The paths that created ColoMBiana

My story is not of a hotel tourist that got her “Amazon adventure” from a catalogue. Rather, it is simply proof of what happens, when you completely give yourself  into your intuition.

Traveling has always captivated me. As a child, I dreamed of traveling around the world. I envisioned a land full of joyous, dancing South Americans, the blistering orange Sahara with camels, Asia, and  its lush, green landscapes and small people cultivating their cascading rice fields. My dreams of travel never left me, even when I was growing up. As we all know adults are masters at postponing dreams and finding reasons why something can't be done right away. There are always obstacles - work, partner, mortgage. When my life suddenly evolved in such a way where it was impossible NOT to go, so I said yes to life, packed my bags and flew to Spain.

Even though I actively learned Spanish for 2 years prior, I was never in Spain so I decided to embolden my language skills in Cádizu, one of the oldest cities in Europe. Spanish literally stuck to my tongue, so I continued learning. Although Andalusia is full of hot sun in the summer, in the winter local weather is cold and harsh. That's why I decided to migrate to warmer lands - South America. At first glance, what seemed as an insignificant reason to move along somewhere else, became a ticket to a bigger adventure than I imagined.

A few weeks later, I was sitting on a plane bound for Chile. I planned to attend Spanish courses here, but in the end I only spent three days in school. It was here that I met the travelers who continued south to Patagonia. Just a little courage and again, I was on the road. The first month was a period of adapting to the country, new conditions, time - that people perceive differently in every corner of the world. I was so used to a schedule and a continuous cycle of responsibilities I felt the need to plan and control every aspect of the trip. But  with such spontaneous traveling this is out of the question. My friend Peter from Ireland explained to me: “Monika, just don't plan anything, don't go into detail. Enjoy everything in the moment as much as possible. The rest will solve itself."

This truth eventually accompanied me through all my journeys. At one point, for example, I found myself in Argentina in front of the massive Perito Moreno Glacier, looking in awe at the crackling huge chunks of ice that crashed into the sea. In that second, I completely forgot that I would miss the plane I was supposed take to fly higher north. The bus driver decided to postpone leaving the glacier by an hour, which completely ruined my plans. At the same time, a group of older American bikers who crossed the continent on their Harleys miraculously showed up. Since I had no choice and after long contemplation I was convinced and they took me to the airport about a 100 km away. In the end, I had an incredible experience, because not everyone has the opportunity to enjoy the compelling Patagonia from the backseat of a Harley. Even now, I can vividly see the blue lagoons, high mountain peaks, steppes, amazing shapes in the sky and the clean Patagonian air.

This is how I traveled across the continent. I went through Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, the Galapagos or Ecuador. All these countries enchanted me with their uniqueness and the people I met in them. It would take a book to describe them exactly as I experienced It. I'll keep it short and sweet and introduce you to at least some stories, thanks to which you can place yourself in my adventures for at least a little bit.

I traveled the Argentina mountains with a group of fellow adventurers who were like classmates to me, like if I had known them for years. Together we went trekking in precarious and marvelous  mountains, in which the weather seemed to change seasons in a matter of minutes.A weather forecast in wild nature with glaciers, lagoons, lakes and stepes is completely and utterly useless. A place where you have to survive in combat conditions, only with people you understand and trust. In a palace like this, lifelong friendships are formed and strengthened.

The scariest experience of my entire journey was brought to me in Bolivia. In the north jungle, which begins in the town of Rurrenabaque, my friends and I took a bus on the so-called “Death road” as the locals call it. It's a dirt road that lines high mountain ranges and the width is that of one car. Unfortunately, our bus met a semi truck going the opposite direction. The only way to solve the situation is to back up to the nearest turn, where the road is a bit wider and try to get around each other. Unfortunately our bus had to pass from the outside, leaning into the gorge while stones below it crumbled away. We all prayed with fear in our eyes that the gorge below us would not be our destiny (this would not be the first case, hence the name “death road”). In that moment time passed at a completely different pace. In the end we survived, but to this day, chills run down my spine when I remember this terrifying experience. I also had many amazing moments here, which in the end always balance out a negative one.

It was here, for example, that I met Indra from Lithuania with a life story shockingly similar to mine. She became one of my best friends in life. We met in the Bolivian salt deserts of the Salar de Uyuni, a majestic piece of land with 10 billion tons of salt, that is still mined to this day. Here you can take a several-day journey via jeep to the Dali Valley, packed with unusual stone formations, lagoons, volcanoes, boiling geysers and also  flamingos. At night, the temperature drops to -30 ° C, but the exclusive, simply unforgetable view of the stars is worth it. During sleepless freezing nights when all you could do is drink hard alcohol, sing and dance until the morning, with a constantly broken car, daily flat tyres and hours of waiting for repairs, friendship gets the strongest foundation. Indra and I later traveled to several Asian countries as well and we will never forget our travels together. As well as some mutual secrets…

If you manage to see the Galapagos, you will definitely recognize that it is an authentic paradise full of the most diverse animals. Flocks of birds fly around you all the time , and on the narrow sidewalks it's not uncommeón to come face to face with massive turtles over 150 years old, iguanas of various colors and shapes. One look in the sea and with all the colors and variations you feel like in the movie “Finding Nemo”.  A school of small rays, tiny sharks in a paradise garden. Literally live biology.

I learned that every country's  memory is molded by the people you meet there. Ecuador was no different. After an extensive journey through the mountains, I got off the bus at the end of the world. Here, I was approached by an older woman, dressed in  traditional clothing. Right away she asked me where i was from, why i was there, and why i didn't have a man with me. I politely answered all of her questions and this is how got invited to stay in a house with a family of 8 in a stunning but unforgiving landscape. All These people are all trying to grow food in  mountainous high altitudes, their faces whipped by the wind, because of this everyone looks a lot older than they really are, but they look happy.

And finally Colombia was next. From the very beginning, I knew there was a lot more to this country than all of the rumors about drug cartels. Colombia attracted me more everyday until it became my destiny.

One evening I was sitting on the terrace of a garden restaurant in a small, ragged Colombian town. An Indian in a wide, hand-sewn white shirt with laces around his neck fell into my eye. I had an idea that it would be great to have a similar  shirt, for traveling in hot countries. I wanted to ask him where I could get one. But I didn't have the courage and the man was lost from my sight, I regretted it for the rest of the evening. But destiny made sure I got another chance andI could not afford to hesitate again.When I spoke to him, our conversation ended really unbelievably - by him  inviting me to his Indian tribe, deep in the jungle.

 You don't just stumble upon opportunities like this, that's why I didn't give it a second thought and was bound for a world, completely different from the one we know. A world which is almost unimaginable to people. People here live in close connection with nature, without access to electricity. They cook on stone plates, and bathe in local waterfalls cascading down massive stone walls. They find their next meals in the nature surrounding them, there is enough for everyone. Huge ripe avocados, mangos, cacao trees, from which they make homemade nutella, graviola and other varieties of delicious fruits and vegetables, they literally grow everything behind their house.The women bake corn arepas, men catch fish and while we strive for the healthiest diet possible, here it is a natural part of their lives and at the same time the only option.

As I watched the daily life of this Indian tribe, I noticed that the locals were collecting some strange nuts that dried in the sun. “La Tagua,” they explained to me, It's a plant growing ivory on palm trees. It hardens to stone after drying and the material can be sold on to Bogota, where it is used to make buttons and various decorative items. And this is exactly how I first met the fruits of La Tagua ...

If youre interested in the whole story click here / About me /. My Colombian adventures are still not over. I go on trips again and again to get a new, fresh inspiration. So keep your fingers crossed and soon I will bring another experience, with that a new, non-traditional collection of ColoMBiana jewelry!