August 16, 2022

The big day I’ve been waiting for….hiking into the Serranía de la Macarena national park to visit Cano Cristales. They only allow 200 tourists per day to enter the park. You must watch a film regarding rules of the park and travel with a local guide.

Cano Cristales was found in 1969, by a group of farmers. This region was previously controlled by FARC guerrillas and considered a “war zone” until very recently. The 62.1-mile-long river (seen in the new Disney movie, Encanto) is located in the province of Meta. It’s commonly called the “River of Five Colors” or the “Liquid Rainbow,” and is known for its striking colors. The algae only blooms between July and September. This phenomenon happens nowhere else in the world. The area itself is a hotspot for biodiversity, where the Andes mountains and the Amazon and Orinoco basins converge. The multi colored algae give the river its “rainbow” appearance. The brighter the sunlight, the more predominant the colors. Bright greens, yellows, reds, and purples appear to be flowing down the river depending on the light and water conditions…and as my luck would have it, we have arrived on the perfect day.

This river has no large fish, only sardines because the PH level is too high. There are no cattle in this area either because the water would kill them. We hike for about an hour mostly in direct bright sunshine on mostly level ground, then start climbing over rocks to get to our first view of the river.

I now understand the meaning of “magical”. The sight before me is even more beautiful than the “mini-rainbow” we saw yesterday. The river is flowing fairly swiftly over the rocks and the glimmering of bright colors is tantalizing. We stare in awe…astonished at what Mother Nature has created.

We hike from view point to view point, each getting better and better. We swim in spots where the water is crystal clear near waterfalls to cool off. Have I mentioned, we are in a “sauna”… HOT and humid, sweat dripping off our entire bodies, climbing over rocks and thru narrow trails ….inspired to keep going out of anticipation of what’s ahead.

We stop at the only “house” in the park. There are a few VERY rustic open air rooms for rent and a concession pavilion that serves cold drinks. We eat our packed lunch here and become friends with the only child living in the park. She’s about 7 years old and eager for us to take her picture.

Our last and BEST stop of the day is stunning and we sit dazzled by the sight before us. I understand now why Disney filmed the movie, Encanto at this spot…the view captures the “magic” of the river. The huge boulders have holes created by the fast flowing water over millions of years which has created hundreds of small waterfalls. Anyone who knows me, knows that “views” are among the thing in life that most excites me and makes me feel blessed. This magnificent view will remain in my memory forever. My motto has always been “I don’t need to have it all, I just want to see it all”.

We have a LONG hike back to the base station. The heat is so extreme, I seriously think I might have a heat stroke. JP works his own set of magic and keeps me moving from one shady spot to another. Lezlie is a real trouper and moves forward mopping her dripping sweat without complaining….somehow we both make it back to base. Have I mentioned we have been averaging close to 5 miles a day,? (which is not our norm..just saying😫) so we are over-exhausted. Never have I been so happy to see an air conditioned jeep arrive to take us back to the boat.

When we arrived back to our “treehouse”, Lezlie goes to take an outside shower. As she enters the bathroom area, she screams…LOUD! She saw a long tail on the counter when she entered and thought whatever it was would just go down behind the counter, but no it turn to come toward her and starred with HUGE eyes. When we asked what it was, the owner of the Lodge called it a chucha.

Today’s experience allowed mt to check another item off my bucket list. I’ve once again been blessed to witness one of Mother Nature’s crowning glories..