Walking in South America
Du Xinxin/Wen
one
The Spanish Rodrigo de Bastidas founded the santa marta in 1525. This city is the capital of Magdalena province on the Caribbean coast in northern Colombia, with a population of about 500,000. The city is not prosperous, and the local people mainly farm.
The rooms in our hotel are spacious, open and modern in design. The switch pools of sanitary ware are all square, rarely round. Compared with the facilities, the front desk service of the hotel is much worse, and the waitress who serves us can hardly speak English. A waiter stood beside her, not only without saying a word to the guests, but also without looking up. After I asked the question, he began to tease the waitress. I saw him bypass the girl and pat her on the shoulder. Although I don't know Spanish, his body movements are definitely "Me too".
The buffet breakfast service is very professional, but the food is not delicious except fruit. A group of little girls chattered and were as happy as birds. One of them asked me where I came from. Then, she pushed her classmates out and said, "Her English is better than mine." It turns out that they are all students from private schools and come from Medellin for a holiday. I asked, "Medellin is like spring all the year round. It's dry and hot here. Why are you here on holiday? " She replied: "This is a bio-geological adventure tour organized by the school, mainly to see different landforms." They will also go to La Guajira, a peninsula desert between Venezuela and Colombia. It seems that there are not many international tourists here, but most domestic tourists come from the "temperate zone" of Colombia. The so-called "temperate zone" refers to the relatively hot Caribbean, generally referring to the south or southeast of the Andes, where there are Bogota, Medellin and Cali. Their similarities are high altitude and pleasant climate.
Although Europeans established santa marta a long time ago, there is no ancient colonial city here. The most famous secular historical site here is probably La Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, which was built in17th century. Because Simon Bolí var died in the manor, there is another Bolí var memorial on the earth.
Simon Bolí var was born in Venezuela today, but Colombians firmly believe that the liberators of South America are Colombians. It's not completely unreasonable. /kloc-In the early 20th century, South American countries launched independence movements in succession during the Spanish Civil War, and Bolí var returned from Europe to participate in the independence movement. In the early days, Bolivar almost lost many wars and even had to go into exile again. In fact, his luck changed when he was in Bogota. After the liberation of Bogota, it won successively in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Panama. Bolivia, formerly known as Upper Peru, was renamed to commemorate Bolí var after independence. Numerous cities and places in South America are named after him. Some people say that his statue is second only to the virgin Mary.
Compared with other memorial squares, this Bolivar memorial site is quite beautiful. The grassland is open, the shrubs are neat, the ancient trees are romantic, and the former residence and monument of Bolivar stand among them. The former residence is a bright yellow bungalow complex, but only three rooms are open. Every room has several pieces of ancient furniture and some cultural relics, and a sign says simple living, the father of liberation. Bolivar is a white man of Spanish aristocratic descent. Although his family was extremely rich, his parents died when he was a child. Growing up with my closest relatives, I was sent to a military school because of my stubbornness and disobedience. As an adult, Bolvar went to Spain and France to study and travel. He got married in Spain on 1802. Judging from the wedding photos, the wife is very beautiful. After marriage, Bolí var returned to Venezuela with his wife, who died of illness the following year and never married again, but he had hundreds of lovers.
After losing his wife, Bolvar was extremely sad and went to France alone. Soon, he attended Napoleon's coronation ceremony and served as Napoleon's attendant. It is said that he admired Napoleon's talent and exploits very much, but he was quite disgusted with his claim to the throne. During his stay in Europe, he was enlightened by John Locke, Rousseau, Voltaire and Montesquieu, and found like-minded friends such as FranciscodeMiranda. 18 10, Bolí var and Miranda returned to Venezuela and soon became the leaders of the local independence movement. After the establishment of the first Venezuelan Republic, Miranda signed an agreement with the colonial army because she was outnumbered. Bolí var arrested Miranda as a traitor and handed her over to the colonial army, which led to Miranda's death in prison in 18 16, which was a great moral stain in Bolí var's life.
In a room in my former residence, I saw a bed covered with Colombian red, yellow and blue flags. 1830 12 17 bolivar died in this bed. In the next room, there is a marble Bolvar statue, which is an oil painting around Bolvar's death. The writer Marquez once mentioned that an oil painting of Bolí var's funeral was hung in the restaurant in his hometown, with a long poem beside it. The last few words were to the effect: "You, santa marta, have mercy, you died on the beach …" When he saw the father of liberation lying on the table in a gorgeous uniform, the young Marquez was deeply puzzled, because this poem made him think that Bolí var had died on the beach. Marquez's grandfather said, "Bolí var is the greatest man in the world!" Marquez asked, "Is that greater than Jesus?" Grandpa couldn't confirm his previous evaluation, so he had to say, "That's two different things."
Out of the former residence, tall trees guard the road like guards, and the Bolivar Memorial Hall is at the end of the road. On both sides of the white lobby door stood two eagles spreading their wings, and the black and white marble in the hall was solemn. At the top of the marble statue is Bolí var, at the foot are a pair of angels, and below is a portrait symbolizing law, fairness and freedom. Those people are all Greeks, and naturally they are all white.
Before the independence of South American countries, the main contradiction was between Spanish nobles, indigenous whites and aborigines. At that time, the Spanish aristocracy was the ruling class. Although indigenous white people regard Spain as their mother country and maintain countless ties with the old continent, they are not equal to nobles politically. Most of them are well-off and well-educated. Some of them are not only well-informed, but also have received military training and participated in combat. At that time, the indigenous people were completely enslaved, had no right to speak and had no organizational ability, so the independence movement in South America was naturally led by indigenous whites. The two Bolivar statues here are standing statues, and most of the Bolivar I have seen are riding horses. A more unique statue is in Pereira, Colombia. The statue shows him riding naked on a galloping horse, and his face is very similar to that of the aborigines.
On the way back to the hotel, we made a detour around the downtown business district. Compared with Cartagena, there are not many pedestrians here, but the sidewalks in the business district are full of stalls and almost impassable. Fruit, clothing, shoes and hats, cosmetics, plastic products, toys, etc. A large number, much like the stalls at Xidan intersection in Beijing, but there were no cheap gold ornaments on the stalls in Beijing at that time. Colombians have dark skin, and people with dark skin are suitable for wearing gold ornaments. The girls' dresses obviously cost a lot of money, but they always look a little rustic. Residents and businesses like loud volume, and all kinds of stereos are loud. Over time, will it affect your hearing? From what I have seen so far, my impression of this city is that the countryside and infrastructure are similar to those of Chinese mainland in the 1980s, the high-rise buildings on the seashore are similar to those in the 1990s, and the Internet is from the 2000s.
two
In the morning, we went to Mingka. Mingka is located in the mountainous area east of santa marta. The place name means the gathering place of many indigenous people. Out of the city into the mountains, more and more vegetation, the more you go to the mountains, the more dense vegetation. About three quarters of an hour later, the car stopped in Mingka town. We're in the Sierra Nevada in Santa Marta. The highest peak of this mountain range is more than 5000 meters above sea level. It is the highest mountain in Colombia and the only place where it snows in the country.
Now the entire Sierra Nevada in santa marta is a national park, and Tyrona Park is only a part of it. But apart from Mingka and Tirona, other places are inaccessible and difficult to enter. Locals say there is a lost city hidden deep in the Shan Ye Mountains. Built by local aborigines, it was once one of the largest towns in South America in pre-Columbian times, and then disappeared into the jungle. It was not discovered until AD 1970 ... If you want to explore the lost city, you must have a tour guide to lead you and walk for 4-6 days. The journey is extremely difficult, and hikers must be able to survive in an extremely primitive ecology. I have walked the trails in Costa Rica, Tierra del Fuego, Mount Fitzroy, Baini National Park, the Inca ancient road in Peru and climbed Kilimanjaro, but I have never walked such a primitive trail, thinking that I can't handle it. Later, I met several young people who walked through the lost city. I admire their heroic deeds, but they say they are too tired to walk.
After meeting in Mingka, everyone walked through the town with a guide. In addition to restaurants, there are also small flower shops and carpenter shops. The beautiful woman carpenter is measuring and drawing on the board. There is a swimming pool in the backyard of the rich people with red tiles and white brick walls, and there is no glass in the window of the iron house of the poor people. No matter rich or poor, no matter how remote, iron railings are installed on the windows of every household. Bamboo here is tall and strong, lush and varied, so many people use it as building materials. Although it is already in the mountains, it is still very boring. The river is a little cold, but mosquitoes are particularly rampant. Through the sultry Woods and across three small rivers. The river bridge is extremely primitive, and one of them is the river stone bridge. An old man was worried about slipping and climbed over, while the tour guide walked forward on his own. Obviously, tourism companies in Colombia are not professional enough.
Walking, we came to a family courtyard. A toucan jumped up and down among the trees and attracted everyone. It has a big green mouth, green eyes and bright red lips. I have seen beautiful macaws in Brazil and Costa Rica. Some parrots live as long as people and can talk. It is said that Lorenzo, a parrot in the hometown of writer Marquez, lived for nearly a hundred years. During the War of Independence, he would shout slogans against Spain and sing. Almost completely blind. One day, its shrill cry almost overturned the roof: "cow!" Bullshit! The bull is coming! " At first, the family thought the parrot was senile and talking nonsense, but when they saw a bison roaring into the kitchen, they realized what Lorenzo was calling. These birds are amazing!
The tour guide stopped, pointed to a plant and said, "Look, this is the coffee bean." The string of blue coffee beans grew on a dwarf tree, which turned out to be a coffee plantation. Many countries in South America have coffee garden tours, but Colombia exports the most coffee. At that time, the Spanish introduced coffee from Ethiopia. Now there are two main coffee varieties in Colombia, Arabica and Robusta. The former is considered as the best coffee. By a pool, the tour guide said and demonstrated: "Coffee beans 165438+ will turn red when they are ripe in October. Separate the picked coffee beans into leaves and sundries, then soak them in water, and the good beans will sink. " Soaked coffee beans need to be dried, and the skin will fall off after drying. The peeled coffee beans become darker in color, and then they are peeled again by hand. The last process is baking. Roasted coffee beans can only be stored for a few months, so most of the coffee exported from Colombia has not been roasted. The tour guide said that even the same kind of coffee beans have different tastes because of different soil quality. Coffee beans in this area have caramel flavor, and some soils will produce chocolate flavor. Soaking time, roasting degree, coffee grinder, milk and water will all affect the taste of coffee, so there are so many styles of coffee, such as American coffee, cappuccino and mocha coffee. I asked the tour guide, "How to make decaffeinated coffee?" She replied, "Soaking in water will make coffee oil bubble out, but merchants won't do that. Because it is too labor-intensive and uneconomical. Caffeine-free coffee on the market is chemically unhealthy. "
Out of the coffee garden, we continued hiking. Go down a narrow and steep slope and come to Pozo Azul waterfall pool. A waterfall hangs between boulders, and colorful leaves are scattered on the water. The upper and lower ponds are located below the waterfall. The young people take off their clothes, jump down and climb to the pond above with big stones. We took off our shoes and socks and sat on a big stone to enjoy the cool. The Dutch couple who shared a car with us sat next to each other. The boy said, "My wife is pregnant, so I should be very careful." An old British lady said that after retirement, she traveled alone for half a year and traveled all over South America and Southeast Asia.
I think I'll have lunch in town, but I don't want to keep going through town. It took a long and steep walk on the hillside to reach the lunch place. This is a small piece of flat land on the cliff, and the sign of "Jungle Joe" is hung on the threshold. "Joe" is the name of the company boss. The mountains are vast, and it is the highest peak in the Sierra Nevada. Every morning, the first ray of sunshine dyes it blue. Further away, the city of Santa Marta is faintly visible. Looking down, the cliff is covered with vines, and the green Zhongshan Road twists and turns. Along the way, I learned that there are many hotels in the mountains of Mingka town. It is said that one of them has hung the largest hammock in the world on the top of the mountain.
A little further from the cliff stands a hotel made of stone and bamboo. There is a large stone clearing between the hotel and the kitchen, and there are three long wooden dining tables under the elegant tree. A gentle breeze, a male singer is leaning against the wall to play the piano and sing. After walking in the heat for three hours, it's really pleasant here and now. Boss Joe cooks by himself, and lunch is delicious. After dinner, Joe became a commentator again. He talked about poisonous insects, poisonous snakes, poisonous centipedes, golden poisonous frogs and poisonous spiders who like bananas in Colombia. It is said that three bites from a poisonous spider will kill you. The tropics are dangerous everywhere, so you should always be careful. Today is the first time I used mosquito repellent in my trip to Central and South America, but I still got bitten with scars everywhere. Those scars will be fine after more than half a month. If you walk for 4 days, spend the night in the jungle and walk to the lost city, I don't know how many poisonous insects you will encounter!
After Joe finished speaking, a boy began to explain how Cocoa made chocolate and showed the audience the ground cocoa paste. I have been to the cocoa plantation in Ecuador, and I don't think it is new. Finally, Joe sang a chocolate song with the singer. The lyrics are: "How chocolate makes you an aphrodisiac, and it is so aphrodisiac …" Joe's ancestors came from Italy, and his passion for life infected everyone present.
(Recorded in February 2020 14- 15. The writer lives in Colorado, USA. Main works: Ganges: From this life to life, Going to Qianshan)