This is going to be a short article today as I don´t really have time to write more. Plus my photos are blocked by that stupid virus on the card. I will try to look into debugging the card when I reach Bogota in some days. So here it is for the short summary about San Gil! Sorry!
Friday 24th July 2015
We went rafting in Class 5 white water. That was awesome, we had a great boat, I was with AnneLina and a German girl on a boat and we had one guide who was really good. He kept saying: Paddle forward, Left Back Right forward, Forward hard, Sit down, Back in position, and we just followed what he said and we survived. It was the first time I was rafting and I absolutely loved it! Besides, the river was really really pretty, and when we were not paddling hard to not flip the boat, we were cruising slowly and admiring the landscape, the hills on both sides of the river. Was nice!
Saturday 25th July 2016
We went to visit Barichara and hiked from Barichara to Guane on the Camino Real with Martina, Lynn, AnneLina and a guy we met at our hostel who was staying in our room who was from Saoudi Arabia! First time I ever meet a traveller from there. He was a great photographer too, so it was awesome to shoot around such a beautiful architecture little city with him. At lunch we were on the main plaza and a guy came playing the guitar right next to us, the music was really great, beautiful Colombian and South American songs. After walking the city we went on the Camino Real which tool about 1h30-2h from Barichara to Guane and had gorgeous views, and then we hoped on the bus back to San Gil. There was a beautiful sunset in the sky but until I get my card back, I unfortunately can´t share.
Sunday 26th July 2015
With Lynn, AnneLina and Khaled, we went paragliding. It was in the valley of cocochara or something which was exactly where I had seen the incredible mountains about an hour before to reach San Gil from Bucaramanga. I had never done paragliding either. The wind was good, and we each had a pilot with us. We were just told to run and not seat and not jump, and before I knew it within seconds I was flying. The pilot was great and the view was awesome. It was a 30´min ride. He asked if I wanted to do acrobatics, but I was honestly not really keen, maybe another time. I loved paragliding and I will try to do it again, it is such an amazing way of seeing the landscape from the top. It is incredible to be constantly in the wind, and fascinating to think that by just knowing how to take thermals and navigage, paragliders just get themselves in the air and back on the land like this. What an amazing invention! We were pretty tired when we came back and had a nap and then went to Gringo´s Mike which had very tasty food and a special desert which was a half-cooked giant cookie with vanilla ice-cream. Yummy!
Monday 27th July 2015
Martina left in the morning around 7am with Lynn and AnneLina to take the day bus to Bogota and then jump in a flight in the evening off to San Andres islands. As she was is going to Canada next to volonteer in Banff for a month, she was looking to spend some time on the islands in the sun before to head to the mountains. Kahled left around 10am for a bus to Armenia and Salento to go check out the coffee region. As for me, I spent the morning blogging, and otherwise got a bit organised for the trip to El Cocuy. I finally filled my MSR multi-fuel bottle in a hardware store with what they called “thinner” which is a solvant for painting. I also bought some rice for El Cocuy but not sure what I will eat there or how I am going to do it, either the easy way by staying in cabanas and having meals there, or a bit more adventurous way by pitching my tent outside and cooking on my stove and going for multi-day hikes. I have never really walked at 4,000 meters high, it will be very interesting to see how I deal wiith altitude! I may just take it easy. We will see. I restocked also on a small toothpaste, conditioner, shampoo, soap as I was running out in everything. Took 3 weeks and half, great that I managed to make everything last so long. I met a Swiss guy at the hotel from Zurich who wanted to go check out the sunset, to shoot the city from higher up, which was perfect as that was also what I had not done yet and wanted to do, so we walked up and enjoyed a great view of San Gil, its small houses made of red cobblestones. Then I went to the internet cafe to do some memory cards back-up, that take forever, and during that time I can´t upload the photos of the day to the blog either, anyway, enough on the computer. Then going with him again to Gringo´s Mike and maybe enjoying that giant cookie again hey hey!
Off to Tunja tomorrow then to El Cocuy! Finally going to the main place I wanted to see in Colombia, the wonderful El Cocuy National Park!!! Yihaaaaa.
I will edit this article again when I reach Bogota I think to upload some photos in there.
While waiting, I hope everyone who is reading this is doing well!
Pom explores 