Everything is said in the publication I attach - CHRONICLE 1 DEL GUAVIARE – March, 2,024 INTRODUCTION Happy to have known another beautiful region of this paradise that touched us in luck I start these chronicles about this my first trip to the department of Guaviare, giant region of this Colombia that we are only now discovering, of our history, of our identities, in this beauty of territory. I say “first trip” because I have decided that I will return as soon as I can, as the current conditions allow it and of course I wish to continue to learn about this other Colombia, which seems another world, for those who have always lived in large cities of our mountain ranges. I like to leave a personal testimony of these Trips to, after time, relive magical moments, feelings previously felt, that I will carry forever with me. So I can come back as many times as I want. My concerns for the “other Colombia”, rurality, the countryside, its inhabitants, their knowledge and the limitations of a system that has kept it unforgivable compared to the inhabitants of the capital cities, stem from my childhood, when at the end of school periods the family always moved to the countryside, to the estates. Thus we had the opportunity to breathe the air of that other Colombia, different, genuine, elementary and wise, which taught me so many things about the peasant soul. On a SATENA plane I embarked very early on the freezing morning of this Bogota Sheet, on a Monday Easter, full of expectations and illusions, yearning for the warm weather of my destination in San José. Unfortunately for the air conditioning of the plane, I was shaking the whole flight, which became eternal for, although I asked the flight attendant to please lower the temperature of the plane, I think, on the contrary, it raised it. So I got half frozen at San Jose airport. And everything was different there. We identify with other travelers from ECOGLOBAL, our tourism agency. That immense plain welcomed us with a warm air, which I felt like a loving embrace in a city where everything was then an enigma for me. In this little end of summer, a very pleasant, mildly warm climate presents itself. Our hotel found it just across the street from the airport and we were greeted by our Guide Nevio, from GEOTOURS DEL GUAVIARE, agency of the area, who, was our guardian angel in this beautiful adventure. I begin by recounting what I knew about why the name of St. Joseph. A widespread version says that its foundation is due to the arrival of a friar who toured the southern part of the plain arrived at this site in 1910, on March 19, the date of the saint according to the Catholic calendar. This is not the first time I have come to this southern half of Colombia. I have visited Leticia, Puerto Nariño (in the south-south), much of the Llanos Orientales (Meta and Vichada), the now department of Guainía and have been postponing knowing Putumayo and the Guaviare, which I now start with this first trip. As for the Guaviare department, I have learned that it has undergone many changes in its dependence on the national authorities. I mean, in its beginnings, when the so-called “Conquest” by the Spanish Empire, the Guaviare was part of the Province of Popayan. It was then attached to the department of Boyacá (time of Gran Colombia), and later part of the Caquetá, which in turn became the then Special Commissariat of Vaupés. Later, the Commissariat of Guaviare was created, with the capital that continues today, in San José del Guaviare. Finally, the 1991 Constitution designated Guaviare as a department. And what does GUAVIARE mean? I have read that the word Guaviare comes from the indigenous language GUAYUPE and that it refers to the Guaviare River, an important tributary of the Orinoco River that delimits the regions of the Colombian Amazon and Orinoquia. Rereading the accounts of Alfredo Molano in his book “Selva Adentro” (which I will quote several times in these notes) and of Sandra Bermúdez in an article written in 2,017, “The colonization of this part of Colombia was marked by several historical stages; the first, from 1920 to 1950 was generated by the rise of the extraction of quina, tigrillos, rubber and wood; the second, from 1966, was the result of political violence in Colombia, which led to large displacements of peasants.” It should be noted that a new wave of migration occurred around 1968 for political reasons. Finally, in the 80s of the 20th century, coca cultivation boomed, which attracted many settlers, to which I will devote a special section of these travel notes. I learned then that Guaviare has “...ten indigenous reservations, inhabited by Sikuani, Tucano, Desano, Cubo, Puinave piratapuyo, Curripaco, Guayabero and Nukak families (nomadic community officially contacted only in 1988). All indigenous reserves cover 60% of municipal jurisdiction; the Nukak Reserve alone has 954,480 hectares of which it shares 44,900 with the neighbouring municipality of Retorno and covers 56% of the municipality’s area.” In one of the activities programmed by Geotours, we attended as a group an indigenous dance and a delicious typical meal of cachama, grilled in a rather special way, experience that also merits a special section later. Getting into the matter, I note that this beautiful territory is made up of mountains, lagoons, natural jumps, rock formations, rivers (or narrow rivers), cave paintings and even dunes of arid lands, as well as thousands of species of fauna and flora. A wealth that we are only now beginning to appreciate. Later I will have the opportunity to refer to “La Serranía de la Lindosa”, “La Ciudad de Piedra”, “Los raudales del Guayabero”, “Los Puentes Naturales”, “Los Tuneles”, “La lagoon negra” and “La Pueta de Orión”, places we visited with wonder and emotion, always with the good spirit and joy of our Guide and that wonderful group of travelers with whom I had the good fortune to share this unforgettable week. AND OUR HAPPY GROUP It would seem that our Group, this human core of ten people (Nine Hikers and our Guide who fully integrated with all of us) people, had traveled together other times, many other Trips experiences, because the atmosphere was always one of camaraderie, positive comments, laughter and sweats from the hikes, as well as jokes, leaving unfortunately many other experiences and experiences to be related. (In this photo with two more tourists and another Guide) Strictly summarizing part of the history of this beautiful region I learned that Catholic church activity in these Guaviare lands was important. It dates back to the mid-17th century when the Jesuits and Carmelites made a presence in this region with the idea of evangelizing indigenous peoples across the Black River, along the Vaupés River. And another from the northern part, with the first missions in the Eastern Plains. It was already in the 18th century that Franciscan missions came to the area to evangelize and support some indigenous groups. Known accounts tell that in the upper vegas of the rivers of the region, lived peoples of the Guahibo (Guayaberos and Sikuani) and Tucano linguistic families, who lived by hunting, fishing and horticulture. It was recently known that the interior of the forest has been populated for centuries by the Nukak-Maku. It is said that the Guayaberos, a semi-nomadic tribe, settled on the banks of the rivers fleeing those who practiced the “guahibadas” (hunts for indigenous people that ended in massacres and occurred well into the twentieth century. As for the important phenomenon of colonization coming from within this region, those who initially occupied the territory were: 1. Those fleeing bipartisan violence (Hates between liberals and conservatives) penetrate the Guayabero River down the mountain range, from the Cundiboyacense highlands. 2. Peasants in search of land, entering through the Ariari. 3. Those who benefited from the government's wasteland colonization programme. 4. Finally, the bonanza settlers were introduced and I hope to give a brief account of their role in the history of our country. Of thankless remembrance throughout this territory was “La caucaría” that initially introduced the trade, as it required the permanent maintenance of goods of use that became objects of payment for indigenous work. Of particular note in the area was the role played by the multinational Rubber Development Company, which operated rubber and represented a major shift in the transition from a subsistence to a market economy. It was created to provide the indispensable rubber required by the Allied army participating in the Second World War With this introduction I am prepared to begin the story of the adventure of the following days. Note about the photographs in this chronicle. Some photos included in this chronicle (the best) come from different participants in the chat we had in the group. Especially valuable are those of our friend Juan @juanimagen.

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