With our next few stops, we took it easy again. First, we went to the touristy and busy city of Santa Marta. We explored the different culinary offers, strolled through the town center, and chilled at the pool of our hostel. After a couple of days, we moved on to a place that was the complete opposite. Just an hour’s drive from the coast, Minca is a small and calm mountain village. While still very popular with tourists, we felt much more at ease in this beautiful natural environment, even more so at this part of the journey.

We stayed in Minca for over a whole week. Most days there was lots of rain. We didn’t mind. In particular after we switched our accommodation and basically had a whole building for ourselves. We read a lot, worked on the blog, and started preparing for the time back home. We did a few little excursions. Once watching the sunset over the sea in the distance surrounded by green mountain terrain. And two or three times to the village 30 minutes away for lunch and to buy groceries (we can very much recommend the pasta place, the cheese/spinach ravioli with blue cheese were amazing).

After an unexpected motorbike journey and three days before our sailing trip departure, we got onto a bus to our final destination in Colombia, Cartagena. Our final bus ride! A bit of a relief, to be honest. Everything went smoothly and we arrived at our hotel in the middle of the colonial-style old town of Cartagena. The city is very diverse and has lots to offer. Historic buildings like the former city wall, a huge variety of restaurants, an artsy neighborhood that turns into a party place at night as well as the yacht harbor that we shall set sail from. We liked it.

Setting sail, though? The evening we got on board the captain did a little introduction and mentioned that the wind is weak and that we will mainly use the engine. And anyway, he said, the trip is not designed for extended sailing and most passengers prefer a smoother ride. We don’t, though! We specifically booked the trip to do sailing. I was very disappointed and had a hard time keeping my mood up. Of course, it’s a weather-dependent means of travel but at least they should try! Nothing to do about it, though. Since we were to depart at 6am the next morning, everyone went to bed early to “enjoy” a very hot night in the cabin.

When the sun was rising the next morning we left Colombia behind us. It’s great to be up this early, having the wind (and a cup of coffee) waking you up and watching the orange-tinted city slowly passing by. When we left the harbor, the crew pulled up the sails (not sure if for the experience or to save fuel). Later, everyone got a bowl of porridge. And then there was not much more to do. We were on the boat with eight other passengers. Some of them started chatting, others grabbed a book or just relaxed. We felt a strong calm slowly cruising across the open sea. And the sea was as calm as we felt. This changed in the afternoon, though.

The white and puffy clouds from just minutes ago turned huge and dark. The wind picked up as we saw the first rain falling ahead. Now the sails had to come down quickly. And since the crew struggled with the strong wind, it meant at least a few minutes of “sailing action” for us. Yeay After that was done, we sat down in the back of the boat. Since the waves now came in with high frequency, the boat was thrown around quite a bit. That wasn’t for everyone and a few of our crewmates turned white. For the rest of the afternoon, we were sitting together focusing on the horizon.

When we went to bed, the sea was calmer but not by much. The night was all but comfortable, even more so because we had to keep the hatches closed. I had to go on deck three times to soothe my stomach. It was a very special atmosphere, though, standing in the dark under a full moon gliding through the restless sea. The next day we arrived at the San Blas islands. And we would have never imagined it to be that beautiful. Sure, everyone knows pictures of Caribbean islands but they always looked fake to us. The reason isn’t skillful editing, though, but the sheer magnificence of the place itself.

We anchored between two islands and everyone happily jumped into the water after the sweaty ordeal of the last two days. It was warmer than we expected but still refreshing. We swam over to one of the islands through the incredibly clear water and walked across the perfect white beach. The island was really small, we could surround it in less than two minutes. It was really just a bunch of palm trees with a beach. We were all blown away. And it only got better when we put on the snorkeling gear. A whole underwater world opened up to us. Coral reefs looking like they were from a different world with an uncountable number of colorful fish and other animals passing around us. And since they completely ignored us, we could just float around and watch. We have never done anything quite like it before.

And the day had another highlight in store for us. When we swam back to the boat we found a 2-meter-long shark waiting there for us. With a mix of anxiety and awe, we floated in the water with our goggles on and let the friendly shark approach us. He passed by us so close that we could have touched it (and some did). It was a thrilling experience. Later, when we were back on the boat, our cook Mercedes (yes, that was her name) prepared fresh fish she had bought earlier from the locals and threw the waste into the water. That resulted in a total of 5 sharks swimming around and underneath the boat.

The next two days at the San Blas islands mainly consisted of swimming and snorkeling at different islands and reefs and reading and relaxing on the boat. One day we also set up a small camp with hammocks on an island and did a barbecue. On another, we went to a water bar on another tiny island to have a drink and watch the sunset. We very much enjoyed ourselves, the group, and the beautiful place we were in. The five days on the boat passed quickly. On the final day, we got onto a small motor boat that brought us from the islands to the mainland of Panama. After a few hiccups with the engine, we got solid land under our feet again and got onto a shuttle to Panama City.

Since we were there for the third time now, we knew our way around and directly headed to a nice cafe in the neighborhood of El Cangrejo. From there, we booked a small AirBnB apartment to give us some room after the constrained space on the boat. Since most of the people on the boat stayed in the city as well, we decided to meet up in the evening at a rooftop bar. It was a fun round and the view was spectacular. As a final activity before our flight back, we went to an open nature park in town, did a small hike, enjoyed the view, and even spotted a lizard and a sloth (even though not well enough to take a photo).

And that was it. The only thing left for us was the 30-hour trip home, including switching airports in New York. Everything went smoothly and we arrived at my parent’s place in Germany. Tired but happy, with all these amazing memories on our minds.

Thank you for being with us on our journey! We very much enjoyed seeing so many people reading our blog and that really kept us motivated. We will do one final post with a wrap-up. So don’t unsubscribe just yet

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Minca & Santa Marta

Cartagena & San Blas

Panama City

After Baños, we went to Quito again to board a plane to Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. Knowing little about it we probably expected a second Medellín, but oh boy, we were wrong. In difference to Medellín and Quito, which are tugged between mountains, Bogotá lies on a spacious plain. This reflects itself in architecture and city design. We have only been in two districts but everything we saw was spacious, green, with a lot of plazas, little parks, and broad walkways. There was just a lot more space for people compared to other South-American cities we visited. Even the traffic situation seemed to be decent. The only annoying thing (for tourists) was that you need a public transport card to take the bus. At the airport, the queue for buying such a card was so long that we bailed and just went around by Uber.

We stayed in a nice hostel close to the old town. It had a SPA with swimming pools and a free sauna which we tried out right after arrival. It was Friday evening and it was quite crowded, mostly by Colombians. You could clearly tell none had ever been to a “real” sauna. The quiet area was all but quiet. It was more comparable to a beach bar. Plastic chairs and loungers, reserved by towels, drinks, and food on the stone benches, groups sitting together, waiting to get their cocktails served. Inside the sauna, it was more of the same. Everyone wore swimsuits, flip flops and sat directly on the wood, chatting along and posing for selfies taken through the glass walls. It was quite hilarious but unfortunately, not the relaxing sauna experience we were looking forward to.

On our first day in the city, we visited the closeby mountain Monserate with its colonial church overlooking Bogotá. We hiked up, which was exhausting but worth the view, and took the cable car down. In the afternoon we explored the old town and had some good Peruvian food, which we haven’t had the chance to try yet. The Pisco Sour was getting straight into my head, though Taking it slowly, we only had one more point on our agenda on our final day: visiting the Simón Bolívar Parque (named by a national hero).

What we encountered was an unreal idyll with an unfathomable number of groups sitting on the green and enjoying themselves. There was lots of street food (but difficult to find something sin carne), gambling stalls like on funfairs, and a lake with countless paddle boats and kayaks floating on it. On the way to the park, we also experienced Ciclovía, where every Sunday large stretches of streets in Bogotá are blocked for cars and opened for cycling, skating, and walking. Unfortunately, we didn’t find a bike rental station. But we love the initiative!

To split travel time, we made a stop in Villa de Leyva on our way to our next destination, the Chicamocha Cañon. It’s a colonial town and a tourist destination, for good reason. Standing on the old market plaza makes you feel like being in Spain. We only stayed one night and enjoyed ourselves with good coffee and a Tartiflette (a potato cheese dish, in this case with raclette) at a French restaurant. Yummy.

The next day, we arrived at the canyon already in the dark. We very heading to a rather remote accommodation close to a paragliding takeoff. Because of that, we had to tell the bus driver where to drop us off (nothing special here). A few minutes before we reached the drop-off, I went to the front of the bus. I was observing the curvy mountain road watching out for the junction to the left followed by a restaurant on the right (which was about 20 minutes away by foot from our destination). Unfortunately, I missed the junction and the restaurant was already closed and dark. We quickly realized that we were past it but, unfortunately, there was nowhere the bus could stop.

When we finally got out, Google Maps was predicting a 40-minute walk. Still doable but with our big backpacks and all the trucks and buses speeding through the serpentines in the pitch-black night, we quickly dismissed the thought. Instead, we messaged our host. The internet connection was quite bad so instead of waiting minutes for our replies, he just drove to us with his motorbike. He couldn’t carry us and our luggage back but organized a taxi and even ordered food so that we would have something for dinner.

The following morning we could finally see the amazing place we have arrived at. Past the green garden of the property, the terrain fell off steeply to open up into a gigantic canyon. Down below a river was running. We even had the takeoff in sight. And that’s where we went after a simple local breakfast of scrambled eggs, arepa, sweet bread, fruits, and coffee. With the local (tandem) pilots we had been in touch already to get some basic information. One question is always where to stay best, close to takeoff or landing — in this case, we had both since it was (primarily) a top landing site. When we arrived we were warmly welcomed and received a full introduction of the site.

Together with the tandem pilots we waited until the conditions were right and did a first flight overviewing the canyon. When I intended to land another pilot was also approaching but I made room for him and did a little go-around. Luckily, I quickly gained height again and was able to land soon after. Just a few minutes later, though, the pilots still in the air struggled to get to takeoff/landing altitude. A few even landed a little bit below the regular site to avoid losing even more altitude and having to land down in the canyon (it’s a safe option but it takes more than 1h to get back up). Everyone made it! We packed our stuff and were back at our accommodation shortly after for a relaxing afternoon on our terrace in the green.

The following two days we had a similar routine with paragliding between 11am and 2pm and resting during the afternoon when the wind got too strong. On day two Simon flew a small triangle. First, I wanted to accompany him but after losing a lot of altitude during a crossing, I decided against it. The strong but turbulent thermals helped that decision. They were far from dangerous but I quickly dislike such conditions. After I landed, I watched Simon together with a bunch of tandem pilots.

From time to time, one approached me, complimenting his flying or inquiring about his current location. They later also made me aware of the wind getting stronger and gave some tips, like not flying behind the takeoff (because you would not be able to fight back to it against the wind). They also suggested that Simon should consider returning before it gets too strong. I relayed everything to him via radio. It was cool that they were so interested and caring. After he landed safely, we did a little hike to the amusement park nearby to see what it is about and get something to eat. The balcony of the restaurant had an amazing view and we were really thirsty after flying and hiking in the blazing sun.

We would have stayed longer in the canyon and, in hindsight, this would have been a good idea. But we didn’t sleep well because of the many mosquitos and our accommodation was only offering breakfast, so we mainly ate snacks for lunch (fruit, chips, muesli bars, and supermarket sweat bread) and had to order food for dinner (which was only mediocre and came in a lot of throwaway containers). There was nothing nearby and without a car, unfortunately, there weren’t a lot of good options for us. So we moved on.

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We are sitting in the backyard of a cute cafe, surrounded by greenery, and enjoy cappuccinos and a delicious passion fruit cheesecake. The sun is shining but it’s not too hot. We are relaxed and are looking forward to our time in the adventure town Baños and in particular flying in this spectacular landscape with steep green valleys and volcanoes on the horizon. We fully enjoy ourselves. Do we, though? There is this nagging thought that somehow we are getting tired of places more quickly, that the full-day bus rides are getting just a bit more exhausting, and that our enthusiasm is just a tad lower. That with every place we see, we are getting a bit less excited about the next and have a harder time appreciating where we are.

We are exploring this feeling together and realize that we share this state of mind. We also acknowledge that the outlook of spending time in the Alps, starting our apartment renovation project, and even getting back into a daily routine feels good. And that this underlying feeling makes us feel stronger about the little things we don’t enjoy while traveling in South America. Because, and that is hopefully not surprising, not everything is awesome all the time. Above all, the local kitchen is very monotonic and not very sophisticated, in particular when you are vegetarian. And we often feel there is a widespread “lack of care”. Waiters who are on their phones instead of serving customers, accommodations where the walls mold away, general lack of maintenance, etc.

I don’t want to paint a negative picture here at all. We have met many nice people, stayed at amazing places, and are very grateful for all the positive experiences. But I want to illustrate that there is a balance for us that started tipping. Highs and lows are part of every journey, but at this point, we started to see a pattern. And we had to make a decision. Next up was Peru. But we would need two days on the bus to get across the border (sparing out Guayaquil because of curfews and criminality) and two more days with 7-12 hours on a bus to get to the first (paragliding) spot we wanted to visit.

After sleeping over it for another night, we committed to heading home in the next weeks. To sweeten the deal, we decided to do the sailing trip in the Caribbean that we missed because of a strong wind at the beginning of our trip.

I’m not writing all of this to excuse anything. We talked about if cutting the journey short is any kind of “defeat” but quickly dismissed the thought. It is not easy to accept that you fly home rather than travel on but we are happy with the decision. And taking it has not only helped us get a better perspective on our journey but also painted a clearer picture of what we are looking forward to. That we enjoy the mountains — not only but also because we love paragliding so much —, that we value being in nature more than living in a busy city, that food quality is very important to us, and even that we like to have a routine (that we can then break out from again) and work on something.

Now that this decision was made, we could make sure to enjoy our remaining time. As a tourist town, the variety of food offered in Baños was a lot greater than in most other places. So over the next few days, we stayed at different cafes, had drinks at the hotel bar, enjoyed good Italian pizza with local wine, and ate an outstanding eggplant & cheese dish at a Swiss restaurant followed by a chocolate fondue. And of course, we went paragliding. A really friendly local tandem pilot and instructor took us with him to the takeoff 40 minutes away, stopping for some ice cream on the way.

The launch was spacious and the view was breathtaking with multiple volcanoes and other high mountains in the distance (unfortunately we forgot our camera). Only the wind was very strong. After watching the conditions and tandem pilots for a while I launched but immediately got into strong turbulence. It was manageable, though, and got calmer away from the ridge. I enjoyed the even better view from up in the air and flew around for some time. When I attempted to land back at the takeoff, things got a bit stressful, though. I got into turbulence again which is not nice in strong wind and close to the ground. Three times I aborted the landing and flew away from the ridge again before figuring out that I had to do a higher approach. The fourth time I finally landed safely.

To be honest, I was a bit shaken and happy to be back on the ground. I think I overall managed the situation well but the safety margin was too small for my liking. Over time the wind got weaker and Katy and I decided to give it another shot, together this time. And with the wind maybe 20% weaker, it was a whole different experience. We flew in perfectly smooth conditions as the sun slow slowly set followed by a smooth and easy landing. When I landed shortly after Katy, she was just being “video-interviewed” by two locals who happened to be at the takeoff for the view. They were amazed seeing us flying up above

One other activity we were looking forward to in Baños was cycling. Like our other biking experience at the Cotopaxi, it was similarly underwhelming though. The bikes weren’t great and we could basically only ride down the valley on the main road between Ecuadorian traffic. And while the views could have been spectacular, human infrastructure really butchered it. More enjoyable was the visit to an animal park the next day. We are both not big fans of watching animals in captivity. However, Katy was really keen on seeing lamas & alpacas so we went anyways. Just watch Katy’s joy

P.S.: We will fly back to Frankfurt on the 12th of June

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We are at 5000 meters at the glacier line of the volcano Cotopaxi, while plumes of grey smoke erupt into the sky. We are simply standing there and taking in the unreal scene. After driving up 1400m and hiking another 800m of altitude in loose lava sand and across boulders and rubble, we are feeling a bit dizzy and short-breathed. We inhale and exhale very slowly and consciously in the thin air while basically wearing everything we’ve got with us. It’s foggy, cold, and the strong wind is relentless. Suffice it to say, the view is worth it all.

With an altitude of 5987m, the Cotopaxi is the second-highest volcano in Ecuador and one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. It is surrounded by a beautiful nature park that provides a habitat for a variety of animals (e.g. wild horses). The last major outbreak was around 1904 with some smaller ones in the 1940s. A more recent but relatively small eruption happened in 2015 while right now is another phase of mild activity. Fun fact: Cotopaxi is also supposedly the closest point to the moon because of its altitude and proximity to the Equator.

We started our Cotopaxi visit from the nearby city Latacunga, located at 2760m. Its main attractions are the volcanos so we only stayed three nights. After arriving in the evening after a long bus ride from the coast, the first day we only explored the city center and went to a nearby but not very scenic viewpoint. Most time of our first day we spent in cafes and restaurants where we relaxed, read, and worked on the blog. We also still needed to figure out how to organize the Cotopaxi visit. Should we book a tour? Through some research and help from the concierge at our hotel, we figured out that it is possible to get to the entrance of the Cotopaxi national park by bus. Then hire a guide from there (which is much cheaper than booking a tour) or try our luck by tramping up.

We figured a guide would be the safer bet and went with it. At the entrance to the park, a dozen or so cars were tidily lined up waiting for tourists. We asked for the option to ride bicycles on the way down (we heard it is fun and we were missing riding our bikes) and negotiated the price. Our guide Nancy was really kind and spoke clear and slow Spanish, so we were able to understand the majority of what she explained to us during the ~40-minute drive through the park. The time passed quickly and after a quick stop to take some pictures from the base of the volcano, we were already ascending to the parking lot at 4200m.

From there, we hiked up to the glacier. Very slowly, one small step at a time, pushing against the heavy wind, not talking, breathing steadily. Altitude sickness (headache, nausea, shortness of breath, vomiting), which can already occur above 2500m, is a common issue. So our guide was checking in on us regularly. When reaching the glacier, we had some time to take pictures and enjoy the tranquility. We were all alone and luckily the clouds lifted from time to time so we could see the glacial ice sitting on this rough, black surface and the plumes of smoke reaching higher and higher. It’s hard to describe how stunning and unreal this looked and felt.

After some time, we went back to the Refuge at 4800m where we had some coca tea and hot chocolate. It was a real pleasure since without moving, the chilling temperatures slowly crept underneath our layers of clothes. On the way down to the parking lot, the sand was very soft and we could almost jump down, similar to how you can run down steep dunes without falling. The only downside was the amount of sand we collected in our shoes.

But now it was time for our bike ride. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as fun as we had thought. We were clinging to our breaks the whole time and with the bad suspension of the bikes, it was a very shaky affair (my bike was still better than Simon’s). Because of that and the quick altitude changes, Simon quickly developed a strong headache. I joined him with that later, luckily only after we got back to the hotel. Before going back, though, we visited the nicely made visitor center, explaining the history, flora, and fauna of Cotopaxi Park. That also made us aware of just how much the glacier has melted over a relatively short period, because of the eruptions but even more so because of global warming. Very sad to see! In the afternoon, we lay down at the hotel, nourished our headaches, and recollected the events of the day.

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After our jungle trip in the Cuyabeno nature reserve, we originally planned to go directly to Baños, an adventure town with paragliding spots. On the evening before, though, we got the message that the laptop repair is finished. Since we wanted to continue writing our blog as soon as possible, we went to Quito instead. This was our second (Simon’s third) time in Quito. Since then, we even passed through Quito two more times: once when heading south to Latacunga/Baños and the last time when we flew out to Bogota. This is because Quito is located quite central in the middle of Ecuador and we didn’t travel further south.

During our three stays in Quito, we stayed in two different neighborhoods and went around the city a bit. This gave us quite a good picture of Quito and we generally liked it. Although we were annoyed by the horrible traffic situation (they just opened a Metro, but we haven’t had the chance to try it). Traversing Quito often took us an hour or more, not to speak of Tokyo-style cramped buses. This is also due to the unfathomable lengthy shape of Quito. The City is located in a basin between (volcanic) mountains at an altitude of 2850m (the highest capital of the world) and stretches north to south for 40km.

We always only stayed for a few days and, unfortunately, during one of the longer stays Simon got sick with stomach cramps, fever, and chills. After two days he felt much better, but we went to a doctor anyway before heading to Crucita, our next location. Just to make sure everything was fine, considering that we just came out of the rainforest and the symptoms potentially matched more than just one jungle illness. The doctor only prescribed Paracetamol, Colombian Elotrans, and an anti-inflammatory injection. Not our first time in South America where we had the impression that they treat most illnesses like “Schema F” (i.e. in the same way). Well.

Arriving at the Pacific coast in Crucita, after another day on the bus, we first stayed in an AirBnB which we didn’t like much at all (musty smell, no window, not very clean). Unfortunately, we had to spend Simons’s 30th Birthday there through which he slept most of the time (feeling sicker again). But at least I was able to put together some no-bake birthday cake despite the extremely poor kitchen equipment (have you ever tried to whip cream with a fork? Cannot recommend it). Also, the pizza and tiramisu we ordered for dinner were not very authentic or tasty, despite the reviews praising the Italian style. I guess none of the reviewers has been to Italy yet

After three more days for Simon to recover and a change of accommodation, Crucita turned out to be really great. The Paragliding Hostal was run by a tandem pilot and his wife. Every day, we could drive up with him to the take-off (only a 25-minute hike, which we also did once or twice), relax in the shade of his pavilion on some rundown plastic chairs, and fly when the conditions were right. The flying site was a 100m high cliff on the Pacific coast approx. 8 kilometers long. In such spots, you need strong wind from the ocean in order to stay up in the air and soar along the coast. As soon as that’s the case, you can basically fly infinitely.

We enjoyed it immensely. Flying along the coast, playing away some height with acrobatics just to immediately gain altitude again. We also practiced top landing a lot, for fun or to take a break before flying yet again. More than once we were able to fly the whole afternoon (with breaks) and then fly into the sunset. Especially the long weekend (Labour Day) was brilliant because the restaurant next to the takeoff had opened and we treated ourselves to frozen/slushy drinks or snacks between flights. We also switched wings a few times which was a good experience. Especially when the conditions were weak, it was easier to stay up with Simon’s glider due to its higher classification and larger size/smaller load.

When we had enough for the day, we just flew down to the beach and basically had a kilometer-long landing strip available to us. The only limitation was high tide, when we had to land on a small strip of grass between the ridge and the beach. Since our hostel was right next to the beach, we just landed there. After packing our equipment we could directly take a dip in the Hostal pool – or better – in the Pacific Ocean and refresh.

Crucita itself is a fisher town with mainly local tourists. They have a vast waterfront but next to that not a lot to see, or do. There are no fancy hotels or even a nice city center, only a chaotic and busy shopping street, which is not even paved. In the first days we only went to small “Tante Emma”-style shops nearby to get some necessities and basic ingredients for cooking (rice/noodles, eggs, some veggies, oatmeal, etc.). But we soon wished for some more variance and made a trip to the mentioned shopping street. With a tuk-tuk, it took us at least 15 minutes to the center (and we got ripped off by paying more than twice than on the way back). It was quite exhausting because it was hot and we had to visit four different stores to get what we wanted — a bakery, two supermarkets, and one vegetable/fruit store.

Despite the limited attractiveness of Crucita, we enjoyed our time in the Paragliding Hostal, flying at the coast, and the relaxed atmosphere so much. We stayed around 10 days in Crucita before moving on. We asked ourselves, though, why not stay longer since it seemed like the perfect place to be for us. We realized that for once we felt like having properly taken advantage of what Crucita has to offer in terms of paragliding and that after traveling for some time now, we are getting tired of places more quickly. Something we will think more about as we travel on.

Initially, we thought about going further down the coast but then opted for Latacunga and a visit to the Cotopaxi, looking for a cooler climate. Expect some amazing pictures from one of the highest active volcanos in the world in our next blog post

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For the first time on our trip, we left civilization far behind. With a group of people and local guides, we explored the Amazon, specifically the Cuyabeno nature reserve in Ecuador. Getting to our accommodation was already part of the journey because we had to take one of the boats that are used to traverse the river delta, already spotting some animals on the way. After 2½ hours we reached the Cayman Lodge, which is a small assembly of buildings with a watch tower located in the middle of the jungle.

The first day was already packed with activities. Soon after reaching there, we exchanged the motorboat for a canoe and paddled along the rivers in perfect tranquility. Along the way, we were looking out for animals and appreciated the wild nature on both shores. Just before sunset, we reached the nearby lagoon and went for a refreshing swim after the exercise. Next up was dinner. And it was just excellent. This is particularly notable because we ordered the vegetarian menu which is not something the South American kitchen is known for.

Even then, the day wasn’t over as our guide announced that we should get ready for the night walk. And it turned out to be really intense. There were a lot of insects buzzing and flying around us and even being fully covered by clothes it was hardly bearable. Occasionally, mosquitos or ants got underneath our clothes and bit us, which was quite unpleasant. We were all carrying flashlights and looking out for spiders, scorpions, snakes, frogs, and other small animals (and attracting more insects that way). We found a lot, including scorpions, huge spiders, and a lot of tarantulas, which were really cool and only slightly scary. Towards the end of our stay, we did another night walk which was much nicer, mostly because of light rain that kept the insects at bay.

Day two was similarly eventful but that helped us to forget about everything else and fully immerse ourselves in the nature and wildlife of the Amazon. Unfortunately, Katy didn’t feel well that day but me and the rest of the group boarded our canoe again and went off to another hiking trail. Just before reaching there, the clouds opened their gates and it started pouring. Fortunately, we all got ponchos that we quickly put on before continuing to paddle. One out of the group had the job to keep the water level inside the canoe low using a small plastic bucket. During the hike, we again saw a huge variety of animals and had the chance to eat lemon ants peeled out of a branch of a specific tree (did that), swing at a root hanging from a tree (did that too), and let ourselves get bitten by bullet ants (no way! — one of us did it though and slightly regretted his choice, anecdotally it hurts like their name suggests). In the afternoon Katy joined in again for another boat trip and swim in the lagoon.

Part of the trip was a visit to a native community in the Amazon. We were a bit wary because these are usually not very authentic, specifically by pretending to be authentic, and can have negative effects on the community. Our guide explained to us upfront, though, that we should expect a mix of traditional life paired with modern influences like modern clothes, which is much more realistic than a “fully traditional” community. And they visit a different one every time, to spread the income from tourism, as well as rent their boats from the communities for even more revenue share. We very much liked that model and it helped us to appreciate what was to come.

Part one of the visit consisted of us collaboratively making bread from the yuka trees with a woman from one of those local communities. We very much enjoyed the process and it was surprisingly quick. The result was better than most contemporary bread we had in Colombia (still missing our German bread, though!). We ate it with Ceviche that our guide prepared in the meantime. All in all, it was a very delicious meal.

Next up was the visit of a traditional Shaman and learning about their lives and rituals. Our guide gave us an intro before we could volunteer for a treatment that consisted of the Shaman singing while scratching your back with a slightly poisonous, prickly branch of a specific plant (seen 7 vs. Wild? It’s one of those plants that leaves a “burn” mark on the skin) and the blowing of grated tabaco into your nose. I did it with three other guys as you can see in the photo. Besides the pain during the treatment and a bit of dizziness afterward, it wasn’t too bad. I didn’t feel enlightened either, though

Day four was dominated by dangerous animals. After another hike in the morning (where we walked through a swamp that produced so much methane that we could ignite it with a lighter when stepping through it), we did recreational Piranha fishing in the afternoon. It wasn’t listed as part of our trip and we wouldn’t have chosen this activity, but it was still an adrenaline rush to see their sharp teeth up close. One fell off the hook into the boat which caused quite a bit of movement as everyone tried to save their naked toes. After we were done with no one harmed, we took another swim in the lagoon.

It was interrupted, though, by a group of boats collecting nearby. As it turned out, one of the deadliest snakes in the world, a fer-de-lance, was crossing the lagoon. We didn’t swim close by but it was still an unsettling thought. While our guide tried to bring us as close as possible to get a good view, the snake started charging at us. He really looked scared for a short moment, before he started to splash water at the snake to stop it. It worked, but it’s never a good sign if your guide looks frightened… To top the day off, we could watch a caiman in the dark on our way back to the lodge. After all this excitement, we were ready for dinner and could really enjoy the delicious eggplant dish with passion fruit sauce that was served.

On the last day, we did another boat tour in the morning before doing the trip back to the “Amazon gateway town” Lago Agrio. There, most of our co-travelers boarded a long bus ride back to Quito while we were relaxing in the pool at our accommodation

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Gallery with Pictures from our Group

We arrived in Ecuador beginning of April and went straight to Ibarra. The city is close to the Colombian border and situated in the Andean highlands, the so-called Sierra, close to the two volcanoes Imbabura (4630m) and Cotocachi (4944m). The whole Sierra consists of two mountain ranges including more than 20 volcanoes (out of a total of 55 in Ecuador) with the highest, the Chimborazo, peaking at 6268m.

We chose Ibarra as a well-known paragliding spot in the North of the country. When searching for accommodation, we found a German campground close to the Laguna Yahuarcocha. We got curious about the offered tiny houses and decided to stay there for eight nights. We enjoyed having our own space for a change, and the quiet and green surroundings with the view of two volcanos. We quickly developed a daily routine of relaxing, cooking, and flying, whenever the weather allowed. The only annoyance was the mosquitos in the evening.

One day we went for a hike. Because of my ankles and Simon’s hip issues (both still bothering us occasionally) we wanted to hike up to the ridge and take a bus down to not overdo it. But when reaching the top we took a wrong turn. We realized the mistake 10 to 15 minutes later but were too lazy to go back and hoped we could return to the street where buses pass by. Ultimately, we did the full 4 to 5-hour hike. When we reached back, we could both barely walk. We served ourselves a cold German Radler and proper sourdough bread with butter at Hans restaurant (the German campground owner). The German treats were a welcome change but it somehow felt a bit wrong to us staying in this German exclave in Ecuador.

At some point, we learned that the name of the Laguna Yahuarcoche (Yawarkucha) means “blood lake” and carries quite some history. The area was under conquest by the Inka empire (between the late 15th and early 16th) and after they scored a major victory, the male population got beheaded in retribution for its resistance and thrown into the lake. Maybe that’s why we haven’t seen anyone taking a swim

Flying in Ibarra was one of the highlights for us so far, mainly because of the spectacular panorama. The blue laguna below, the city of Ibarra situated on a plateau behind it, the canyon in between that opens up to an even deeper valley below, the mountainscape and volcanoes, and maybe most unique, the many small patches of farmland that transform the mountains into a natural mosaic.

When we arrived we contacted a local pilot named George (pronounced Joche) and he told us all we needed to know. He also connected us with Pebe who offers rides up to the takeoff with his 4×4 car. On the second flying day, we were joined by three local pilots. They had their first beer already on the way up at 10am which set the tone for the day. After the flight, we all landed close to Hans’s Biergarten and went for a drink together. They were quite amazed about our paragliding skills because Simon and I flew the longest. Apparently, most visiting pilots go for multiple and much shorter flights. And the flying conditions weren’t always particularly easy either. The thermals were quite cyclic (on and off) and on two days strong wind was causing big rotors over the lake. That’s the explanation George gave us for the turbulence and changing wind directions we experienced.

But back to our drinking round with the group of local pilots. We had a lot of fun together! All of them were speaking English more or less fluently (mostly picked up in university). So by mixing English and Spanish, we were able to chat quite freely. After the stock of local beer (Pilsen) was exhausted we picked some German ones for them to try (Hofbräu and Flens). In the afternoon, after a few hours with them, we went back to our tiny house tipsy, hungry, and in need of a nap (I now understand why day drinking is a thing :D).

Being in this state of mind, Simon, unfortunately, spilled water onto our MacBook. We immediately saw it entering the display causing weird colors. We were quite worried, so the next day Simon went all the way to the capital Quito and brought it to a certified repair shop (an 8h roundtrip). A few days later we received the message about the needed repairs (exchanging the display and cleaning some internal components) and went to the shop again to pay the 800€ they’d asked for. A lot of hassle and a steep price for a tiny moment of carelessness but still way less than what we would have paid in Europe for repairing this basically brand-new laptop.

After everything was finally settled with the laptop, we could continue onwards from Quito to enter the next chapter of our trip in the Cuyabeno reserve located in the Amazon rainforest.

One story we still want to share, though, is something that George shared with us over another round of beers. From his perspective, and the two comrades sitting with us very much agreed, Ecuador is now worse than Colombia during Escobar’s times in regard to crime, murder, corruption, and the power exercised by the Mafia. Ecuador was always in a bit of a tough spot being located between the drug-producing (mainly cocaine) countries of Colombia and Peru and along the drug trade routes to North America. After a bit of research, we saw that media reports support their perspective and we already knew that there are nightly curfews and tightened police controls in a few regions, namely Esmeralda and Guyanquil. We spared these regions and never felt unsafe during our stay in Ecuador but it is sad to hear that the situation is deteriorating. And a picture starts to emerge with what Adam has told us about Colombia…

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When we were heading to Santa Elena (Piedechinche), we knew where to stay for a long time already, namely since our time in Costa Rica. That’s where we met Adam, a paraglider from Sweden who is working in Norway and spends half of the year in Colombia. His girlfriend Valentina is running an AirBnB in town, so staying with them was an obvious choice. In particular, because I’ve got a new vario (flight computer) sent there after mine died a few weeks back.

The weather was (again) a bit of a mixed bag. We could do some nice paragliding but also had some days with weak conditions and rainy weather. That gave me time to continue working on my Paraquip iOS App. Specifically, I worked on making a concept called »wing load« easier to understand via data visualization and by providing guidance. That was quite interesting because it involved a lot of research, including talking to a wing designer at Nova.

To get going in the morning, we treated ourselves to a great coffee from the small coffee farm of Valentina’s brother. And for our usual muesli breakfast, I very much enjoyed using the refrigerated passion fruit that I mixed with some sugar, more fruit, oatmeal, crunch, linseeds, and plant-based milk. Katy usually skipped the passion fruit for whatever reason When the weather was favorable, Adam, Katy, and I drove up toward the takeoff, usually in a taxi. We then hiked for another 30 minutes up the mountain road before reaching the green, spacious, and well-maintained launch site. Even though we were outside the main season, there were usually a bunch of other pilots, including a few we already met in Roldanillo.

Every day, flying in Piedechinche was different. One day we needed to be content with heading straight down to land. On other days I could head out into the valley and fly a nice triangle together with Adam and land in Santa Elena. Yet another day, only the mountain ridge was thermally active, so we flew along it as far as we could. Overdevelopment (i.e. large clouds forming) and thunderstorms were often a factor. More than once I flew away from them as fast as possible when they were forming during the flight. One day we took off right when the first thunder was rumbling. In the Alps that would have been a no-go but with the local weather system that still gave us enough time to land safely before strong winds & rain hit the landing. While the XC-flying opportunities were a bit more limited than in Roldanillo, the flying was more relaxed with fewer power lines, a dedicated landing site, and a more vibrant paragliding community that often met at the landing in the afternoon.

One place we somehow gravitated towards during our stay was the Patisseri a bit outside of town. It offered great Colombian coffee, fruit drinks, sweets, and other dishes (small pizzas for example) and we could sit outside in the shade. The atmosphere was nice and best of all there was a landing opportunity right around the corner where I touched down two or three times. One time after landing I unfortunately let my glider settle on a bush full of thorns. Even worse, it wasn’t even a real bush but a pile of thorny branches that were collected from the field. It took a good amount of time to retrieve the glider without damaging it. Katy helped me after getting there and having a good laugh. The cold drinks at Patisseri afterward tasted even better after this ordeal.

During one of the frequent water outages, Adam and I got into a chat about how it is to live in Colombia compared to just traveling the country. As a tourist, you usually only see the nice surface, but he shared that underneath things are quite messy. Mafia structures are very much (still) present and take advantage of people making good business by pressuring them into paying “taxes”. Neighbors are paid or pressured into surveilling each other. Generally, people are seemingly often trying to get a little edge, e.g. construction workers stealing small amounts of building materials for their private construction. And if you are doing above average, you need to fear getting sabotaged. This supposedly also explains why there is so little differentiation between shops and restaurants and why the service is often mediocre. No one wants to risk getting punished for their success. It’s also not the only time we hear about Mafia structures. A tandem pilot in Ecuador shall share similar stories with us later on.

We very much enjoyed our time with Adam and Valentina. We are grateful for their hospitality, flying together, and the great coffee. Moving on, we expected a bus trip between 8 to 10 hours from Cali to the Ecuadorian border. At the ticket booth, though, we were informed the trip could take a whopping 25 hours because of a landslide a few months back that is still affecting traffic. In the end, it took us 16 hours with the result that we reached Ipiales in the middle of the night. Fortunately, the taxi driver took good care of us and the hotel let us still check in. After a short and very cold night and a long hot shower, we visited the church Las Lajas before moving on to Ecuador. One funny thing we did is taking the full-size but very slow cable car for the last stretch to the church. While the views were really nice it was just ridiculously oversized

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Roldanillo is famous around the world as an awesome paragliding spot. The climate and terrain provide plenty of opportunities for long cross-country flights along the Cauca Valley. Easy transportation and low prices round up the package. Roldanillo was also part of the Paragliding World Cup 2011, 2012, 2017, and 2022 which boosted its popularity so that nowadays up to 1000 pilots stay there at a time, mostly in January and February when the conditions are at their peak.

We visited Roldanillo at the end of February/beginning of March with the rainy season about to start and were already feeling some FOMO. And the 3 weeks we stayed, conditions really haven’t been at their best with lots of rain, thunderstorms, and a low cloud base. But based on the stories of other pilots, we were still happy not having been there earlier. Conditions generally have been hit and miss this season and during the busy months, accommodations, restaurants, bars, and cafes must have been totally overwhelmed. Not to talk of the crowds at the takeoff and in the air. Even if we would have loved to see the spectacle.

We met a lot of other pilots including a German instructor working for Papillon (Wasserkuppe) staying in Roldanillo every winter, a travel group from Germany, and a bunch of pilots from Sweden, the USA, and the UK. Since the city was comparatively void of tourists we not only met them at the takeoff but often bumped into each other in town. We quickly formed a small community drinking beer and coffee together and playing chess (we only watched).

Even though the conditions were not as favorable, I still managed to do some long flights I’m quite happy with. The takeoff is located on the ridge next to town which extends North and South for many kilometers. At the launch, you look out into the vast Cauca Valley often without being able to see the ridge on the far side. After taking off, you need to clear a ridge in front of you and a huge power line which can be intimidating. On my flights, I mostly followed the ridge north crossing multiple gaps where the valley cuts deep into the ridge. Always present and often a bit unnerving: the powerlines. One of the aspects that wouldn’t let me recommend Roldanillo for beginners.

To fly a triangle (which is usually the ambition in XC flying) and because of a strong westerly wind called Pacifico that sets in in the afternoon, I then crossed into the open valley at some point. And suddenly I needed to switch my mind from ridge to flatland flying. I haven’t had much experience of that so far so it was great practice. Instead of studying the shape of the terrain, it is more important to watch the clouds and the kind of surface below (the jackpot were sugar cane fields that were currently harvested). Immensely helpful were the birds which clearly indicated thermal activity and saved me from bombing out plenty of times. It’s a huge reward to get back to cloud base circling in a flock of birds after expecting an imminent landing.

The weather, in particular the wind situation, often changed quite rapidly. Multiple times I had to flee from massive dark clouds that were forming and navigate around rain showers. And trying to fly back to Roldanillo in the afternoon can not only become dangerous but is often just impossible because of the strong Pacifico headwind. Already on my first flight, though, I found my preferred landing spot at a football field down the road to Roldanillo where it was easy to get a lift back home. And it was not only my preferred spot because that’s where I, by chance, found the paragliding group mentioned above, packing up after landing there as well.

Another infamous sight where the sugar cane fires. Environmentally immensely harmful, unnecessary, and a hazard for paragliders that I very much stayed away from. More than once, though, I by accident flew through light ash clouds caused by one of those fires. This was not problematic but simply unpleasant.

There are two flights I want to tell you a bit more about. The first one is an exception to the rule that you don’t need to worry about coming back to Roldanillo wherever you land in the Cauca Valley. I took off with a group of local pilots and followed them for a while in weak conditions crossing above the town. Compared to many of the other pilots I managed to stay up until conditions got stronger, flew back to the ridge, and followed it north as far as the airspace would allow. Even then, there were no clouds in the valley and I expected weak conditions. Because I expected the Pacifico to set in soon I flew out anyways, but didn’t manage to fly back South at all. I landed in a field close to a town called San Francisco. It took me 2½ hours on buses and motos (motorbike taxis) to get back home because I needed to change vehicles at every other town.

The second notable flight was my longest with over 5h and 68 XC kilometers. It wasn’t a gimme by any means. There were quite a few spots where I had to work hard and be very patient to stay up. But that makes the flight all the more rewarding. On this day I attempted that classical Roldanillo FAI ~100km triangle. For that, you fly north to Torro, then back and to the South a bit (which I didn’t do), across the valley to Sevilla (which I almost reached), and then back as far as the headwind allows.

While I was out flying, Katy unfortunately still needed to be easy on her ankle. From another pilot, we heard about a good physiotherapist in town and decided to go there together. Katy for her ankle, and I for my hip that was still hurting regularly after overtaxing it during a hike in Costa Rica. It was only 7€ per hour and became a habit for the following 10 days (“Nos vemos alas cinco!?”). At least after we realized that the doctor expected us to come back more than a few times. We always got a cold & hot treatment, followed by a massage or electric stimulation and some exercises along with six other patients. All the while the doctor and his assistant were passing idle time on their phones.

The doc was only 27 and loved rock and metal music. When he learned that we share that preference he started playing Rammstein (of course) and other artists (Disturbed, System of a Down, Linkin Park, etc.) for everyone. Loved it On one Saturday, Katy received an additional session at the doctor’s home (he got a training room there). It was a bit awkward initially but they had a good time playing some more rock music and Katy tried to translate “Du Hast” (Rammstein) into Spanish — with limited success.

Next up for us was Piedechinche (Santa Elena) further down the Cauca Valley. We needed to delay our departure by one day, though, because Katy, unfortunately, got very sick. Ironically, through a home-cooked dish (probably some uncooked lentils). On the positive side, our hosts went out of their way to help Katy. They prepared water with natron & citrus and even cooked a delicious soup for her with chicken, potato, and cilantro. We were really thankful for their friendly aid!

P.S.: We are happy to be back after the laptop disaster

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I’m typing this post from Santa Elena which is located in the paragliding paradise Cauca Valley. I want to take you back about a month, though, and share more about our time in Jardín. As mentioned in our last post, we’ve spent about a week there (our longest stay till that point) and used the chance to invest in our Spanish skills. So far we have been mainly practicing with language learning apps, namely Pimsleur and Duolingo.

A small language school in town organized a teacher for us on short notice. That’s how we met Wilmar, just two days after settling in Jardín. From the start, it was a very casual atmosphere. We worked through a grammar book together, conversed, and memorized the vocabulary we needed to talk to the Colombian paragliding pilots, e.g. regarding the weather conditions. While it was quite an intense schedule with paragliding during the day and 2 hours of course in the afternoon, we were happy about the opportunity. And we were lucky to find such a nice teacher.

Fortunately, we were also able continue the class after Katy hurt her ankle. On the first day, Wilmar came to our accommodation. Afterwards, we went by TukTuk (little three-wheeled motor cycles with a sitting cabin) to meet Wilmar in different cafés. This way Katy could also leave the flat for a while. At that time we stayed in an apartment with three rooms for rent, a kitchen and private bathroom. Luckily we were the only guests and therefore had the whole flat for ourselves for just 13$ a day. We made heavy use of the kitchen and cooked all meals ourselves for the first time during out trip. We had lots of fresh fruits, salads, pancakes and some cook-banana variations like Rösti (we bought the wrong kind of bananas by accident).

On our last day of the spanish course, we went to a billiard club together to play some rounds and drink beer together. It was a lot of fun and we were able to give something back by teaching some English phrases and explaining to him how we play billiard in Germany. Initially, he thought we wanted to make a fool of him and gain an advantage (which we dearly needed when competing with him). But we all got into it and enjoyed the evening. In the end, he invited us to stay with him when getting to Jardín again at some point. We were very happy to have found a friend in Colombia.

And we needed to rely on this friendship earlier than we had hoped. We lost one of our radios when walking home from the landing site on one of our first days in Jardín. Every day we now asked around at the paragliding shop if the radio was found. Very early we got the information that someone found it. But no one knew who did and where it is. But they wanted to make sure to get it to us in the afternoon. The days passed by, always with a slight variation of the same story usually by a new person.

The day before leaving we asked Wilmar to call them and ask what was going on. The story revolved around a “druggie” that found the radio and wanted to sell it, now wants a finder’s reward of the equivalent of $10 but is hard to find. The tandem pilot that Wilmar got on the phone promised to walk around town to find the guy and retrieve our radio. When entering our bus to leave Jardín the next morning we still haven’t heard back. Shortly after the bus head off I receive his message that he got the radio and is now at the bus station. He even sent me a photo of the radio with the bus station in the background. We just missed him :/

We involved Wilmar again who organized a handover with the guy. He also picked up my camel bag that I, to top it off, forgot at our accommodation. Now we thought, easy, he can just send it to our next accomodation in Roldanillo. That’s until he informed us that there is no post office in Jardín. He might be in Medellín but that’s dependent on a message from a government office, which even in Germany would be a worrying prerequisite. We thought back and forth what we could do but traveling back to Jardín didn’t seem enticing at all after our experience with the bus route.

In the end Wilmar found a way to send the package to us via Interrapidisimo (the Colombian DHL). Even Wilmar said that this was a very Colombian story with someone knowing something but nothing is really happening. In the end we got our stuff back and are endlessly thankful to Wilmar who invested a lot of time to make it happen

While reading the last section of this blog post, you may want to let the video above play. It’s the song that we got woken up by every morning in Jardín. The nearby school played it (in suprisingly good quality) to usher the pupil into the classroom. At the end of the song the doors were shut and you weren’t allowed in anymore.

Now to the reason why we didn’t want to track back to Jardín. It’s summarized quite quickly: the 50km drive to the next larger town to the south took us more than 4 hours. Most time the bus was violently shaking left and right so that you needed to grab to a seat in front of you to not fly around in the bus (at least me sitting in the last row and the people standing in the bus the whole time). Sometime you had a nice view but most of the time you just saw the jungle left and right on the winding mountain road.

At some point our bus tried to pass another bus coming our way. Since the road was very narrow the driver went as far right as possible. Too far. The bus got stuck in the mud and the wheels where spinning freely. After some attempts we all got off the bus and gathered together to push the bus out of the ditch. After some attempts we managed and when the two buses finally passed each other there was lots of cheering before we all got back on to continue the wild ride.

Next stop: Roldanillo. THE place for cross country paragliding.