15. I can't decide on the route: By air, it is only 79 kilometres. The GPS have a "short" route: 300 kilometres through mountains, by rough gravel and rocky roads with possibilities for mud slides. The middle-road: 450 kilometres on probably sealed roads, but heavily congested by trucks. The long 600 kilometre by bigger roads, but not as interesting. I re-decide several times, ping-poning a bit in
the process. Then I postpone the decision, till I get to Bucaramanga. At noon, I'm back in San Gil: Five hours of
intense driving, 175 kilometres
Along with the altitude, the vegetation changes. It is from almost desert, lush grass land, cloud- and rain forest to moor. But the distance I have to cover considered, I'm in race-mode: No photo or botanising stops. And I skip lunch, as I will hate to see all the slow trucks I have struggled to get pass, pass me again.
At six, I'm practically out of gas, hours from
my hotel, and to add to the misery; Standing with my
I get to a little town, and get to the central
square. Ask the locals for gas and hotel, but apparently; they
I get to it at seven, and no chance I'll try to drive the last 80 kilometres to Cocuy during the night! I find a nice hotel, and after having walked most of the town, some salad. I get an extra serving, and head home to work. It is late, but at least; I have not experienced much, nor taken many photos. Driving a lot towards Cocuy
The first part is dominated by cactus and
Acacias, then it turn more fertile, and the grass is so green! Here
are plenty of cows, and each farm have a milk churn or two standing
- each maximum on five litres. Outside the farmhouses, and within the villages, the locals are sitting in the sun, warming up. The higher parts, get up to 4.000 metres, are cold at night. Here are grass, pines, indigenous forest, barren rocks, swamps and a few farmed fields. I
Here are so many different plants, and I
give-up, trying to document. I see several orchids; one huge
Bulbophyllum, a terrestrial one with a inflorescence on a meter,
filed with bright yellow flowers. Another have slightly transparent
yellow flowers. I find a great spot to have lunch: In the sun with a great view. Surounding mountains, the river 2-300 meters right down under me. I actually move back a meter, when I realises; I sit on gravel at the edge of the drop. Here are several succulents, some are flowering. Realising my many photos might look alike in the end, I try to limit a bit, and it helps, when the sun disappears behind some light clouds and the higher mountains.
17.
I get to
Mongui
at nine, and despite it is an old town, it kind of lack the appeal.
It might have something to do with the altitude; 3000 metres and the
lack of sun, but despite I walk the central part of town, I don't
find it. Here are several shops selling footballs; must be what they
do here? Again, I have to drive through the city of Sagamosa and then out in the farmland again. Lago del Toda is a huge lake, found a bit above 3000 metres. I had expected some real interesting nature around it, but it is onion fields - a lot of them! In an effort to find some unspoiled nature, I drive around the entire lake.
A single town is found at its shore;
Aquitania. They have their annual religious festival, and the town
is filled with tent-shops, tivoli, shooting galleries, huge grills
and people from near and fare away.
As a
large part of the crowd start walking up on a nearby hill, probably
to attend to some It is only noon, and
I might find something more interesting. I head for the old town of
Villa de Leyva, which I have a good feeling of. It is found in 2200
metres height, but here are several attractions, and probably more
tourism. Normally, I do not see that as a plus, but I need some nice
food by now. Dinner is Oreos and the bananas I bought in
As the road descents from the highland, it passes an area with cacti and succulents. Strangely enough, here are evergreen orchids as well, and they are flowering now. Then I pass through a huge valley with a lot of diary cows. The road gain height again, and passes some huge, almost barren slate hills. I do some walking, and find a new Opuntia (of the type the no more is named Opuntia). At four, I reach
I do some walking in a part of town. Here are lots, cleared of the buildings, and now the home for horses and cows. Here are brand new houses, build exactly like the ones hundreds of years old. The sidewalks are still made the old way, and the soul is maintained. I end the day with a great pasta with vegetables - and the usual work. It started to rain, when I head home, and it continues quite heavily during the evening. Mongui, Aquitania, Lago del Toda and Villa de Leyva
18.
Further out the gravel road, Estacion Astronomica
Muisca is found. A collection of ancient art; tall stones, reminding
me of something... One area is especially dense, and it have probably
been a solar calendar. I loop back the the big fossil museum, and this time, I do understand some of what the guide say. Here are a lot of original fossils of oceanic creatures from this area, and a few others, along with a few iconic replicas. One of the originals are the remains of the oldest turtle known, dating back 150 millions years.
I set
In one place, a street-work is taking place. It is
like it was
500
years ago. I find several new houses, but they are build just like
those were, 500 years ago. The blocks are big, and some have huge
yards with everything
When it start to rain a bit harder, I seek refuge
at a patisserie, and I find; I have to buy chai and cake. When it
stops raining, I head out in the town again. I find a small river, crossing
through town. In
one place, it is crossed by a canal. The bridges are ancient, and
overgrown, and if here were light enough, it would make some great
motives. The town have a chocolate museum, but it seems more like a
shop.
I see some of the souvenir shops, and they do have some nice things. One have some clay-work, where I find the technique real nice: Kind of 3D paintings. Several have piggy banks is many sizes and paintings. The lemon-sized cost 2.000 pesos. I find Casa de Don Juan de Castellanos house from 1585, which must be one of the older ones.
Then the light disappears, and I find a pizza,
with a good taste and a rock-hard button. The town does look nice at
night as well.
19. I feel a little sad, leaving the fantastic Villa de Leyva, but at least, the sun is not shinning. I head towards Bogotá, through the usual hilly farmland.
I only touches Bogotá's outskirts before I find
the countryside again. But the highway stretch, driving straight,
was a treat!
I follow an old Inca trail, leading down the steep mountainside, through the cloud forest from 2700 to 2000 metres. It is quite more open and drier than I had anticipated, but on the other hand,; it is greener. Here are so many different plants, and especially the tree ferns make a great silhouette against the clouds.
Here
are
many birds, but the few I see, I do not recognise at all. Insects,
on the other hand, are a bit scars, and I don't see a single The ancient trail is made from roughly formed natural rocks, and in many places, it is steps. The surface is smooth, but not even. Some stretches are destroyed by time, but other are impressing well preserved. I can't imagine which work must have gone into levelling the pats, and finding and caring these big rocks to the trail!
When
the
wall of a forest opens from time to time, a great view to a v
The trail I follow, leads to a "retreat". The
forest opens, and I'm on a huge green meadow with a real big house.
It is so surrealistic, in the middle of the forest, but it somehow
look great.
It is red bricks and timber, and quite old. Within it, I find a real
nice restaurant, serving a vegetarian dish. Rice, salad and
"meatballs" in a fruity gravy.
As I finish my meal, the rain starts, and I find
a hammock on the porch. Unfortunately, they rain stops soon after,
and I head back. This time, I choose a more smooth track, better
suited for flip-flops. It is wider, and offers a better view to the
forest. I drive back to Madrid, where I have booked a hotel. It is brand new: I'm their first guest. Four girls have pretty good grasp about it, and the 23 years old director and another one speak great English. I thought it was cheap, and the price Booking.com gave, was mended for truck drivers. As she say; "Men with a C in their driving license". I show her mine, and that end that discussion. They have no cook yet, but call for a veggie pizza. Parque Natural Chicaque
When
I
drive over the edge, and into the lowlands, I get the feeling; I
drive into a sea of clouds (like the famous painting of P. S. Krøyer).
I stop a few times, to check the flora and try to capture the
enormous landscape.
Finally,
I reach the so-called "Serengeti of the Americas; Los Llanos. I stop
in Villavicencio to book a hotel, and then I head on, towards Puerto López. On the way out of town, I look for a supermarket to get some
muesli, water and lunch. I find one which turns out to the the en
gross.
Then I get out in the country side by the recommended road, and I've been looking forward for the tour. However, it is disappointing. It is just a huge plain at around 200 meters height, covered in grass and Indian oxen. Further out, palms and trees brake up the horizon.
Some areas have quite some termite hills, but I
look for anteaters with no luck. A small stretch have swamp and
lakes, and again, I look for capybara with no luck. White herons, on
the other hand are numerous. I reach Puerto López, and to gain something from this drive, I find a barber shop, and get a shave and hair-trim. It is the fancy one at the main street, and it could have worked fine in Denmark. But I'm only charged 10.000 pesos, around 1/20 of the Danish price.
As I head on, I pass the huge Rio Metica, which
is used for transport. I have passed some signs, showing to El Monolite, and by now, I'm curious. When I get to it, it is locked in
a building site, but I can see the concrete
I
find a lookout to the even lower bush-land, but is does not look
appealing. I had really hoped for some nature experiences here, but
unless you like Indian oxen and termites, little more is found here.
Then I reach the grass land of Los
Llanos, with the Indian
oxen and a few, real overgrown road trees. Here are orchids,
bromeliads, cacti, ferns and parasitic plants along with figs. I
fight the urge to climb - either because I finally got grown up - or
old. But the plants sit quite low One of the trees are the amassing Cannonball Tree; Couroupita guianensis. Here, it both have flowers and fruits. Some trees are dormant, others in full growth. I spend quite some time, studding the epiphytes, but the main target is an anteater, preferable the giant! The grass land is here, and some fields are almost covered in termite nests.
The road
I nick
Villavicencio and find a minor road, south of the
big one. The first interesting I see is a neon-orange Red Ibis;
I eat my lunch under a tree at a river. Bananas
and chocolate Oreos might not have the right nutrition, but they
pack the calories! Then I reach the huge river Meta and its
chocolate milk-brown water. The grassland changes into oil palms,
and then rice! Not the anteaters home. I get to the village of San Carlos de Guaroa. Several boulevards, no sealing and scrappy sheets. I find the big river, and see a big bridge, unknown to my GPS, despite it is old. On the other side, the road turn real bad, and here are plantations, pineapples for one. Not anteater land either. I head back, and find another road out to the main road.
The first I passes are
some huge water buffalo bulls. I would like a good picture of these
mighty animals, but their attitude prevents me from entering the
field - along with the barbwire. I have not climbed these greedy beasts before, but now I must. The anteater seem a bit camera shy - or shy in general, and I rush around in a big arch - hoping it think it is one of the water buffalos, "sneaking around". I get some decent photos, but I don't want to scare is too much, and let it be.
I pass some fields with
a lot of Indian oxen, some with very few and one with a lake too.
Then I reach the highway, and head homewards. Back in Villavicencio, I find six closed restaurants. It is Saturday, six in the evening! Finally, I find one serving ice and crepes. For two carwashes, I get one pancake, slightly filled with cheese, broccoli and mushrooms, and it is no fancy place. I hope the guys, who washed my car, know better places! Home to answer quite some emails, and continue the hunt for a hotel in Guiana, as the one I had booked, have gone in some disaster? Los Llanos and the hunt for an anteater
22.
The road is being straighten out, but it
will take some time before they open: One half of a suspension
bridge have collapsed, just as they were about to join. Work on the
other half seems to have come to a stop... Some locals ells me: It
was made by a female engineer.
The traffic move slowly due to road works and big
trucks. Then one of the biggest trucks start overtaking 20 cars and
three other trucks, where none else dared - and pull through. I walk back to the hotel - did book it near the airport deliberately, and get some nice lunch. Then I start preparing the GPS for the next adventures and finish up the Colombian data. It have been a bit expensive, but a great adventure for sure! Colombia have so much to offer, among others, the largest biodiversity in the world, and the old towns have really gotten into me; they are so cosy and pretty! Back to Bogota through Chinaque
I have booked a taxi at 02;30, and my flight is
at 05;01 to Panama and then Guyana and
the day after; Suriname. |