When I was invited to take part in Travelsupermarket.com’s competition Capture the Colour, it was a day before I was due to depart for South America.
I began sifting through images from previous travels, all taken with an old compact camera before Beyond Blighty was born. Then I thought ‘Hell, why not wait and take new pictures in Colombia, representing each of the regions I visit?’ After all, there’s some nice alliteration with the words “colour” and “Colombia” and the country is incredibly diverse and beautiful.
So, here goes. My favourite Colombian pictures representing the colours red, blue, green, yellow and white.
RED: HELL OF A FAVELA
As Medellin has grown too big for its boots, favelas have crept up the hillsides that surround the city.
At night, the lights from people’s homes twinkle like stars, as a reminder of how vast the city is.
I recommend taking the cable cars up to Parque Arvi for a spectacular panoramic view.
BLUE: CAUGHT IN A VORTEX
San Gil has made a reputation for itself as Colombia’s adventure capital. Two of the main activities are paragliding and rappelling down Juan Curi waterfall.
The views in the surrounding countryside are incredible, and it’s also worth exploring some of the local villages on foot. A particularly outstanding hike follows a path from Barichara to Guane.
GREEN: BEAUTY IN THE PALM
Just a short ‘jeep willy’ ride from the quaint hamlet of Salento is the Cocora Valley. It’s famous for it’s 70-metre tall wax palms. These are the national tree and symbol of Colombia.
It’s a day’s hike up to a quiet spot in the mountains where you can sample a local delicacy – the sugary Aguapanela con queso, while surrounded by various species of humming bird. We also spotted a black-billed mountain toucan on a stroll back down through the forest.
As the our hike ended, we watched fog roll in through the valley, enveloping the magnificent palms until we could barely see two feet in front of our welly boots.
A trip to Salento isn’t complete without taking a coffee making tour.
YELLOW: BIG YELLOW TAXI
Colombia has so many colourful buildings it wasn’t hard to find a bright yellow one in the centre of Bogota. The tricky part was waiting for a procession of taxis to drive.
WHITE: CHILD’S PLAY
The Lost City trek on Colombia’s Caribbean coast is unrelenting, plagued by humidity, mosquitos and difficult terrain.
Sometimes in life you have to work for your reward, and in the case of this hike the reward comes not only from viewing the Lost City itself, but from the wonderful people you meet along the way.
One day, we stopped at a cabina run by the indigenous Kogi people and this little girl kept us entertained pulling faces and torturing the family’s cat.
ALL FIVE!
I couldn’t resist adding this picture of the Colombian town of Guatape, because it encapsulates colour to the max!
Love all of your photos. I especially like the palm trees. I just have always had a thing for palm trees!
Jennifer recently posted..Camping Under the Perseid Meteor Shower at Tramonti di Sopra
I know. These were immense. It was so beautiful. I only did this yesterday :)
Love the yellow shot! I’ve really been enjoying reading your posts – we leave for Buenos Aires in 9 days and I am so excited!
Lauren recently posted..The Deer of Nara Park Are Wild Animals
Thanks! I bet you can’t wait! We’ll have to stay in touch and see if it’s possible to meet up somewhere along the way. I’ll be reading your Argentina posts too :)
Yes, will do! Maybe we’ll cross paths in Bolivia or Peru – at the moment it looks like we’ll be in that area mid-October through November.
Lauren recently posted..Exploring Osaka: Japan’s Second City
I think my fav is still the favela….. although i do love the cute little girl too. They are all good!
Thanks for the tag! Though um, my name is Edna :)
Edna recently posted..The 5 best things I ate in London
Oops! I’m so sorry about that. Not sure how it happened. The clue’s in the blog name really, isn’t it?! I’ve corrected it now.
These are gorgeous! I think the yellow one is my favorite… reminds me of a Columbian NYC with those yellow cabs.
Angie Away recently posted..A Technicolor Trip Through My Travels
Yeah, there are yellow cabs all over. Trying to determine which ones are legitimate is the problem!
The red one is the nicest, but the blue one is clearly the most fun. Thanks for nominating me; I guess that means I need to go through some photos. I’ll try to get on that today.
Daniel McBane recently posted..Dunhuang – Playing in China’s Sandbox
I really enjoyed your pictures. Yes, the blue one was great fun. I love paragliding. I hope I get the chance to do it again somewhere else in South America. I hear Rio is well worth it!
I knew before I even clicked on this post that there’d be some amazing shots that would totally make me wish I was headed to Colombia and what can I say you haven’t disappointed. Gorgeous colourful pics that sort of remind me if Nicaragua in places which is the nearest I’ve been – but I want to correct that oversight soon! :-)
Aw, thanks! Get yourself over here!
It looks like you’re having an amazing adventure so far! Stunning photos – white is my favourite. Keep enjoying the colours of your journey :)
Katy recently posted..Special Guest Interview: The Food and Travel Secrets of Olympians
Thank you. Yes, it’s been fantastic. I’ve just arrived in Ecuador. Hope it’s as beautiful as Colombia!
Have I already told you how much I LOVE your pictures?! these are beautiful and you’ve found the “white” one you were looking for and that one is even better than the one you liked of mine.
I’m jealous of all these colors! I’ll definitely have to go to Colombia! Meanwhile, I’ll keep roaming Mexico for that many colors too! ;-)
Congrats also on being tracked down by other photographers for other colorful challenges!
Cheers!
Jul’
Les Petits Pas de Juls recently posted..Andando por las calles de San Cris…
Thanks Juls! Enjoy Mexico. I’m sure you’ll find some beautiful things to inspire photos.
Great pics! So colorful! Oh, I am jealous ;)
memographer recently posted..Each and Every Friday Flashback: Paris and Parisians
Thank you! When the subject matter is so striking, it’s much easier to take good photos. I’m a lucky girl!