Onwards and upwards to Colombia

  Cali, Colombia
Sunday, February 15, 2009

Forbidden country
Its mere mention makes folks quake
It's not what you think

El Sanctuario de Las Lajas, Ipiales, Colombia

Colombia is, in a word, gorgeous. It boasts the most beautiful rolling green mountains, river canyons, and curvy, swervy roads that we've seen in South America. Add to that a diverse range of towns and extremely friendly people, and its clear why tourism in this once off limits country is growing exponentially. We began our Colombian adventure in Ipiales, a surprisingly calm border city where we spent one very comfy night. We visited El Sanctuario de Las Lajas, a cathedral built into a mountainside where the Virgen was said to have appeared. Truly a stunning piece of architecture, it is flanked by hundreds of plaques cemented into the surrounding hillsides thanking the Virgen for granting miracles. A wonderful introduction to the country.

Max Jr. and Sr. in the `76 Landcruiser

Next stop was Pasto, a busy little city with a handful of cathedrals and an early curfew.  It was here that Bron managed her second haircut of the trip, total success at only $6.50! She's not sure how she'll ever go back to US salon prices.  Although we only planned to stay in Pasto a day or two, our first evening here we happened upon a website advertising tours to a nearby finca (farm). We made a call and the next thing we knew, at 8 am the following day, Max Jr and his dad Max Sr were outside our hostel ready to whisk us away in their 1976 Landcruiser to the Wax Palm Finca, which has been in their family for 20 years. The slightly hilarious tour included lunch at a community garden,
a 6 hour hilly hike through knee deep mud to the finca,

The sun begins to set on our 6 hour hike

3 meals consisting of mainly salami, a freezing cold night huddled under one blanket in a cement room, and a 5 hour muddy hike back down the mountain. To be fair, the countryside and largely untouched jungle around the finca were beautiful and Max Jr. was great company (Max Sr, at age 80, can no longer make the walk so he waited for us in a nearby town). We also felt kinda cool being the only Americans ever to be up there. Ultimately the adventure was worth it for the feeling of accomplishment at surviving the weekend, along with the enthusiastic encouragement and spiritual lessons from Max Sr., a truly wonderful character. It did take 3 days for our shoes to dry out, though!

Town square in Silvia, Colombia

After Pasto we moved onto Popayan, a few hours to the north. Our best day here was spent in nearby Silvia, a tiny town where once a week all the indigenous people of the Guambiano tribe come from surrounding pueblos to sell their wares at the town market, dressed in their colorful traditional clothing. We sat in the main plaza for hours and watched all the beautiful people go about their business in bright purple with pink trim, the men in skirts to match. Eli even ended up buying the traditional Guambiano scarf! Somehow he failed to quite blend in with the locals.

Bron tries out the university pool in Popayan

Another highlight of Popayan was the discovery of the Universidad de Cauca olympic sized swimming pool, with open lap swim in the morning! Bron had a fantastic swim, although Eli was not eligible to join her due to his lack of speedo (only lycra suits allowed! no trunks!). It was awesome.

Architecture in Cali, Colombia

We then moved onto Cali, a bustling city with a party party vibe. The main drag here is called La Sexta (Sixth Street) and has been compared to the Las Vegas Strip. Although lacking the bright lights of Vegas, there is a run down fiesta feel, and at least one bar with a crazy facade (Mount Rushmore!) Our best night here was spent at the huge Chipechape mall, where we joined the locals drinking grocery bought beers in the open air mall plaza, followed by a movie. Cali left a little something to be desired, but we have high hopes for our next leg of the Colombian journey which includes Bogota and a bunch of small colonial towns on our way to the northern coast.

Bron braves another trim in Pasto

View into the valley on our hike to the Finca

Traffic coming the other way on the slippery path

Bron surveys the mud damage

Eli enjoys the best hot chocolate of our lives

Jerome relaxes and enjoys the river view

Tuesday stroll in traditional dress in Silvia

Ciudano in repose, Silvia, Colombia

Bandeja Paisa, the traditional Colombian meal

La Hermita Church, Cali, Colombia