The Vagrant Gypsy Life

Day 287 Wed 15/6

The taxi (a jeep) from Taganga to Tyrona took about 2.5 hours! Picking up folks in various hostels, stopping to allow folks to withdraw money and then a stop at a local shop. Tayrona park is pretty expensive – the entrance is about 35,000 CoP and lodging and food more expensive than outside.

We arrived at entrance around 12:30 – 1pm and started our slow trek to Cabo de San Juan, stopping for photos, lunch and ice creams enroute. The girls and I were joined by 3 Italians living in Ireland.

Tayrona wasnt in my original itinerary, but I am glad that the girls managed to convince me. Paradise doesnt quite cover it. Lovely beaches with a nice trail connecting them. The only problems are the mosquitoes and that one cannot swim at all the beaches as some of the currents can be quite treacherous. There were signs warning people not to become part of the statistics of the number of people who have drowned trying to swim at a couple of beaches.

Arrecife offered the first set of cabañas, hammocks and tents for visitors, but it was expensive and the nearest “swimmable” beach 20 minutes away. We decided it was well worth the effort to walk another hour to get to Cabo de San Juan. We braved the heat and the humidity to trudge along. However, by the time we got there, it was too late for all of us to have the choice of sleeping in hammocks. The girls took the only 2 hammocks available and the guys took two tents, with Darrio and I sharing one.

Shower and time for dinner. We had crackers, tuna and some fruit. The cheese and meat that the Italians carried with them from Taganga looked pretty bad after 6 hours in the heat!

Neither Darrio nor I got much sleep. It was too hot to sleep with the flap closed and the mosquitoes made life unbearable with the flap open. We even tried the beach, but not much helped. I managed a couple of hours of sleep around 3 am.

Day 288 Thu 16/6

The day was spent swimming, resting at the beach, going on a couple of short walks and chatting with folks. It was a nice, relaxed day. The girls managed to procure a cabaña for the night and the view from their cabin was well worht the price they paid for it. They invited us all up for a look and to watch the sun go down. However, lighting and thunder were our companions that evening, but still offered stellar views. We looked out into the ocean knowing that Mexico was on the northern end of Carribean on lines we could draw from where we stood!

Slept well on the hammock, the mosquito net proving quite useful! The only bite I had was when I had to get out of my hammock to pee in the middle of the night.

Day 289 Fri 17/6

More time in the water and the beach and it was time to say goodbye to the girls. The Italian lads were heaidng back to Tayrona as well, since they were short on time. It is never fun to say goodbye to people whose company one enjoys, but it is after all the life of the traveller: after 10 or 11 days, it was time to part ways. The girls were going to spend a couple more days at Tayrona and then head to La Guajira, the peninsula.

Hike back to the parking lot where Jose was waiting for us. We had to run the last few kms or so to make it just in time.

Had dinner with the lads and headed to bed at midnight, prepared for the 5 day trek that I had been looking forward to since I had read about it during my research well over a year ago!

Day 285 Mon 13/6
Breakfast and it was time to start the marathon journey. I had stayed away from overnight journeys in Colombia since the Colombian buses are nowhere as comfortable as the ones in other South American countries I have been to, bar the ones in Ecuador. This time, there wasnt much of an option unless I wanted to spend a day in Bucaramanga. However, following the advice of a local that there wasnt much to hold a visitor there, I decided to brave the overnight journey. The girls were headed to Tayrona park and we decided to continue all the way to Taganga.

The bus ride from Barichara to San Gil was short and I fell asleep. After a wait of an hour, we boarded the bus from San Gil to Bucaramanga. The windy road makes it one of the most dangerous roads in Colombia, while also one of the most picturesque! The cañon (I forget the name) was breathtaking and my photos did it no justice! Arrived around 6pm at the bus terminal in Bucaramanga and decided to take the 10:30 pm bus to Santa Marta. The torrential downpour discouraged us from exploring the city and we spent the time at the bus station, eating dinner and Cynthia sharing photos of her trip to Mexico.

Day 286 Tue 14/6
The bus was full! The ride was comfortable and I slept well, with interruptions, however. We reached Sta Marta around 7 am. By the time we caught a taxi to Taganga and settled in at the hostel, it was time for breakfast. Shower and off to the beach. Taganga was once a laid back fishing village. It no longer bears much resemblance to that! It is full of tourists, which is surprising since the beaches werent that pretty! I spent the day swimming and relaxing with the girls on the beach. Such hardship lying on the beach!

The only thing of note was that I arranged my hike to Ciudad Perdida (the lost city), home of the Tayrona people for a while, before they left it. The Spanish never made it there, but the people left it when the conquerors arrived to nearby villages. I was lucky – the price of the trek would go up by 100,000 CoP (about 60USD) in a day or two as the high season were to set in, to coincide with summer vacation for the school-children.

Day 282 Fri 10/6

An early breakfast at a hostel right across the street (where we cursed ourselves for not staying there), a walk around town and we were off to Barichara. Franck and Becky meant to get on a bus to Bucaramange, but Cynthia, Rosario and I planned to spend a couple of nights in Barichara.

Barichara is a more authentic version of Villa de Leyva. It is less touristy and much quieter. Not too many tourists seem to stay overnight and people are friendly (I should note when Colombians arent friendly, I reckon!).

After a group lunch and goodbyes, went for a walk around the village. I was glad that I decided to leave San Gil and spend the night in Barichara. It is a very pretty, quiet colonial town (village, really). Villa de Leyva and Barichara excude charm and tranquility, but unlike Villa, there isnt a whole lot to do in Barichara, making it less of a tourist hotspot, especially among backpackers who seem to thrive on excitement.

After a stop in the hostel for a short rest, where I met a couple of Americans of Bolivian descent and chatted with them, the girls and I went out for a walk, taking photos. An amphitheatre near one of the miradors was so enticing that we decided to return to watch the sunset the next day. There are a couple of bar/stores at the two viewpoints which make up the nightlife in Barichara. We listened to some music and watched the people. It started to rain and we had to wait it out. Out of my entire stay in Colombia, it has probably not rained about 6 days!

Back at the hostel around 11 and off to a good night’s sleep.

Day 283 Sat 11/6

The main tourist attraction in the village, apart from the village itself, is the walk to nearby Guane (el camino real). Built by the Guane people, it is a pre-hispanic route. At the start of the walk, I ran into a couple of Norwegian girls I had met at the hostel in Salento. We hadnt exchanged names and so the hellos were a bit hushed. Quite a surprise though. The two girls joined us on the walk, which was very pleasant amid lovely scenery.

Guane is a tiny village, with not much to keep a visitor enthralled. Lunch and it was time to head back. I decided to walk back while the girls took the bus. The way back took me only about 75-80 minutes.

It was time to head to the mirador for the sunset. The girls had apparently been missing their mate, and they brought a flask along. We watched the sunset, drinking mate. I was an honorary Argentine for the evening. Back to the hostel to take a quick shower and we were back in the village to get some food. We decided on pizza and the owner of the restaurant joined us for a chat. The girls convinced me to go dancing and two folks from the restaurant joined us. I did dance, but sometimes, streotypes
do hold true. I have two left feet when it comes to dancing. It is a pity since I do enjoy it. Didnt make it to bed till about 1:30! I was falling asleep standing up. A few more nights like this and I could sign up to be an Argentine! They start dinner at 9:00 pm, head out around 11 and dance all night, returning home at around 4 am!

Day 284 Sun 12/6
After the night out, I decided to spend a day doing nothing and the girls decided they would do the same. We went out for breakfast, a visit to the fruit market and returned to the hostel to watch a couple of movies – The Closet and Gold Rush. The only excitement of the day came when we tried the local delicacy: fried ants. It was quite hard to eat and we all stopped after one ant.

Day 281 Thu 9/6

Breakfast was at the French bakery. Then the 5 of us squeezed into a taxi for what should have been a 4 hour ride to San Gil. However, a truck had fallen off the cliff when the driver got off the truck and forgot to put the handbrakes on. At least, we stopped at a really beautiful place, complete with waterfalls. There already was a queue of vehicles by the time we stopped, including an armoured truck carryihng money. The guards were extremely jumpy and for some reason, everytime I walked by they stared at me as if they were scared of my intentions. At least, someone thinks I am bloody well dangerous 🙂

After a 2 hour wait, it was back into the crowded taxi and off to San Gil. Got there pretty late, by which time we were quite tired. The hostel was a pick of the guide book Lonely Planet, which has become the traveller’s bible. If that is the pick of the town, I would love to see the rest of the hostels – or rather, I would hate to see them. The place wasnt very clean, and barring one young lady, the folks werent helpful or welcoming. We went out for a quick meal followed by a shower and bed!

Saw a little bit of the town Thursday night and Friday morning, but there wasnt anything impressive about the place, and I decided to move on to Barichara Friday.

Day 274 Thu 2/6

Woke up early to go for a walk around Bogota. Also visited the ATM to replenish diminishing funds. Got a bus to Tunja in pouring rain from Portal del Norte. 2 hours to Tunja and a collectivo to Villa. Pretty village, but hard walk to get to the lovely hostel, Renacer guesthouse. Chat with Sage, a Californian, after dinner.

Day 275 Fri 3/6

Spent most of the day on a hike, with 4 other folks in the hostel, to two waterfalls – El Angel and Hayal? After 6 hours of mostly easy hiking, we were back at the hostel. The taxi came out to be cheap for the 5 of us. Dinner was a bit expensive at one of the best restaurants in town – Antique. I had a couple of glasses of wine, my first in about 3 months!

Day 276 Sat 4/6

Headed to the market in the morning. Thanks to Sage, who informed me about the existence of a French bakery in town, I had the opportunity to taste chocolate brownie to die for and a couple of other goodies. Headed off to El Infiernito & El fosil with Mark, a Londoner and Tillman, from Frankfurt (Frankfurter? 🙂 ). Infiernito was nice, but el fosil was a waste of time and money!

Most of the people I had met the last couple of days left. However, folks from Bogota arrived to join me and Tillman in the pleasnt 8 person dorm. The dorm had a beautiful view!

While preparing dinner at the hostel, met an extremely friendly Colombian civil engg couple, Fernando & Carolina. They were enjoying their 3 day weekend and were on their way to visit Carolina’s parents. They were working in Medellin, but Carolina got a new project in Bogota and was headed there after their holidays.

Day 277 Sun 5/6

Starting to fall into a routine here – Frnech bakery in the mornign after breakfast!

Follwed by a 3.5 hours hike up a hill with Tillman to see the views of Villa and surroudings village. Met more friendly Colombians on the way down. The couple had exchanged the rigours of a Bogotan life for the more relaxing splendours of Villa. Spent the afternoon reading “Silence of the lambs”.

Tillman was off to Cucuy. I might run into him again on the lost city trek up north.

Day 278 Mon 6/6

I had thought of leaving that morning, but extended my stay. Villa in beautiful, with whitewashed houses, adorned with colourful doors and windows. The cobblestones on the streets, however, made for extremely uncomfortable walks and was the one thing I did not like about the village.

After a pleasant afternoon, ecovering from the morning spent walking on those blasted cobblestones, reading and catnapping in a hammock, I found myself all alone in the dorm. All the Colombian folks had left. I went into the common area to meet a few newcomers, a couuple of Argentine girls, Rosario and Cyntia. They were both from Buenos Aires and Cyntia is doing her PhD at U of Austin. Spent a couple of hours chatting with them and Toni, from Cataluña, before partaking a dinner of pizza.

Day 279 Tue 7/6

Spent the day hanging out with the Argentine girls. We got lost walking to Pozos Azules, local swimming holes. However, the 4 hours walk was far from unpleasant and my Spanish stood the test.

Toni and Franck, a Frenchman, joined us for a night of dinner and music at Antique. We were the only customers and the musician played for us. The girls, Franck and Toni joined in the singing and drumming. Yours truly with singing skills best left to solo pérformances in showers, took over the obligatory role of photographer.

Day 280 Wed 8/6

Toni, Franck and self went on a hike to Iguaque. We headed out eary, since we were warned it is a 6-7 hour hike. We walked really fast and made th roundtrip in 4.5 hours. The walk was through some lovely flora. We expected more fauna, but only managed to see one bird! We spent about 30 minutes at the Laguna Iguaque, located at an altitude of about 3800m.

We were driven back by Jose, the park ranger, who had some lovely bits of information to share about the flora and fauna of the park, political situation in Colombia, history of Villa, among other things. Made for a nice trip home. Dinner was pizza again with 5 other folks from the hostel.

Day 269 Fri 27/5
A long day that started at 5:30 am. Got to the bus station around 07:30 and had to wait till 08:20 for my bus. The long 12.5 hour bus journey was made bearable by some beautiful scenery and the novel I was reading, the third policeman. An absolutely hilarious novel, full of absurdities that turn out to be not very absurd after all.
I am not going to forget my taxi ride from the bus station to the hostel in a hurry. The driver seemed to be in training for his F1 career. After a 12 hour bus ride, I wasnt quite in the mood to enjoy his style of driving and was extremely glad when we made it to the hostel in one piece!

Day 270 Sat 28/5
A day that started off with heavy rainfall trapping most of us indoors. The rain eased a bit around 11 and I managed to head out for a walk. I also changed hostel to move to a smaller place, in a really pretty colonial building. Settled in to watch the UEFA Champions league final. Barcelona were in scintillating form and displayed their and won 3-1. I was all alone in my hostel. Wish I could have been in Plaza Cataluña for the game. The sun had come out and I headed to wander the streets of La Candelaria before heading back around 18:00 to settle in with a book by David Mitchell called Black Swan Green. Finished the book before drifting off to sleep.

Day 271 Sun 29/5
Certain days not much goes your way! Woke up to find that the neighbourhood of La Candelaria has problems with water. Lack of water made me a wee bit grumpy. To make matters worse, it started pouring down when I headed out of the hostel. It got even worse when I reached the Museum of gold, dripping wet to boot, to find that most museums are closed today due to some elections. The nice lady with the police told me that the Museo de Bogota was open. They had an exhibition of photos – one floor of photos of concentration camps and one floor with photos of miners and mujeres rebeldes y felices. Needless to say, the photos of the concentration camps were grim and suited the weather and made me feel quite melancholic.
After a break at the hostel to get dry, headed out for a walk around La Candelaria. Sunday evenings do get quite busy around here! Had sun for a couple of hours and it was very welcome!

Day 271 Mon 30/5
Another rainy day. Luckily I meant to spend most of the time in museusm. The trio of Museo Botero, Museo de moneda and Museo del Banco de la republica are free to the public and showcase works of artists from Colombia and Europe. I enjoyed quite a lot of what I saw and spent about 3-3.5 hours. My lunch again was at a vegetarian place – the food was really good, albeit a wee bit expensive.
Spent a couple of hours walking around places I hadnt seen before. Headed back to the hostel when it started getting cloudy and watched some tennis.

Day 272 Tue 31/5
Museo Nacional, a prison turned into a museum in 1948, was well worth the trouble of walking 30 minutes! The entrnce fee is 2000 pesos, which is a little more than a dollar! It is a mixture of Colombian history, art and ethnographic museums. After about 4 hours, I felt too tired to absorb things and left. My stomach was also crying out for food. More veggie fare. There seem to be quite a lot of vegetarian restaurants in Bogota and the big cities in Colombia.

Day 273 Wed 1/6
A group of Russians had made it to the hostel the previous night and demonstrated that it surely was their only time in a dorm by making a racket early in the morning. I was, fortunately, well awake before they started their conversations, but the rest of the folks in the room werent impressed.
I left the hostel early to head to Zipaquira, about 40 km away from Bogota, a mining town (salt) where the claim to fame is the Catedral de la Sal (Salt Catedral). The original Cathedral was shut down due to safety issues, and the construction of the new one started 20 years ago and took 5 years!
I got to Zipaquira around 09:30 and with help from the friendly locals, made it to the Parque del Sal. The entry is expensive, but well worth it. I havent seen anything like the cathedral anywhere. It was a bit cold inside, with the smell of sulphur. A guide is included in the entry price and though in English, I managed to understand about 80-90% of his informative talks. They have mass at the cathedral every Sunday and apparently even weddings.
The guided walk took an hour and I then spent another 30 minutes retracing the route we took.
I got to Bogota a bit late and missed lunch. Too tired to walk around town, I headed to the hostel and watched Nadal recover his form to beat Soderling in the French open quarters.

Photos of Medellin

Medellin is the second largest city in Colombia and was the haunt of Pablo Escobar till he was killed. These days, it is safe and attracts a lot of tourists. I enjoyed my stay here and fell in love with the city. The people are very friendly (like the rest of Colombia), it is easy to get around Medellin and I enjoyed walking around, not to mention my visits to some of the museums.

I liked that they have a really good metro system in Medellin. It is convenient, safe, cheap and is very user friendly. Small touches such as a defrebillator in some of the stations and the fact that the police (stationed in every stop) help old people and blind folk off the metro and lead them to the exit.

Day 263 Sat 21/5
Arrived in Medellin after a 7.5 hour bus ride from Salento. After a shower, headed to the supermarket to get some food. The supermarket was huge and it took me a while to get my bearings! I went to bed, only to be woken up by drunken idiots who persisted on behaving like children and had a loud conversation outside my dorm. I requested them to be quiet and reminded them that there are other people in the hostel trying to sleep, but to no avail. They were quiet for about 2 minutes before going back to their high-“spirited” selves. I figured Sunday would be quiet and resolved to move to a quiet hostel elsewhere.

Day 264 Sun 22/5
A forced early start to the day, thanks to an inebriated bunch of nincompoops. I spent my morning at the Museo de Antioquia, which has a great collection of Colombian artists, especially Botero (born in Medellin), whose sculptures are displayed in the plaza just outside the museum. The museum also has some murals drawm be Pedro Nel Gomez, another famous son of the city. I walked around for 2-3 hours and was tired by the time I reached the hostel. Luckily it was quiet that night and I maneged to get a good night´s sleep.

Day 265 Mon 23/5
I moved to a quiet hostel in a residential area. Not too many people – 1 other foreigner and a couple of Colombians as well. The staff were extremely friendly and the lady who managed the place, Diana, made me glad that I did change hostels! Her smile alone was worth the price of admission.
I found a vegetarian restaurant and had lunch there the rest of my stay in town. It is called Govinda´s and is run by people who are drawn to Hindu philosophy. The place is adorned with paintings of Hindu gods and godesses; there is a shop selling Indian clothes and other items; the ladies who were serving the food wore saris; they played Indian music. The food was really good and filling, and importantly for a jobless bum, cheap.
Didnt do much that afternoon except wander aimlessly. Also watched Two Towers that evening.

Day 266 Tue 24/5
Took the metrocable to get a view of Medellin from the skies, so to speak. Walked around the city centre for a while, checked out the main square and Catedral Metropolitano, a giant brick cathedral (apparently the biggest, using about 1.2 million bricks), and the Universidad de Antioquia.

Day 267 Wed 25/5
I woke up early, but after bfast, gave into laziness and spent the morning reading a book in bed.
After lunch, I walked from the city centre to the Museo de Arte Moderno Medellin, which I didnt really enjoy. However, the walk there was nice and the walk back to the hostel, long and satisfying.

Day 268 Thu 26/5
My final day in Medellin was quite busy. I visited the Cementerio de San Pedro, the Iglesia Jesus Nazaren, and walked around the neighbourhood in the morning. Lunch at Govinda´s and it was time to head to Casa Museo Pedro Nel Gomaez. There were no other tourists, and the museum has a very nice collection. I enjoyed the visit very much. After that, it was time to stroll in the Jardin Botanico and rest in the shade of the trees, watching people and ducks.
Spent the evening chatting to Mauro and watching “Following”.

260 Wed 18/5 – 262 Fri 20/5

I left early Wednesday morning. Well, at least, I left the hostel early. The bus continued the tradition of Colombian buses leaving late from the terminal. We left an hour late and made it to Armenia in good time. From there, it was a half hour collectivo ride to Salento.

Salento is a small town with colourful buildings set among mountains. It is coffee plantation area and green to boot. After getting to Salento, I was quite disappointed that I hadnt left earlier from Cali.

After getting to Salento, I walked around a bit, walking up the stairs to a mirador, which offered some lovely views before it started raining and I headed to the hostel (Hostal Tralala). The owner has a really nice collection of movies and I watched The Shutter Island that evening.

I decided to have a fairly relaxing day in Salento and after again walking around in the morning, spent some time reading in the main square before rain forced me back to the hostel. That evening was spent watching another Dicaprio movie, “The Inception”

This had to be one of my favourite days in Colombia and the highlight of my trip in Salento. I woke up early and took the jeep to Cocora and 07:30 am. The half hour ride deposited me and about another 10-12 foreigners in the village. The valley of Cocora is beautiful and the main attraction is the Acaime reserve. The hike there and back is about 5 hours. I liked the trail so much that I extended my hike by a couple of hours by walking up the hill, past the reserve, to a mirador where I could see almost nothing, thanks to the clouds. The reserve has a lot of birds, especially hummingbirds. The price of entry also included hot chocolate.

After a shower, I settled down to watch “The kids are allright” and then had a nice long chat with a couple of fellow travellers – from Turkey and Poland. They were really a lot of fun and I wished that they had got to town a day or two earlier. We sat late into the night chatting and drinking some wine – my first cup of wine since I left Chile!

Valle de Cocora photos

257 Sun 15/5 – 259 Tue 17/5

Photos of Cali

Got into Cali after a fairly comfortable 3 hour bus ride from Popayan. The taxi driver who drove me to the hostel tried to cheat me by asking double the price. My Spanish is good enough to give him a bollocking, but wish I knew some decent swearwords, cos if anyone deserved some, it was he! Welcome to a big city!

Cali is the third largest city in Colombia, and it is not really very pretty or endearing. I thought that the mixture of old and new parts would draw me in, but that didnt happen. I didnt have some really good vegetarian food, though. One of the restaurants played a lot of old Hindi songs: ages since I had heard them!

I didnt do much Sunday since the place was dead. I did some grocery shopping and chatted with some folks at the hostel. Monday and Tuesday were spent walking around in the morning, followed by a leisurely chat with folks in the hostel and/or some football.

Cali is famous for it’s salsa, but early in the week is probably not the best time to experience that. I would have liked to have seen a salsa band and some dance, but it wasnt to be.

250 Sun 8/5 & 251 Mon 9/5

Photos of Tierradentro

I got on a bus from Popayan early in the morning for what was supposed to be a 5 hour journey. However, the elements were against us. There was a landslide and we had to wait in the bus, in the middle of nowhere, while folks worked hard to move the obstruction from the road. I am glad I had a couple of books with me! The bus ride was through some unpaved rough roads and was quite a bone shatterig ride! The views were stunning though! I go to the village of San Andres de Pisimbala after a 4 km from where the bus dropped me. The folks I passed on the road to the village of 850 people were friendly and we exchanged pleasant how-do-you-dos and even a wee bit of conversation. I stayed at a residencial owned and run by a sweet old lady. She chatted with me for a bit and then left me to settle in. After a shower, I wandered a bit around the village. The village is small and surrounded by greenery and mountains. The only building of note is the centuries old church. The chance to see stars again at night after quite some time was a welcome change.

Tierradentro has a museum and 5 sites where one can encounter pre-hispanic tombs, some of them with decorations and paintings. Not much is known of the civilization which lived there from the 1st to the 10th century AD and then disappeared, due to reasons unknown.

After a lovely breakfast cooked by Doña Marta, I was off to the museum, situated 2 km from the village. I had a lovely guide who showed me around the museum and gave me more information than provided by the notes. I visited the tombs of Segovia, Duende and the site of El Tablon (which has 11 statues) on a pleasant walk which took me about 3 hours, through some farms where I ran into not a single soul. Then it was time for a delicious, filling lunch in the village before continuing the circuit of the sites. The last site, Aguacate, was a 2.5 hour hike and well worth the work for the views! It was a lovely day spent in solitude, communing with nature and wondering about civilizations long gone.

Ran into a German tourist staying at the hostel and we played a couple of games of billiards that night. The sight of a tall blonde lass playing billiards drew quite a crowd of onlookers. Folks werent shy to offer us advice, either! People are extremely friendly and are ready to chat to one at the drop of a hat!