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The South American Odyssey
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The South American Odyssey

A 147-day adventure by The Craze for Travelling Read more
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    Birds at the park entrance

    February 20, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    There were quite a bit of variety of birds near the entrance. We saw turkey, peacock, geese, hen and chicken just roaming around in the green lawns. It was almost 2 pm and we were hungry. There was a restaurant (La Parrill de Juan Curi) near the entrance and we decided to have our lunch here. The place was packed with kids from a school when we reached there. They had come on an excursion to the waterfalls and were having lunch at the restaurant. It took them quite a while to take our order but we managed to finish our lunch by around 2:40 pm. After that we went outside the park entrance to wait for a bus to get us back to San Gil.Read more

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    The restaurant at Juan Curi park
    The restaurant at Juan Curi parkJuan Curi falls and the park entrance2Mini bus to San GilWalking across San Gil to the bus terminal2The local bus we came on, to BaricharaPark at the Main square Barichara

    To Barichara

    February 20, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    By the time we were done and reached the road outside to wait for the bus, it was almost 3 pm. It was extremely hot in the sun and for the next 30 min, no buses came. Finally around 3:25 pm, a mini bus came. It was packed with people, but we managed to squeeze us inside. The bus reached San Gil around 4 pm.
    The plan had been to get off at the local bus terminal and then immediately catch the bus going towards the Barichara village, but the bus was going towards Bogota and dropped us outside the town. We had to walk about 3 kms to the local terminal. The bus to Barichara was just leaving the terminal when we reached there. We managed to catch it and reached Barichara around 4:45 pm.
    Barichara is known as the prettiest town in Colombia. Its a compact little hillside town on a plateau with all whitewashed houses, cobbled streets and red-tiled roofs. A National Monument dating all the way back to the Spanish conquest, with some of the most perfectly preserved and beautiful architecture in the Americas.    Read more

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    Sunset at the Mirador, Barichara

    February 20, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 5 °C

    From the cemetery, we walked to the mirador at the edge of the village. The cliff ends here and there are beautiful views of the valley below. It was almost 5:45 pm and the sun was setting behind the hills on the other side of the valley. There was a nice cafe right at the viewpoint. We stopped there and bought some ice-creams while we waited for the sun to set. The place was really magical with the slanting rays of the sun clearly visible in the slightly foggy air above the valley.Read more

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    Capilla de Santa Barbara, Barichara

    February 20, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C

    We walked all the way to chapel of St. Barbara at the end of the road going around the town. The mainly brick construction shows some age, adding to the chapel's historical appeal. From here, we started walking back to the main square.Read more

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    Sculpture at the main square Barichara
    Sculpture at the main square BaricharaMain square BaricharaHormiga Culona in comparison with my little fingerChurch at San Gil2San Gil at night

    Hormiga Culona (Big assed ants)

    February 20, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    While waiting for the 7 pm bus, we went to the bakery "Central" right on the main square. They had some fantastic cakes. We bought some and came out and sat in the main square to eat them. After that we went to a nearby souvenir shop and bought some very unique souvenirs from this area. These included an actual ant of about 2.5 cms "Hormiga Culona" encased in a plastic cover as a key-chain. These are a species of leaf cutter ants that are found in this region of Colombia besides a few other places in Venezuela to Paraguay.
    Atta laevigata is known in northern South America as hormiga culona (literally translated as "big-assed ant") or as bachaco. The hormiga culona has been eaten for hundreds of years, as a tradition inherited from pre-Columbian cultures as the Guanes. The ants are harvested for about nine weeks every year, at the time of the rainy season, which is when they make the nuptial flight. There are local beliefs that the ants are aphrodisiacs. The harvesting is done by local peasants who are often wounded by the ants, since the ants have strong mandibles. Only the queens are collected, because the other ants are not considered edible. The legs and wings are removed; after that, the ants are soaked in salty water and roasted in ceramic pans. They are supposed to have a high level of protein and very low levels of saturated fat and an overall high nutritional value. Hristo even bought chocolate covered ants packaged as candy.
    At 7 pm, we caught the last bus to San Gil. There we went to the main square again to one last time have our dinner in one of the fantastic restaurants with their balconies overlooking the square. After the dinner, we picked our bags from the hostel and took a taxi to the inter city bus terminal. Here, we booked ourselves in the bus leaving San Gil to Bogota at 10 pm. The lady at the counter promised us personal entertainment systems and comfortable semi-cama (semi-sleeper) seats. The bus didn't turn up at 10 pm. The lady told us that it was bit late and would reach in about 5 min. Around 10:20 pm, there was still no sign of the bus. We went back to the counter and were told it was reaching in 5 min. At 10:45 pm, the bus did show up and sure enough each seat had a personal entertainment system but the driver had picked up extra passengers on the way, so there was no place for us. We were asked to get off the bus, we were extremely pissed and went to the lady at the counter. She expressed her helplessness as she wasn't aware that the driver had picked up extra passengers. But she promised to put us on the next bus that would be there in.... guess what... yessss 5 min :))
    The bus did turn up in 10 min and we managed to get our seats but there was no personal entertainment system. We were pretty darn pissed at the lady at the ticket counter. First of all, we didn't get the amenities we were supposed to get, then we were starting an hour late and on top of it all, she had given only one receipt of our three tickets. The rest we guessed was going to her pocket. We went back to the counter and demanded the 3 receipts for our tickets. She reluctantly printed out our tickets. We took them and then were off towards Bogota.    Read more

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    Bogota free tour

    February 21, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Our overnight bus reached Bogota at 5:30 in the morning. We didn't have a place booked for the day. We had planned to go out of the terminal and hopefully find a place to stay somewhere nearby. As with the other cities in Colombia, Bogota too had quite many bus terminals and the one where we ended up didn't have any hotels or hostels marked anywhere nearby on our offline maps. After discussing a bit, we decided to book a place via booking.com and then take a taxi till there. The issue with that plan was that most places listed on booking.com generally have a check in time after 11 am, so even if we go to the place, we may not be able to check-in for another 5 hours. We decided to take a chance and booked a place (Ole Mi Casa). It was about 6:30 am by now. We decided to have our breakfast at the bus terminal only. That way, we hoped that by the time we reached the hostel, there would be someone at the reception and hopefully a room too would be available. We used the restroom at the bus terminal and then had our breakfast at one of the many small restaurants inside the terminal.
    After the food, we took a pre-paid taxi and went straight to the hostel. The numbering on the street with the hostel was quite weird. We followed the numbers and also on the maps but just one number before the required one, the street ended and there were no more buildings. Hristo was not feeling well, so I went out and walked around and finally found the hostel one block before. We got our bags off the taxi and tried ringing the bell. There was no response. There was even an intercom which we rang, but there was no response initially. Eventually, somebody picked up the receiver on the other end and told us that he will come down to open. It turned out that the person who came to open the door was also one of the customers at the hostel and had been up due to jet lag. He had arrived from Germany a day before and had woken up early. He informed that the person at the reception and the breakfast cook normally came around 8 am. It was almost 7:15 am so we decided to sit and wait at the common dining area.
    Around 8 am, the receptionist and the cook came. The receptionist told us that none of the rooms were available and that the check-out time was 11 am. He told us that he would need an hour after the check-out to do all the cleaning and changing the linen. We were quite tired and sleepy and Hristo was not feeling all that good, which at that moment, I thought was due to the lack of sleep. We asked if we could sit and wait in the dining area. That was not a problem with him.
    Within another 15-20 min people staying there started coming to the dining room for the breakfast. Hristo wasn't comfortable sitting there with everyone around sitting and having breakfast. He decided to go and lie down in one of the big parks nearby. Maria followed him but I decided to stay back and try and make friends with the people staying there. While sitting and chatting with everyone I realized the different activities and tours they had been with. I started thinking of what all we could do during the rest of the day after we check-in. I started searching on the net and decided that doing the 3 hours free tour of Bogota would be a nice thing to do. There were 2 tours per day and one of them started at 10 am. This would be perfect, as we could use half a day with the tour and then rest and sleep the rest of the day. It was about 9 am by now and most people had started finishing their breakfasts. I messaged Hristo and asked him if he wanted to join. He replied back that he was feeling sleepy and would like to lie in the park for a while more. He told me to carry on. I asked around at the table if anyone else wanted to come along. One of the girls, Karin, from Switzerland had planned to do just that in the morning and agreed to come along. She too had arrived the evening before from Switzerland and had still not sized up Bogota just yet, so she was more than happy to have company while she got familiar with the surroundings. We walked the 2 kms to the starting point and were there 5 min before the starting point. The tour started at 10:10 am.    Read more

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    Graffiti in the Calle del Embudo
    Graffiti in the Calle del EmbudoPlazoleta Chorro de QuevedoErmita de San Miguel del Principe

    Plazoleta Chorro de Quevedo

    February 21, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    The walk through La Candelaria is via the very old and narrow cobblestone street called Calle del Embudo (Funnel Street). It ended at the Plazoleta Chorro de Quevedo or Plaza Chorro for short. There is a very old church Ermita de San Miguel del Principe in the plaza. The square is popular with street performers and a meeting place for college students. It is believed that Bogotá was founded in Chorro de Quevedo Plaza on August 6, 1538.Read more

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    Tile with the Lisbon harbor
    Tile with the Lisbon harborWindow from where Simon Bolivar escapedColonial MuseumPalacio LievanoCapitolio NacionalCapilla Del Sagrario - the Primary Cathedral of Bogota

    Plaza de Bolivar, Bogota

    February 21, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The next main showcase of the free tour was the beautiful tile-work painting of the Lisbon harbor outside the office of Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The building had been Palacio de San Carlos when under the Spanish rule and had been a constant reminder of the Spanish dominance over the locals for many a century, so when the Spanish were thrown out of the country, Portugal didn't waste time to stick a thumb at Spain. They presented this painting to Colombia who got it engraved in the walls outside the Palacio de San Carlos.
    The palace was also the scene of an assassination attempt on Simon Bolivar in 1828. He was attacked when a group of conspirators attempted to assassinate him while he was taking a bath and he escaped through the window with soap still covering his body. His mistress, Manuela, who tipped him off and saved him came to be known among Bogotans as "the liberator of the liberator". The event became known as the Noche Septembrina (September's Night) and is referenced in Latin in a plaque conspicuously fixed on the wall next to the window through which he escaped.
    From here we walked 15 mts to the Plaza de Bolivar. The Bolivar Square is the main square of the Colombian capital Bogota. During the Spanish colonial period, Bolivar Square was the stage for circus acts, public markets and bullfights. The square is surrounded by historical buildings; the Palace of Justice is located on the northern edge and the National Capitol borders the square in the south. The Primary Cathedral of Bogota and the Lievano Palace, seat of the mayor of Bogota, are situated on the eastern and western side respectively.    Read more

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    La Bruja (The Witch) restaurant with its motto "Here the magic begins with you"
    La Bruja (The Witch) restaurant with its motto "Here the magic begins with you"The fantastic lunch

    Restaurants & graffiti

    February 21, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    The tour dispersed at 1 pm. It was lunch time so we decided to have some food before heading back to the hostel. Karin turned out to be a vegetarian too so we asked the tour guide for suggestions of good vegetarian place nearby. He recommended Nativo Arte. It was on our way back so we walked over. The price and the food quality was definitely worthy of the recommendation. After food, we walked back to the hostel via a different route. There were many more beautiful graffiti on the walls.Read more

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    Chibchombia dinner

    February 21, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    When I woke up, it was almost 9:30 pm. It was time to have some dinner before the restaurants closed. Maria too woke up and told that Hristo was not well. He seemed to have a bout of food poisoning or something and had been puking and feeling feverish. Hristo too woke up on hearing us but was feeling too weak. I offered to get some food from outside but he didn't feel like eating and Maria too didn't want to go out as she too wasn't feeling 100% fine. I decided to go somewhere nearby and have some food. Outside, it was raining quite a bit and it was quite dark. I ran to the Chibchombia restaurant just opposite the hostel. They didn't have anything vegetarian but the waitress was creative enough and offered to get rice, red beans and fried plantain which was perfect for me. After the dinner, I came back and slept off again.Read more

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    Army men outside the park
    Army men outside the park1TransMilenio station in the middle of the roadIn the TransMelinio1With KarinMini bus to ZipaquiraMe and Karin going to Zipaquira

    Off to Zipaquira Salt Cathedral

    February 22, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    This was the second last day of the trip for me. My flight to Quito and then onward to Europe was the next day. To make the best of the time, we had planned to visit the Zipaquira Salt Cathedral some 60 kms from Bogota.
    I woke up around 7:30 in the morning. Hristo and Maria too were up but both were feeling a bit weak and not fully fit. It had been a bad round of food poisoning for Hristo and he had woken up a couple of times in the night. Maria too was having a very severe throat pain and cough. They told me to carry on to Zipaquira as I didn't have any more day left while they would go there some day after I had left as they had their return tickets a few days later. I checked with Karin. She decided to join me. Her earlier plan had been to go to the Monseratte hill just next to our hostel. The views of Bogota from up there are amazing, but since it was a cloudy day, she decided to do it some other day when it was clearer.
    We had done some research and had figured that the buses to Zipaquira leave from the bus terminal at the North end of Bogota called Portal Norte. To reach Portal Norte, we could either take the taxi or use the local transport. We checked with the guy at the reception and realized that the taxi to Portal Norte was quite expensive and that the local bus route was very straightforward. We needed to catch the TransMelinio bus service from near the hostel and from there it was one straight road for almost 20 kms to the North.
    We finished our breakfast and headed to find the TransMelinio station. Just outside the hostel, we saw some 5-6 men dressed up in full army fatigues running outside the park nearby. It looked like some operation going on; most probably against drug dealers in the park. We walked around the area, but couldn't find the TransMelinio station. It took us 30 min to finally find the station. Here, at the entrance, we bought the tickets and also found out which number bus to take. The bus took 40 min to reach Portal Norte. The mini bus to Zipaquira was leaving in 5 min, this, which we managed to catch. The tickets are available on the bus only. In fact, there are no tickets. Everyone knows the fare and its the same all the way irrespective of where one gets on or off. After the bus leaves the terminal, the helper for the bus driver goes around collecting cash from everyone.    Read more

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    Parque Principal Zipaquirá

    February 22, 2018 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    The bus dropped us on the South side of the small town of Zipaquira. From here, the main square of the Parque Principal is about 2 kms and the Underground Salt Cathedral is about 1.5 kms West of the town, just outside the limits of the town. Zipaquira is a beautiful town. The cobbled streets and the wooden balconies and brightly painted facades reminded us of Cusco. The feeling was much more reinforced when we reached the Parque Principal. That place looked exactly like the main square in Cusco. A wide open space with cobbled flooring, beautiful Spanish colonial buildings all around and a lovely church.Read more