Colombia

[Trópico]

First time over there. There was a lot to see and experience, including many palms.

Linings of Royals in a plaza are a really cool sight. Here I was at La Quinta de San Pedro, where Simon Bolivar died, in a city named Santa Marta, about 5 hours up the coast from Cartagena.

As we travelled towards the Venezuelan border (but still very far away) the weather turned more desert like with many cactuses and super hot.

This was taken on the beach at another location (in Santa Marta) of the same hotel we stayed back in Cartagena. Jamaican Talls.

[Trópico]

Some nice Pritchardia and Adonidias

Adonidias in seed.

[Trópico]

Anyone hungry? Lots of seafood, mainly fish and coconut flavored rice is the typical food along the caribbean coast. Hotel meal, all inclusive!

This is a view of Cartagena de Indias from the Fuerte San Felipe de Barajas

[Jeff Searle]

Beautiful pictures, very lush. And it's nice to see no evidence of lethal yellowing, with palms such as Adonidias and Pritchardias.

[Trópico]

Another view towards the hotel (the tallest, yellowish to the right). Can you spot a few species?

There is a city within the walls, just like at home (PR). This plaza-turned into a jungle had many interesting palms- Royals (regia?) in triples, doubles, and others. A fight for the mortar pic.

[Trópico]

In that plaza I found a Jubaea chilensis (first time I see). Is it really?

The trunk

More to come...

[Zac in NC]

Well in that one shot, I can see Cocos and a Bizmarkia. The last one is really stumping me. Part of me thinks Attalea but that trunk? ? ? ? ?....Could it be an XButiagrus?

Zac

[SubTropicRay]

Frank,

How was the lobster?  It looks tatsty.

Nice photos.

Ray

[Joe palma]

Zac I immediatley thought the same thing in the last pic, that the fronds look Attalea but the trunk sure has the typical J.chilensis look. Probably a cross but one I have never seen.

Great pictures Frank! The plants all look healthy and happy. The seafood looks good too!

Joe

[Eric in Orlando]

Great photos! My girlfriend went this past June, her dad and some family live in Bogota. She went to the botanic garden there and tooks photos of some nice Ceroxylon quindiuense. I want to go next summer.

[Christian_G]

Hi Eric,

your girlfriend probably took photographs of the Ceroxylons shown in the following picture (Ceroxylon quindiuense in the Botanical Garden of Bogota).

by delgiani

BTW, my brother will get married in Bogota in May 2007 ... and I will be there, too!

Here are some more pictures my brother took in Colombia (the first six pictures were taken in Bogota, and picture 3, 4 & 5 show C. quindiuense).

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/344306074UdaQzB

Ciao,

Christian

[DoomsDave]

Wow!

Great palms.

Great cooked sea creatures!  (Better than raw . . . .)

How did that food taste?  How was it seasoned?  I'm always looking for new cuisines to experiment on, when I get tired of torturing the palms in my Death Camp.

dave

[Trópico]

Zac, Joe: I don't know exactly if it is but to my inexperienced eyes it looks like a J. chilensis grown in hot weather. Is it possible?

Here is one more pic of the mistery palm:

Ray, Dave: The Lobster was allright but don't ask me about the octopus... I tried some more at one of the islands we hopped to which was far better, and the sauce really pushed the edge.

That hairy looking "nail" came in really handy to dig up every bit of flesh available, and the edge of the chair (on the boat) helped rip apart the tough shells. I bought that for $10.000 pesos (a little less than 5 bucks). I don't know how it was seasoned, I don't really know how to cook but at one time I attempted to microwave a lobster tail. It stunk bad but was eatable (and surprisingly good).

[Trópico]

Comment if you like

This is the first species I saw growing along the drier coastline. I only got ONE seed, round, about 1.5 cm without flesh. My attempt at id: Copernicia sp? Please help id!

[Zac in NC]

Hmmm, its a shot of the infamous Bigfoot.  I wont even go to the big hand and feet thing. LOL Ooops! I went there didn't I??

I have no clue on the last pic.

Also, that "Jub", I know they hate Florida. Is that on the Caribbean coast? I am still not sure on what exactly it is.

Zac

[Gaston in Argentina]

Tropico.

Nice pics.- Let me remember i was there some years ago. With some folks we decided to travel to there in bus!

Seeing the pictures of the old town and the fort, so nice.-

As said by Zac, your Jubaea is for sure an Attalea specie.- Cannot tell wich one but an Attalea.- It is not a big mistake to confuse both species since (under some point) are simmilar palms.-

Seeing their fruits and seeds is more easiest to check it.-

Attaleas is the most simmilar palm to a Jubaea that can grow in the tropics.- Unfortunately not yet a very promoted into cultivation but any Attaleas are unforgetable monster palm.-

Cheers. Gaston

[PalmsZA]

Guys

Great pics Tropico.

The mystery is ......an African oil palm!!!

Cheers

Dennis

[John]

Miami is the sister city of Cartageny.We have been trading partners For years.Duh! The artist who made the shoes made two pair one pair for Cartageny and one pair for Miami.They are located 3 miles north of FTG,on the Cocaplum Circle.I'm from Miami and know these things!

[amazondk]

Frank,

Great pictures.  Looks like you had an interesting trip.  It has been a long time since I was in Colombia and even longer since I was in Cartagena.  It is a very beautiful country.

dk

[Trópico]

John, I remember our tourist guide did mention that in Miami there is a mirror monument to the old shoes. There are few things that a man likes more than his old shoes. For me it is whether I like something more than my tiny Dypsis sanctaemariae.

Eric, my wife (in the pictures with me) is a Rola as well. Have you tried some nice arepas or buñuelos, or Tamales Tolimenses yet? Brevas with arequipe?

This is a Colombian chiva

This was taken from INSIDE a church, looking at an internal patio. Sorry, pic taken at night trough a fence:

[Trópico]

Interesting palm and heliconia arrangement at the hotel lobby:

and they were also raising their own Pritchardia from seed!

[Kris]

Dear Tropico  

Lovely pictures of colombia and i doubt wheather

i will ever see that country in my life time.thanks for

making my day.

and i often used to comment that this forum has the ability

to appear as a discovery channel or bbc panaroma.

by your photos you have proved me right.

thanks for sharing.

Love,

Kris(India).

[Exotic Life]

Very nice picture's !

[bgl]

Frank,

Thanks for the photos! Very interesting!

Bo-Göran

[Trópico]

Thanks all, and here's more>

A few days into our vacation we took a 1 hour boat ride to Islas del Rosario, just west of Cartagena.

Parts of Cartagena are fortified with spanish walls. This is located at one of two mouths leading to the bay, and with another battery at the opposite end formed a crossfire location to prevent enemy boats from entering into the bay. Here stands sentinel a nice skinny Cocos palm. I noticed most Cocos and pritchardias in the street had evidence of heavy salt spray or dryness in the older leaves.

We arrived at Isla del Pirata (Pirate's Island) which is privately owned by the hotel and slightly bigger than the one pictured in the distance. Tiny and had everything you need for your little paradise: a bar, a dining area, natural pools, hammocks, a sand volleyball court, a mini-jungle with lots of palms, and a tiny hotel.

[deezpalms]

Great photo's!! Thanxx alot!!

[Norm]

Many thanks for posting your photographs!  

I really like the one of the Cartegena battlements, the curling surf, and the lone Cocos.  Nice job.

I notice the ring of bouys where you were swimming by the slide.  Is snorkeling discouraged there?

[Trópico]

Norm, the buoys were just demarcating swimming areas. To the left there is a small pier where our boat was anchored to. Snorkeling is allowed and there are snorkeling tours that go across those reefs. To the right there is an outcrop of reef with a mermaid sculpture where snorkelers go and look. Some locals make some cash by renting snorkeling equipment as well.

We didn't snorkel but still saw some nice baby colorful crabs going about.

We instead went for the tour to another island with an aquarium on it. Worth it!

This is a typical view on the way there:

[Trópico]

And this is part of the show that the girls on wetsuit put for us

I was lucky to see this toucan eating sea grapes while standing and staring at the foliage

[Trópico]

Some of the plants at Isla del Pirata. I was impressed by the Jamaican talls, non trunking and still WAY higher than me!

[Gileno Machado]

Very nice pictures from a lovely place Frank.

Tiny tropical islands have always fascinated me, so I wouldn't mind staying at that pirates resort for some time...

I've heard that Cartagena was the only town of the Americas that was built totally fortified and protected. Has it ever been invaded? Recife/Olinda had just a few coastal forts and fell to a large dutch invasion in 1630 that lasted for 24 years...

[DoomsDave]

Hmm.

Comment . . . .

Looks like Shaq O'Neill's bronzed baby shoes.

dave

[Kamipalms]

Great shots there Frank, looks like a wonderful place. Not what I imagined Colombia to be.

Did you bring home any goodies?

Thanks for sharing.

Jason.

[Trópico]

Gileno - Here is a map of the fortified locations across the Caribbean. San Juan, Puerto Rico is amazingly similar to Cartagena and heavily fortified as well. The Cartagena fortifications were built to protect the city from English,  Dutch and French pirates. Cartagena fell to the attack of French pirate Roberto Baal, Sir Francis Drake, and was able to resist the besiege of John Hawkins. San Juan was attacked many times as well, including by Francis Drake as well, but only fell to Earl of Cumberland, and to the Dutch in 1625 too.

Jay - I brought back just a handful of seeds, one from the palm in post #14 (which is??), a few Licualas, Copernicias, and two fruit species (Curuba, Pitaya). Most other palms were not seeding (or I already have). Also my schedule and the fact I wasn't driving.