This rather unremarkable little town chose this high-flying title “the land of adventure”, because it attracts lots of tourists who sign up the various adrenaline-pumping activities. White water rafting ranging from a comfortable class 1 to a frightening class 5 is high on the agenda, followed by kayaking, caving, paragliding, abseiling, horseback riding, mountain biking, paint ball, bungee jumping and eco-walks are others we can remember.
Heidi chose a class 3 rafting tour down Rio Fonce and it was just perfect. For 1.5 hours she floated along a peaceful river with occasional rapids, surrounding by splendid scenery. The rivers banks are hugged by bamboo and huge trees covered with long silvery moss, like out of science fiction movie.
There is more challenging rafting down Rio Suarez, but Gilles wanted more, he reached for the sky. Tied to an instructor he took to the air over the “Zona Tabaca” for about 20 minutes. This is the first time Heidi felt that she really missed out on something, because of her own mental limitations.
San Gil itself is nothing to rave about, except its Parque El Gallineral, with its huge Gallinero trees covered with moss, called old men’s beard. The main plaza could be nice if it was not surrounded by choking traffic. San Gil is a hub in its very sense, all activities start somewhere in the countryside, about 10 to 15 kilometers from town.
Posada El Conde, right on the main plaza, was our base here. Though surrounded by noisy traffic, the rooms facing the market are quiet and the large common area is airy and comfortable, plus it features goodies like a kitchen and WiFi.
Apart from that Saturday nightlife is at your door step, we joined the crowd on the plaza for a bit of partying and drinking. After the usual exchange with other gringo travellers from the Maconda Hostel, a group of curious high school students chatted us up, curious about what we think of Columbia and why we came to visit.
Comments are closed.