San Jose del Guaviare

After a bit of a rough overnight bus, we were picked up soon after 05:30 and started our day trip out to Cerro Azul to the cave paintings. Our bilingual guide, Amanda, was very nice and knowledgeable.

Our first stop was at a former cocaine farm for breakfast. What we didn't realize, is that the farmer was going to talk us through his old operation. He showed us the different coca plants he still has on his farm. There's 7 different types of coca plant. They all taste a bit different and grow differently (speed, size, etc). The coca leaves, when we chewed on them, tasted similar to root beer. That was not what I expected!
He then talked us through the process of making cocaine, which is pretty horrible. The amount of chemicals that go into that stuff is disgusting: gasoline, cement, ammonia, sulfuric acid...the list goes on.

He said his goal now is to inform people about how it is made and how harmful it is to so many people, not just those that take the drug. At the end of his demonstration, we all toasted with his fruit liqueur he makes on his farm now.

After stopping to register, we entered the Cerro Azul area and headed toward the table top mountain that has the paintings. Our guide liked to stop on the walk to inform us of different trees and plants. There was also a little dog that walked with us the entire time. It was so cute. I shared a banana with him at the overlook.

We reached the first panel and I was gobsmacked by how bright and clear the paintings were despite being exposed to rainforest elements for thousands of years. The first panel, they think, is an information panel. The purposes of the second and third panels aren’t as clear.

X-ray devices have determined, however, that on the three panels, there are several layers of drawings, each later plastered over the other to make room for new drawings. I wonder if we will ever know more about the history and methods behind the paintings.

During the hike, we went through a cave. It was void of light and full of bats. At one point we turned off all the headlamps and flashlights and sat in the dark for a bit...I didn't like that 🦇🦇🦇.

We also got caught in a crazy thunderstorm ⛈️ (I know, rain in the rainforest, who knew). We stopped for a bit, but eventually just had to keep going as bundled in waterproof gear as we could (that is everyone except Allan who forgot his). It was wild how quickly conditions could change and at one point, our path, previously clear on the way up, was totally blocked by several fallen trees. Luckily our guide had a big ass knife and cut some foliage away so we had less to manoeuver around. He also cut other foliage away just because he had a big ass knife and liked chopping things.

We stopped for lunch at the registration area on the way back - a very hearty meal with chicken, rice and a delicious fruit salad.

When we made it back to San Jose del Guaviare we snagged a hostel room for a few hours to freshen up before going for our bus. We were thinking just a couple of hours to nap and wash, but when the lady said 50,000, Allan responded with 40,000 for 5 hours. It was a deal.

When are arrived at the bus station, we discovered the bus had broken down. Luckily, we managed to get the last two seats on the next night bus an hour later. Not so luckily, were that these seats were at the very back though, so didn't recline and were roasting (from the engine below our feet) 🥵.

We got even less sleep than we did on the way down. Worth it though to see the cool cave paintings, but it was definitely a very intense start to the trip.Leggi altro