Day 331 - Santiago

Today we took a side trip to the rainforest region of Colombia.

We drove on Route #10 East through a densely forested high valley and spotted another black bear trotting alongside us on the road. What a surprise! We didn't know that there were bears in South America.

Then the road descended quickly to tropical Santiago, where we visited a nearby Indian village. A walkway led over an elevated path to huts with thatched roofs. It was damp with lots of annoying mosquitos.

The indigenous walked barefoot and wore minimal clothing. We only saw men. They were shy and didn’t like to be photographed. Their pitch-black hair was cut like someone had placed a cooking pot over their head and cut around it with scissors. It looked weird.

I bought a wood-carved mask from one of the craftsmen. At another location, we watched how indigenous Folk used fibers from the Agave plant to make ropes, baskets, and mats. They are skillful and live a simple life from what mother nature provides.

Later in the afternoon, we drove back to the Chalet-Suiza, where, to our surprise, we ran into Mr. Kägi from the Nestlé cheese factory, who had come to make a delivery. We invited him for dinner at the restaurant and had a great evening together.

Before going to bed, I played more chess with Gregor. He almost always wins, but that didn’t bother me; I enjoyed the game's strategy and challenge.

Stats: Miles 54, Expenses $5.05Read more