! This town is like text book images that people have of South America! Colourful and very very touristy! As a result of that they have many free walking tours of which we did the food tour. It is a must do if you have a short time in the city and want to try authentic Colombian cuisine.
Colombia made a very huge impression on me. The colours, people, culture and most importantly the wildlife have impacted me deeply and hold a very special place in my heart and give me that warm feeling of home. I am not done with Colombia yet and am looking forward to when I can go back.
Check out my Colombian gallery for some cool photos of some of the amazing things I saw.
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