Category: Colombia

A desert in Colombia? The thought was intriguing and to reach a hot and dry region in this lush country was a welcome change.

Die Wüste Tatácoa ist wohl einzigartig in Südamerika. Ein grosser, farbenvoller Canyon, trocken und heiss mit fast keinem Regenfall. Vollmond und paar Regentropfen machten den Ort besonders fotogen.

Our route took us via Pitalito, Altamira and Neiva to Villavieja on the east side of Colombia, along the flow of the Rio Magdalena. Slowly the landscape changed and along the road we saw the first interesting formations making us excited for what may lying ahead.

Along the route we came across the traditional vendors producing a refreshing sugarcane drink on wooden presses. It was hot and we sampled the delicious juice, freshly pressed and cool.

Soon the landscape started changing with cacti and euphorbia replacing trees and palms.

With the change in flora also the birdlife changed.

We found a suitable camping spot on the edge of the cañon at the Tatácoa Desert Camp, offering a splendid view. When we arrived temperatures ranged around 37-38 deg C, but a few raindrops towards evening tempered the heat to 31 deg C during the night.

Being full moon we sat outside and enjoyed the view until late.

From our location we could conveniently explore the cañon on foot, which we did in the early hours of the cooler morning and found it a worthwhile two hours spent, viewing the cañon from below.

Black headed vultures circled waiting for nature to deliver.

We escaped the midday heat by travelling via Potosi along a small road following the Rio Magdalena until a bridge offered us a crossing and after a tunnel we get back on Ruta 45.

The tarred road was good and via El Espinal and Girardot we turn off at Bocachica close to Bogotá and drive along the Rio Bogotá to find a suitable camping site. At this point we had to pay Peaje (toll) again after we had paid on the main road minutes before. It dawned on us that Colombia is heavy on toll roads everywhere and had to get used that we would spend about Rand 1.00 per km from now on -almost as much as we were spending on fuel to drive. (On a normal day R150 =US$10, on a long drive day R600 =US$40 approx).

To our horror the river is being used as a sewage dump and is probably the worst pollution we have ever come across. Warning signs urged people living along the river not to get in contact with the water.

Even at the scenic falls Salto de Tequen-dama we could not escape the incredible stink. Foam everywhere.

Finally we found a place at the Ecolodge that overlooked the valley offering us a good view of the active volcano Nevado del Ruiz as well as the dormant  Nevado del Tolima.

Nobody was in attendance at the camping site, but fortunately the ablutions were open. Even when we departed there was nobody around when we left again. It seems to be primarily an action park with slides, ropes etc.

Next morning we found our tyre to be flat again without finding a reason after taking it off and checking it. We tracked back to El Espinal and carried on in the direction of Ibagué.

 

This post covers 18th-20th September 2016.

Little detail is known about the Agustin culture that existed before the Spanish conquerors and the petroglyphs of the burial sites invite many questions.

San Agustin ist wohl die schönste Sammlung von Steinskulpturen in Kolumbien. Hier wurden die alten Agustinianos mit Schätzen aus Keramik und Geschmeide, Armreifen und Brustschmuck und kleinen Goldfiguren begraben. Der Campingplatz Gamcelat ist ein günstiger Punkt, diese Gegend zu erkunden. Die Skulpturen stammen meist aus einer Periode zwischen Christi Geburt bis 900AD, obwohl manche auf bis 3000v.Chr. zurück zu führen sind.

Our base was set up at the camping site Gamcelat, which is situated in the vicinity of the San Agustin arqueological site and is conveniently close to the very good Italian restaurant, Pepe Nero, just across the road.

The petroglyphs are exhibited at the original sites where they had been found. The San Agustin culture reaches back to 3000BC although most are of a later date up to 900AD.

The excavations reveal some detail of the burial sites and the sarcophagi of many generations buried under artificial hills. Unfortunately robbers of graves have removed valuable figurines in gold as well as the ceramics and personal jewellery interned with the dead .

The San Agustin culture disappeared before the arrival of the Spanish and no written documents exist.

Then we explored the surrounding area and the valley where the mighty Rio Magdalena is still moderate and passes through a 2.5m gap in the rocks. Wherever we went we were heartily welcomed by the locals as Colombians really enjoy seeing tourists visiting their country again.

The area is a deep green and jungle like. Next we decided on a visit to Colombia’s desert cañon, Cañon de Desierto Tatácoa, which would be a welcome change and decided to proceed there.

This post covers 16th-17th September 2016.

Following a 2 hour border crossing, during which a rainstorm started, we drove to the Las Lajas church of pilgrimage and from there proceeded to Laguna la Cotcha. Little did we know that for the next 7 weeks there would only be 2 precipitation free days. Colombia is known for high rainfalls (up to 8000mm pa in some areas!)

Unser Grenzübertritt verlief ohne nennenswerten Probleme und vor Einbruch der Dämmerung standen wir an der Teleferico (Seilbahn) und campten, und fuhren dann am Morgen mit der Seilbahn zur Wallfahrtskirche. Der Regensturm hatte dafür gesorgt, dass der uns zugewiesene Platz recht matschig war – es wurde eine kalte Nacht.

An der Laguna la Cotcha gab es keinen Campingplatz und so standen wir mitten im Dorf und durften die Toiletten benutzen. Jedoch beim Nachtgang wurde uns klar, dass am späten Abend die Toiletten geschlossen wurden und wir mussten dunkle Ecken aufsuchen. Wegen des Regens konnten wir am nächsten Morgen keine Bootsfahrt machen und begaben uns entlang der berüchtigten Strasse genannt Trampolin des eTodes. Die Fahrt war wunderschön, sorgte aber für ein paar spannende Momente.

The church Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Las Lajas is a destination to which many pilgrims wander and in many cases it is purported to have been instrumental in miracle healings -many plaques testify to this effect and the church was built after such an event.

Architecturally it is a beautiful construction arching across a river in which some pilgrims washed themselves hoping for healing.

We returned again via the teleferico to a much drier camping spot and the mud had dried up. The road took us through Pasto (2850m), where we were happy to find a replacement gas cooker for our lost Cadac gas bottle.

Laguna la Cotcha was our next destination and we reached the picturesque town Puerto towards late afternoon.

Nobody seemed to worry that we parked our vehicles next to the boat embarkation where we found open public toilets.

Little did we expect that they get closed at eight o’clock in the evening and presented a challenge during the rainy night. The weather prevented us next morning to go onto the lake by boat, especially to visit the island  “Isla de la Corota” with its forests and birdlife.

Early in the day we departed along the “Trampolin de Muerte”(Death Road), a narrow road cut through the mountain and forest with steep drop-offs -exciting especially with oncoming traffic of trucks and buses.

The road was lined with ferns, palms and a variety of trees as well as frailjoles plants. During a short lunch stop we counted 7 different species of butterflies within a short period.

The day ended at Mocoa where we took a refreshing dip in the river next to our camping site in the backyard of hostal Casa del Rio. At 600m above sealevel we enjoyed a balmy night.

Unfortunately the night was cut short by heavy truck traffic on the road nearby and we proceeded to San Agostin after watching some Tucans and other birds in the morning.

This post covers the period 13th-16th September 2016