Colombia

  Our first full morning in the Amazon, we woke up at 4 am and took a 2-minute boat ride to climb a mountain called Mavicure. Mavicure is a mountain that is very famous in the area. Mavicure means “arrow with poison” in a different language. We started by climbing up a steep rock. There were ropes there because when it rains it is very slippery. After we climbed up the rock, it was flat first for a little bit and then we got into the jungle and started climbing UP. It was very steep, and we had to use ladders to get up and down. Though it felt like we were going slow, we were the first group up and we got the peak all to ourselves for a while, but the top was so cloudy that we couldn’t see a thing. We didn’t have a view, but it was nice to stop and it got way colder at the top than it was at the bottom, because it was really hot at the bottom and we were sweating a lot. Towards the top we stopped and our guide took some palm leaves off and started weaving a fan. At the top, she wov...

During our time in the Amazon, we went everywhere either by boat or foot. Depending on the season, the water raises or lowers every day. They said it was 2 meters, but we didn’t notice that much. We were there in the dry season, so the water was lowering.  When the water lowers a beach island may appear and when the water gets really low the beach will connect to the land. When the water rises, the beaches completely disappear. We hiked through areas that are sometimes completely under water, even the tops of the trees!     We went to a stream where the water is red, orange, and yellow from the iron. It was really pretty. We went to almost all places by boat, some were short like 2 minutes, but some rides were very long like 4 hours. On our boat rides we were able to see dolphins. Some dolphins were pink and some were gray, but the pink ones weren’t fully pink in color. These are endangered. They do not come high out of the water.  We went on a walk and it w...

          For New Years, there is a service where they thank God for all the great things that happened last year, and ask for a good next year. They have a tradition all over Colombia where they burn a creepy human sized doll at midnight. The doll represents all of the bad things that have happened in the past year. They are made out of leftover things like flat soccer balls for the head, and other accessories like the Dunkin’ Donuts employee hat, and are old clothes that are stuffed with straw. What the kids do is start dancing at 7:00pm and  go to bed at 9:00pm and then they wake up at midnight so they can participate in the New Year's celebration, which includes burning the doll, hugs, handshakes, and candy . The adults don't stop their party until 7am. There is loud music and dancing all night long.                                   ...

We are staying three weeks in a town called Minca. The town is very very small. It is pretty much just travelers. There are more travelers than people who live in this town. I like hearing so many different languages even though I don't know them. Because of the travelers, it is a little more expensive here. There are more types of different restaurants too.  Me in front of a Middle Eastern restaurant. The food was so good! There are only four roads in this town. The whole town could fit into a Target!  In order to get to town, we have to walk a quarter mile and then cross a bridge that is four pieces of bamboo with wooden boards across it. We like going this way to town, even though there is another way to get to town. I like the bridge, but sometimes the water gets really high and touches the bridge and it is really scary that you'll get wet or fall in.  One night we went to a dessert restaurant and there were singers and there were some people who were taking videos an...

In December we went to an amusement park - the biggest amusement park in Colombia. We had to ride a cable car to get to the amusement park.  From the top of the dropping tower, we saw wild capybaras. We went on a ferris wheel and you could spin yourself while it was going around.  The rides and the roller coasters didn't have so many extra seatbelts, but they were still safe. They were really strict about height. Only my younger brother and I could go on the carousal. The rest were too tall.   Food wasn't expensive like it is in the United States. We ate hot dogs and in this region they put mini crispy french fries on their hot dogs and hamburgers.  Most rides and rollercoasters were the same types as in America, but the rides ran for a longer amount of time, and that was nice. I went on all the rollercoasters.  It was more spread out than amusement parks in the United States. There were three different sections and you had to have a train to get from secti...