DISCLAIMER: This is a real-life story, nothing more, nothing less. Just like when sharing a previous, relatively scary experience about a car burning out next to us in a remote area of the Baja Peninsula, Mexico, a year ago, I’m not looking for sympathy, concerns, warnings, or criticism. Also, like the previous story, this one has a good ending. Bad things happen everywhere. We are aware of that and realistic about it. In the twenty years of being nomads, this was the very first time we felt unsafe. And we do not blame it on Colombia or its people.
(As always, hover over or click on photos in galleries to read their captions.)
The Setting: Gramalote Viejo, Norte de Santander
After spending about a week in Playa de Belen in the department of Norte de Santander, Mark, Maya, and I drove many hours into the mountains, up and over terrible roads consisting of rocks, gravel, bumps, and potholes to reach Gramalote Viejo in time for Christmas. Our friends Sheri and Jeff had already arrived in their truck camper. They drive faster and had less errands to run.
We parked by the spooky remains of a church, on cracked pavement with weeds poking through. Next to us sat the ruins of a town square and a dilapidated gazebo we repurposed as our happy hour patio.
A peek behind the slanted, still existing church façade revealed old crypts with human bones, most of the cubby holes plundered. Vegetation had taken over the church property and an eerie atmosphere lingered.
During the day, visitors from all over Colombia – including influencers – swung by for a visit and photo ops. At night, it was dead quiet. Just what we craved. A five-minute walk uphill brought us to what was left of this once flourishing village. About twenty families still live here in the houses that didn’t collapse. We were welcomed into town with smiles and bought supplies.
The History
In December 2010, during the Christmas period, heavy rains and subsequent flooding caused the ground in Gramalote to shift, culminating in a landslide and fissures in the soil that “swallowed” everything above. Houses and the church collapsed, leaving most of the town in ruins. The inhabitants were displaced and sought shelter with family members, mostly in Cucuta, on the Venezuelan border. The government promised to build a new town for the population but it took another five years, before Gramalote Nuevo was created, 30 minutes further uphill. Some of the locals returned to Gramalote Viejo, or stayed.
The Reason
Why did we decide – and drag our friends – to this remote place in the mountains that tourists and most Colombians have never heard of? The answer is simple: Maya. After weeks of daily fireworks, bottle rockets, and firecrackers, we were desperately looking for a quiet place over the holidays, without explosive sounds that stressed her – and therefore us – out. What better location than an abandoned town? We only discovered that people actually still lived there – and enjoyed fireworks – when we arrived. But it was relatively quiet all Colombian towns considered!
Due Diligence
Before we left Playa de Belen, I inquired about Gramalote at the police station. I talked to an officer and some townspeople about camping in Viejo. They deemed it harmless enough. Upon arrival, we chatted to a local, who confirmed this square by the church was safe. As a matter of fact, another overlander had just spent two weeks at this exact spot! That sounded like music to our ears, since Mark and I had hoped to hide here until well into the new year. Sheri and Jeff would only stay a few days. And, we knew from our iOverlander app that other campers had spent time here without issues.
Christmas Eve
Both truck campers were parked nose to nose in front of the church, after one uneventful night, which was relatively pleasant with only a few pops, and one day, on which we explored the area. Every few hours, we heard firecrackers, so Maya mostly hid inside Thirsty Bella – we didn’t want her to run off somewhere unknown. She’d shiver behind our pillows or in the bathroom, an occurrence that lasted many hours a day.
Our human group had happy hour in the slanted, covered gazebo and moved to the back of Sheri and Jeff’s RV for dinner, which they cooked. It was 7pm and pitch black by then. We used flashlights and outdoor camper lights to brighten the surroundings. Mark had found a candle near the church and kept that lit; it was a spooky but photogenic scene.
Happy hour in the gazebo
At some point, Sheri went inside to do dishes. Mark and I returned to Bella to check on Maya. Mark stayed inside to clean up our kitchen. As I walked back to our friends, someone tall grabbed me from behind, with an arm around my neck and an object I couldn’t see pointed at my throat. He yelled at Jeff to “get on the ground” – and apparently at me to do the same. I first had no clue what was going on and sternly yelled “Que pasa?” a few times.
Our friends noticed this scene (and Jeff had spotted another fully masked guy with a weapon in the shadows) and locked themselves inside their camper. Jeff needed to regroup in safety, mumbling “I know” to Sheri’s panicked “Liesbet has a knife against her throat! We can’t leave her there!”
I pushed the arm away and was about to call for my husband, when he came outside, hearing the commotion. He never saw anything strange or scary. My attacker vanished into the darkness. Mark and I rushed back to our camper to hide inside. Suddenly, we were confronted with the two fully masked banditos, only their eyes showing, at the back of Thirsty Bella. One wielded a machete, but the other didn’t show any weapons. The pair had visibly backed off and chilled down. So, I stayed outside and engaged in a conversation, trying to figure out what was going on; what they wanted.
Soon after Mark and I returned to Bella – me standing outside, Mark sitting on the steps, an axe within reach, and Maya shivering in the bathroom (she was of no use whatsoever and the criminals never even knew she was there) – Jeff joined us with a retractable baton, hidden behind one hand.
For the next twenty minutes or so (it might have been longer), my attacker wrote stuff down on a piece of paper and handed it to me. I passed it on to Mark, who used Google Translate. They kept yelling, “No lights! No photos! No guns!” And they seemed to fear our guys, since they didn’t know which kinds of weapons we had. I promised no photos were being taken.
The paper went back and forth. More yelling, “No photos!” They knew that Mark had actually taken – and deleted – a photo of them. (I had no idea.) Machete Guy wanted the phone, but we managed to hold onto it and Tall Guy located the photo in the trash folder and deleted it. He knew exactly how to handle a smartphone that was programmed in English. Then, they thought Sheri was taking photos from inside her camper. Jeff showed the pair his phone: no worries!
We resumed our “negotiations.” The bottom line was that they claimed to be protecting tourists and they wanted money for that. Right… Protecting by attacking and robbing? I ignored this and pretended I didn’t understand what they wanted, to stall them. Eventually, I kept repeating “So, we are all good then?” and they left, with the piece of paper. They didn’t want to leave anything to be identified with.
In the meantime, Sheri, who hid in her camper the entire time, had texted a mutual Colombian friend of ours (an educated English-speaker), Fabio, who called the police. Our group discussed what to do next. Mark and I didn’t want to drive at night on these terrible, unsafe roads, but our friends preferred to leave.
Mark and I – with flashlights and a tad shaken and on edge – walked up to town and found a family that wasn’t partying for Christmas Eve and had the door open. We’d left Maya at home. I told them what had happened in Spanish. They felt bad but were happy nothing got taken from us, and that we were adamant about not paying anything. We exchanged WhatsApp numbers, they invited us to park near their home for safety (too narrow and low-hanging wires to get there), and asked us to let them know if anything else happened.
We returned to the campers. Sheri told us that the cops would arrive. Maybe we could spend one more night here, under police surveillance? We sat outside and chatted, the exhilaration slowly wearing off.
After the event, we had to get ready to leave
The Police Escort
Two motorcycles with four police men arrived half an hour later and I relayed our scary experience. Leaving seemed the only option. The cops couldn’t stay to supervise and recommended us to follow them.
We packed up and they escorted us down the awful, potholed, dirt road in the dark, to their town, Gramalote Nuevo. This was a slow, bumpy, and nauseous descend and then ascend. We arrived at a clean and paved town center abuzz with people, lights, and music.
The officers showed us where to park, a sloped area across from the police station. It was too unlevel to even try to drive onto boards. The front of the camper was eight inches higher than the back and one side was four inches off! We were too exhausted to deal with anything else. It was after 10pm when we got settled.
The commandante swung by to listen to our story as well. Once more, I tried to explain the events in Spanish. Mark grabbed my neck to demonstrate, a move I didn’t appreciate. Not this soon after the actual assault!
The four of us sat outside in our chairs and had another drink. It was Christmas Eve after all! Music was blasting nearby, at the square. People passed by and stared. Around midnight, we went to bed and more chaos and madness ensued. In addition to the thumping music, fireworks sounded the entire night, constantly! Our worst nightmare and the exact thing we had tried to avoid! It was ironic. It was insane. It was hell. And I was mad at the intruders for ruining our upcoming days and nights.
The Move
The following morning, we decided to move to a campground on the edge of town. Two police motorcycles escorted us again, through town and to the top of an outcrop overlooking Gramalote Nuevo. Camping Culumpoles would become our home for a couple of days. We managed to have a decent Christmas Day with a pancake brunch, a lovely grilled dinner, tasty adult beverages, and good friends.
We had been received with open arms by the campground employees and owners and joined the families before and after our own dinner. Mark and I took Maya for a walk in the hills one day and found a nice lake to just sit in peace for an hour or so. Maya loved it!
The People of Gramalote Nuevo
From the moment we arrived at the campground, everyone we met was extremely friendly and hospitable. And curious. International tourists are absent here. Employee Divier and his father, Olsman, took us under their wings, trying to make up for what had happened on Christmas Eve. They were determined to have us leave with positive feelings towards the Colombian people and the place they call home. They succeeded.
Posing with new friends in front of Sheri and Jeff’s truck camper
The day after Christmas, Olsman took the guys on a free tour of a nearby coffee plantation. (Sheri and I don’t drink coffee and preferred some me-time.) Again, as the only gringos, Jeff and Mark became the main attraction. Our host also brought us arepas for breakfast one day and avocados from his finca. We had many entertaining, informative, and rewarding conversations in Spanish and departed as grateful friends!
On the morning we packed up and left the campground, we followed Olsman to his house, where he let us fill up our water tanks with potable water from a spigot. The entire neighborhood gathered for this scene! Right before we headed out, he gave Jeff and Mark a Colombian hat from his collection as a parting gift, hoping we’d return one day. If so, he and Divier would take us to their finca (farm) in the mountains, a place only accessible by horse.
Then, after we got a tour of their humble home, hugged the entire family goodbye, and took more photos, father and son escorted us out of town on their motorcycles, smiling, waving, and honking!
Curious about a previous ten-year chapter in our nomadic lives, which includes eight years aboard a 35-foot sailboat in the tropics with dogs, check out my compelling, inspiring, and refreshingly honest travel memoir:
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March 5, 2023 at 15:49
So sorry this happened to you! It’s amazing you were able to keep calm. I’m so glad no one got hurt.
The note thing was interesting. It sounds like they didn’t have the attack very well planned. I wonder if it was spontaneous or if this is how they usually operate. I’m sure the calm way you handled things threw them off guard – and insisting that everything was good.
Despite the bumpy road, it think it was a good idea to get out of there – especially since you had an escort.
What nice people at the campground. Love those hats!
And love the church ruins.
March 5, 2023 at 16:29
At first, the guys tried to tell us what they wanted, but we didn’t understand. That’s when they asked for a pen and piece of paper and the main guy started writing explanations and requests, a sentence at a time. It all took a while, so I’m sure they were starting to feel antsy about being discovered.
You might be right that this was not planned out well. Or, they assumed we would just give in and do as we were told. Maybe one of them drove by on a motorcycle during the day and saw an opportunity to rob us at night. Christmas is the time when robberies happen most often, something we didn’t realize. The kicker is – which I didn’t write in the post – that the police as well as our new friends seemed to know who the two were based on our descriptions…
We wish we had a photo. Mark tried to retrieve the one he took in vain. And, just that night, Jeff had turned his car cam off. Otherwise, he would have recorded the whole event, as his car was faced that way!
March 5, 2023 at 17:35
Scary! So glad all went well in the end.
March 6, 2023 at 06:45
Yes, I guess we got lucky or – subconsciously – did all the “right” things.
March 5, 2023 at 18:11
Oh, my gosh! I’ve never had anything that scary happen to me. What a strange incident! It certainly is ironic that when you were trying to find a quiet and peaceful spot that all of this drama unfolded.
March 6, 2023 at 06:49
Hi Pete,
Sometimes, the harder you try something, the more it fails, like in the case of finding peace for Maya. Another reason to “go with the flow” more often.
For many weeks, I didn’t let the thought “what if” enter my mind, regarding the attack and the knife to my throat. Blocking this out, helped, and I can say that I don’t have any trauma. My friend Sheri, who witnessed the scene, did have nightmares for a while.
It is quite impressive, though, that it took over twenty years of roaming the world before my first (attempted) robbery. We sure we glad to not be by ourselves that night.
March 5, 2023 at 18:17
Hi, Liesbet – My heart was racing when I read this. I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief once I read that all turned out well. Strange that the police knew who the two bandits were. I wonder if they followed up further.
March 6, 2023 at 06:53
Hi Donna,
My guess is that these guys were “petty thieves”, maybe even from across the border. We questioned to our Colombian friends why the police doesn’t do anything about this and they made it sound like the officials are “afraid to get involved.” They do like to escort tourists and show off a bit, though. 🙂
March 5, 2023 at 19:17
Hi Liesbet, what a testament to the town folks who wanted to make up for the misdeeds of the would be bandits. Poor Maya. She will have Christmas trama forever! Thank you for telling us up front that all ended well.
March 6, 2023 at 06:56
Hi Suzanne,
Thank you for following along. I always find it tricky to share stories like these, as I don’t want to create “drama” or give people a one-sided glimpse into a different culture. I’m glad I finally managed to share this story and I can “move on” now.
Luckily, carnival was a non-event where we were last month. The next big celebration to watch for – and hide from – will be Semana Santa, the week around Easter…. But, yes, Maya is still traumatized and it is obvious in her behavior every day.
March 5, 2023 at 19:52
Hi Liesbet, I’m glad all turned out well. Being threatened physically and unexpectedly is something that one would remember for a long, long time. I hope you’ve found more peaceful and safe places for you, Mark and Maya since.
March 6, 2023 at 06:59
Hi Natalie,
Yes, we have found safer places since then. “Peaceful” is hard to come by in this country. There is a lot of traffic noise pretty much everywhere, since truck and motorcycle engines are extremely loud (and smelly), but we are taking everything the way it comes, as long as it allows us to keep exploring the beauty of Colombia. 🙂
March 6, 2023 at 02:28
As I read this nerve-wracking tale, I had to remind myself of two things: first, you mentioned that the story had a happy ending, and second, you (obviously) lived to tell about it. Thank God for friends, police escorts, and happy endings. 😀
March 6, 2023 at 07:03
Hi Marian,
After this event, I kept shaking my head, not totally understanding what had happened. Parts of it still don’t make sense to me. Either, these two didn’t prepare the attack well (as they left empty-handed), or for some reason, we threw the entire enterprise off by not obliging to their demands, which they were not used to.
Somehow, we deescalated the situation and acted calmly and composed. That seemed to do the trick, despite it all happening subconsciously.
March 6, 2023 at 07:05
Liesbet, I think your calm attitude paid off, there was no panic and you managed to get the situation under control. So good that you are able to speak a bit of Spanish. No one can plan for how you would react in this type of situation, but I think you did all the right things and all ended on a positive.
I am glad the police took things seriously and escorted you back into town. The town folks were so lovely.
Poor Maya, she really had a hard time with all the fireworks.
Fingers crossed this event will be a one off. Never again!
March 6, 2023 at 20:45
Hi Gilda,
Thank you for phrasing all this so well. Afterwards, we were realizing that we all seemed to have done the right things without ever anticipating or practicing them! You are so right, nobody knows how they will react in a crazy – and rare – situation like this. But we sure are happy it all ended the way it did. And, yes, being able to converse in Spanish has been very helpful in Colombia!
Maya was already a troubled, nervous dog, so the fireworks (and now everything that pops, even a rain drop on the roof) really threw her off. I’m not sure if she will ever recover from that and soon, it’ll be Semana Santa and we can start all over again with the fireworks. Hopefully, just for a week and not a month!
March 6, 2023 at 08:30
That was scary! You were brave to venture back out to talk to them. At least the cops and the townspeople were friendly and helpful.
March 6, 2023 at 20:46
Yes, we are very happy about the reaction and care of the police and locals. I guess this will be material for a second memoir one day. 🙂
March 6, 2023 at 10:07
Wow, what a horrible experience you went through! I can’t even imagine what it feels like to have a knife against my throat, but you handled it so well and stayed calm. Glad nothing worst happened and I hope that Maya was not too traumatized by this experience
March 6, 2023 at 20:50
Hi Margie!
Thing is that I never saw or felt the knife, so I think that really helped me mentally and physically. Maybe if I would have realized the seriousness of the situation, I wouldn’t have pushed the guy away? Who knows? In these situations, everything goes so fast and I think our reactions are pretty much instinct and a defense mechanism. I think by not acting the way those robbers thought we would, we totally threw them off.
Maya is definitely traumatized by the amount of fireworks in December and January. In the Latino culture, she will have to deal with it, though. And us, too. But, we will try to avoid hearing fireworks as much as we can. Sometimes, they are unpredictable, like when there is a wedding or party nearby.
March 6, 2023 at 15:06
Wow… That is seriously terrifying. I’m glad you guys had friends with you when this happened, and things deescalated quickly. This could have been so much worse. And I truly hope this crazy fireworks thing is a “Columbia” thing and not an “all of South America” thing. You guys need a break from all the noise-related stress. Please give Maya a hug for me.
March 6, 2023 at 20:55
Hi Laura,
Maya thanks you for the hug! She can use it right now, as she has been “decommissioned” for a few weeks, losing a toenail. Poor girl. And I hope you’re right about the fireworks thing as well, but I’m pretty sure those noises are very popular in the Latino culture. Hopefully only sporadically from now on.
Yes, we could use a break from any noise – mostly loud truck and motorcycle engines these days… But, especially when boondocking, it’s hard to find peace in this country. The beauty makes up for it, though. 🙂
March 6, 2023 at 15:14
Like the police here, they know the criminal folk and where they reside. Scary is an understatement and a classic moment to appreciate that someone was looking out for you all. The physical environment is interesting and hopefully the scenery will take all your attention from now on. Take care, Liesbet.
March 6, 2023 at 20:58
Hi Suzanne,
Thanks for swinging by and weighing in. It does feel strange how things worked out so well and I don’t really have an explanation for it. I think a few positive elements all happened at once, somehow. And, yea, the scenery (and colonial architecture) in Colombia has done a good job keeping us happy here! 🙂
March 6, 2023 at 17:12
Hi Liesbet!!!!
I follow your blog with great interest. I´m Colombian and live there. I was very surprised for your incident here. I never travel somewhere without study the information of the place I´m going to visit . I was looking in a map because I had no idea about that town. I´m happy for the end of the story. Colombia has very beautiful places to know. Americans are welcome to visit us.Next time Get some information before visiting us and you will not have any problem. Enjoy your next route.
María Elena
March 6, 2023 at 21:02
¡Hola Maria!
Thank you so much for reading and leaving a comment. We love your country and your fellow citizens! That’s why we have been here for four months already and we hope to stay for two more. That’s the maximum time we are allowed to visit. This situation in Gramalote Viejo was very rare and we have not had any other issues.
We have explored a big part of Colombia so far and I hope you keep following along, because I have many beautiful places and photos to share. And I think you might have to get the map out again when you see some of them. 🙂
March 6, 2023 at 19:48
Yikes, what a terrifying experience! I’m so glad you weren’t hurt, although I’m sure you’ll be jumpy for a while. I guess that, like anywhere, there are good people and bad people there. What a relief that you found such good people immediately after the bad! 🙂
March 6, 2023 at 21:05
Hi Diane,
Things could have ended so much worse, so I’m very relieved and happy about the outcome. And, I’ve been able to push the bad thoughts away. No trauma. Of course, the event affected us. Especially regarding where we camped the following weeks. We had to give up our (sense of) freedom for safety. We’ve slackened a bit again now.
I actually think that staying calm and taking control over the situation helped. And, all this happened pretty impulsively. If I would have had more time to think about WTF was going on, maybe my reactions might have been different. Hard to tell. I think all four of us did the right thing in this situation.
March 11, 2023 at 17:01
Hearing this ordeal from you guys personally and reading this its just amazing it was not worse. Stay safe!
March 14, 2023 at 13:42
Totally! We are very happy with the happy ending to this one and hope to never have to repeat the experience.
March 13, 2023 at 08:46
I’m so pleased that you left the area on a positive note, Liesbet. You mentioned the attempted robbery to me before, but I did not know the full story. I’ve so pleased that the majority of the columbian people seem welcoming and friendly. And it’s good to read how the police reacted to the situation and made sure you guys were safe. Those roads look so bumpy. I hope Thirty Bella is doing well being driven over them.
I’m glad Maya enjoyed her time by the lake. All those fireworks must be so much of a problem for it.
Stay safe.
xx
March 14, 2023 at 13:45
The constant fireworks have been a turn-off in this country for us, Hugh. But, they were related to the holiday period when – we have heard – they are at their worst and most frequent. From mid-December until mid-January. We will have to keep that in mind for the future. The side effects have almost been worse as Maya is now scared of the smallest “bang” or “boom”, even raindrops on our roof… Which happens very often these days.
And, the roads have been the worst we’ve ever driven on. The truck is doing great, but we have to be careful with the camper, which has suffered some damage because of the road conditions.
In general, we still love Colombia and its people and scenery, so we will stay the full extent of our six-month “allowance.” 🙂