In the Midst of Mountains

by Henry Seda (United States of America)

A leap into the unknown Colombia

The mountains of the Colombian Andes hypnotize. Linking the sky and the earth, the vigor in which they protrude from the ground, introducing themselves to the rest of the world, is a sight that entranced me as I made pilgrimage from the bustling capital, Bogota, to the more quaint yet exuberant town of Anapoima. A journey through these peaks is surely not for the faint of heart. For gazing outside my passenger window I quickly became acquainted with the sheer drop that accompanied us on our passage through this stunning, yet ferocious, green landscape. It’s very alluring, the Colombian countryside, with it’s unadulterated scene of rugged forests that hug green pastures and picturesque villages down below; a leafy utopia that captures a curious gaze, in turn diverting focus from the complex web of road that laces through the uneven terrain. Thank goodness I wasn’t driving, because I can almost guarantee thirty seconds in and I would’ve probably sent the car down a cliff, my concentration immediately seized by mountains that laid ahead. For how deceptively dangerous this route is, it is the sole method in which thousands of Colombian workers commute to and from the city every day. My stepfather, a Colombian native, had been one of these daring commuters some time ago, traveling twice a day in and out of Bogota. Knowing the uncertainty of these roads, he had declared his surprise regarding our caravan successfully making it an hour in without a roadblock, yet not even twenty minutes later he was cursing himself for speaking too soon, for a crescentia cujete, or calabash tree, had fallen on the road ahead. We, and the growing trail of cars and mopeds in our rear, were stuck, forcing those willing to endure the remote dirt trail further down the valley. Again the mountains had won, proving their superiority over us measly humans who seek to traverse through their ridges. Weaving through the vertical landscape on the path that continues reveal to itself behind every sharp turn, it demands an experienced driver to align themselves with the rhythm of the winding road. This hidden gem of Anapoima has remained my stepfather’s “best kept secret” since growing up in this lush yet rugged landscape. It’s so amazing how much altitude can impact an environment’s climate. For being so close to the cold, gray metropolis that is Bogota, it is almost magic how beautifully tropical this environment becomes as we further descend into the depths of the valley below. Growing up in the notoriously flat state of Florida, it was mind opening to be able to physically acknowledge and experience a range of environments in such close proximity that is are unique to this part of the world. Slowly crawling down the mountainside, navigating between the rugged rock wall on the left and steep drop on the right, the car was eerily silent. Our anxiety, though, quickly sequestered by the amazing harmony that was sung between the chirping of tropical birds combined with the rushing water of the river down below. This journey was quick to remind us of how we, as individuals, are still so small compared to the vast, diverse world we live in. Finally we reached our destination; an isolated finca overlooking the lagoon at the bottom of the valley. The scene of grand, lush green mountains surrounding us overhead and blue, rushing water down below seemed something out of a dream. It was one of those moments where there’s nothing you want to do except sit there and take it in; and that’s exactly what I did the first few days of our excursion. Our little utopian oasis. This perfect landscape I felt was something I had to capture before I left, hopefully with the goal in harnessing this same feeling so that every time either I would see it of show it to someone else, that same sensation would be emitted again, enabling a sense of immersion to be attained.