Drinking in The Beauty of Paradise

Rio Claro is a nature preserve in the jungle of Colombia between Medellin and Bogota. The "hotel" inside the park offers open air rooms and is an all inclusive, meaning breakfast, lunch and dinner are all included in the price and served in the main common area...also open air. Probably a good idea to stock up on bug spray. They tout "no alcohol" on the website so of course Jesse and I had some math to do. How many bottles of wine do you smuggle into a place you will be staying at for 4 days?

After a long bus ride from Guatape, we were dropped at the front gates to the park. It was humid and hot as we stood in the sun and tried to understand how everything worked. Wait, what do you mean there is no transportation to the "hotel"? What do you mean we have to hike all the way in with our 3 enormous duffel bags and 3 horribly heavy backpacks? F#@k, why did we pack so much wine?

Loaded down with bags strapped to every angle of our bodies, we headed down the dirt road into the jungle; sweat poured ferociously down my face, burning my eyes. Parts of my body that I didn't even know could sweat, were sweating. The weight of the luggage made every step difficult and soon, our son was in tears. I could completely empathize with his pain and took his backpack and added it to my load. Now I was afraid I'd have permanent back damage as my spine roared in pain.  Dad, always a champ, was carrying the heaviest of the duffel bags and his backpack...packed with bottles of wine. The air smelled of musk and wild, exotic flowers and the sights and sounds let us know that the real adventure had just begun.

We arrived at the check in, a grueling several mile hike done and thankfully gulped cold water. My head pulsed with each racing heartbeat, my body feeling oddly light after dropping the pile of bags dramatically to the ground. I panted heavily and moaned. It was a lovely scene I had created.

We had paid extra so that we could have a "fully open" room, one that would allow us to be a part of the jungle even while in bed. Because the room was so special, it was located at the end of the nearly mile long path. This path lead us up hill on a cobblestone like path. I say cobblestone "like" because cobblestones are usually rounded and these were more a collection of random, sharp edged rocks stuck in cement. After loading the bags back on our screaming bodies, we took on the last hike to our room. Just when I thought I could make it no further, we came to the step climbing portion of hell. Oddly enormous stairs loomed before us, each one making my legs violently shake under the weight of the bags. I wondered if it would be easier to drop and roll onto each step, but the sharp rocks seemed even more painful should they jab my ribs, as it was the wobble of my ankle (the newly recovering one) and the pain of my feet almost made me cry. So far this part of the vacation was awesome.

I do have to say that even in misery, this place was insanely gorgeous. Colombia just kept besting itself! As the name suggests, the focus is Rio Claro, the crystal clear river that the jungle hugs and the summer camp like lodge sits beside. The walk to our room was a challenge, but it meandered through some of the most stunning scenery you can imagine. Actually that you CAN'T imagine, it was that amazing, even your imagination won't allow you to conceive of such a place. Our room did not disappoint either. We opened the door to a dream like tree-house. The mosquito netting was tied charmingly up above the beds and the bamboo railing on 2 sides of the room let you be 100% a part of the tall jungle trees; the river bubbling far below us. There was a quaint table and chairs nestled into the far end of the room and the shower actually had hot water...sometimes...when there was water. Toucans squawked and monkeys screeched while brightly colored song birds sat at an arm's length away. We blinked wide eyed at the glory of this magical place unable to put what we were seeing into words, we each simply muttered "wow". The incredible room deserved a glass of wine, the view deserved a bottle.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.VivacWinery.com