Treasures of Colombia – days 6 & 7 Cocora Valley to Medellín

Romesh Ranganathan has a lot to answer for. In his recent BBC TV series, The Misadventures of RR, he was filmed playing the Colombian national sport of tejo… a simple game involving explosives. Our travelling companions were keen to find out more and today we were in just the place to do so.

The game is quite simple. Competitors throw heavy metal discs (rather like the old 1lb and 2lb scale weights our grandmothers used to measure ingredients) at a box containing clay. At the centre (target) are placed paper triangles containing gunpowder. If the discs hit the paper triangles with just the right pressure the gunpowder explodes with great noise (particularly from other competitors who were not expecting it).

The health and safety executive would have a field day with this. The activity is held indoors, in ‘lanes’ of about 2m wide and 6m long. There are not any barriers between lanes apart from a table to hold the beers. There is a clay box at each end of the lane, which is used in turn – throw the disc in one direction, then when everyone has thrown, turn around and throw back in the other direction. No other instructions were given, although no doubt each team had its own tactics, not that you would know it.

Twelve of us played. First on the oche (or whatever they call it) was our tactical leader who decided hitting the target was not the way to win and instead hit the concrete ceiling with a rebound nearly taking out the opposition. It was probably one of the best tactics of the day, for it took ages for any of us to get off the starting blocks. Then came a crack and jumps of joy when the first competitor hit the target.

Our lane was not helped by the rain pouring in from the open side of the building. Many of the acclaimed ‘cracks’ I am sure came from the accompanying thunder and lightening. John and I both scored two ‘cracks’ (or hits) each of which we were delighted with (or perhaps astounded would be a better description). By the end of the hour we had run out of fizz and nobody seemed to have a clue who had won, although we were surprised that some locals play this game for six hours at a time.

We also had the opportunity to visit the Los Nevados National Park containing the critically endangered wax palms, Ceroxylon Quindiuense. The plant can grow up to 200ft and is said to be the tallest monocot in the world. The species, however, has not had a good past. Wax is contained within the trunk. In the 19th century this was used to make candles. Harvesting the wax kills the tree. The leaves of the younger specimens were cut for Palm Sunday celebrations, which caused considerable damage. The trunks were also felled to build houses. Although these are protected, recovery is very slow. It is thought that the species may well die out within the next 50 years. Attempts are being made to regenerate the forests helped more by attempts to cultivate and plant rather than waiting for nature to take its course.

The rest of the day was spent looking at some small, but pretty, towns with their colourful buildings.

Day 7 was a travelling day involving a 6.30am start and a 150 mile 9 hour drive to Medellín. Now we know why some people choose to fly. 

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2019

Erratum: Our previous posting Bogotá to Zona Cafetera should have been day 5 and not 6. Blame it on jet lag and high altitude. Our postings are now back on track.