Ancient Civ 101

Leaving the white-walled colonial city of Popayan I headed to east to visit two important archaelogical sites far off the beaten track but supposedly well worth the pain it takes to get there and finally much more secure than they used to be. Nestled between a panorama of georgous mountains in a remote region of Colombia six hours east of Popayan, is the small town of San Agustin -home to the most important archaeological site in Colombia as well as the largest group of religious monuments and megalithic sculptures in South America (not including Easter Island of course).

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Arriving in San Agustin I set up shop at the beautiful and highly recommended (by me) Casa del Sol. Although it is a little far out of the way and one must pass uninviting hungry dogs along the way, it is well worth the hassle. Myself and and a good ól Dutch guy Steef ended up having it all to ourselves for three nights and enjoyed quiet nights and beautiful sunrises over the Rio Magdalena which flows from Southern Colombia all the way north to the Caribbean Coast. To top it off, the open air shower supplied with water from the nearby creek and hidden by tons of beautiful trees and plants had to one of the coolest showers I´ve seen so far. Much better than the electric-heated shower heads you find in other places and which I have honestly been electrocuted by. See Puerto Lopez, Ecuador.

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Back to my time. Once on site, I spent the next few days exploring the spectacular landscape, riding horses and checking out the incredible statues that range from gods and shamans to mythical animals all creatively represented through different ways of expression and that date back as far as 4K  to 6K years. There have been many suggestions and arguments as to what were origins of the the civilization and their statues but in truth, there is no definite answer and to this day their legacy largly remains a mystery along with their name. From what can be gathered, the group that made these statues (500 of which are uncovered today) disappeared sporadically, possibly from an Inca invasion but many other theories exist. Some even believe that it was an alien society. What we do know however, was that the area around San Agustin was a city for the dead. A place where the elite were buried and their graves marked and guarded impressive statues of varying forms.

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What struck me more than anything was the fact that many of the statues shared symbolic resemblences to other ancient civilizations such as the Maya, the Aztec and the infamous Egyptian. From the distinctive egyptian headdress, the symbolic cupid heart to engravings of animals not found anywhere on the entire continent of South America (Tiger, India Elephant), symbolic reference to the ying-yang balance as well as a statue with an eagle holding a snake in its talons thus resembling Mexico´s ancient Aztec civilation, the statues seemed to give a glimpse into the complexity of an ancient civilization which shared bits and pieces of its identity with other civilizations from all across the world. Where did they come from? Did they travel by sea? Why did they retain symbolic forms from around the world when other nearby groups did not? Definitely a thought-provoking trip, a worthwhile experience and an excursion I recommend to others.

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All by myself! Woke up to catch the sunrise.

had a few moonlight cold water showers

lush forest

some colorful plantlife

Supposed area of sacrifice

The impressive view from casa del sol

tomb cover

view from one ruin site