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Day 122
The time had come to leave San Agustin, our few days here have been some of the most relaxing of the trip and the scenery amazing. San Agustin is the sort of town I could see exploding with tourism if people actually started coming. To Colombia in greater numbers. You can find just about any activity here. Ancient history, hiking, horseback riding, white water rafting and just plain old being lazy. The locals are friendly, food is good and the town is a pleasant place. If you are reading this and thinking about a trip to South America and possibly Colombia then don’t miss San Agustin. It’ll be one of those, “You should have seen it here 10 years ago”.
As for us we were off this morning on a 8am bus destined for Popayan. A colonial city in the south of Colombia. We plan on spending a night or two before heading to Ecuador. As our bus pulled up we were knocked back to the travelling reality of South America. This bus was massive and falling apart. The inside was filthy, dirt covered the seats and the arm rests were mangled pieces of metal. A real chicken bus. “Is this the right bus?” Was both our reactions. Not only was the bus bad but this route to Popayan is known as one of the worst roads in Colombia. Only 200km but taking an average of 7 hours! This was going to be a treat.
We left the tarmac road quickly behind in San Agustin and joined up with easily the worst road we have been on anywhere. We bounced around on the filthy seats as dust puffed up off the seats with every bump. It was a rough seven hours but the scenery was incredible. We travelled high in the Andes at around 3200 meters. The landscape was odd and tree less, we were above the tree line.
Finally at 3:30pm we arrived in Popayan. We rushed to a hostel about 1km from the bus station as thunder and lightning closed in on the city. Luckily we made it just in time and settled in to a comfortable room with a good shared bath. Jordana and I set out to explore the city, a beautiful colonial town where almost all the buildings have been whitewashed. We found a good italian restaurant for dinner and had some great pasta. Popayan was a pleasant place, no big attractions but just a nice city to stop in for a couple of nights.
Tags: chicken bus, Colombia, Popayan, south america
Michael Coroneos
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