Beach

Today I am taking a departure from my usual sandy path, a trip inland somewhere far, far away. Because today’s post is not so much a beach as it is a river. And it is not so much just a river as it is “the most beautiful river in the world,” also known as “the river of five colors,” or even more poetic, “the river that ran away to the world.” With monikers such as these, how can I not write about Caño Cristales?

Count the colors. http://www.flickr.com/photos/10162032@N03/952959556/

I have been slightly bewitched ever since I first saw photos of Caño Cristales a few days ago. And now I must add this river to my list of Places I Must See Before I Die or Get Too Lazy to Travel, although apparently I need to plan accordingly. Because Caño Cristales is not always worthy of a poetic name. For most of the year it is just a regular old river with maybe some pretty green moss covered rocks and water that is at times dark blue. Nice, but not worthy of around the world or me pining.

This is algae? http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaytaria/3769825917/

Located in La Macarena National and Ecological Reserve Park, Caño Cristales is about 100km in length. During Colombia’s rainy season, the water flows fast and deep as rivers are wont to do. The bottom of the river is obscured from the sun, denying the myriad of mosses light. And during the dry season the river is not quite deep enough; the lack of water unable to support the growth of algae. But during a magical period between the wet and dry seasons, when the water level is just right, the many varieties of algae and moss bloom in a dazzling display of colors: blotches of fuschia, dabs of yellow, swaths of green, bright blue, black, red, all set off by dramatic waterfalls and lazy watering holes.

Rainbow river complete with waterfalls. http://www.flickr.com/photos/fredygomez/3537191787/

There is something other-wordly about these photos, about this place. A cross between fantasy and reality, I half expect to see a unicorn grazing at the bank of this river, “the river that ran away to the world.”