Exploring Popayan

We had no need to be up early today - it was a free day.  However, once again, we were awake at 5am!  The hotel started serving breakfast at 7 right next to our room, so we went to join the others who were already there. 

There was an option to go to Purace National Park today to see condors and hot springs.  Only three people chose to go.  The rest of us opted to wander around town, catch up on some admin, and watch some of the Halloween celebrations going on.

After breakfast, we went out to explore.

Popayan is a small colonial-era city, nicknamed the White City, due to the chalk-white facades of its buildings.  It is second only to Cartagena as Colombia’s most well-preserved historic town.  It was founded in 1537 by Sebastian de Belalcazar and became an important stopping point on the road between Cartagena and Quito.  Popayan was the capital of southern Colombia for centuries before being replaced by Cali.Read more