Journey to the Indigenous tribes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains Colombia July 2013

The journey to the Sierra Nevada mountains is costly, arduous and takes a full day to get there from her home. Nelly has done this journey several times, sometimes twice a year at her own cost and in her own time while holding down a full time professional job. She sometimes stays for long periods of time and lives as the tribes live, which I can tell you is hard for someone not used to living under such basic living conditions.

During her time there she takes much needed provisions and carries out any training and medical help that she is capable of doing. She is loved and well respected by members of the tribes and because of Nelly that I was giving the privilege of living among them for a few days with their consent to photograph them in their own environment.

So, the time had come to begin this new adventure and meet the indigenous tribes. I never could have imagined how difficult it was just to get there.

We started at 4.30 am on Thursday 18th July with a 3 hour taxi drive to Bogota airport where we flew to Bucaramanga airport where we were met and taken to to the house of Nellys sister, Miriams, house for a wonderful couple of days in their lovely town of Zapatoca.

This was a very enjoyable interruption to our journey after which we flew back to Bogota to proceed to the mountains as planned.

We then flew to Barranquilla having been joined by Sue our interpreter, took a half hour taxi ride to the bus station where we had a 5 hour ride to Valledupar. We had to stay in a hotel overnight because we were to too late to catch our connection to the final leg of our journey to the encampments.
Next morning, another taxi to catch another taxi for a 1 ½ hour drive to Pueblo Bella, a town on the edge of the mountains, where we were picked by a 4x4 jeep driven by a 17 year old indigenous young man.

I had better explain that during all these journeys of flights, taxis, buses and jeeps there were myself, Nelly, Sue, Nellys dog with travelling cage, all our private luggage and a mountain of presents and aid collected by Nelly over the previous few months. See picture of Nelly and her luggage.

Our final leg of our journey in the jeep was a 3 hour trek up into the mountains on the most horrendous roads I have ever seen. I have to say that our young driver was absolutely brilliant and got us there safely.

We were met by Anita and three of her children and she arranged for help to take our luggage to our living accommodation for our stay in the house of the main chief of the Arhuaco tribe. We were very privileged to be allowed to stay in his house and this was because Nelly was considered to be an honorary member of the tribe.

Watch this space for further details of my three days adventure.



I have written this as an introduction to an article written by Nelly Maria Osma Rojas of Colombia about the lives and principles of the indigenous tribes of the Sierra Nevada mountains of Colombia.
It is hoped that these articles will help to convey an understanding of the problems of these tribes to a much wider audience.



Tom Cook, Photographer :- email : cookthomas.cook3@gmail.com

Toms travel blog : www.tom-cook-travels.blogspot.co.uk
Thomas Cook Photo Art : www.thomascookphotoart.com