Cali is known for the most beautiful women in Colombia. We did not see them. Therefore we immediately left for San Cipriano.
For once we travelled like normal backpackers – with the bus. Sitting next to a bunch of girls with wooden pearls in their hair and the sex appeal of a cement mixer, we learnt more about the unjustness of world.After some hours the bus driver told us to get out. “Aqui?” we asked? There were some huts and… …well, nothing more, just some huts. This was Cordoba? A couple of huts named after a proud Spanish city?
Well then, we took our backpacks and lined up along the street. Luckily the tree-huggers had left earlier; the situation had gotten unbearable for our vegetarian friends when two Colombians offered some delicious “pollo asado”
A local guy with very dark skin, a gold watch and some golden teeth told us that we now would have to take a train in order to reach San Cipriano. There was no bus or taxi going there – since there was no road existing.
We marched down a dirt road and indeed, there was a train station! And no trains to be seen.
Many people in colourful clothes sat on strange platforms – platforms with little steel wheels. We asked for the train and a grumpy old woman pointed to the platforms. Alright, there we go.

The ride on our wooden bench (see picture) was fantastic – a motorcycle powers the small wooden platform and actually it is fucking dangerous since there is traffic in both directions but only one rail available. But it is FUN!!!

After some almost-accidents where we had to take our vehicle of the rail to let another one pass, we reached San Cipriano.

Love on the first sight, I would call it. Such a charming little village! In the middle of the jungle, some wooden huts, an unpaved main-street, loads of kids (actually, 2/3 of all the people seemed to be under 15 years old) and an impressing clear river.

We found a hotel where we had to climb a steep wooden ladder to get into our room. David was asked whether we were married and when saying “no, not yet” we got introduced to the owner’s daughters who were working in the kitchen. Time to set of for a beer.
The humidity was incredible now – I expected fish to swim by at face level. Fishes we did not see, but a young Irish lady we encountered.
She had a head-scarf in camouflage colours and I immediately recalled what I had read about the Irish Republican Army training the FARC rebels in Colombia.
We were in the jungle, Colombia had established a ban for all Irish folks to travel to Colombia and there was an Irish girl with army clothing in a remote part of the jungle… Oups, we must have gotten in the guerrilla zone.
Well then, once you meet a member of the IRA you also can have a beer with that person, right?
No, you can’t. Because Lisa, that was her name, rather wanted to have dinner later. Since it had started to rain lightly we agreed in meeting her later and made it for a watering-whole. In our shelter we got the fabulous “Colombia Club” beer. The rain intensified and more people gathered under the thin metal roof. I purred down like I had never seen it before. Soon the main-street was under water, the noise was immense and there was spray anywhere. Children ignored the rain and it was great to see the kids playing like wild in the street!
The rain lasted for 3 hours and because dinner time approached we had to run back to the hotel – 40 meters maybe. Enough to get soaked.
We had calamari and Lisa assured us that she was not part of the IRA; in fact she was not even sympathising with them. The ban against the Irish travellers had been lifted in January but she told us that she indeed had been asked a lot of silly questions at the customs. Later we sat together with some students from Bogota and Cali and learnt that life is not unfair. At least not to them. It is quite amazing that throughout Latin America the members of the “alta classe” quite like to tell people, that they are in members of the upper-class (quote: “…the average income of a parent at my university is about 150’000 Dollars”). Aha, now we know.
There is really more class awareness down here than in modest Switzerland.
The next day we rented inflatable tractor tubes and together with Lisa we walked up the river for about 4 kilometres. The ride down the river was adventurous – due to the heavy rain there was a lot of water and the rapids were challenging. But except for yet another sunburn we got out alive. Let me tell you: it is quite an experience to float through the jungle!

In the afternoon we wanted to go back to Cali. 6 buses passed by – all of them full. We had to hire a taxi to bring us to the central bus station in Buonaventura which was some 10 kilometres away. There we could organize an extra bus, since all the available tickets for the regular buses were sold. After one hour or so, we had enough willing and able passengers for Cali together and after another half an hour a bus turned up. On the way to Cali we saw “Blood Diamonds” – a great film when you drive through a region where only two weeks ago some bombs had exploded. We also got stopped by one of the many military controls and all passengers were searched thoroughly.
Tomorrow we will drive towards Ecuador. In my car. About this I am quite happy.