|
| Vista Cordillera Central |
|
We used day buses and kept our journeys as short as possible for safety reasons, as we continued along
the Andes.
These now divided into three ridges, the Cordillera Oriental that guards the Amazon basin ending in Venezuela,
the Cordillera Occidental and Central which peter out at the Darien Gap and the Colombian
coast. As we entered the country we were struck by the number of army, who were very helpful in guiding us to the safe routes,
which eased our fears of drug barons and guerrillas.
| Sancturio de las Lajas |
|
Our first stop was Ipiales where we visited the Gothic styled Sancturio de lãs Lajas, a South American
version of Lourdes, which sits astride a huge canyon. We walked amongst the pilgrims past kiosks of
votive candles, pictures of saints and commemorative wall plaques.
| Pasto Square |
|
| Popayan street |
|
A four and a half hour bus journey through steep lush green valleys, neat red tiled farms ended in
Pasto
with an attractive colonial square backed by green rounded mountains. We left the bustling city dropping down from the Cordillera Occidental through dramatic ravines to reach the hilly elegant world heritage site of Popyan
with its cobbled streets, whitewashed terracotta roofed double story buildings, elegant churches and plazas. After a couple
of days exploring we continued to San Agustín.
| Virgin cloud forest |
|
The bus travelled across a spectacular rough road up onto the Cordillera Central. The weather was cloudy with occasional rain which only added to the
dramatic views of deep canyons, rushing rivers, high grassland covered with tiny tree ferns and a 62km tract of virgin cloud
forest. We wished we had our Land Rover and the freedom to stop at will. Maybe one day when the tourist infrastructure develops
there will be organised hikes in the region
| Street in San Agustin |
|
San Agustin (2500m) nestled in the surrounding lush hillsides. Occasional tourists melted into the
rural scene of horses, carts, jeeps and military. Our lodge had panoramic views of the town and at 4.30 am each morning the
Church bells completed with the cockerels to waken the town.
| Vista from our lodge |
|
| Guardian Statue |
|
| Guardian statue with offerings |
|
In this area, between the 6th and 14th centuries, an enigmatic
civilisation left behind several ceremonial burial sites, with guardian statues up to 20m high some weighing up to 7 tons.
The stone sarcophagi had carved lids representing crocodiles or the images of the people. The guardian statues had fierce
faces and enlarged incisor teeth, big animal shaped headdresses of jaguars or crocodiles, and held sacrificial offerings,
sometimes of children. They left a strange impression of power and strength especially on the remoter sites. We spent a few
days exploring the sites by a jeep, horseback and foot before moving into the coffee region.
| Wax Palms |
|
We stopped in the small town of Salento that which overlooks the Cocora valley. Our lodge
was a pretty Finka (country house) with stunning views of tree covered mountain ridges which flowed down into the farmed valley.
At weekends the town transformed into a fiesta as Colombians escaped the cities for the cool hills. Here we had a beautiful
hike up Cocora valley, to 2900m through the tallest palms in the world (Ceroxylon quindiuense 70m), into a cloud forest and
returning down the valley past several Estâncias.
| Peace Doves Botero |
|
Our next 8 hour bus ride passed through the rolling
mountains, with areas of uniform dark green coffee plantations at altitudes between 800 – 1800m, to reach the large
city of Medellin.
It seemed to be a very prosperous and smart city with a new elevated metro system that blended with the modern architecture
and plazas. Here we were introduced to the startling works of Fernando Botero, Colombia’s
leading contemporary artist. In one square an original bronze peace dove was ripped apart by a guerrilla bomb in 1996. He
remolded an identical bird to sit next to the original shattered one as a poignant symbol of the futility of violence.
As we strolled through the main plazas and modern
art galleries his unique style of exaggerated but well proportioned stylised figures seemed extraordinarily graceful.
| Balconies Cartagena |
|
We continued on watching the Andes gradually reduce into small hills passing pretty dairy farms and
villages onto the coastal plains and marshes and the world heritage city of Cartegena founded in 1533. It was built on an island surrounded
by lagoons facing into the Caribbean Sea and has a huge natural harbour. It was one of the
major storage points for merchandise between South America and Spain
and the fortifications were almost impregnable. Strolling along the fortified walls and narrow streets, with the sunlight
slanting through bright bougainvillea clinging to the balconies, it was easy to slip back in time.
| Tayrona National Park |
|
We explored the exquisite Caribbean coastline to the east of Cartagena at Taganga, Santa Marta and the idyllic Tayrona National Park.
Here the tropical forest is edged by palm trees, powder white sand and a turquoise sea. We slept in hammocks beneath palm
trees watching fireflies, the stars, and listening to the whisper of waves.
| Sleeping in Tayrona National Park |
|
Reluctantly, as time was pressing, we hopped a plane and flew down to Bogotá across the Northern fingers
of the Andes,
bidding them a fond farewell yet feeling the excitement of a new journey down the mighty Amazon.
|
