Climbing at La Mojarra

As we sped along the winding road, swerving and breaking to avoid the larger potholes and heaved asphalt, I was happy to see the clouds begin to break.  The higher we climbed, the clearer it became until we had left the rain I rode through all night far behind us in the valley.  Up near the top of the rolling mountains the ground was dry and it appeared untouched by the steady drizzle that continued below.  Happy to see the sun shining, I was getting more and more excited about climbing and couldn't wait to arrive.  However, my host gently informed me that we wouldn't be on the rocks until after noon when the sun rose high enough not to roast you alive on the sheer cliff face.  Considering I had barely slept all night, I was not much bothered by the prospect of a slow day and continued to stare out the window, occasionally asking, "what's that?"

Just as we came down the far side of the hill we'd been steadily driving up, we turned off onto a dirt road and rolled slowly over the permanent water troughs that spider webbed across the lane.  Just after passing a large open air barn filled with Phillip Morris tobacco on it's way to become dry, we turned into the driveway of a lovely looking home.  I had been told we'd be staying at a hostel, but what that really meant was we'd be staying at a friend's home who happened to have built a few extra rooms to rent out to climbers.  We greeted a trio of European travelers lounging in hammocks strung up on the porch before taking short path to the back of the house.  There I was excited to see a couple outdoor showers with pretty little planters full of flowers and big tanks of rain water balanced above.  I was introduced to J's girlfriend, E and another young climber from Medellin, C, who had both driven up early Friday with J.  Then I was ushered into a small building in which I was mildly surprised to discover 3 tents set up.  J pointed one out, telling me that would by my spot for the weekend.  Peeking inside, I was pleased to discover a mattress all made up and looking incredibly inviting.  Asking to be woken up when everyone was ready to climb, I was more than happy to lay down and take a short nap at the end of a very long journey.

I do have to say, the tents are quite an ingenious little set up...everyone get's their own privacy, you don't have to build any beds, and if you want to use the room for anything else, you just pack up camp!  Oh, and of course I have to mention the bottle windows. That green strip in the corner is layers of bottles stacked neck to neck in between parallel poles of bamboo. =)  The clear windows were pretty sweet too, they were all salvaged from vending machines and a couple still had the coke bottle handles welded on.  With all this, and good weather to boot, I knew I'd come to the right place!

Less than an hour after laying down, I woke up and was far to excited to stay in bed.  Just as I was emerging from my bed/tent/room, E walked up on her way to wake me.  It was time to go climbing!!  I splashed some cold water on my face, emptied all unnecessary items from my backpack and skipped up to the main house.  Setting out on foot we ambled down the road, stopped to buy some snacks at the tiny corner store (that I predict will become a booming restaurant/bar in coming years), and came to the edge of a stunningly beautiful valley.  Since it was a hazy day by this point, the pictures don't do it justice, but trust me, this place is amazing.

As we wound our way down the steep slope on a muddy track, I found myself stopping every few minutes so I could look up and enjoy the view.  On the right were blocky red cliffs crowned by green brush, to the left was a deep valley dotted by country homes, generally no bigger than a single room, and ahead was a sweeping vista where the mountains rose to the descending clouds. 

Pretty sure I was falling in love with this country, and I hadn't even started climbing yet!

We marched along heading for the far end of the rocks, passing line after line of bolts glittering on the wall.  We also passed 2 other groups of climbers, both of whom were just starting to up pack and gear up.  On our way to what I would only assume were greener pastures, we pushed through the heavy growth all along the path, occasionally bending to use both hands and feet on the the steeper sections.  Just as I was wishing someone had had the foresight to bring a machete with them to keep back the untamed brush, we rounded a bend and I stopped short.  In front of me was the last thing I had expected...a GIANT cactus!

Apparently, despite the lush green surroundings, we were actually in a very 'arid' portion of the country.  I think maybe they've got a a different definition for that word here....

Despite the rather unnerving combination of prickly pear cactus and banana trees, the real attraction were the rocks.  Smoothed out and shaped by the rain into formations reminiscent of Joshua Tree in some sections, but slick and blocky with the flat holds and 90 degree cracks of quarry stone, there was quite a variety to choose from.  Not having any notion of what was what, I let my partners make their choice and opted to belay first so I could get an idea of what I was up against. 

I didn't ask what grade J had picked for our warm up until after the fact, but greatly enjoyed the challenging 5.10 that he sent us up.  This particular route didn't require very much technique, but was quite muscle intensive.  Apparently that's fairly common on the blockier portions, as I found out later.  I had no problem making most of the moves, even on the 11s we tried later, but doing them without taking breaks in between was nearly impossible.  Definitely gonna have to work on my endurance if I want to keep up with the climbers here!

Much to my delight, all three of the folks I was with turned out to be incredibly strong climbers and we spent both our days climbing hard 10s and 11s.  I think the ratings might be just a little softer than I'm used to, but I'm still feeling pretty good that I was able to lead 11s and even followed a very tricky 12 on our second day out. Not that any of that was done particularly cleanly, but hey.  It still felt good. 

In any case, we all messed around on some good hard routes for a couple hours before hiking over to a steep overhang where C and I took a break with E belayed J on an amazing looking 5.13b.  That dude is strong!

5.13b (note the enormous cactus too!)

When J had had his fill of falling, we all worked on an 11, but running on very little sleep, I didn't have it in me to finish that and eventually gave up and took a short nap instead.  On our way out, having stocked up a little more energy, we stopped and I got to lead a fun, easy route on some of the sandstone-style bulbs that show up on the more windward portions of the cliff.

Back up at the road, we stopped for a beer at the little corner store, and sat around on the porch chatting before heading back to the hostel.  At the store, I had asked whether there was any food where we were staying, and had been assured I wouldn't go hungry, but I couldn't have dreamed up the reality that awaited us.  As soon as we had laid down our packs, our lovely hostess dished up heaping trays of deliciously spiced chicken, pasta with cream sauce, pipping hot potato soup, a salad complete with mango and apples, all washed down with freshly squeezed 'tree tomato' juice.  I was pretty sure I'd died and gone to heaven. 

As my three companions and our 3 new European friends filled our bellies around the heavy wooden table of our cozy little weekend home, the lively Spanish lady of the traveling trio kept up a fantastic stream of stories, anecdotes and political satire.  I was too tired to comprehend much of what was said, but I was more than happy to enjoy the atmosphere before stumbling off to bed.

The next day dawned cold and cloudy with a slight drizzle, but by the time we were ready to go, the skies had begun to clear, and we all enjoyed a fantastic day.  Being Sunday of a 3 day weekend, there were quite a few more people out, many of whom were foreigners.  However, the appearance of a traveling photographer for Rock and Ice magazine seemed to draw quite a few of the country's stronger climbers.  After tackling several hard routes myself, we were all treated to some amazing demonstrations of ability as at least 3 of the other people there hopped on the hardest routes around, posing heroically for the money shots. 

That night was filled with drinks on the porch with a lively mix of travelers and relative locals (no one actually lives at La Mojarra, but several were stationed in Bucaramanga, just a few hours away).  After another scrumptious meal of squash soup, chicken fried rice and local pineapples, we all settled down and watched a Colombian film, Los Viajes del Viento (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tli4nSO4hIA if you want a preview).  The storyline followed a traveling musician on his search for his master, but that wasn't really what the film was about.  Moving at the pace of village life, every scene was filled with breathtaking cinematography, capturing some of what must be the most incredibly beautiful parts of a phenomenally gorgeous country.  Although I didn't quite make it to the end before exhaustion sent me to my bed, the experience nonetheless quite riveting. 

The following morning, we woke up early, were fed an fantastic meal of egg drop soup, home made empeñadas, scrambled eggs and fresh fruit.  Tempted to stay longer, but needing to get on the road for our 10hr journey home, we paid our dues, said our goodbyes and all piled into J's tiny little car. 

I think I'll save the trip back for another entry as I wouldn't want to rush it.
Goodnight for now.