I loved nature and animals since I was small and visiting Colombia was always my dream. But reading about it in books could never depict, how beautiful this place is. We have traveled quite a lot through the country, but there are still so many places I still have to explore, but I would love to tell you more about the small parts that I have seen with which I fell in love.
Traveling to Colombia was a last minute idea. We had to change planes in Bogota, so it was “why not spend a few days there” kind of idea. But after researching the natural beauty of Colombia, few days became six and six days became fourteen. So a week after making this plan we set off on this new adventure.
Our trip started in Bogota, the moment we landed I started looking for exotic birds, but not with much luck. There we met our guide, now a dear friend, Alejandro, a man who knows birds more than any other person I have ever met.
Our first stop was Chingaza National Park which was a place my suitcase was not ready for, mostly because it was just 11 degrees Celsius, so my cute hiking shorts did not really cut the deal there. Chingaza National Park is located close to Bogota in roughly 3,000 meters above ocean level.
The prevailing ecosystems are High Andean, Sub Andean and moorland, a heaven for many species of flora and fauna. Sadly, this day was not as lucky as we had hoped and we did not see almost anything except for hundreds of hummingbirds. Seeing these birds there surprised me, because I always thought they could never survive in these freezing conditions. One of the species we have seen was the Sword-billed Hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera) whose bill is longer than the rest of its body, which makes it a very rare bird.
We set off for a new location, in the afternoon, called Los Llanos. The trip took several hours and the entire landscape has changed in front of my eyes. From green beautiful forests to pastures and pastures only. I could not imagine, how such a beautiful country can be so devastated by animal agriculture. I tried to lighten the situation by playing a game, if somebody could guess what product is being produced on this part of land, but after a few rounds the game became quite predictable, because the answer was always beef or milk. Being raised in Europe I have always heard about the negative effects of animal agriculture on our planet, but I could have never imagined the destruction I have seen in Colombia. It was seriously an ecologist’s worst nightmare.
After driving for around 8 hours we arrived to our destination Los Llanos. When we arrived my first thought was that I now understand, why some people believe that earth is flat. These beautiful wetlands are huge. They stretch through Colombia to Venezuela and if you wanted to, you could walk the entire way to midland Venezuela without crossing any hill. That’s how flat Los Llanos is. Unfortunately Los Llanos is not a natural park even though it should be, it is more like a huge pasture for millions of cows. There are farms or fincas that have over hundred thousand hectares. Each is owned just by a single family who raises cattle for meat and milk. Luckily many of the wild animals live with the cattle in quite surprising peace, living side by side without causing harm to one another.
We arrived to these wonderful Colombian wetlands in the best time possible, in the time when the wetlands were turning green, but not so late, that we had to cross the pastures on a canoe.
First day we took a small boat and went up the river. That was the first time I have ever seen Capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), a moment I will never forget. We have also seen Hoatzins (Opisthocomus hoazin), Spectacled Caimans (Caiman crocodilus,) Orinoco Geese (Neochen jubata) and much more. You would have thought that I will have hundreds of amazing photos from that day, but taking photos from a shaky wooden boat is probably a discipline I will never master.
The other three days we were going on a safari by huge off-road cars. Even though we have arrived at a great time. There was already dirt everywhere and after driving through it for a few hours I felt the dirt even in my nostrils and ears. We were so lucky that the first animal we have seen was actually a Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), but it was still too dark to photograph it.
Over the next few days we have had so much experiences that I had to pick just a few of them or you would finish reading this article in a few months. One of the first and strongest experiences was seeing the Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia), those little birds have nests underground, they hunt during night, but during the day they are standing around the nest guarding it, which makes them fun and an easy target for amazing photos.
One day we stopped next to a lake, where I spent many hours taking photos of Capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), Caimans (Caiman crocodilus), Jabirus (Jabiru mycteria) and other animals typical to Los Llanos. We have even seen the critically endangered Orinoko Crocodile (Crocodiles intermedius) that were almost wiped out, because they were hunted for their skin. When the sunset came, we started to see hundreds of Scarlet Ibises (Eudicimus ruber) and other water birds flying to two huge trees on the other side of the lake. It was wonderful seeing those pink clouds of birds quickly flying towards the trees to find a place to sleep before other individuals would take their favourite place. This was the best and most beautiful ending to the wonderful wetland experience.
Leaving Los Llanos was one of the hardest moments I have had on this expedition, but the idea of arriving to our next location made it a little bit easier. After hours of driving through Colombia the view from the windows has not changed much this time. There still was a pasture next to a pasture, but at least there were small houses and restaurants between them. We arrived to Villavincencio, where we spent the night in a beautiful small hotel. In the morning before the sun came up we were already on the road again with destination I can’t yet share the name of, but the one thing I can say is that the people there have never seen a tourist in their life. In the village we changed cars to get a little bit closer to our destination.
We drove for another 20 minutes through terrain that I thought was impassible. After getting out of the car we have walked for another hour through a beautiful Colombian rainforest. I was red and sweaty, once Alejandro screamed “The mum is there too. We have to run!” Even though I felt like dying from the hot weather I ran with him to the top of a small hill and there it was. A Harpy Eagle nest in which were two huge Harpy Eagles (Harpia harpyja) a mum with its not so “little” baby. I could have never imagined how magnificent these creatures are, they are huge with beautiful grey feathers, enormous claws and with beautiful double crested crown. Our little Pichón (Spanish term for chick), that’s how the magnificent fledgling was named, was playing in its nest with a prey, it mother brought from the forest. Probably a monkey or a sloth, those are her favourite. Harpy eagle fledglings stay in the nest for over nine months until they learn how to fly and catch prey on their own, after they leave the nest they stay close by for another two years. Therefore it will be possible to see Pichón for another two and a half years around the nest.
Unfortunately, we are quickly losing our Harpy Eagle populations mostly because of the loss of their habitat. Luckily this “small” chick will be safe, because my friends from Manakin tours had made the place a Harpy Eagle reserve, which will soon be open to tourists, which will help conserve these magnificent animals and even help the people of the village to live more comfortable lives.
I will never forget this adventure and I will be forever grateful for seeing all those animals and meeting all those wonderful people that made this expedition the most special. Colombia is the most charming place I have ever seen and we should do what we can to preserve the natural beauty of this Latin American gem. The biggest thanks must go to Manakin Tours who made this whole experience possible.
