Colombia has over 80 indigenous tribes and these people suffered the worst during the recent conflict with the FARC. The paramilitary would sweep through their villages executing many people and forcing the others out. Families had to leave everything they owned behind, from their belongings and clothing to the cows and pigs that were their livelihood. What makes this even worse is that much of this was due to the rebels, the government and big business coveting the land that belonged to the many indigenous peoples. When the peace treaty was signed, people went back to find their homes gone and that all their land had become a sugarcane farm, or a mine, or something else. The corporations who took their land for sugarcane, for example are "allowing" the indigenous to work for very low wages and we were told they do not get paid regularly.
We saw some of this first hand. Getting to one of our birding spots along the Rio Guaviare outside of the small town San Jose del Guaviare, we passed a two room school. Just up the path from the school was a clearing with two homes. There are forty people from two displaced families living here who are the last remnants of their tribe. Everyone else was executed by the FARC when they were forced off their land. We visited the school and met with the teacher and the kids. All of us ended up donating money which we gave to the teacher. She knew what the families needed and went out and bought an amazing amount of long-lasting food staples for the families, she told us it was enough for several months.
When we came by the next day the teacher joined us and presented the food to the families, giving it in equal shares to all the mothers. The adults were emotional and overcome. The kids were running around saying hello and thank you to everyone--two English words they learned the previous day.
I admit, it felt great to do something positive with immediate local results. The money went to local small businesses, not an organization, and the purchases went directly to those who needed it.
This is part of one of their homes. The house itself is on stilts, the upper part would stay dry during the rainy season. I keep harping on this, because it boggles my mind to think about how high the water can rise.
A bit further up the path there is a very rickety-looking bridge about 12 feet over a river. Some of the boards have 8 inch gaps between them, and the bridge shakes dreadfully if more than two people cross at the same time. Even so, we watched people on motorcycles and bicycles cross it without a thought. We found other similar bridges on our journey. This swinging bridge swayed with every step, and again we had to move over for motorcycles and small utility vehicles, which seem to be a mainstay for getting around.
Other odds and ends and unusual stuff.
Here in Utah, we have wasp nests: for example, the big paper nests, open cell nests, mud nests. But the Colombian wasps make nests that are very different.
This one looks like a seed pod on a plant...until you get close enough to either see the wasps or get buzzed by the aggressive guards.
And as long as we are talking about nests, we saw many trees with huge termite colonies nesting in them.
In the high cloud forests, the lichens growing on tree trunks were pink.
This is the main street through the town of Santa Maria. We spent two nights here. I think this was the only paved road in town. In Colombia it isn't unusual to find painted tree trunks. Most of the trees in cities have painted trunks. No idea what it is all about.
Many of the trees had great shapes. I can only imagine what fun children would have playing in these trunks.
And looking up through the big ones? It surely made me want to climb. Imagine the view from the top!
Colombia has almost 1900 species of birds. So far we have seen 557 of them. My best guess is that we will be going back again. Wouldn't hurt my feelings a bit!
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