Barichara, a bucolic hilltop town in the Santander province, is frequently described as a gem, and it’s a justified label. Classified as a Colombian national monument, Barichara is a treasure trove of vernacular Spanish colonial architecture laid out in a classic grid of steep, cobbled streets. It isn’t particularly easy to get to (but not that hard either), and may be overshadowed by the more hyped and accessible Villa de Leyva, but it’s well worth the trek. The perfect place to just slow way down and relax. And take a few snapshots, of course.

(oh, and if you’re planning a visit to Barichara, stay here. You won’t regret it)

A short, bouncy jeep ride away from Salento is the Valle de Corcora, home to the famous towering wax palms. Apart from these, just a few hour walk takes you through lush cloud forest, pine forests, hummingbird country, hills, fields, coffee, sunshine, fog and torrential rain. And, naturally, at the end a trucha con patacone, washed down with a bottle of Club Colombia Dorada.

The humid, dark and tangled environment of a rainforest is one of the most challenging environments for landscape photography, and also one of my favourites. If I had to chose between a week in Greenland or a week in a Central American rainforest, well, it would be a very tough decision. I haven’t actually yet managed to make much in the way of satisfying rainforest photographs, but there are a few attempts in the set below.

And once again thanks to Blaney Aristizabal for being a great guide and excellent companion.

Salento is a popular tourist destination in the department of Quindío. Apart from the hillside town itself, which is full of character, it provides a base to visit the Valle de Corcora cloud forest and wax palm groves, and several organic coffee plantations.  Oh, and you can eat trout. Lots of trout. And little else. Salento is a pretty easy introduction to rural Colombia, and very safe. It’s pretty photogenic too, although it didn’t really click with me as much as some other locations.  But anyway, here’s a few shots.

Oh, and if you’re looking for a cloud forest guide, look no further than the excellent “Fog Walkers”. Very highly recommended.

And after a few bottle of Club Colombia Dorada, things get a little blurry…

Thanks to a few days downtime over Christmas, as well as an enforced period of staying indoors thanks to a bad cold, I’ve been able to start sifting through the photos I took last month in Colombia. The first set here are from strolling through Bogotá, a city which surprised by its variety and friendliness. Not to mention the somewhat non-equatorial temperatures. As ever on these trips I wasn’t really in a “photography” frame of mind in the first few days, but in a such a wildly photogenic location I couldn’t help but get stuck in.

Things have been quiet around here for a while. I was away in Colombia and wasn’t much in the mood for blogging or indeed any kind of connectivity. As was well stated outside a vividly decorated bar in Cartagena, “no tenemos WI-FI, hablen entre ustedes”.

one out of many good reasons to go to Colombia

Colombia is just plain fantastic. Incredible landscapes, huge variety in climate, friendly, helpful and fun people. It’s also huge, and 3 weeks barely scratches the surface. The main purpose of the trip was travel, vacation and relaxation, but I did nevertheless manage to find time to take 1,649 photos (and 3 videos), some of which will doubtless emerge in various channels in the coming weeks and months.

Film’s not dead in Colombia

Hasta mas tardes…