Comuna 13 Medellin, The Most Dangerous Place on Earth.

Once the single-most dangerous place on the planet, Comuna 13 (San Javier, neighborhood 13) on Medellin's steep western slopes, may eventually become one of the world's greatest triumphs. Or not.
The home of Pablo Escobar's gang, Comuna 13 had the world's highest murder rate.  When the Colombian army attempted to take back control of the territory, they didn't even bother to warn the residents of the coming tanks, helicopters and soldiers.  The people of Comuna 13 were the enemy.

Alba, Our Guide

Our guide, Alba, grew up in Comuna 13.  Her father, a chemist, was kidnapped by Escobar and forced to work in the cocaine labs.  Each month, Escobar's Number Two, Dandeny Muñoz Mosquera--La Quica, would personally deliver a bag of cash to Alba's mother, tossing it on the living room floor--payment for the kidnapped father's service.  He was returned home two years later.

Alba grew up with four very close guy friends. Two joined Escobar. The third joined the rival Cali gang and was forced to murder his two friends.  The fourth friend, also an Escobar gang member, murdered the third.

The government at any level--local, state or federal--was completely absent.

Today, there's a corridor up the slope of Comuna 13 that signals hope for the people there.  Though when I privately asked Alba what the scene was like two blocks off this pathway, she said that she'd not go there "too dangerous".  Noted.

But from where we stood with Alba and a local artist from the neighborhood, there was no sign of anything other than promise and hope.

The urban policy experts describe how radical urbanism, and nothing-to-lose policies of renovation and urban investment have turned the comuna around.   It's a good story and I have seen nothing to contradict the narrative.  Many, many mistakes were made. Now we'll hope for the residents' success.  God knows they deserve better than they had.

Here's what you see today...

Local and world-class artists (not graffiti taggers) vie for a location on the Comuna's walls on which to present their works.

I saw these artist signatures, which I encourage you to search on the web:  

@Chota13

@yorch.art

@jomag.art

@apolo.trece

There's clearly meaning with each of the works we saw and the symbolism was always positive.  Each was explained by our local artist guide.

Tiny stores offer homemade snacks to the passing tourists...and there are many tourists.  (I'm buying the global rights to the maracuya & cream frozen treat shown here...Unbelievable!)









A local dance team sets up a stage and present top-notch performances.  Amazing skill and solid choreography.
















The backbone of the revival was a long series of escalators that link the tail end of the subway system to the upper reaches of the Comuna.  With the creation of the escalator linkage, the residents were able to get to transportation, and thereby to jobs other than the cartel work.  "Gentrification" followed at the end of the subway and is creeping up the hill. ("Gentrification" in this context does not mean Brooklyn's tony neighborhoods. It's more like the rough parts of the Bronx turning into the rough parts of Harlem.)


The locals greet each other warmly and openly, chat and smile.  The tourism has brought an economy that just might help keep things moving in the right direction.

We offer some photos for close examination.  Please note the shacks stacked on top of each other.  Zoom in.  These folks don't have it easy.  I encourage our readers to look beyond the artists' work to the houses and people beyond.

Comuna 13's is not a simple story, certainly not happy.  We often felt out of place, self-conscious  of the divide between our experience and that of the neighborhood's citizens.  At the same time, the artistry was exceptional, meaningful and moving.  If art has a purpose to move you and make you feel differently, then this art of a changing neighborhood met its goal.

No simple bromides or morals to close this blog entry.  I do encourage more reading and reflection.

The Indigenous Kogi People of Northern Colombia

The Kogi people's way of life truly moved me, and I am trying to understand why or how.

One thousand years ago, 500 years before the Spanish arrived, the Kogi people retreated from the Caribbean coast of Colombia to live in the remote high Sierra Nevada mountains that rise directly from the coast.  Their move protected them from the Spanish and from European diseases.  Today they live as they did 1,000 years ago, just out of reach of their neighbors, but well aware of our existence and ways of life.

Our guide

The Kogi continue their thoughtful practice of intentional isolation to this day. However, Lauren, Luke and I had the privilege of visiting a Kogi village, though through pre-arrangement the village's adults had temporarily left the area so that we might enter.  (About one visit occurs each month.)

Our guide (photo, right) was the one-quarter-Kogi grandson of a Kogi woman, and through him we gained access.  In the guide's beat up jeep, we climbed the mountain's rough road, streams, check points and pathways until we rendezvoused with a young Kogi man that escorted us forward (photo below).  We never spoke to this stoic Kogi man, as that is not permitted. He and the other Kogi believe that it is best to have as little contact as possible with outside people.  Makes sense to me.

Our Kogi escort (photo taken without permission :-(  

The Kogi are a highly religious people that base their lifestyle on their belief system that relates all creatures to the mother earth.  Their role within this belief system is to help protect and prolong life on Earth.  Believe me, they walk the walk.  Their spiritual leaders, mamos, are trained from early childhood and until age 18 are isolated from their own people.  Wikipedia has a good summary.  I recommend it. Nothing "new-agey" about them.

There is nothing about the Kogi that struck us as "poor".  They had all they wanted and lived long lives.  

Reporting our observations that day: We entered the empty village of a dozen round mud and stick huts with thatched roofs to find fires smoldering in the center of each.  The areas were clean and well tended.

The clothing of our escort was simple wool or cotton handmade and clean, and was typical for both men and women.  The Kogi choose white for all their clothing, as representative of their search for purity.  The young man did wear western sneakers.

We snuck a peak into some of the huts and saw that there we no signs of furniture, tables, beds or hammocks.  We assumed that they slept on the ground, and were told that men and women live in separate buildings.  A larger hut "nuhue" served as the central temple and place for discussions and group decisions.  We inferred that men and women hold equal status in the society, with each gender having specialized roles.  [Update: Two months later, during a visit to a different indigenous village, we noted that that community also did not use beds, and tables and chairs were few.  That group used hammocks, and we now conclude that the Kogi probably use hammocks, though we have no evidence either way.]

Men of Kogi descent carry a satchel, a "mochila", everywhere they go. Everywhere, all the time.  Inside the mochila is their poporo, a gourd that holds a powder of the mineral lime.  A stick both blocks the hole in the gourd and helps extract the lime powder when needed.  At the end of each day, the Kogi man meditates on the day, moistens some lie with his saliva and "paints" on the side of his poporo his memories of the day.  In so doing he creates a physical memory on the poporo which he then carries with him everywhere.  To earn his poporo, a boy of about 13 years, must spend three days within a sacred circle near the nuhue without sleep or food.  Should he fail, there's no penalty; but no reward either.  He must try again later.

After a while, we heard small noises from one hut and the face of a child appeared.  One girl, perhaps 12 years old, had remained behind to care for the younger children, who had made the noise we heard. She was silent but friendly.

As we walked from the village, a mother and two young children came in from the forest.  The children smiled as they dragged a hoe up the hill. (photo, left)

We reached another settlement, also emptied of people, but this one had a table. Luxury! (photo , right)

Driving up the hill had caused a flat tire for the jeep.  (I told you it was a rough road.)  The pause gave us time to start considering the conscious choices the Kogi have made to balance their lives with their "little brothers" (us) on the outside world.  Elsewhere we've seen people--with many more things--far less happy, satisfied and peaceful than these Kogi. 

[For other adventures, surf this blog. ;-)  ]

Our travel schedule

Friends,
Yesterday Lauren studied our over-filled calendar and declared that she couldn't fit in all the visits we want to make during our time in Colombia.  "They won't all fit in the box."
-- Then, let's get a bigger box!  (She just rolled her eyes.)

We chose to live in Colombia for a year in part because of its cultural and natural megadiversity.  And in part because it's a great hub from which to travel to other South American destinations.

We're wringing out every free moment to travel...and fortunately there are many three-day weekend to supplement Luke's generous school vacation calendar (six weeks of inter-class vacations).

Our scheduled overnight travel list includes:
- Villa de Leva
- Santa Marta and Palomino (Caribbean coast), with the Sierra Nevada mountains and their people.
- Quito Ecuador
- Ecuadoran Andes Mountains
- Termas de Papallactas, Ecuador
- Ecuadoran Amazon
- Colombian Amazon
- Galapagos Islands
- Medellin Colombia
- Guatape and Embalse de Penol  (Man...I am moving to this place!)
- Popayan's Semana Santa
- San Agustin's ancient monoliths in southern Colombia, Parque National Natural de Purace
- The high desert near Neiva Colombia
- Bogota Colombia
- The 'coffee country' between Medellin and Cali
- Chingaza national park east of Bogota
- Cartegena Colombia
- Barranquilla Colombia (may be deferred due to Venezuelan situation)
- The small Colombian town of Capurgana next to Panama's Caribbean border

An aggressive day trip schedule fills the remaining calendar and Lauren flies back to the States regularly for work.
We are insane.

Colombia is larger than France and Germany combined.  Add in nearby countries, and it's no surprise that we are drawn to explore this megadiverse region.

Personally, my head is exploding with the cultural diversity alone.  The range is beyond comprehension.  Add in the nature and history and I'm swamped.
Okay, gotta go study my Spanish and pack for the next trip.  Adios!

First Photos from Ecuadoran Amazon

Friends,
The upper Amazon river basin... Just...Too...big.  Too lush. Too varied. Too much.  Too wonderful.
Different from the Galapagos? You bet. Quick review...
Galapagos                          Amazon
Very few trees                    Many trees
No predators                      Many predators
Animals sun bathe             Animals hide
No rivers                            Many rivers
Little rain                           Rain forest  (Duh!)
No indigenous people        Ancient peoples
Fully protected nature        Very vulnerable resources

From Quito, Luke, Lauren, Sandy, Vance and I took the daily plane to the oil exploration outpost town of Coca, east of the Ecuadoran Andes. We joined a motorized canoe and headed down the Napo River tributary for 80 kilometers, dodging sandbanks, fishing nets, and the occasional oil-industry service barge until we entered an enormous nature sanctuary guarded by the Kichwa Añangu people.

Kichwa guides Ivan and Marin helped us hike to a smaller river and enter paddle canoes.  The guides and a professional naturalist, Milton, did the paddling and awed us with their ability to spot creatures among the trees. (Ivan and Milton, photo, right)

The Kichwa built by hand a breathtaking ecolodge on the shores of Anangu Lake.  It took them six years to bring in the materials by canoe, but it's 20 rooms and central lodge are gorgeous.  Their story of maintaining their identity in the face of modern developmental pressure is incredible and gives us hope for the forest's future.  (Not much hope, but hope.  I am a realist.)  We did not really rough it.  (This is not a Marriott at Disney.)

In canoe and on foot, Milton and Ivan led us daily to seek animals and explain indigenous ways. Vance examines the ants he's about to eat.
I chose the grubs.

So did Luke.

Animals we didn't eat include...

Giant River Otters (eating their own meals)

Anaconda (sunbathing its 17' long body in the tall grasses).  (We're so happy it eats only once every six months.)

Macaws and parrots by the hundreds...But only if you know where to find them!

But the stars of the show were the monkeys.  We found five species.  They are so hard to photograph as they leap through the trees.  Some preliminary photos follow.

Every day ends with us declaring that we've topped out.  It can't get better.  But every next day is better, as we adjust to the forest and learn how to see more.

We are overwhelmed.
Five days later we canoe out; Motor upriver; Fly back to Quito and try to figure out  why we'd ever left the Napo, the Kichwa Anagu and the Amazon.  They are endlessly wonderful.  We should all belong there.

First Photos from Galapagos

Friends,
We're just back from 24 days of travel in Ecuador and my mind is reeling. Charles Darwin spent four years just writing his notes of his travels on HMS Beagle,but in today's internet age, my notes will be stale in four weeks.  (BTW Darwin waited another 20 years before he wrote Origin of the Species.)

Our trip was arranged by Link Experiences of Quito and our friend Patricio ("I invented the Galapagos!") Suarez. Patricio made this possible and Link executed it to perfection.  Amazing!

Coconut Grove neighbors and friends Sandy and Vance Lemmon hitched on too, which made it even better.

Here's our detailed Overview of island by island*. We had a combination of flights, boats, lodges and vehicles and guides to get us where and when we needed.  (*These notes are working papers...right now just to help us travelers remember where and when we were somewhere and what we saw.)

The islands' terrain is what makes the animals and understanding of evolution through natural selection possible.  It's also spectacularly beautiful and stark.



Pinnacle Rock of Bartolome appears below.


Pitt Point's cavern is majestic and awesome, but we boated through it anyway.


The extreme conditions result in extreme adaptations. Cactus trees and red succulent plants on the slope of South Plaza Island, below.


The remoteness results in animals that are completely unafraid of humans. (Luke and Sandy pass two blue footed boobies, below.)

Thus you can photograph them close up, but respectfully. (Luke and a young sea lion.)


Mated albatrosses cuddle prior to their 6 month separation flight.  They'll return Espanola Island again in autumn to mate. (below)

The Blue Footed Booby is a marque bird for the Galapagos. (below)

A Nazca booby and his chick cuddle in a rock nest a few feet away. (below)

 The confluence of three major ocean currents is the real engine of life here...everything starts in the sea.  Sally Lightfoot crabs are everywhere.

The ancestors of all animals found in the Galapagos came from elsewhere.  Some arrived millions of years ago to islands that have long since eroded back into the sea.  Galapagos land iguanas are good examples of this.


The harsh conditions and regular extreme climactic upheavals precipitated the survival of only those creatures that could adapt.  Marine iguanas have adaptations that permit them to eat algae underwater.
We saw two species (marine and land) in rare combat. (Luke won a photo contest with this picture.)


Some creatures are more recent arrivals to the islands.  Ancestors of these flamingos came from the Caribbean (based on DNA analysis). Notice how close this bird is to the photographer.

Other birds use the Galapagos as sanctuary, though they fly around the world.  Here frigatebird chicks get the attention of their parents and prepare for flight. 

A male frigatebird shows his stuff. 

Warblers, finches (13 species of Darwin fame), mockingbirds, and others all have developed specializations that permit them to survive where others have failed.


The land tortoises may be most famous.  Here our traveling companion, Little Peep, buddies up to a 100 year old tortoise.  (Little Peep has been around the world with Lauren and me for about 15 years.  Thanks, Gretel!))

We snorkeled almost every day.  I swam with a raft of sea lions...one of my top memories.

Here Luke swims alongside a green sea turtle. Wait until you his his shark video! Stay tuned!

I'm seen here near a hawksbill turtle off Isabella Island's Tuneles area.

The press of life goes on everywhere.  Green sea turtles mate...


climb the beach to rest and nest...

...and hatch.

You'll find great photos and fantastic documentaries on the internet...The BBC is terrific...if you want to learn more, and you should!

The professionalism of our three naturalist guides, Sergio, Jose and Josue, made our experience exceptional.

This brief summary will have to do for now, though.  After a day of rest in Quito, we pushed on to the Amazon, and another blog post.

Mel