The Long road to Bogotá

With my back finally settling down enough to contemplate a long bus ride, my boots dry and the blog up to date, there was little excuse left to linger in Santa Marta. I left the hotel early in order to catch the 7am bus to Bucaramanga. It was a very long ride and we got in at about 630pm. Rather than stay, I elected to travel on to San Gil, which is a somewhat smaller town reputed to be in some spectacularly rugged country. Unfortunately it was dark, so I missed a lot of the scenery, but the ground seems to rise very gradually from the coast with the occasional range of hills in the distance, and then some hours later, we were winding along the crests of high ridges, looking down into the ravines below. On the coastal plains, there were huge banana and oil palm plantations, which gave way to cattle ranching and horticulture. I arrived in San Gil sometime after 10pm, found a hostel and managed a good rest. Even so, I was exhausted the next day, which must have been partly down to altitude sickness as San Gil is at 1140m above mean sea level, and partly to the long journey. People visit San Gil for the adventure sports, and as my back was still in a very vulnerable state, I had to pass up on the white water rafting and the rappelling (abseiling) I thought to give paragliding a try, as I felt that I should be able to cope with one landing. As fate would have it, the wind wasn't strong enough for a take off, so I spent the afternoon on the side of the hill admiring the countryside.... Interestingly, the major crop around San Gil appears to be what we used to call "burley leaf" tobacco in Zim, all air dried under roof, rather than force dried in barns. The crop appeared to be so abundant and well managed, that I really doubt Zim will ever be able to compete in the near future, of course there are different grades of this poison, so maybe they produce a different variety...

The cathedral like moss in Parque El Gallineral. (This was a pair of trees growing together titled "Matrimonio feliz", higuerón gemelo y ceiba bonga) , The park itself consisted of a natural forest on the bank of the Rio Fonce and was peaceful and beautiful

Parque central in San Gil, a very typical small Colombian city, I loved the market, where you could eat like a king for about $3

The burley tabacco growing outside San Gil...

Villa de Leiva is touted as one of the unmissable places in Colombia, and justifiably so in my opinion. It retains a definite colonial charm, with streets that are cobbled with uneven stones (quite how the women manage their stiletto heels on them is nothing short of miraculous) and a vast Plaza Mayor, on which the local kids fly kites. It is surrounded by picturesque hills, but at 2650m, gets very cold at night. Athough it's main raison d'etre is tourism, it was quiet and fun to wander through the streets. To the west in the valle se Leiva, which was a seabed some 115 million years ago abundant fossils have been found, and the little museum just outside the town was a fascinating introduction to this world for me which so fascinated Darwin. The only problem is that I learn and forget all the names and types of fossils, but the main finds are ictiosaurios, a marine reptile with many similarities to the modern day dolphin, (on display Platypterigius sachicarum, for those who are interested) an elasmosaurios an aquatic version of a sauropod, related to pliosaurios which had short tails, flippers like turtles and heads like crocodiles. A virtually complete pliosaurus skeleton of the species Kronosaurus boyacensis has a dedicated museum built around it in situ some miles away; I had to content myself with some fossilised body parts. Myriad ammonites (fossilised snails) are on display, again it is fascinating that so little is known about these creatures, and the picture that has been deduced from existing species requires great knowledge and imagination.

Looking north-east across the vast Plaza Mayor

Sidewalks paved with ammonites and slate!

View from Casa del Primer Congreso. I stumbled into a lecture of eminent historians paying homage to the founding of the congress on the 200th anniversary of the Bolivarian revolution, to which I was invited and didn't understand a lot of.

Looking west across the Plaza Mayor from the steps of the cathedral

The view across the rooftops from room in Villa de Leiva. I splashed out ($20) and it was for me incredibly luxurious with the best shower I had to date in Colombia. With a lovely lounge with a view of the hills and of the Iglesia del Carmen and monasterio, in which to practise the guitar.

Plaza Mayor with Museo Acuña on the left. Although I really loved his work in the museum in Cartagena, all the struck me here along with a few interesting images was his sheer volume of creativity. It also housed a number of rare books clocks and musical instruments from his personal collection along with some art, the 2 most interesting pieces had been stolen, sadly including a Virgen de la Leche, of the lactating virgin comforting a grown saint, most of which were destroyed as blasphemy on the orders of the church. The other amazing artefact was a violin from the studio of Stradivarius, if not actually made by him, and I wonder how long that will remain there, as the security didn't strike me as that good.

Plaza del Carmen

Kite flying in the Plaza Mayor on Sunday

I wasn't planning on going to Tunja, (27870m and very cold when the sun doesn't shine) but as there was an International Cultural Festival, I thought that this would be a good way to finally get to see some live Colombian music. Imagine my horror when I arrived on a late Saturday afternoon to be greeted with a cacophony beyond the threshold of pain that sounded like a machine self destructing with the occasional stray cats getting mangled in its entrails. It was Metallica day, and I was all set to leave the next day, as I had queued abortively for 40 mins for a seat at a tango demonstration. Mercifully it all stopped at about 9pm. The next day I managed to take in a contemporary and folkloric dance performance, which had some very good moments. Man, can those young kids dance! There was also a classical guitar performance, occasionally accompanying a Brasilian soprano. For all the flowery language of introducing tis grand maestro, I have heard a lot better, and the soprano left me cold too. Still it was good to here some old classical favourites, even though he didn't attempt any really challenging repertoire. The next day was a real treat, as I saw for the first time Joropo music, with 4 real maestros of te Andean harp, accompanied wby Quatro ( small type of 4 stringed guitar, bass ad carpacho (shakers). These were the most amzing consummate musicians, and that was a real privilege. the next day was "Encuentro de las 5 guitarras", of the 5, I only particularly rated 3. Sadly I don't remember their names, but there was an outstanding classical player, another who played flamenco and modern compositions with great virtuosity, passion and warmth, and anoter who played his own jazzy improvisation with a lot of rasguado and strumming technique of various local popular themes, with the audience singing and clapping along. Amazingly, people don't turn their cell phones off, and talk during the music.

The poster from the Festival outside the town hall

Looking down the street off te Plaza Bolivar. Tunja is a very friendly place, but it's hell to try to find a laundry!

The Joropo concert, Carpacho, harp, cuatro and bass.

From right to left, Aristide, Maria (his daughter) Marco. Marco befriended me at the dance performance, and through him I met Aristide, a local university lecturer, who was passionate about music, his little daughter who could dance salsa incredibly well, and a few aquaintances, Rodrigo, his daughter Andrea and her grandmother. They were so inclusive and welcoming to wards me, and Aristide in particular made sure I got into the harp recital as the queue jumping is rampant (all performances were free except for a couple of big pop names)

The main stage in Plaza Bolivar

Colourful folkloric dancing on the main stage

A photographic celebration of the indigenous culture in Plaza Bolivar, but none were actually in sight

A mariachi act, with this incredible little girl singing and dancing her heart out with her parents. Huge talent, presence and timing in one so young. Already she knew all the songs, and even though she couldn't reach the mic she was clearly audible and very, very good.