Colombia - From Medellín to Bogotá
Colombia is dangerous and deadly. Guerrilla fighters and cocaine everywhere. Jewellery and anything that looks like money is stolen straight away. We landed in Medellín. The bulletproof vests are sold directly at the exit of the plane for the tourists after landing. One costs 160,000 COP, about 40€. We took 4 of them straight away. Better safe than sorry. The suitcase at the baggage claim carousel: opened. The electronics are missing. Instead, there are bags with rolled banknotes winking at us. A very hairy man is already running towards us, waving wildly, telling us not to touch our backpack! He doesn't look friendly, and he doesn't look like the policemen who happen to be looking in the other direction.
This or something similar could have sounded in a dramatic book about Colombia's past. With us it was different. Or was it?
We landed in Medellín. We excitedly went to the belt, went through the immigration counters, picked up our suitcases and took out money at the ATM in the airport. Then we went out to the street. On the way, we were asked by various people if we wanted a taxi. Of course we didn't. Our guidebooks warned us not to get into any taxis. So we took an Uber to our accommodation. Are we going to be kidnapped anyway? ... Please don't! But everything was fine. In general, we were very cautious for the first 1-2 weeks. Of course, the time of Pablo Escobar is over, of course, we have been in other countries where we were told to be careful! And as we very quickly discovered: Medellín is a big city like any other. There are the parts of the city with the richer people and the parts with the poorer people. There are buses and a metro as well as taxis and also rental bikes. The people were all super nice to us, but: only very few speak English. Luckily, we booked ourselves into a private Spanish course for 3 weeks in advance to learn the language as quickly and effectively as possible. The language teachers gave us good tips on what to see in the city and/or around the city. We also stayed in Tatiana's flat, she welcomed us warmly with her family and 2 cats and also provided us with lots of tips.
Here is also a short video of our gondola ride over part of the city.
We were very lucky that Tina Teucher connected Tatjana in advance with Christian Hasenstab, who lives with his family in Medellín. Both have completed the MBA Sustainability Management at Leuphana University. Christian took time for us in advance and we were able to get to know each other in a video conference, where he also introduced us to his friend Henry Lopez. Henry is Colombian and studied "Ecological Agriculture and Food Systems" at the University for Sustainable Development in Eberswalde. The two of them gave us lots of tips and were there to help us in Medellín in word and deed. We are totally thrilled by their warm-heartedness, helpfulness, knowledge, manner and common denominator for sustainability issues, among others. THANK YOU Tina for connecting us and THANK YOU Christian and Henry for the very inspiring time together, your tips and support and for giving us a deeper insight into the life and culture of Colombia.
Also many thanks to Christian, Marta and Henry for tasting your homemade bacon from organic farming and your homemade fruit brandies of Colombian fruit varieties. That was great!
A few days after our arrival, Henry visited Amilbia with us. Amilbia runs an urban organic finca in Envigado (a town right next to Medellín) with a lot of love and passion. She gave us a very warm welcome and gave us an insight into her kingdom. Henry helped us to overcome the language barrier. Wealthy tower blocks are being built around her beautiful, relaxing oasis. Despite this, we no longer felt urban, even though we were in the centre of the city. Amilbia showed us how she grows different local and imported vegetables, fruit and herbs and plants them next to each other so that they go well together and, at best, even support each other. She likes to be inspired by new/other techniques so that she can try them out for herself. For example, she has built "German" raised beds that also work wonderfully in Colombia. Amilbia grows everything on her finca organically, i.e. without artificial fertilisers or pesticides. Her garden is home to a variety of different plants and trees as well as many different insects. This is really great and sets an example. These include the small Angelita bees (lat. Tetragonisca angustula), whose highly antiseptic honey is used for medicinal purposes. As a beekeeper, Amilbia let us take a look inside a beehive. We were also allowed to taste the particularly sweet-tasting honey😊. She sells her fruit and vegetables at the local market and for the organic box that Henry puts together every week for a regular clientele in Envigado and Medellín and distributes to them. In Colombia, organic food is the exception rather than the rule. However, the difference in flavour is as significant as if you were comparing heaven and earth. We were able to experience this during a tasting by Amilbia, but also during an evening together at Henry's, where we tasted his homemade bread, cheese and lovely juicy tomatoes, among other things, and learnt a lot about the country and its people. THANK YOU Henry and Amilbia for these unforgettable experiences and insights.
Medellín, or Colombia, is our gateway to Latin America. Neither of us had ever been to South America before. But what did our daily routine look like during the 3 weeks?
Get up early in the morning and get ready. Take a shower and have breakfast. Then first learn some vocabulary and repeat the grammar. At the same time, I did a bit of organisational stuff and planned the trip a bit further. Eat lunch at one of the many snack bars on the way to the language school. Mostly the menu del día, which was rice (arroz) with beans (frijoles) with meat (carne) and banana chips (patatas). Alternatively to the meat, there was fish (pescado) or egg (huevo). The starter was a soup (sopa) and the drink was a fresh fruit juice or panela, specially processed cane sugar dissolved in water :-). Since we were both mostly vegetarian, the meat was either replaced by egg (huevo) or by something else, e.g. cheese (queso). After that, we went to Spanish classes from Monday to Friday from 13:30 - 15:30. After class, we had time to visit the city... Except on Monday and Wednesday from 17:00 - 19:00. Here we helped out in the Primed Community. We will explain what the Primed Community is in a moment 🙂 and at 7pm, after the English lessons, we went back, so we were usually back at the accommodation around 9/22pm to finish the day.
Well, at the weekend we went on some bigger exploratory tours in and around Medellín, but more about that in a moment 🙂
After our quiet experiences in Australia, New Zealand and the USA, the noise of the city and the traffic really got to us. So many motorbikes and scooters speeding all over the road, so many little yellow taxis squeezing into every little gap and the rattly buses that stop at the side of the road wherever someone wants to get on or off... Plus the constant use of the horn ... main motifs: To draw attention to yourself and show that you are there and are now driving past or squeezing into a gap and thanking other road users... The exhaust fumes... unfiltered... But we think that will be with us for the rest of our journey. We still haven't got used to the noise and we are increasingly looking for places where it is quiet, which is sometimes extremely difficult.
As already mentioned, the Colombians we met were all very warm. For example, we often asked for directions on the street and got a few tips right away. Whether it was about safety issues, such as that we shouldn't walk here in the evening, or about special points that we should definitely look at in the city, everything was there. The Colombians are also all very positive about their future and want to leave the past behind. Not drugs, cocaine, Pablo Escobar... No... Life, celebration, tourism, peace... this is the Colombia of the future and this feeling was conveyed to us from all sides.
Regarding the volume, here is a sample video from a mall we were at on the first day. You can take our word for it, the sound spread through the aisles of the mall as if we were sitting right next to the stage.
Primed Community
On our journey, we would like to learn more about the cultures and people and also give something back. To make a positive impact wherever we are, if we can. And what is usually the reason why you don't learn anything from other people abroad and can't just make a little small talk? Exactly! The language. Just as Tatjana and Artur are learning Spanish, there is also a need from the other side to learn English. Theoretically, Colombian children learn English at school, but it is so rudimentary and poor that few can speak it later. Except for private students, of course. The Primed Community is an association in Medellín that has set itself the goal of giving English lessons twice a week for two hours in one district per year. The district changes every year so that all disadvantaged neighbourhoods have a chance to participate. Catalina, the organiser and mouthpiece of the association, and Tom, the English teacher, do all this on a voluntary basis. In addition to Tom, there are 3-5 volunteers who help with the lessons, depending on how many are available on the day. When we helped, we were in the Moravia district. More about that in a moment. There were about 5-15 people in the course, some of whom spoke very little and some of whom were already very confident and fluent. The class was in a great mood and welcomed us openly and very warmly and was very interested in us. We had a lot of fun participating and we also did some private things with one or the other person.
To the students: Thank you all very much and good luck for the rest of your lives. You will certainly achieve your goals! You are great. We still think of you and miss the evenings with you. A los estudiantes: Muchas gracias a todos y buena suerte para el resto de vuestras vidas. Seguro que conseguiréis vuestros objetivos. Sois geniales. Seguimos pensando en vosotros y echamos de menos las tardes con vosotros.
If you would like to donate to this project, here is the donation link. We have seen what the money is invested in and can definitely speak for this project with a calm heart. Even 5 Euros or just 1€ is enough to buy pens for the blackboard or other material.
Donation link (Paypal): Donar (paypal.com)
Website of the organisation: Primed Home – Primed Community
Moravia
Moravia was the district where we helped with English classes as volunteers. We also made a friendship with Fredy, who lives there and owns a small artist's studio. Together with him, we were able to explore the district a little. In addition, there was an official tour where Fredy and Antony did the English translation. In the 70s/80s, Moravia was still the rubbish dump of Medellín. Some people lived there on the rubbish heaps and sorted the rubbish. Things that could be used to build houses were used. Everything that could be sold for money was sorted out and sold, and even if the word didn't exist back then, upcycling was a big thing everywhere. After various relocation projects in the city, the rubbish heap was covered with plants and vegetation in the early 2000s. Of course, this transformation did not come without problems. People grew food and got sick, so education had to be provided that such cultivation is not just possible. This resulted in various market gardens and "nurseries" where the population can learn to grow their own potted plants. In addition, there have been regular explosions caused by escaping gas. As a result, ventilation pipes are now distributed all over the waste mountain to release the gas in a controlled manner.
Today, Moravia is a district whose past is no longer visible. It is teeming with small streets through which motorcyclists and taxis meander. Restaurants, shops, barbershops and music are everywhere. A happy and slightly stressed hustle and bustle, but everywhere there is still time for a little chat and lots of parties. We really liked Moravia and recommend a tour of this part of town (Communa 4) to anyone going to Medellín. And if you still have some time, drop by Fredy's shop Llevatealguitopues.
Granada
Following Henry's recommendation, we went to Granada by bus together with Nathalia, whom we met in English class. Distance from Medellín: approx. 70km, time on the bus: approx. 2 hours.
The aim of the excursion: a visit to TejiPaz. An organisation that has set itself the goal of working for peace and helping the victims and perpetrators (former guerrillas and paramilitaries) of past acts of violence to re-inhabit and cultivate their abandoned land and live together in peace. The products grown are sold by the organisation at fair prices. The main focus is on coffee, but the range also includes chocolate, dried fruit and muesli bars, for example. The patrons are Gloria Ramírez Arias and Claudia Giraldo. Both work hand in hand and we spoke to Gloria for a long time in her café. Gloria is a very strong woman. Her appearance is imposing and her stories took us away, captivated us and also made us very sad and yet hopeful. We all had tears in our eyes when she told us about the atrocities in Colombia's past. Families were torn apart by violence, where many innocent people "disappeared" because of a bounty on the heads of paramilitary/guerrilla fighters in order to receive the bounty. Many families fled because of the violence, among other things, and left their land and livelihoods behind. But after the reign of terror came a new era. Those who fled slowly returned and needed help. Help especially in rebuilding their livelihoods on their own land. Help with the organisation and development of sustainable agriculture that offers long-term livelihoods. TejiPaz supports the people and helps build knowledge, share and lead social work in overcoming the past and building a peaceful and liveable future in Granada. This positive attitude and peace work has deeply inspired and enthused us.
Sonsón
Sonsón is a city situated above 2475m above sea level (a.s.l.) and 115km from Medellín. About 20,000 inhabitants live here. Actually, not many tourists get their way to Sonsón and we wouldn't have either. BUT, we had the unique opportunity to visit an avocado finca. Henry organised this for us and got in touch with Gilberto. When we arrived in Sonsón, Gilberto welcomed us warmly to his finca. He took a lot of time for us and explained and showed us everything. We were very surprised to learn that an avocado takes a whole year to ripen before it can be picked. A whole year! Harvesting takes place twice a year with the help of harvest workers. Then they are sorted into 1st choice for export, 2nd choice for sale in Colombia and 3rd choice, which are then used for further processing, e.g. for spreads or the world-famous guacamole. The "Hass" variety, which we all know from the supermarkets, which turns black when ripe, grows in a part of his finca. Since the fruits ripen within a few days after picking and would then only arrive in Europe by ship mouldy and no longer edible, the avocados are transported refrigerated. There are special refrigerated containers for this purpose. After arriving in Germany, for example, we don't want to wait 5 days until we can put our "fresh" avocado on our bread, so the avocado is treated with ethylene. A gas that accelerates the ripening process. The same is done with different kinds of fruit. A tip from Gilberto: Ripe bananas also emit this gas. Just put a raw avocado with the bananas and eat the ripe avocado in 1-2 days.
The cultivation of the super fruit is very water-intensive, which is one of the reasons why not everything can be grown everywhere in Colombia, but there are areas where more avocados grow, areas where bananas are grown in abundance or other fruits. Sonsón has a mild climate with sufficient rainfall. Nevertheless, when it rains, the water must be directed over the plants in a controlled manner. For this purpose, Gilberto has recreated natural watercourses to channel and direct the rainwater.
Most fincas/plantations (worldwide) are run conventionally, i.e. not organically. This means that industrial fertilisers and pesticides are used to increase the yield to the maximum and the cultivation is mainly done in monocultures. This means that there is hardly any biodiversity apart from the cultivated fruits. Industrial pesticides and fertilisers are a major cause of species extinction, which endangers and destroys the basis of life for us humans. There are good alternatives! You can read more about this in the section on Amilbia's Bio Finca and in the next article on permaculture.
Oh, and what very few of us think about when we go shopping: we are also partly hesitant about it, is what kind of effort is necessary in the background so that we can eat a conventional avocado for breakfast for € 3.20 per kilo, for example: This is an exemplary way please do not nail us down to the exact number of steps stations.
- Make and keep soils fertile for planting
- Plant tree
- Wait 3 years until the tree bears the first fruits. In conventional cultivation, fertilise regularly and "protect" with pesticides. (These also have to be produced, delivered and distributed - keywords CO2, biodiversity).
- Harvesting with harvest workers and packing into boxes (unfortunately often in disregard of human rights and at a wage that does not guarantee a living).
- Load boxes onto a truck and take them to the regional wholesaler
- Unpack and sort boxes and repack by grade.
- Onward transport to exporter/wholesaler for the global market.
- Pack already here in the sales packaging or pack as loose piece goods in boxes.
- Loading into the refrigerated container
- Driving containers to the port
- Loading onto a cargo ship
- Trip to Germany (3-8 weeks)
- Arrival in Bremen or Hamburg in the best case, reloading in Spain, France, Belgium or the Netherlands in the worst case and then onward transport by ship, rail or truck.
- Onward transport from the container to the wholesaler in Germany
- Pre-ripening of part of the product for faster consumption
- Onward transport to the distribution centre for supermarket chains
- Onward transport to the branch near you
- Cooling of the goods until they are laid out
- Purchase of the goods and transport home
- Refrigeration until consumption or storage until consumption
Since the preservation of our livelihood is the responsibility of all of us, we would like to encourage to the motto Quality (organic) instead of quantity or else less is more ! AND there are many regional superfruits that we can best enjoy seasonally and organically. For those who want to delve deeper into the topic, we post an interesting link here: Home-grown Superfood: Alternatives to Chia, Acai, Matcha etc. - Utopia.de (External link to Utopia)
The other part of the avocados Gilbertos grows on his finca is the Reet variety, which remains green but changes in firmness when ripe. This variety is also the one that is mostly used and enjoyed in Colombia and the other countries around it. Oh... have you ever thought about what happens when a bee flies to a blossom of an avocado of the Hass variety and then flies to a blossom of the Y variety? Exactly. Then two species cross and the result is an undefined mixture that cannot be sold as first choice. Here it is impossible to predict whether it will be more Hass or more Y. Gilberto gave us some avocados to try directly from the farm. We enjoyed them very much 🙂 .
Only shortly before our trip did we learn that a huge festival was taking place in Sonsón this weekend in Antioquia, the state in which Medellín is located. The Fiesta de Maíz (Corn Festival). That's why the city was fully booked and packed to the brim that weekend! We could hardly believe it when we walked through the streets and people on horses passed us. Then in the evening the horse stood outside the bar and was held by a long leash by the gaucho (the cowbow). After a few alcoholic drinks we went back home on the horse. No one could answer us whether there is a blood alcohol limit on horses. 😊 We were only smiled at for asking. Here are a few impressions from Sonsón and the Fiesta de Maíz.
And for all those who are now wondering whether we had to acclimatise because of the altitude... Um... Yes 😉 Artur could only sleep on his back or side, because he didn't get enough oxygen on his stomach, and Tatjana was out of breath a bit faster... But that subsided after 2 days. Fortunately, we didn't have the other symptoms of altitude sickness. But on our further journey we still have altitudes of 3000 - 5000m on the plan. We will definitely report back to you.
Zona Cafetera and the Wax Palms
Colombia and coffee are like Germany and beer. There are a lot of coffee plantations here and also a well-known area where various coffee plantations bustle about. The so-called Zona Cafetera. We stopped here by bus on the way from Medellín to Bogotá and spent a few days there. Of course, we visited one or the other coffee plantation and also took tours to find out about cultivation, processing and preparation. What else? 😉 We had actually learned some things about coffee cultivation beforehand on our trip to Tejipaz in Granada and from Henry. Coffee culture in Colombia is virtually non-existent or only established among the wealthier sections of the population. Coffee is sold everywhere by the roadside, but it tends to be homemade mixtures of milk powder, lots of sugar and coffee powder, which taste 1 to 1 like the ready-made mixtures from various manufacturers in Germany. And then there is the "real" coffee. But this one was very sour for our taste. On our way through Colombia we learned that the first choice of everything grown is for export. In the country itself, only the 2nd and 3rd choice remains, and unfortunately you can taste that in part... As far as cultivation is concerned, there are unfortunately many deficits, as we had to discover, but also one or two plantations that are on the right track or are already 100% organic. Most plantations, however, are still conventional. The most glaring experience was a plantation that had various certifications, including RFA, and advertised organic coffee. After a few questions from Tatjana, it came out that the cultivation is only "60%" organic. Conventional fertiliser and conventional pesticide ☹ are used for 40%. For us, this means that coffee is not grown organically. During the meetings we had with 100% organic farmers, we also learned that the large associations that buy the coffee and bring it to the coffee exchange for sale and export, among other things, prescribe the fertiliser, weed killer and pesticides to the farmers and also dictate the price of what a farmer gets. Sometimes the farmer does not even know what his coffee is really worth and so a farmer who produces top beans can get the same as a farmer who only produces middle class beans. On the other hand, many small farmers who are 100% organic do not have the certifications that buyers look for, because they are simply too expensive and/or too time-consuming for a small family business that produces perhaps just 200 kg of coffee a year.These small farmers then try to market the coffee directly in the nearest bigger cities or in the tourist regions in order to make ends meet.And even if they want to try to export the coffee, there is an association through which the export is regulated and of which the coffee farmer has to be a member for export business.As we learned, there are also big companies in the Netherlands and France that take care of the export themselves and buy directly from the small farmers... But we could not yet find out whether this is true, how it works. We still have some research to do in future.😊
Enough about coffee now... Let's move on to the approx. 60m high Quindio wax palms that we looked at in Salento (Valle de Cocora).These are already very impressive, especially that they are found so clustered in a special area in Colombia.It is considered the tallest palm tree in the world and is the national tree of Colombia. Here are a few impressions of our 12km hike over hill and dale and up and down mountains...
Here are a few more impressions from the Zona Cafetera, which we could write a lot about, but let the pictures do the talking:
And a little snippet of what it's like to travel by public bus over a gravel road 🙂
Bogotá
We also visited the capital of Colombia, Bogotá 😊 The city seemed a bit "rough" to us. It is difficult to describe. We heard from many Colombians in advance that the city consists of a huge traffic jam. We were told that it is more dangerous than in many other cities in Colombia and that we should watch out. When we arrived in Bogotá by bus and drove through the suburbs, we could already get an idea of what the people we talked to about Bogotá thought. When we arrived at the bus station, there was indeed ultra heavy traffic. The taxi driver said at every corner where we asked him if it was safe here: "Yes, but not at night" or "No". We didn't let that put us off and explored the city a bit with caution and a sharp look around at everyone around us. Again, we met a lot of very friendly people. We loved the gastro and party scene in Bogotà. We also really liked the corners of the city that we visited, so much so that we briefly forgot all our safety concerns. The old town in particular seemed sophisticated to us, and the colonial influence is clearly visible in many corners. Here are a few impressions we would like to share with you:
On the drive from the Zona Cafetera to Bogotá, a fellow passenger was keen to practise his guitar playing skills 🙂 We listened to the first 20 notes for about 30 minutes, then it went on a bit. After 2 hours or so, this work of art came out. We didn't know whether to clap or sing along. We weren't so sure of the lyrics to this song yet.
Tatjana met with two professors of business and human rights at the Universidad Externado de Colombia, Julian Tole Martínez and Manuela Losada Chavarro, in Bogotá. The exchange on the good examples and the challenges of human rights work in South America was fantastic and very enlightening. A big thank you to Daniel Schönfelder for the networking!
We started our journey with the desire to experience and enjoy a lot and also to develop personally. Wonderful tools for personal development are offered by the Inner Development Goals. It is a global initiative that strives to support people and organisations in developing the inner abilities, skills and qualities that we need for fruitful cooperation in order to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) together. Tatjana had a very exciting exchange with the head of the Colombian IDG Hub in Bogotá, Carlos Largacha-Martinez, Ph.D. If you would like to delve deeper into this topic, you can find more information here: Inner Development Goals
The free app 29k: Mental Health & Wellbeing - is also highly recommended. 29k Your Inner Development App and Supportive Community
After Bogotá, we are off to the Caribbean coast (the next post will come sooner than expected :-))
Von Columbien kenne ich nur Cartagena, die mir sehr gut gefallen hat. Wir waren zum Umsteigen im Flughafen Bogota und auch wenn nicht so dramatisch war wie bei eurem (fake) Anfang, war sehr unangenehm. So dass ich gedacht habe: nie Columbien. Eure Erfahrung ist (Gott sei Dank) anders aber auch, nehmen ich an, dank der guten Vorbereitung und den vielen Kontakten Vorort. Alles sehr interessant. Asta la vista!
Wow, DANKE euch für all die wunderbaren Eindrücke, lehrreichen Texte und schönen Fotos. Bei dem handbetriebenen Karussel musste ich laut lachen, was aber schnell in Bewunderung für die Kreativität der Menschen umgeschlagen ist. Ich freue mich riesig, dass die Vernetzung mit Christian und Henry solche Früchte getragen hat. Buen viaje!