Summary 2012/5/5-25:
1. Gas ~$5/gl. Long distance buses ~$0.6-1/10km. local bus ~$0.6-$1. ~3 times as expensive as in Ecuador.
2. Flying out of Columbia is expensive: departure tax $39, airport tax $87.
3. $1~=COP1770. Was 2400 two years ago. So everything here is a lot more expensive now. I used ~$550.
4. People seem to be much better off here. Hardly see any locals walking in the countryside. They either have motorbikes or ride on the back of one.
5. Almost no traditional food markets. Things in stores or supermarket are about the same price as in US. Bottled water is very expensive ~$0.9 a small bottle of 500-600ml. Milk too, even though there're cows everywhere.
6. My favorite town is Villa de Leyva. If not for the warm climate, I'd prefer Barichara (less touristy). The prettiest place is Valle de Cocora.
7. Woman are often addressed as mami and man papi.
8. People talk fast here. Plus the Caribbean accent, it's hard to understand.
5/5. Arriving in Columbia.
I walked over the bridge again to Columbia. Exchanged for some pesos. Bad rate. Walked pass the parking lot and up to the immigration office. Seems the immigration procedure is entirely voluntary. No need to fill any forms. No one was waiting. The officer asked me where I was going and for how long. I said ~20 days. So he wrote 30 on my entry stamp. Back to the parking lot. Got on another minibus. COP1500. 3km to
Ipiales, but it took awhile due to the traffic, as it dropped people off downtown first, had to fight through vendors who clogged the streets.
At Ipiales terminal, I got on a bus to Pasto, 80km, COP6000. I should have stayed for a day and visit
Las Lajas Sanctury. 2:15 hours due to slow freight trucks and road works. The traffic going into the city was terrible. The south half of the road trip is quite scenic: a deep river valley to the right.
Arrived in
Pasto after 6:30pm. Already dark. I rode on someone's motorbike to downtown for 2000. Saturday night. Very busy. Checked into Hotel Manhattan COP10000
1 Ate there 3000.
5/6 Sunday. Overcast. Pasto.
Almost everything was closed on Sunday morning. So was the only combio I could find. Churches had good attendance at 8am mass. Interiors of the churches are all quite sumptuous comparing to neighboring buildings. The rest of downtown is mostly ugly new construction. It's probably better to stay next to the bus terminal. Lots of cheap options there, and save on taxis (flat rate of 3500). Saw 2 joggers, many on bikes with flashy outfits and helmets. The big concrete plaza was lined up with nets, so people played soccer, ping pong, lots danced to loud speaker.
Got on a colectivo (white taxis with a sign "servicio publico", only leaves when there are 4 passengers) next to a big supermarket and hospital, to
Laguna de la Cocha. COP3900. 45 minutes. Had to take a taxi to the colectivos. The road to the lake is curvy, scenic (like most roads here): climbing up to the clouds and then descend. Lots of trees and some rain. Some pavement was missing. The colectivo checked in at their office in town, then 10 minutes dirt road to the lake. But the view of the lake is much better from the road up high. It's big. Full of reeds on the lake front. Some islands in the middle.
Lots of flower decked restaurants / cabanas along the canal leading to the lake. At least 30 canoes with Yamaha engines can take you to the island, wait, and take you back for 20k, or do a tour of an hour for 25k. Not bad if you can share among a few. I saw 3 lanchas left with semi full load. I didn't have enough time, because I wanted to get to Popayan before dark.
Took a 12:15 Galaxia bus to
Popayan. COP25000 (~$15)! ~250km. 6 hours + a rest stop of ~20 minutes. With the help of a couple of people, I got on a local bus 1400 into town. It's actually close enough to walk if I knew the direction. Popayan's historic center was very dead on this Sunday evening. I tried to find a place to eat ~7pm, and failed. Should have eaten near the terminal: much more alive. Quite some youth hanging out in the main plaza, as well as some street vendors. I bought some meat on stick and a plastic cup of soda. Not many choices. Stayed at Casa Familiar Touristica
2.
5/7. Monday. Cloudy.
Popayan, ~1760m.
Not even 7am, lots of people on street, especially dads driving their kids to school on a motorcycles. Stores were still closed. Hungry.
The whole city is freshly painted white. Last night's city were prettier. The only church that was open was San Augustin. The walk up to Belén is quite nice. Zigzag pebble walkway, lined with statues of Christ carrying a cross in one pose or another. Good view of downtown. On a clear day, it's possible to see Volcan Puracé. People don't seem to live in the historic center, but many schools, offices are here. Only small stores, most of them sell cell phone minutes. Only one cambio in a small shopping center. Opens at 9:00. $1=1720. Not good. Western Union on the main plaza also buys and sells $ at worse rate. Walked to the terminal in 20 minutes.
10:30 Sotracauca bus to San Andre for Tierradentro. COP19000. 5 hours. A very old bus. It also runs at 5am, 8am, 1pm. Police came abroad and took away almost everyone's ID (not mine), and later returned them. After 1.5 hours of smooth journey, it gets more scenic: steep slopes covered with mossy forest, small waterfalls as well as mud slides. It was so bumpy, that my head hurt. Maybe motion sickness pill would help. The bus stopped at 1pm for lunch. Rainy and a bit chilly. 3pm reached Inza, a better half of passengers got off, but the bus (over)filled up quickly. I arrived at the museum of Tierradentro at 3:30pm, sunny and warm. The security guard told me to come back the next day, because they close at 4pm. Stayed the first hospedaje
3 next to the museum, because the lady of the house eagerly showed me her place.
Walked up to San Andre Pisimbalá. 20 minutes further on the dirt road. The German staying at the same hospedaje took a motorbike ride there. A very cute church. Closed. The German found the lady behind the church who has the key. She kindly opened the door. Disappointing inside. We gave her some tip, and she put both into the church's donation box. Bought some bread next to the church. I had an early dinner at the only open restaurant in town, La Potada
4. 6500. Very good. Mosquito! Backed to my room by 5:30. Already getting chilly. Braved the cold shower. COLD.
5/8 Tuesday.
Tierradentro. 1500-1800m.
UNESCO listed. Paid my entry fee 10000 before 8am. Got a red wristband. Hiked up
Segovia with a guard. 25 tombs. I was let into ~half. Some with lights, others, the guard lend you a dim flash light. Some has fresh paintings, diamond shape. The burial chamber is half dome shape, with 3-7 niches, often has 2 pillars. Big clay pots were used to hold the remains (second burial). All with steep and big stone steps. The people who made these must be very tall. They disappeared long time ago. The tombs are 1200-3000 years old.
At 9am, I started hiking up to
Duende. Only 3 tombs, slightly different. One has 3 columns. No lights.
9:30, I hiked up to the road, and turned left heading to
El Tablon. But I missed the small sign up on the hill to my left. And wasted 20 minutes. In El Tablon, ~a dozen big statues found in the area are now gathered under a roof, locked in a fence, with a guard too. From here, 5 minutes down to the main road, a bit up to Pisimbalá, left on a trail that goes down to cross the river, then up for
Loma de San Andres, 5 more tombs. One was closed, one has more paintings, in the same geometric patterns as the others. Between the 2 sites, 30 minutes.
I was back to the museum by 11:30, rushing for the ~12:00 bus. Didn't go to the last site: Alto de San Andres (great view). Muddy trails. One little museum each on each side of the road: one on ethnology, one hosts the findings in the tomb (not much).
Got on the white bus (~20 seater) with green lines to La Plata at 12:15. 10000. Arrived at La Plata's terminal at 1:55. Immediately a 9-seater van enlisted me for San Agustin. Stopped in town to pick up more people. But actually it only went to Pitalito. 2:40 hours. I had to transfer to another truck, a colectivo type. Again, it stopped numerous times on the road to pick up / drop off passengers. 27km, COP5000. Gas here is over $5/gl!
Arrived at San Agustin just before 6pm. I was talked into a tour of 2 archeology sites, 2 waterfalls, and others for COP30000. Checked into Hospedaje El Jadin
5, 1 block away from the buses. Ate set dinner for 5000.
While asking for a tourist map at Casa de la Cultura / Secretaria de Turismo, I got to talk to the 2 people there. They claimed that I was the first Chinese who came here (not true. In park Alto de Los Idolos, the posted visitor census of 2012 April, 2 from China, 3 from Taiwan. 2275 Columbianos. Out of 306 foreigners, French and German far out numbered other nations.) One aspiring young writer, Levi Vallejo, followed me to my hotel (across the street) because his main character in his new book is Chinese. We sat in the lobby and he told me this book he's working on and showed me rough drawings. It'll be almost a game, starts with the end, comprised of 12 chapters, each a separate story (told by Chen, a Chinese hacker) which reads by following clues on the current pages. An interesting concept.
The power went out while I was in the semi warm shower.
5/9 Wednesday.
San Agustin. 1700m. Overcast.
9:00, truck tour of the surroundings with 3 English. Most of the road was in bad shape.
1st stop: estrecha: 2m narrow of river Magdalena, 27m deep, nice polished rocks. ~13km north of San Agustin. Obando burial park 3km north. COP2000. 1100BC-700AD. 6-7 burial rectangular tombs. The older ones were deeper, with a dome further down. Smaller domes than in Tierradentro, no pillar. 30 tombs were found in the area. These were somehow painted yellow by the park, or reconstructed here.
Alto de los Idolos, 5km west of the town of Isnos. 8am-5pm everyday. COP10000, or combo 16000 valid also in San Agustin Archeological Park. About the same epoch. Midsize lockers, toilet with no paper. A nice stone walkway leads to the 2 hills, where the disappeared people leveled and filled the gap to make a bigger plateau for their dead. Big and small funeral statues excavated in the area were brought here under roofs and surrounded by fences. But we no longer know where they were facing originally. Quite some sarcophagus, one nicely sculptured. Some faint yellow remains, despite of standing in the open since excavated (1930s and 40s). Tombs with broken big slabs of rock were found and restored here. The entrance building was once the home of Juan Friede who was the principle investigator here. Now a museum of period photos. One restaurant right outside of the gate. 6000 set lunch. The 3 British liked it. As request of Alex, one of the British passengers, we stopped at a small operation of panela (brown cane sugar) and molasses making by the dirt road. Dirty sugar canes were squeezed by a diesel smoking machine. The juice is boiled. The foamy top is transferred to a bin reduce to syrup, the rest was boiled down to yellowish brown paste, then molded and packaged. It tasted quite nice. Next to the house is a field of lulo. 5km north of Isnos, Alto de las Piedras. Doesn't need registration, nor collects entry fee. Very similar to Los Idolos, smaller.
4km further north, Salto de Bordones. 400m high, 2 segments. Very nice. But the lookout is a bit too far, and we were not advised to go down the trail much. Locals do walk on the steep slope to ferry their produce and provision to and fro their homes and terraces.
Last stop, Salto del Mortiño 170m high. Paid 1000 to an old guy and then drove to his backyard, right over a cliff. Nice steep canyon.
Back in town ~4pm. Got a couple of bites. Sun was out. Bought 500ml milk for 1100, the cheapest fruit is orange and banana. Beer 1600, 600ml bottled water 1600. An easy day. Dinner 5000. They call set meal comida corriente here.
5/10 Thursday. San Agustin.
Park San Agustin,
UNESCO listed together with Alto de Los Idolos and Alto de las Piedras, has more statues than anywhere else, over 100, many were moved from somewhere else.
I like Bosque de Estatua walk and Fuente Lavapatas (not really a fountain, but water channeled from a creek).
Seeing this park, probably it's not necessary to visit Altos de Los Idolos and las Piedras. More or less the same. To get here, get on a bus labeled "parque". 1000, 3km. I met Li from Taiwan on this bus, who's been on the road for 6 months and another 5 to go. She told me that it was possible to bargain the bus fare here.
After lunch, we got on a bus labeled "chiqilla", and got off at
El Tablon. 5 statues, the biggest of which has a knot tied behind the neck. The muddy trail further, somehow missed
Chaquira, which has statues in the rock next to a canyon. Ended walking to
Pelota, saw the 2 colored statues. Met 2 gringos on horses. Walked back to town. Total from 2:30 till 6:15. Pleasant scenery.
I had a 7:30pm Coormotor ticket to Bogota. COP52k. 5am and 6:30pm buses COP60k (bigger newer bus). Li and I had hot chocolate before parting. When I went to collect my backpack at 6:40, I was informed that 7:30 bus wouldn't go tonight and I should run to the 6:30 bus. In the rush, I forgot to take out my contacts. Luckily, I was only 1 block away. The bus departed at 6:55pm half empty. A long stopover at Pitalito. Photos of passengers were taken. The bus has separate toilets for men and women, had paper. AC. Thin blankets were distributed. According to the documentary shown on the bus, the statues and tombs I saw during the last 2 days also have magnetic powers. At 9pm, everyone's id was collected by police at a roadside checkpoint. But really, if you are wanted, just travel with someone else's ID. ~11:50 a 20 minute stop at Neiva. A small pack of snack and a 300ml bottled water were handed out. Photos were taken again.
The stars were very nice tonight.
5/11-14 Bogota and its surroundings. 2600m.
5/11 Friday. Drizzle at times.
Zipaquira.
Got to Bogota edge ~5am. Traffic in the city is very bad. Reached the south terminal at 5:45, main terminal at 6:40 when I disembarked. Wasn't able to find public transportation. There are 2 girls at the exit door, typing your destination, then print 2 slips of paper with an official taxi cost. To downtown, 8500. Hotels here are twice expensive as in San Agustin. Cheapest dorm bed is 15000 with no windows. I settled at Hotel International
6, the cheapest I asked in ~7-8. Exchanged $ at Emerald Trading Center at 176.75. Streets in
La Candelaria are quite confusing. Calle numbers were being changed. A college age kid walked me to the first address in my hand. Very helpful people here.
TransMilenio B74/J72 to/from Portal Norte, 1750, 45min. TransMilenio is the new red bus with dedicated lanes (still subject to the same traffic lights, and outputs black exhaust. Very crowded.). There I took a minibus to Zipaquira 3900, 45min. Walked to the quite lovely plaza, the continued up to the top of the Salt Park.
Various ticket options. Cheapest is 20k for the
salt cathedral only. 180m into the rocks. The salt mine closed in 1970s. In 1992-95 remade to be a tourist attraction. Guide took you in every 12 minutes, explain on the way, then leave you wander back at your own speed.Spanish only. Many rectangular halls each with stone cross, and one bigger central area with benches and a large hollowed cross.
A couple of statues of angels made of marble or granite. Other than the entry and one big fountain like wall, not much salt. No trace of mining at all. The usual cafes, shops. There is also a sculpture exhibit, a rectangular pool to reflect the rocky ceiling, a hall with 11000 computerized colored lights that does a loud ceiling light show every half an hour, a movie hall that screen a 3D cartoon every half an hour showing the forming of salt deposits. This is more artificial than the salt mine near Krakow. Reasonably entertaining, but not a must see.
The minibus coming back to Bogota was 3000. No idea how they determine the fare. Due to traffic, coming back took 1+1 hours.
5/12 Saturday. Overcast.
Guatavita.
Again minibus at Portal Norte. 7400, 1:40 hours. The town of
Guatavita is very pretty, a new town created in 1960s for locals displaced by reservoir Embalse de Gomine). All red tiled roof, white walls. 3 small cute plazas linked by arch walkways. On weekends and holidays, El Dorado bus goes to
Laguna Guatavita at 11:20 and 13:20, COP10k RT, but only departs for >=5 passengers. So I waited till 11:45. 6 people. The girl who sells the ticket sits next to the public toilet. Back on the same road for 15 minutes, then up 7km.
Guided tour only. 13600 for foreigners. No permit is needed. Our group alone had more than 20 people. Raining on and off. The lake is NOT pretty. Now at 25m deep, much less than before, due to various attempt to drain the lake and look for El Dorado treasure. This is a sacred lake for Muisca people. They held ceremonies, bury their dead around here. Our guide talked a lot. Unfortunately, I didn't understand much. He claimed that the independence is just from only colonial government from another. At the crater, met a group of Chinese. Very embarrassing, they were so loud, that we couldn't hear our guide. The exit is different from the entrance. There is a bus take you back to the main parking for 1000. Our bus was waiting at the exit. On return, I got off at the main road, caught the same bus back to Bogota, 6500.
Walked to Bolivar's house. Closed at 4:30.
Museums of Banco de la Republica: Museo Botero, Casa Moneda, Colección de Art in the same modern complex. Free and very well done. Across the street, the library of the same system (Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango and Music Hall, closed until next Tuesday) holds culture events and concerts.
Fernando Botero's lifeline and event list are posted on its wall. Bookstore FCE (
fondo de cultura economica) around a circular shallow pool hosts events and sells expensive books.
5/13 Sunday.
Bogota.
Museo del Oro. 3000, free on Sunday's. Very well done. Most has English signs. Organized by region and functions. Not just metals, many potteries. Oxalic acid obtained from sheep sorrel and oxalis pubescens to removing oxides. Organic glue mixed with copper oxides. Sintering process of mixing gold and platinum, so the heated ingot can be molded (platinum only melts at 1775° too high to cast alone). Inhalers of yopo (anadenanthera tree), tobacco. The circular chanting room is very nicely done, surrounded by gold pieces used in these ceremonies. A little spooky when lights go out at first. On the 4th floor, models of burial, ceramic making, textile, bohio construction, salt making, agriculture on 3rd floor. 155 art collections from 40 countries on big LCD monitors, in over a dozen languages including 2 systems of writing in Chinese. Video of how archeologists work in the field, filmed the top.
Candelaria, the historical center, is quite nice: grand buildings, big plaza, also narrow streets, colorful old buildings. Lots of people and lots of street vendors. Around Palacio Narino, police check your purse.
Presidential guard change ceremony at 4-4:40 every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
Despite of the occasional drizzle everyday, my washing dried in less than a day.
5/14 Monday. To
Salento, 1900m, in the coffee triangle.
Walked to Carrera 7 & Calle 19 for a colectivo to the bus terminal. Right at the center near Calle 13 on Carrera 7, there are colectivos to the airport. 1450 day/1500 night & holiday. Pay as you enter. The driver has change. 30min on a semi empty minibus. Walked over 2 pedestrians bridges and one more block. Bogota terminal is big, clean, well organized, looks like an airport terminal, with 3 gates. Bought a cheap Palmira bus 30k to Armenia. A big bus, bright yellow, says S26. Wifi on board. The 9:30 bus departed at 10, only 1/3 full. It took 35 min just to get to the south terminal. 2:25pm arrived at Ibague terminal. Lunch break. Free wifi sign, but I didn't try it. Arrived at Armenia terminal almost at 6:30, 2 hours behind schedule, due to lots of slow freight trucks on the curvy road and some road work.
The Salento minibus is just outside of the terminal building, but still in the terminal compound. I only waited for ~10 minutes and it took off with only 6 on board. No luggage bin, so I took mine on to the seats. It stopped to pick up passengers along the way. At one point, a ticket seller came to collect bus fare. 3400. By then, the bus was full.
Arrived at Salento ~7:30pm. Checked in at Casa de Lili
7. The highest percentage of gringos on my trip since Uyuni.
5/15 Tuesday.
Valle de Cocora. Clouds with sun.
9:30 jeep at the plaza to Valle Cocora. 25 min, 3000, almost paved all the way. I was with 2 British couples, 4 locals. 2 jeeps this time. Rented boots for 4000. Possible to hire a guide or a horse. The first 25 minutes walking in the valley is very nice (turn left at the first fork). Beautiful green bucolic scenery. Clouds moving in and out. They seem to have cut down all trees other than wax palms on the lower hills. Or was it naturally like that? Quite interesting looking. Then entering the nature reserve. Trail is not clearly marked. Muddy. Followed the river and crossed a few bridges. Leisurely paced 1:40 later (from the road) in the cloud forest is the junction at 2650m. Shaded, not much view all along. Right 1km to Acaime, where you get a drink and pay a 3000 for the reserve (this is advertised 3 times along the trail). 0.8km left to Finca La Montana at 2860m, ~25 minutes. Good view of the pointy mountain in front. Benches and flowers, horses and dogs. They don't have cold drinks. Saw 2 hummingbirds and 5 gringos. According to one girl, Acaime is also very nice with many more hummingbirds. From here, it's 5.1km back on a dirt road. Good view of Cocora valley. There is even a bench close to the top. Ironically, the view from the road is much better than along the trail, and you walk among the giant palms at times.
Walked up to the mirador with Ming, a Korean girl in the same hostel, to the mirador. Very nice view of the Quindio river valley.
Strange, with all the sun, my clothes didn't dry after 36 hours. Also, strange, with all the mossy plants and mud, didn't get a single mosquito bite here. Received an email from Gaby saying that they just arrived in Salento too. So I went to their hostel.
There was a bombing in Bogota today! An attempt on an ex-minister's life.
5/16 Wednesday. Overcast, rain, sun. A coffee farm.
Finca Don Elias. 5000. 15 minutes after walking out of my hostel, guess what, I saw Gaby and David going to the same coffee farm. It's almost an hour of walk. It was a good tour, maybe 30 minutes. Got to taste the coffee too. Bought a packet of 250g for 10000. Very expensive (in the only supermarket here, you can buy local coffee of the same size for 4700). It's not vacuum sealed, so I bought beans instead of grounded. It smells really nice. No pesticide, all manual labor. Coffee trees can produce coffee after 2 years old. By ~year 8, it has to be cut down, and a new stem will grow. It can be cut down a 2nd time, then it has to be tossed away. They are grown from seed. Banana and other plants are grown next to them to provide shade.
Back track to El Ocaso farm. Followed a narrow trail next to their gate to the river. Crossed it. Then walked to Boquia, where the road is paved. Bus from Armenia pass here. 1000 pesos and 10 minutes later, I was back in Salento. Gaby and David stayed in Boquia for lunch.
Bought a package of coffee at the only supermarket. Cooked a late lunch. Lili, the owner of the hostel, asked me money for the use of kitchen. I was surprised. When I gave her some change after finishing my meal, she refused to take it. By then, more guests returned from their outing.
Got on a bus to Amenia at 5pm. Its information desk was still open. They told me a supermarket 2 blocks to the right at the traffic light. The coffee there is only marginally cheaper than in Salento. I ate dinner across from the terminal, only 3500 and better than the 4800 dinner in Salento. In the same street I saw at least 3 hotels. It's warmer here.
There seem to be bus to Bogota every hour. I bought a ticket on a 9:30pm Velotax bus, but got on a 8pm bus. 30k. I forgot to bargain. The bus wasn't even half full. Still a lot of freight trucks on road. Arrived at Ibaque 1:15am, and the bus filled up.
Arrived at Bogota's main terminal at 5:00. Arrival hall is linked to departure area with a ling corridor of shops. Toilet 700. Bus #146 to center (close but not quite, and I got off too late. Had to walk awhile).
5/17 Thursday. Bogota - Tonja (2800m) - Villa de Leyva (2100m).
National Museum, 10-6, closed on Monday. Free. 25 min walk from Museo del Oro station. Housed in a fortress like old building. First floor: antique, very much like Museo del Oro, just smaller. Organized by function, then by region. 2nd floor: colonial and independence. Lots of portraits. 3rd floor: modern era. Some nice paintings by Botero and Andres de Santa Maria. Temporary exhibit: Debora Aragon.
After lunch, Gil, an Israeli guest in the same hotel, and I went to Portal Norte. Be sure not to exit before knowing where exactly your connection is and how to get there. Once on the wrong exit, I had quite a bit of hassle in order just to exit the TransMilenia complex. 15000 to Tunja, 2 hours.
Tunja's center is only 2x2 blocks away. Santo Domingo has a very elaborated chapel, carved panels, gilded. Gil refused to enter. A tourist police asked where we were from at the church door. Gil was offended by this. Santa Clara de Real was closed. I rang the bell twice, no one came out. Plaza has 3 nice and 1 ugly sides. Its plaza is not flat. I fell and twisted my ankle.
Gil went back to Bogota. I continued on to Villa de Leyva, 45 minutes and 39km away, 700m lower and much warmer. COP6000. It's very pretty. White washed houses. Bus station is only 3 blocks from the main square. But the cobble street was not kind to my ankle. Went to find Li at Casa Colonial. She took me to a cheaper hostel
8.
5/18 Friday.
Villa de Leyva.
So far, the prettiest Columbia town I saw. A big central plaza, all white washed walls, red tile, view of surrounding hills. The whole town and the surrounding areas are all beautiful villa like houses with red tile and white walls. Uniform. Seems a very wealthy area. Things are a bit pricy here.
Convento Santo Eccehomo is a nice museum (5000). Well preserved 17th century building and flowering courtyard. Many walls are decorated or rather the gaps of building rocks are filled with fossils. The bus to Santa Sofia drops you 1km from the convent (3000).
El Fósil (4000) has an almost complete
kronosaurus. Another set of large vertebrates, some fish fossil and a lot of conchs. Stalls outside sell fake and real fossils. Bus back to Villa de Leyva drops you a few meters from the museum (1500).
From here, walked to the archeology museum of Monquira or
Infernito. Walk towards Santa Sofia, cross the bridge, and take a right turn at the green house. At least an hour. It was used as an astronomy observatory. A big center column (broken or disappeared) is supposed to cast shadow over 2 rows of smaller columns aligned east-west. A small underground burial chamber with 8 short columns in front, facing north. A large area with high or low stones of phallic symbol, some fallen. On the way back (~4km?), we got a ride from a gentleman back to town. Maybe he saw me limping?
Rained hard in the evening. Li and I cooked dinner together. I bought a
Pepino Archucha to try. She told me her 3 months in Peru, and what she liked. Well, I'll have to come back. I swapped my lousy Spanish-English dictionary for the only English book in the hostel and gave it to Li. It's "love in the time of cholea". She asked me to buy her a book in Bogota. But I read the message too late. The owner of our hostel had friends coming, discussing menu for a large group coming this weekend.
5/19 Saturday. To Barichara.
Drizzle. A sign of "no hay hospedaje" was put up at the door of our hostel. The sleepy town would wake up later today. Li and I visited the Saturday market 2 blocks further. Finally I saw fresh produce and lots of it, unlike the half dead fruit I bought yesterday. Stalls selling everything, and freshly cooked food. Bought 0.5kg of
uchuva to try, 1500, not bad. Bought more small mangos. They are very flavorful.
9:00 bus to Chiquichara 7000 (or 10:00 bus to Acabuco 6000) to transfer to San Gil. Opted for the earlier bus. Got to Chiquichara terminal at 10:30, and a Reina bus to San Gil just left. The next bus in 2 hours. The gentleman at the ticket office called the driver to hold the bus, paid the taxi to take us to the bus. 50k for the 2 of us. Arrived at San Gil shortly after 2pm even with a 20 min lunch stop. San Gil is quite ugly. Much warmer here and stuffy. I was sweating profusely. Very steep hills. Asked over 5 hotels, all much more expensive than Villa de Leyva. I dropped my bag at the cheapest one
9, changed to a short sleeve shirt, caught a bus at Carrera 11 & Calle 15, to Barichara. 4000, 40 minutes.
Barichara is the prettiest Columbia town during my trip. Like Villa de Leyva, colonial. White walls of compressed mud, red tiled roof, green or blue doors. A leafy fragrant but smaller square, a larger cathedral. People were cutting hair in the court yard of the unpretentious municipal building, and a sculpture of
hormiga culona (a local delicacy: giant ant).
Gentle slopes, picturesque. I walked up to Capilla de Santa Babara. A 100+ year old ceiba tree. A wedding ceremony was being prepared.
At the Mirador (good view over river Suarez in part of the Chicamocha Canyon), the lady at the information booth gave me a book on Columbia tourism. There's a Camina Real that goes to the town of Guane. 9km. Seems worth the walk (can bus back for 1700). Li couldn't find a room within her budget (cheapest 40k, but very nice), so both of us came back to my crappy hotel in San Gil.
Walked around San Gil downtown hoping to find a place for dinner. Lots of people in the main square and grilled meat corn and sausage were sold in carts. The fountain looks nice in the evening (no water during the day). I left Li my unused tampons and diarrhea pills, since she had another 5 months to go, while I was at the end of my trip.
5/20 Sunday. Warm, overcast.
San Gil 1200m -
Bucaramanga 960m.
City park El Gallineral 6000. 8:00-5:30. Not worth going, let alone the steep price. Very small. Can just go to one of the many restaurants for free and buy a drink. 4 macaws (one said Hola), 2 peacocks. Big
Ceiba Bonga (Kapok) trees with silvery hanging
barbas de viejo moss. 2 small creeks jointing the dirty Rio Fonce. A good size pond or swimming pool? All near the restaurants. The hanging moss can be seen all along the road up north. No need to come here.
Close to the park, Carrera 11 + Calle ~8 is the office of CotraSangil. Bus goes to Bucaramanga every 20 minutes. 15000, 2.5 hours. Sit on the right side for better view. I got off at
Chicamocha national park, 8000, 1 hour.
The entrance is right by the road. Cable car 38000, entrance alone 13000. Felt like in an amusement park: big parking lot, planted flowers, multicolor flags, brightly painted walkways. This Sunday, it was quite busy. I walked over the parking lot to a restaurant overlooking the canyon on the other side the cable cars go. The view is quite nice, on both sides of the road+parking. It's not really a canyon, just a deep V shaped valley.
Caught a different bus to Bucaramanga. COP10000. Lots of zigzags down to the river level before continuing north. COP1700 city bus to the center, but the center is wide spread. Walked along a pedestrian street with many vendors. Most stores were closed (Ascension long weekend). Couldn't find any travel agency, decided to leave. Waited for a bus to Giron next to a fruit vendor (bought pineapple from him), and a boy going to Giron (tried his
hormiga culona. I don't like it: too dry.) and chatted with them until the bus came. 1700 too. The bus was quite full. When I got a seat, I had to put my backpack on my laps. The boy who sat next to me held my hand bag. People in Columbia are really nice.
Giron looks like Barichara, white walls, red roofs, black wood doors/windows. Being so close to a metropolis, it's much busier. A lot of people. Motorcycles doubled parked in the main plaza. Lots of yellow taxis prow the cobble stone streets. It's too close to Bucaramanga.
I had a plate of fritanga in the fritanga market on the edge of town, where concrete bridge connects to the mud and tile. I asked for a small plate of 5000: chorizo, chicharon of pug skin, a black sausage filled with meat and rice, all on potatoes (I liked the potato the most). It was enough. The normal size of 15000 is a lot, usually shared by a group. Returned to the main plaza. It was too noisy, and some smoking kids set next to my bench. So I decided to leave. Walked down hill 2 blocks. Bought a beer to wait for the bus back. Ended chatting with ~5 people there for a long time. They found me the correct bus to the bus terminal among the many that passed by. It was very slow, going through many neighborhoods full of people drinking or eating ice. It was getting too warm to me.
Arrived at the main terminal ~6:15pm. Brasilia bus goes to Cartagena at 8:30, 16:00, 19:30, 21:00 for 70k when I inquired earlier. Now the guy at the counter asked for 80k. I showed him the note I was given earlier. So he lowered to 70k. Copetran goes almost every hour for 110k list price, but the counter agent told me 80k. So far this is the only price more or less the same as my 2006 Lonely Planet (most prices were doubled). Bucaramanga terminal is quite clean. It has a chapel, a pool table joint with 8 tables, check luggage. My 7:30pm bus didn't depart until 8. A small plastic bag was distributed in case you vomit. AC was in full blast. My sleeping bag was put in good use. A very new bus. Drop down LCD screens. Toilet looks clean but still smells. No water in sink. No toilet paper. The guy who sat next to me was from Manizales. He was traveling with wife and kids. They live in Bucaramanga now and was a bit disappointed that I didn't visit his city. Later he offered me his booze which he hid under his jacket. I didn't take any, and he was again a bit pissed. He said I should try everything.
5/21-25
Cartagena de Indias.
Muggy and sweaty, but with a breeze.
5/21 Monday. Sunny, clouds. 32° Arrived at Barranquilla shortly after 6am. Most people got off. Some new passengers. A 30 minute stop. Arrived finally at Cartagena at 9am. Hot aleady. Bus to center, 1500. It was very slow.
Walked into Getsemani south of the historic center, but streets look very similar: narrow with colorful and dilapidated houses. This Monday was a holiday, most stores were closed. Stayed at Casa Gran Ville
10. Took not-very-cold shower ~3 times a day. There are 2 supermarkets on either sides of Av. Venezuela: Olympic, Exito. Exito is 2 blocks further, slightly cheaper. People sell fruits on the street, better price. I ate a lot of mangoes. The small ones are sweet and intense. Regardless of size, mangos are 5 for 1000 pesos. Sometimes the guys throw in a 6th. Avocado is big and fresh. Bottled water is expensive, so I resolved to 5l water in a plastic bag for 2000. It's not easy to store once the bag is open. Some biting insects, but not a big problem.
5/22 Tuesday. Sunny, hazy.
Islas de Rosario. Got up before 7am, sweating already. Jose came to pick me up for my tour of Rosario island and Playa Blanca. 30k includes a lunch. Hotel pickup here is just two of us walking to the port under the blazing sun. Had to pay 12000 (half port tax, half park entrance) before even let in the port. My yacht, Alcatraz, is scheduled to depart at 8:45. But when the time arrives, we were ushered to a smaller boat. 42 passengers, fully packed. One ticket was missing, so they had to check everyone again. But still couldn't find the missing ticket. Very hot. Some passengers protested. Their tour supposed to leave at 8. Once the boat got going, the breeze made the heat bearable. Very noisy. For 3 times, the boat stopped for commentary. Spanish only. She was too quick for my foreign ears.
An hour later, we anchored at
Cocoliso Resort, owned by Alcatraz, one of the many hotels on the big island. There are 27 islets here. The small ones have just one house. Water is greenish blue. Very clear. Pleasant temperature. Small black fish swim next to the harbor. Lots of them. A few colorful starfish.
The hotel is sealed, unable to walk to other part of the island. No real beach. Concrete piers, a narrow strip of umbrellas. I dried quickly sitting here, had to dip in the water to cool down every so often. Should have brought a book.
Free coffee in tiny plastic cups. There's a little mangrove lagoon called Laguna Encandada. Eco guides try to sell 40 min canoe tours. No takers. There are 2 swimming pools. Some of the passengers stayed here. At 12:00, an optional trip to Aquarium. 20k. Local in canoes here to sell crab and lobster. A couple of black guys tried to sell me necklaces.
At 1pm, lunch cafeteria style. Fish, fried plantain, coconut rice, salad, a small glass of juice, a small slice of watermelon. I ate with a Russian and a Swedish. The Swedish girl was couch surfing at a home of a Columbia guy. She said she paid more for the same tour.
Instead of what's written on my ticket (Playa Blanca), our boat left at 3pm directly back to Cartagena. I, the Russian girl and a Columbiana filed a complain with the tourist police. We were told to come back the next morning to discuss with the head of the company Alcatraz.
5/23 Wednesday. Sunny, muggy. Cartagena city.
The guy at Alcatraz claimed that the tour to Cocoliso is more expensive, so no compensation. If I wanted to go to Playa Blanca, I had to buy another ticket, and pay the tax again. A lady of Cocoliso claimed that she had explained the change of plan, and I should have raised objection then. That's completely false, because some Columbianos also didn't know what happened when we changed the boat. But my Spanish is not good enough to argue. Disappointed, I went to visit the old city in the wall.
Cartagena old city is well preserved. Very pretty. It reminds me of New Orleans, because of the heat, humidity and majority of black people. Lots of street vendors and peddlers who pester tourists.
The churches are museums now, San Pedro Claver is 8000, Palacio de la Inquisicion is 14000, San Domingo is 12000. Museo de Oro is free. AC in most rooms. English on each panel. It houses a small collection of metal and clay objects from all around the country. Most noted is the Zenu culture. There's a 6-minute video showing the canals in the flood plain of river Zenu and San Jorge.
Lots of people. Lots of carts/peddlers selling drink and fruits. Most colorful are the Palenqueras who often carry their fruits on the head. Many small plazas. My favorites are Plaza de San Pedro Claver (many fun steel sculptures in front of the modern art museum) and Plaza de Los Coches (a group of drummers and dancers performed here in early evening, colorful clothes and fast rhythms). But even in the shade, it was too hot.
Bought a city tour on a Chiva truck for 1:30pm, because I wanted to rest my foot a bit. It was swelling more and more every day. My right foot didn't fit the shoe any more and I got a bluster at the heel. 35000 (advertised price 45000). Had to exchange $20 for that. Our Chiva spent the first half hour visiting one hotel and 2 agencies hoping to pick up more passengers.
First a drive through Bucagrande with commentary, but no stop. White sleek high-rises. Long and wide beaches with tiny palm trees. There are plastic covers with chairs for rent. Modern, clean, bustling, upscaled shops. It looks like any other modern city.
2nd stop, the old shoes in front of San Felipe, in honor of Cartagena poet Luis Carlos Lopez.
3rd, Convento de la Popa on the highest hill (100m?). Good panoramic view of the city. Too hazy for a good photo. Too crowded inside the small convent. A nice courtyard, some old maps, not much else. 8000 or $4, till 5pm. After getting down Cerro la Popa, our truck broke down. While the driver was fixing it, ~5 Chivas passing by, 2 were almost full, the rest were like mine, less than 10 on board. We transferred to another Chiva to San Felipe.
Built between 1636-1657, San Felipe is the biggest Spanish fortress in America. It was attacked twice only. Open till 6pm 17000. All the way up, people sell you drink and souvenirs. Can walk in the short tunnels. There are holes for ventilation. A van picked us up. AC in full blast.
Our tour of the old city includes a 15 minutes stop at one particular store in maybe 30 in Las Bovedas shopping arcade, plus a 5 minute drive through via the outer road by the wall.
The Arcade is between Santa Clara and Santa Catalina fortresses. Built in late 1700s as storage vaults and also served as prison cells during the civil wars in 1800s. At high tide, the prisoners were up to their knees in water. The shops here are pricy and also tagged in US$.
Our last stop was
Joyeria Caribe Emerald Museum and Factory in Bucagrande. It was interesting. A young lady took us through its
mine and museum that houses different emeralds from the world, in their original forms in rocks and after the cut. Columbia emeralds are mostly from Boyaca. Everything here is also labeled in US$. Strange, our guide was eager to go home, didn't seem want us to linger here. All Chivas come to this emerald store and that one souvenir shop in Las Bovedas.
I asked to be dropped at the old town. Even with the sun gone, it's still hot and muggy. The streets and churches in lights look quite nice. More people on the wall and in the outdoor restaurants. Saw a group of kids perform in Plaza de los Coches. Bought some bite size cheese bread (13 for 1000 pesos) and more small mangos.
5/24 Thursday. Boquilla.
Walked 4 blocks to the bus stop across from India Catalina. Soaking wet. The bus was hot when moving slowly. Boquilla is north if the city, passing the airport. All along, long stretch of beach with no shade. Light brown sand, fine, but mixed with a bit broken shells. Some part glistens like gold dust. The water is not clean, warm, shallow. Black pelicans, white egrets. I stopped at one of the first thatched huts. There is a constant breeze. Even though the air is hot, i didn't sweat, which felt better than in the city. Every so often, i walked over the hot sand to dip in the ocean with my shirt on, so i could keep myself wet and cool a big longer. During the first hour, I was the only one there. 2 guys selling necklaces made of shells. One claimed that he went to school to learn to make those. He calls everyone Mi Amour. A young guy asked for 200 pesos. He didn't bother with any excuse. He called me Tia. 4 rounds of women with a bucket of bottles offering massage. One guy selling airplane model and a giraffe made of bones.
I saw a cleaning guy picking up trash. A fishing boat brought a basket of belt fish. The owner of the huts called my attention to the fresh fish he was buying. To his dismay, I only ordered a beer (3000, double the price in town), ate bread, mango and banana that I brought. A family of 4 came. 2 hammocks were tied for them. Quite late, a couple came. Not much business here, at least not on a weekday. At ~4pm, saw a couple of long nets being pulled to shore. The lines were so long, that I never saw what they were actually pulling. I returned to my room at 5pm. Afternoon heat was more bearable than when I left (~9am).
5/25-26. Fly home.
Looked like it was going to rain. Not too hot. Walked to the town to spend the rest of my pesos: ~$10. Didn't leave enough for taxi. Ate my leftover, showered again, checked out, walked to the bus stop. Luckily caught an AC bus, 1700. Even though there was no sun, I was still dripping of sweat by then.
It was a short ride. I arrived at
CTG 2 hours ahead of my departure. Only 3 airlines here: Avianca, Copa, LAN has only one counter. First I needed a stamp at the tax counter (no idea why), then check in. They had my flight and name printed on a narrow strip of paper, that was nice, since I don't have anything printed. Then I had to walk out of the building (due to the reconstruction) and go into the international departure area. I only had 2700 left, not enough to buy anything. There is a cambio outside international departure, where I bought just $1. The rate isn't too bad. At immigration, I received some unnecessary inquiry as why I was not flying to USA but to Canada. Security check: I was allowed to bring my bottle of water. Free wifi in the international waiting area. But my laptop was overheating and refused to boot. Chairs suitable to sleep on (no arm rest). Toilet clean and spacious. 3 stalls, one of which for handicap. 3 sinks, one of which for kids. No power outlet. Saw 1 mosquito.
My flight to Vancouver was booked with United Airlines. Web check in wasn't avaiable, because the carriers are Copa Airline and Air Canada. First leg: to Panama City. 1 hour. A simple warm sandwich (cheese or bologna) and drink (I had a Panama beer called Balboa).
Panama city looks grand: lots of skyscrapers, lots of ship in it's harbor. The airport is far from the city next to a flood plain by the ocean with brown rivers and forest. Airport: big, drinking fountain, a bit dirty (stains on every chair and carpet). Power plugs. The free wifi dosen't work. A big flat screen was showing tourism advertising video. 3-4 chairs together with no barriers between them. I took a nap. Flight to Mexico City is ~3.5 hours.
At Mexico City airport, all had to pick up checked-in bags and go through immigration and customs. I was given 30 days, even though my connection was just the next morning. There was a conveying belt outside these 2 check points to deposit my bag for connecting flights. I arrived at terminal 2 (AeroMexico, Copa), but my last leg with Air Canada is at terminal 1. Airtrain between the 2 terminals wouldn't run until 5am, so I spent the night on chairs. They have small armrest, so i could lie down, just not very comfortably. Terminal 1 turns out have no chairs at all except in restaurants. I was a bit concerned with my bag, so even though I had boarding pass, I still queued up to the check-in counter and asked about my bag. The girl confidently told me, all I had to do is to pick it up in Vancouver. There are a few gate areas each with different security check points. So before the gate is announced, there us no place to sit. Of course, there are chairs in the waiting area outside gates, and toilets are also better than outside.
Vancouver, -2 hours. 23°C, beautiful blue sky with snowy mountains in the northern skyline. A canoe, cascades, bird songs greet you as you walk in YVR. My plane arrived at noon, a very busy time. 3 planes in 10 minutes. another 3 in half an hour. Non Canadiens formed a LONG queue at passport control. The room's temperature rose significantly. Crippled me lined up here for an hour, sweating. Unpleasant. My backpack was still in Mexico! Air Canada's luggage counter located my bag tag, and told me that no plane tomorrow, so nothing until 28th.
5/28. Received my backpack ~4pm. I was allowed CA$50 per day emergency expense, provided that I mail the receipts, my delay tag to the baggage claim center. A check in US$ was later sent to my Seattle home.
Notes
1. Hotel Manhattan. Very rundown. A nice colonial building. Big spartan rooms, high ceiling. COP12000 pp. Once I hesitated, he dropped the price to 10k. Shared toilet, not clean. Shower is instant electric heater. Water doesn't get very warm. Towel, soap, toilet paper is provided. Recommended on Lonely Planet. Close by, Koala Inn charges 25k/18k w/wo toilet. Next door, Hotel Loft asks for ~$72! Back
2. COP15000 for a bed. Kitchen access. Free wifi. Big spartan room. Dated travel info and peoples comments of neighboring sights posted on the wall. 2 dogs. 2 shared toilets, but only one has hot shower before 10pm. About 6 gringos that night. Back
3. A store called Ricos Jugos. The lady has a house behind the store with 4 rooms downstairs, each with ensuite.6 15000. as soon as I hesitated, she lowered the price to 12000. she can also fix dinner for 6000. Private double or twin rooms. Towel, soup, decent toilet paper. No hot water. Clean, tiled floor. Her juice with milk is 2000, pretty good. 2 mid size glasses. A friend of mine later (July 2012) stayed at Residencial de Viajero. She liked it. It has hot shower. Only 10000. Back
4. Recommended on Lonely Planet. 6500 dinner includes a banana with both tips cut off, a soup, a large plate of rice, bean, tomato (skinned), a decent cut of beef and fried banana, lulo juice with a tiny plate of sugar pickled fruit. I was very hungry and asked for more rice. She happily dished me more. When I was paying, I saw that the blender had some juice left, so I asked for it. She poured the rest into my small glass. Back
5. El Jadin. 15000/12000 w/wo ensuite. For 2 nights, I was able to bargain to 10k a night in a single room with shared bath. I may be the only guest here. So shared toilet was never a problem. See through thin towel, soap, decent paper in toilet. Water is not very warm. Small room with big window to the street. Airy but noisy. Lots of potted plants. An aviary with parrots. Back
6. Hotel International is a small hostel in an ugly concrete building, within 1 block from Museo de Oro, supermarket. COP22k for private room, shared toilet. I paid 40k for 2 nights. Had my disgusting backpack washed for 8k. Towel, toilet paper, soap. Kitchen access (no fridge). Free fast wifi (but concrete limits its range). I don't like its bed. But I had a big window. Yadira at the front desk is very helpful, wrote down the bus #s for me. A nicely done map printout. Back
7. Casa de Lili in Salento, private room 23000 including breakfast at 8. wifi. Clean kitchen and toilet. Towel. Lili is very patient and warm. Good music selection, and not too loud. Back
8. Hostal Parque Narino. Carerra 8a #11-63. 311-2515194 / 318-2474044. Owned by a good looking young couple with a toddler. Nice home, Spartan room, dirty kitchen (well equipped). Dorm bed 15000. 3 beds. But just me. Single room 20000. Shared bath. The cheapest room I could find otherwise is 25000 a single room with private bath. Most are much more expensive. But on Saturday, will have to pay double. Back
9. Hotel San Carlos. Carrera 11 #11-25. 15000 for the cheapest single room, with toilet. No window, looks crappy, cold water only. San Gil is pricy. A dorm bed at Macondo is 20000. The other cheapest single room I found is 30k, with window, but also a small crappy room. Back
10. Casa Villa Grande. In a dilapidated building. Calle 30 Media Luna #10-33, piso 2. 6644166. casa-villainn@hotmail.com, 20k my own room, fan, toilet. Sink leaks, toilet handle broke, not very clean. Small kitchen with just salt. No usable knife. The family who runs the place is pretty nice. They book tours with good price. But with the temperature so high, I need to take shower 3 times a day. Having my own shower is necessary. Laundry dries quickly with heat and fan. Casa Vienna 20k for a dorm bed. But too many people share the 2 toilets. Hotel Yolanda on Calle Espiritu Santo #29-101 also runs a cheap hostel on the same street. 18000 a bed in a 6-bed dorm with AC, wifi, kitchen, shared facilities. Pretty dismal, but, since almost no one stays here, you get the room and toilet all to yourself. Back
4 months are not enough for South America. I only visited part of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru (2nd time), Ecuador (2nd time), Columbia. After maybe a month, I got into the busy yet simple rhythm of traveling, always going somewhere, no longer wanted to go home. I found this quote of Theroux succinct: Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going.
