Tryp Chicamocha Bucaramanga

... een heerlijke capuchino en een vers mandarijnensapje. We hebben een korte wandeling door het kleine centrum gemaakt en zijn doorgereisd naar Guane...een kleiner en nog mooier dorpje. Wederom zijn we op verkenning gegaan en hebben genoten van het enorme uitzicht, de schitterende bergen, de mooie koloniale huizen, de natuur en de vogels. Vervolgens hadden we flinke dorst en zijn we een restaurantje ingedoken en hebben we op advies van de eigenaresse ons ...

... hoger dan centraal America...maar, we hadden wel de beste bus tot nog toe...via Copetran! Enorm veel beenruimte....en zelfs een uitklapbare steun onder de voeten. We hadden de mazzel dat we helemaal achterin zaten en de stoelen achter ons niet bezet waren....dus hadden we ieder een eigen bedje! De bus was verder zeer luxe uitgerust en de temperatuur van de airco was ...

... balls to go over the edge with raging torrents gushing down towards you, particularly when my shoe came of in the first five steps!!!

That night seven of us headed to the bus station to make our way to the Caribbean Coast and Santa Marta. We were to stay together for the next month or so travelling through Colombia. There was three Irish girls, an Aussie girl and a couple (Canadian and English combo).

... nun walking down the cobbled alleys to complete the picture). The village is set in picturesque hills and we took a path built hundreds of years ago out of the local stone from the area, which was essentially fossilised shells (pretty cool) for a couple of hours to the next, even tinier and more picturesque village for a mosey down the streets and a few ¨Buenos Dias´s¨to the locals as we went. Interestingly, the foundations of the village are mostly made ...

... Bournemouth at various times and so decided not to charge us for our coffee.

So with many thanks and 'if you return this ways ....' we set off for another stretch of the journey. From this point the road went up and down, although more of the up than the down I have to say, encountering several dogs along the way. now, the gods must have been smiling on us yesterday, either that or all the dogs had already chased several other people that day ...

... sports, but San Gil is a wonderful example of an average town that gave us a sample of normal Colombian life outside of the major cities and the coastal tourists spots.

Climbing up the steep cobblestone streets, I had flashbacks to the lung-busting climbs of La Paz. Thankfully, San Gil is not at 4,000m! We checked into the Macondo Guesthouse (which I would soon find, upon completion of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's masterpiece, 100 Years of Solitude ...

... in Bucaramanga. Far from touristic, Bucaramanga is full of energy and has loads of lovely parks and squares. I am going to spend today here and in the nearby town of Giron exploring. Tonight I take the bus to Cartagena.

That's it for now. Must get moving as it is nearly 10:30 here. (My days are beginning later and later. I suppose it is vacation, afterall.)

Big hugs!
Katy

... br>Am Montag bin ich mit Alfredo in die Schule gegangen, an der er als Lehrer für Sozialkunde arbeitet. Dort habe ich den ganzen Tag lesend im Garten verbracht und beschlossen, dass ich mir für den nächsten Tag eine andere Beschäftigung suchen muss. Zum Glück waren wir abends mit der Band und noch einigen anderen Leuten in einer Bar, in der ich Ricardo kennen gelernt habe. Er ist der "Bandmanager" und hat tagsüber jede ...

... to Villa de Leyva, but much smaller. Tourist season had just finished so all the hotels here were on a rest break, so we found a nice little place just off th road between San Gil and Barichara, with our own hut way off the road, where we were assured the only noises would be the birds and the bugs. The hotel owners had some contacts in the adventure industry in San Gil, so we got ourselves booked on a rafting and horse riding adventure trips (avoiding the crowds of San Gil ...

... to find an ATM before going to a recommended resturant. We had quite a lot of meat that night and were serenaded by a trio of singing guitarists! The walk home helped to settle the dinner. Even here, it feels quite safe wandering round at 10pm at night. Or maybe we were just lucky?