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Checking Out San Agustin’s Hostel Scene

 

One of the 130, 5000 year old scultures, in San Agustin, in the archaeological park, Huila, Colombia, South America

One of the 130, 5000 year old scultures, in San Agustin, in the archaeological park, Huila, Colombia

Yeap we did it, arriving in San Agustin not knowing it was Columbia’s Independence Day! Naturally, any half way decent room was gone, considering that this is one of Columbia’s major tourist attractions. No, there are plenty of hostels, but very few meet the expectations of foreigners: access to reliable information on onward transport / sights / tours, Internet, laundry service and most important exchange of current information with other travelers. The use of a kitchen is a great plus, since “frijoles, arroz y pollo” gets a bit boring. This is not a joke, that is the never ending diet in cheap restaurants! Continue Reading →

Travel In The Far South

Swaying footbridge, above the Rio Cauca, between Tierradentro, Cauca & San Agustin, Huila, Colombia, South America

Swaying footbridge, above the Rio Cauca, between Tierradentro, Cauca & San Agustin, Huila, Colombia

 “Death Road” Meets Indiana Jones

Until we reached Popayan, the roads we travelled were excellent. These conditions changed rapidly when we travelled from Popayan to Tierradentro and further on to San Agustin. These two trips, a few times, reminded us of the notorious “Death Road” in Bolivia. The main difference is that there is very little traffic here. The cliff is also “only” a few hundred meters deep, not one thousand. Continue Reading →

Market Day In Inza – A Chiva Is Never Full

Market day in Inza, with full Chiva buses, old Dodge buses, Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia, South America

Market day in Inza, with full Chiva buses, old Dodge buses, Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia, South America

Chivas are old Dodge busses used for local transport in rural areas and look quite intriguing: the cab is painted in wild colors and so is the interior, which consists of five wide rows of painted wooden benches each sitting six people. Continue Reading →

Tierradentro – The Perfect Name

Tombs dug out of soft volcanic rock to place urns filled with bones, Segovia site, Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia, South America

Tombs dug out of soft volcanic rock to place urns filled with bones, Segovia site, Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia, South America

The name Tierradentro says it all – amazing underground tombs are scattered around the slopes of this most scenic valley. Scientists believe that between the 7th and 9th Century these tombs, the only ones of this kind in the Americas, were dug out of soft volcanic rock to place urns filled with bones. Thus these tombs are secondary burial sites, which means the dead were initially first buried in tiny stone chambers and later moved to here. Continue Reading →

Silvia – Guambiano Indigenous Market

Blue skirts, thin hand-woven ponchos and a bowler hat, Guambiano Indigenous Market, Silvia, near Popayan, Cauca, Colombia, South America

Blue skirts, thin hand-woven ponchos and a bowler hat, Guambiano Indigenous Market, Silvia, near Popayan, Cauca, Colombia

Silvia, a village situated at 2.650 meters, about an hour drive from Popayan, is the centre of the Guambiano region, one of Columbia’s most traditional indigenous groups. The Guambiano still use their language and dress in colourful clothes, especially for market day. Then the men wear blue skirts, wrapped around their waste, thin hand-woven ponchos and a bowler hat. The women sport voluminous black skirts, large blue shawls around their shoulder held together by safety pins. Continue Reading →

Popayan’s Missing Tourist Infrastructure

Colourful Chiva buses, old dodge buses, always completely full, Guambiano Indigenous Market, Silvia, near Popayan, Cauca, Colombia, South America

Colourful Chiva buses, old dodge buses, always completely full, Guambiano Indigenous Market, Silvia, near Popayan, Cauca, Colombia

In the previous text on Popayan we marveled why relatively few tourists visit this city, despite its beautiful colonial centre and scenic surroundings. One guess is, travelers easily bypass what is not clearly marked as a high-light in their “bible”, the Lonely Planet and the number of other kinds of tourists is still marginal. Continue Reading →

La Ciudad Blanca – Popayan

Colonial city, colonial architecture, Popayan, La Ciudad Blanca, the White City, Cauca, Colombia, South America

Colonial city, colonial architecture, Popayan, La Ciudad Blanca, the White City, Cauca, Colombia

Our initial reaction, after we read about this city in our guide book, was “Yeah, another Ciudad Blanca / White City”. Did not Arequipa / Peru adorn itself with the same fancy title? Only to have its few white colonial buildings disappear in a madness of honking cars / busses and exhaust fumes that make you dizzy? Continue Reading →

Faces of Colombia

Cali is different. There is a large black population and you find every shade of colour in between.

Cali is different. There is a large black population and you find every shade of colour in between.

The bus trip from Armenia to Popayan first takes you through never ending fields of sugar cane. After Cali, the scenery becomes more diverse, a wild melange of banana, mango and palm trees, giant bamboo, sugar cane and once in a while a random, completely out of place pine tree. Continue Reading →

Valle De Cocora

Wax palm trees (Copernicia alba), Valle de Cocora, Salento, Zona Cafetera, Quindio, Colombia, South America

Wax palm trees (Copernicia alba), Valle de Cocora, Salento, Zona Cafetera, Quindio, Colombia

Wax palm trees watching over the Cloud Forest

This out-of-the-world-scenic valley stretches to the east of Salento. Jeeps starts early in the morning from there and after 30 minutes drop you off at the trail head. The first hour of the hike takes you through a narrow valley with slopes and ridges dotted with mega-tall wax-palm trees. Although we started off on a very sunny morning, big clouds of mist floated through the valley hiding the palm trees, but soon setting them free again. The other part of the trek takes you straight through the cloud forest, the canopy immediately closes overhead and you feel completely immersed in green, lush rain forest. Continue Reading →

“Ojala Que Llueva Café En El Campo”

Coffee tree, San Agustin, Huila, Colombia, South America

Coffee tree, San Agustin, Huila, Colombia

No, it does not rain coffee, as this popular song claims, but nevertheless there is plenty around here in the Zona Cafetera. Even though we visited quite a few coffee plantations in other countries, like Bolivia or on Atiu, Cook Islands, we could not resist joining Tim, or Don Eduardo, as he likes to call himself, our host, on a tour through his new “Finca”. No regrets, he explained with great expertise and enthusiasm every step of the process that it takes to finally enjoy a cup of coffee. Continue Reading →