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Friday, March 7th, 2008

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.

Posted in Colombia | No Comments »

A Tight Fit

Saturday, December 15th, 2007

Day 40
We awoke in the morning, packed up and before we even had breakfast were in a taxi to the bus station. We were headed only 45km away from Guatemala City but it would feel like we were leaving the country. Antigua, our destination is one of the most beautiful cities in the Americas. Restored colonial buildings, buried power lines, cobbled streets and surrounded by 3 large volcanoes, it certainly wasn’t typical Guatemala.

We boarded a ridiculously colourful old American school bus, a chicken bus. As some of the first passengers on we were lucky and grabbed seats. Pulling through the streets of Guatemala we picked up more and more passengers and people boarded at stops to sell drinks and food. This is a usual occurrence all over the world, however the strange part was when a delivery boy from Dominoes Pizza jumped on selling slices. Good to see the American fast food franchises getting involved in the local economy. About halfway to Antigua the bus was packed, people were mostly 3 to a seat and several stood in the aisle. Jordana and I were getting lucky, still just the two of us. Then it happened. The bus stopped and two girls got on, one was skinny and quickly found a seat. The other was the fattest girl in Central America. “Where is she going to sit?” asked Jordana. “Um she’ll just have to stand, she’s huge.” She looked around unsure what to do. I don’t want to sound mean or like an ass but this girl had rolls on her rolls, you know…more rolls than a bakery. I’m sorry for that, but you need to understand what kind of girth we are speaking of here. I actually felt a bit bad for her, everyone looking at her probably thinking, “Girl! Don’t even think about sitting near me.” Well I’m not sure if my sorry feelings showed on my face but she walked right to our seat and proceeded to wedge herself in. Jordana was trying to keep in the laughter. I was just trying not to be crushed. Why me?

35 minutes later we arrived at Antigua’s bus station, well more like a vast yard/market. The girl rolled off the seat and I felt like someone had freed me. It felt good to be off the bus and walking through the dusty bus yard. We found an OK room at the Yellow House Hostel and set out to explore Antigua.

This truly wasn’t Guatemala anymore. There is a large foreign presence here, due to the fact there are over 75 schools from which you can study spanish. Also tons of expats own businesses here. Don’t get me wrong it is a beautiful city, you can’t walk anywhere without looking up and seeing one of the 3 large volcanoes peering down on you. Its also clean, safe and has some beautifuls parks. Being here was felt like a vacation from our travels, an “easy” break before we returned the so called “real” Guatemala again. As an example of what Antigua is like our first night we had Greek food and then went to an Irish pub. They even had Guinness, but at $7 a can I had to take a pass. As strange as all this was it sure beat been barred up in Guatemala City.

Posted in Guatemala | No Comments »

Easy Riding

Monday, November 12th, 2007
Day: 6 Not much to write about today, it was one of those full travel days. The type where you get up early and know the rest of the day is filled with the unknown, spent on a bus with ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Mexico | 4 Comments »