The alarm clock wakes me at 6.30am. It´s hard to leave the warm bed and brave Bogotá´s cold once more. I get ready to leave and shortly after 7:30 I am in a cab and on the way to Bogotá´s huge bus terminal. The cab driver wants to convince me that it´s better not to switch on the meter but I don´t buy it and, as was to be expected, the fare ends up to be € 2.50 cheaper than what he would have charged without meter... At the terminal I wait for the bus to leave and finally it does, some 25 minutes late. It´s a very comfortable luxury bus and so I´m really suprised to see a vendor on board. The sleezy guy tells a heartwarming story and then unpacks a suitcase full of "original" designer sunglasses, cameras and the like. The other passengers seem to be genuinely interested in the products and so the vendor leaves 70 minutes later at Bogotá´s southern bus terminal with an almost empty suitcase and a wad of dough in his greasy jeans pocket. The trip south to Pitalito, around 600 km from Bogotá, is uneventful and slowgoing, at least until Neiva, the one and only big city we pass. With every kilometer the temperature outside seems to be rising, judging by the clothes of the passers-by, but inside the a/c is on full blast and without my fleece jacket and another jacket (my South America experience pays off) I´d probably die of hypothermia before arriving in Pitalito after 10 hours on the bus. In Pitalito José, a friend of friends in Bogotá who is keen on showing me the archaeological wonders of his home province Huila, is already waiting for me and we hurry to one of the last Camperos (pick-up truck with seating in the back) to San Agustín, Colombia´s archaeological capital. We drive there at break-neck speed, somehow avoiding crashes with unlit vehicles. The driver must have sonar on board! Forty-five minutes later we arrive at our cosy but out-of-the-way hotel up the hill with great views of the lights of the small town down in the valley. José and I talk - he gives me a typical Poncho of his region as a present - and enjoy a smooth and ice cold Colombia Club beer and then retire to our rooms. We are the only guests and share a whole house.
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| Our "house" |
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| Do you like my poncho? I think it looks great! |
The next morning we meet for breakfast at 8 o´clock - scrambled eggs, bread, arepa (corn bread), fresh orange juice and a delicious, strong coffee. Feeling revived we hike the three kilometers to the entrance of San Agustín´s archaeological park, a UNESCO world heritage site since 1995. The culture of San Agustín remains quite mysterious. It dominated the area for thousands of years and at the peak of their civilisation they developed a unique burial culture. The tombs of the most important chiefs and shamans were protected by elaborate stone statues and now this park shows some of the discovered tombs in their original site. It´s a 4 kilometer walk up and down (very) steep hills, surrounded by tropical forests. The views of the idyllic landscape are just as fantastic as the relics of San Agustinian culture and add to the special atmosphere of the park. At 1700 meters the climate is spring-like, ideal for the long and demanding walks.
After exploring the park we visit the small but excellent museum at the park entrance and then head to the Bosque de las estatuas, a little stretch of forest amidst which 39 original statues were put - truly wonderful!
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| José and I |
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| This butterfly seemed to like me - it even followed me for some time! |
For the way back to town we decide to take a colectivo. San Agustín is a quiet, friendly and laid-back sort of town with a strong indigenous touch. And the best thing is - there are hardly any other "gringos".
José decides he needs lunch (chicken leg broth, sound as yummy as it looks!). Then we look out for a taxi driver prepared to take us to some sites a bit further away from town. We find one, haggle a bit and then are off to El Estrecho, a place where Colombia´s most important, 1500 km long Magdalena river passes a narrow gorge (around 2 meters). On the way we stop a few times to take in the views of the beautiful Magdalena canyon and to admire the wild orchids.
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| Magdalena river gorge |
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| Our driver Mauricio and his cab |
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| Yours truly at el Estrecho |
Then we drive back towards the town but stop a few miles before getting there to start a strenuous but rewarding hike to the San Agustinian site of La Chaquira (to the best of my knowledge not related to the Colombian singer Shakira).
Our last stop on this trip is El Tablón, another site with elaborate statues. Mauricio, the chicken-killing taxi driver, accompanies us and we´re having a great time. Back in town I buy my bus ticket to Popayán, organize tomorrow´s trip to other nearby attractions and we have dinner (delicious chicken breast and fresh mango juice). We watch tonight´s football match in the U20 world cup: Colombia beats Costa Rica in a badly played but still exciting match. Then it´s time for the last hike of the day, 1,5km uphill to our hotel in complete darkness. When we get there all that José wants is to lie in bed and so I decide to do the same and have an early night.
In the morning I get up at 6:30, pack my bags and am ready for breakfast at around 7:30. That´s where I meet José. Shortly after 8 our driver arrives, stows our bags in the back of his jeep and then fails to get the key out of the lock of the back door. Only after a violent struggle does he manage to get it out and off we go - first stop is El Salto del Mortiño, a wonderful waterfall with a 190 m drop. The "skywalk" here could do with some improvement but we dare to enter it anyway, avoiding to lean on anything... The view is worth the risk.
From there it´s only a short drive to the archaeological site Alto de los Ídolos. It´s another steep climb in wonderful landscape and then we admire the tombs and the beautifully conserved statues.
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| Colombian wasps look quite different - this must be a queen. |
Back in San Agustín José gets on board a Campero that takes him to Pitalito while I wait for my bus to Popayán. The 130 km trip is very rough but amazing. First the bus climbs up to more than 3000 meters, through dense cloud forest (where there is still guerrilla activity) and to the barren Páramo, then through the most wonderfully shaped valleys with incredibly steep "hills" and at around 8 o´clock I arrive in Popayán, the white city. A short cab ride from the terminal I reach today´s final destination and then it´s time to relax with a Colombia Club by my side.
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| Well deserved! |
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