Up Close and Personal with the Juan Curi Waterfalls

"Van para Juan Curi?" the old cowboy next to me asks me, wanting to know if we were going to the waterfall.  He's wearing dress pants and dress shoes as if he is headed to a nice dinner party.  He puts me to shame in my baggy shorts and sweaty shirt.

"Huh?", I respond.

"Van para Juan Curi?", he repeats.

"La cascada?  Si."

The name of the waterfall was something that didn't stick with me.  All I knew was that I was going to some waterfall that was mentioned in passing.  The old vaquero points out the window and I see what he is talking about: falling down from the side of the valley that we are in is a huge waterfall.  The bus driver, knowing where we were going, stops in front of a sign with a huge arrow pointing towards the waterfall that says "Aqui.  Juan Curi."

The waterfalls from a distance

We follow the obvious sign, pay the "park ranger", and off we go.  The ranger lady told us something about going to the right at some point so we stash that bit of information away.  The walk to the falls is a little muddy and slippery due to the afternoon rain that passed through earlier.  Eventually the trail ends and there's no where to go except to the right over some rocks that are surrounded by rushing water.  This must be the right she was talking about.

After following the only easy path across the rocks, we arrive at the first waterfall.  We think it is pretty impressive and accordingly, take many photos of it:

On top we find another set of falls, this one much wider with more cascading.  Much of the rock has been worn down by the water that it feels like we are walking on marble as we cross various sections of the falls to take pictures.

 
Can you spot Kyle in the photo above?

We again spot another ladder, which can be reached by another hanging rope, to get to the top of this set of falls, too.  Why the hell not?  So we climb to the top of these falls and lay our eyes on yet another gorgeous set of waterfalls as we reach the top:

This time there is another waterfall that is backed by another, even larger fall. The fall in the back seems as if the water is coming off the cliff from the top of the surrounding forest.  Just as below, all the rock has been worn smooth, making it relatively easy to walk across the falls at will.  So we do just that.

Bessie crossing the water

Upon crossing the falls again, we see yet another rope beckoning us further.  However, we also hear thunder in the distance and we look at our watches knowing that the last bus passes the entrance in about an hour.  Even though the urge to explore the next level is great, we decide that being stuck in the middle of the Colombian countryside in the rain after dark is probably not a good idea, so we pack it up and head back.

We reach the road at about 5 after 5 and wait for the bus.  True to form, the rain starts and we use Bessie's super-thin sarong for protection (probably shouldn't have left those rain jackets at home, eh?), which goes well for all of five minutes or so.  Twenty minutes pass before the next bus comes by and we practically jump into the road to get it to stop.  It does stop to let us on, and when I get on I realize that we'll be taking the ride back to our hotel soaking wet with a bus full of nuns.  Awesome.
 

Only in Latin America can I go traipsing around waterfalls and share my rides to and fro with cowboys and nuns.