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Published: February 28th 2010
Cafe Con-Verso
Was taking the shot when a young lad ran by - decided that I acually quite like it.Oh my GOD, I'm going to die!! Brake, you idiot! BRAAAAKKKE! Too late! I'm going to die...damn.
And just before the impact...I wake up. Thus started my day yesterday (Friday). Looks like the crazy bus driving has finally got to me.
Fortunately, my bad dream served a purpose - to wake me up in time to get down to the market and try "arepa de maíz pelau" - another local speciality. Alexandra (of café con-versano), suggested I go down to the market where her mother worked in a café which makes them - but they are only available from 6am until 9am....that's kind of early for me these days.
I decided to take my camera with me in the hope of getting some decent shots of San Gil for you - but I had a pretty lousy day with the camera yesterday...nothing seemed to work 😞
The market in San Gil sits a couple of blocks south of the main square. Arriving just before 8, it was a hive of activity. It's an indoor market and the main produce there is food / vegetables / fruit. The smell hits you as soon as you enter the place. A
Up on the hill is where you'll find us...
The entrance to the hostel is about where the red car is on the right. tantalizing combination of sweet and musky and...well, impossible to describe really.
Because of the early hour and the fact that the place is entirely indoors any way, the light wasn't great for photos which is a shame because the colors grab you from the moment that you enter.
I spent a while looking for Café Leo (I think it's called) - in the end I had to ask and some kind market trader walked me there. I sat and ate my arepas, drinking my tinto (I've told you about tinto, right?) and chatting with Alexandra's mum. Stock questions and answers, really. "Where am I from? From London. Have you been? I've been in Colombia for about 10 days. Yes, I love it...the people, the culture, the towns." All genuine stuff, it's just I wish that I had a broader selection of things to say.
The arepa was good, but I've still to try an arepa here that tastes quite as good as Mónica's.
With breakfast done, I wandered around the market a little taking shots (badly) and headed back up to the hostel (and actually wrote the blog from yesterday).
I'd heard of a place called
PANACHI (PArque NAcional del CHIcamocha) - a sort of theme park built around the world's second biggest canyon (alledgedly). The canyon is called Chicamocha - hence the name of the park.
I got instructions from the (ever) helpful staff at the Macondo Hostel. It seemed all I had to do was to get a bus to Bucaramanga and ask them to let me off at PANACHI.
There are actually 3 bus terminals in San Gil and the one for buses towards Bucaramanga is a bit further away from the center than the other two. Fortuanately there was a bus just about to pull out as I arrived so I hopped on and off we went (memories of my vivid dream streaming back into my conciousness...)
After about 50 minutes, a middle aged lady got on the bus and sat next to me. I knew that we were pretty close to the park so I asked her to let me know when we got to the park. About 10 minutes later she said - "You need to get off here - do you want me to stop the bus for you" (sooo helpful). I thanked her and said that that
would be very kind of her. As I scrambled towards the exit, everybody in the bus started shouting. I had no idea what was going on. Had I broken some unwritten rule of bus etiquete? Eventually somebody explained to me that the "helpful" lady had got it wrong and that we were still 10 minutes away. I skulked back to my seat.
And then I was treated to the most amazing scenery that I have seen so far in Colombia. We were 1.5 km up, looking DOWN on mountains. Such an AMAZING sight. I'm sorry, it's impossible to describe how it felt to be looking down out of the window and seeing nothing beyond the road but a 1km drop to the canyon floor below. Scary? You bet. But STUNNING.
So, eventually we arrived (everybody in the bus shouting that I should get off NOW- so funny!). I could actually see the park from some distance down the road - a striking slab of colour against the hues of green that painted the surrounding mountains. I was dropped in the middle (yes the MIDDLE) of a four lane dual carriageway. Fortunately no other traffic was oncoming so I dashed
into the park entrance.
The heat and humidity were overpowering. It was overcast but the sun burned through the cloud with ferocity.
I walked through the (largely empty) car park towards the cashier and handed over my money for the entrance fee. It's (a pricey) 38.000 COP if you want to take the cable car (more on that later). I believe that it's a LOT cheaper if you opt not to ride the cable car....but you HAVE to ride the cable car. It's the best thing there!
The park itself is a bit of a maze of steps and ramps and buildings. I never quite got oriented while I was there, always referring to the map which, in itself, was only useful for knowing whether you were heading in the generally right direction (in the vertical as well as the horizontal sense).
In the heat of the midday sun, my first priority was to find the toilet, then something to drink and a quick bite to eat for lunch. I kept finding signs for disabled toilets everywhere (although no actual toilets - just the signs). It wasn't until later that I realised that the signs were indicating "step
free access ramps" rather than disabled toilets. Doh!
I eventually found the "fast food" section and ordered a steak with chips (no rice!). The toilets would have to wait.
The steak was actually pretty tough (although tasty). Cost was 15.000 COP (a fiver).
As I was eating, I saw a bird of prey swooping over the mountains. This is such a magical place - I just keep seeing things that I never thought that are so far removed from my normal life - each day holds a hundred little surprises.
I finished my meal and headed straight for the cable car. The cloud was closing in and I wanted to take the ride before it got that I wouldn't be able to see anything. The cable car basically runs up and down the mountains that form the Chicamocha canyon. Your ticket pays for a ride out and back (fortunately).
As I mentioned before, the park was really rather empty and I was the only one "queuing" for the cable car. As I stood on the platform waiting for my ride, up popped a "ski lift" type chair - entirely open and exposed. Uh-oh. I wondered if I'd inadvertantly
bought the "cheap" ticket...there was NO WAY I was going to ride on that up and down 2km worth of mountain...NOOOO WAY!!
I asked the operator if that was my ride. He laughed and then shouted to his friends, pointing to the chair. They burst out laughing. Felt such an twonk!
Eventually my car arrived and I got in alone and we started the long descent. I didn't actually time it but I think that it takes about 40 minutes to get down and back up the canyon.
The scenery was stunning, but the cloud and hazyness of the day (coupled with the tinting of the windows on the cable car) made it difficult to get any decent photographs. There is a type of tree here whose only leaves are spread out at the top of the tree. They tend to grow where you see cactus. When viewed from the side, you get the sense that they the leaves are hovering in the air, like green clouds floating above an army of prickly giant cucumbers. It's very striking (even if the picture doesn't do it justice)!
As I was heading up the "other side" of the
mountain, the wind really began to pick up. I noticed that all the cars coming the other way were empty. I was swinging around halfway up a mountain and, I don't mind admitting, I was a bit freaked...I already told you that I'm not great with heights, right?
We passed over mountain goats, tiny settlements of houses (which were little more than corrugated iron on posts). I wondered how anybody could live here - how did they get here? The mountain was surely too steep to be navigable by car. Guess I'll never know. This pondering helped to distract me from the strengthening wind.
Eventually "we" got to the other side of the canyon where there is a small touristy type set-up (shops restaurants, a chapel). The main restaurant actually seemed much busier than any of the restaurants in PINACHI proper. Clearly a popular eat.
I kicked around the other side for a while, taking some photos and summoning the courage to face the ride back.
Oddly, there was quite a queue to get back and I ended up waiting for half an hour to get a car. Obviously, with such a queue, it meant that I wasn't
alone for the ride back. But as it happened, the wind had died down considerably by then anyway.
On the way back, I timed the ride. It takes about 25 minutes to ride down to the floor (?) of the canyon and about 10 minutes or so to get back up the other side. According to the official stats, that's a drop from about 1.5 km up down to about 550 m and back up to 1.6 km. Heady stuff!
My companions for the trip were 7 people from a larger group of tourists who seemed to be part of some sort of convention. At some point about halfway down the descent, one guy started compaining that his ears were popping and he put in some ear plugs - bright orange. Then, some minutes later he got a call on his telephone. He answered and just kept shouting at the person on the other end "I can't hear you!". Was one of the funniest things that I've seen here - a guy with big orange earplugs shouting (walkie-talkie style) into his phone "I can't hear you!". I didn't know the words for "of course you can't you have big
orange ear plugs in"...and even if I had, I wouldn't have told him 😊 How can somebody use a telephone and NOT remember that they have earplugs in? Surely they would feel them, right?
One of the group clearly got bored with the conversation on the way down and decided to play us some music on her telephone as loudly as she could. It's something that you see the world over, I guess. But it seems to happen a lot here. There are occasions when I've been on a bus and the radio is on and somebody else plays their MP3 player as loud as they can...a bit annoying really.
The sun continued to burn through the cloud. I could see that there was a 360 degree viewing platform at summit of the park and the walk to it would take me through most of the attractions there. So off I headed, my rucksack sucking the sweat from my back as I climbed up endless stairs and ramps, each being so steep as to convince you that you've reached the summit already, only to be disappointed to see another set of steps ahead. Overhead sprinkler systems dotted spasmodically
along the route offered welcome, if temporary, relief from the heat - of course I had to stuff my camera under my tshirt to stop it from getting wet...must have looked a bit of a pillock thinking about it.
Whilst the cable car is the coolest thing about PINACHI, the most dominant feature is a huge scupture in the center of the park - Monumento a la Santandereanidad. It represents the revolution (and possibly the creation of the Santander province) in 1781. The monument is enormous and does its best to impose its presence against the dominance of the surrounding mountains. Huge metal poles stick out of the ground, each with a rock near the end - like a giant piece of cheese on a cocktail stick. This represents an explosion and within the explosion (and around) are statues of key players in the revolt. The whole thing stands on a platform which looks like a boat whose bow has been broken in the middle - both for and aft pointing to the sky.
Continuing on from the monument, I passed above the ostrich farm but didn't pay it much heed. From ahead I could hear delighted yelps
becoming increasingly louder as a teenager zip-lined down from the summit to somewhere just below the monument.
Climbing climbing climbing. Finally I reached the summit - the 360 degree viewing platform. Such a beautiful view - and such a pity that I struggled to capture anything like its grandeur in my photos.
Also a pity was that there is a cafe / restaurant at the top of the climb and they play loud spanish pop music. In such a place, peace and tranquility should be the order of the day, don't you think? Maybe I'm just getting old!
It was heading towards 4 and I was tired. Time to head home. I began the long descent to the car park. Passing by the ticket office, I confirmed that I'd be able to get a bus from just outside the park. Just as I left one passed by. Doh. Never mind, there'll be another one in 15 minutes surely? I reflected on the irony that had I not stopped to confirm te pick-up point, I'd be on the bus already. 15 minutes passed. No bus. Guess that they're every 30 minutes then. 30 minutes pass - no bus. I
A close up of a wall
Told you, I have developed a love of photgraphs of texture wondered why I wasn't particularly bothered by this - I seem to have discovered a new sense of optimism that things will work out. I would normally have been panicking thinking "damn, I've missed the last bus!". But no, just calm. They must be every 45 minutes then. Then, coming up on the road, appearing from under the crest of the hill....I saw a donkey. A stray donkey just trotting nonchalantly up the road. Suddenly five police officers and 3 security guards ran out from the park and tried to round it up and get it into a field nearby. But they were a bit rubbish at it - the more that they whistled and yelped and threw things at it, the more it trotted up the road. Eventually, it trotted off into a field of its own volition - the police and security guys were high-fiving each other and there were back slaps all round. So funny to watch.
Still no bus. A girl walked out of the park and asked my if I was waiting for a bus to San Gil and whether I'd been waiting long. Yes and yes. 45 minutes by this point (they must be
every hour then). Anyway, we got chatting and it turned out that she was Angela from Bogota. She spoke perfect english so, weary as I was, I was happy to turn off my Spanish Language head for a while.
The bus arrived finally after about an hour. We continued to chat on the way back to San Gil(which helped to distract from the crazyness of the driving). Then up to my fave bar for a couple of beers.
Eventually, the night drew in and I walked Angela back to her hotel, via the main square.
Heading back to my hotel (it was a bit of a trek), I thought I'd just pop into the bar again to say goodbye (since I would be leaving the next day). I had a beer with them. Then Alexandra's friend turned up and they asked me if I wanted to go to a club just a bit out of San Gil. Great! 😊 I asked where we were going. She said "Masai Mara". I thought "Hmm, that's quite a way".
We jumped in a cab and set off. What greeted me as we arrived was a wall of sound. Inside what appeared
to be a (very classy) converted barn (huge), 11 guys were standing on stage pounding out Samba with an energy that I've never witnessed before. The PA system was breaking up from the sheer volume. People dancing on the dancefloor (of course), at their tables. A happier environment is hard to imagine. And this is EXACTLY what I'd wanted to see of Colombia. Sure the tourist attractions are great and the tourist nightspots - but to go with a local to an out of town club and really witness what it is that Colombians (well some of them) do was a real, genuine joy for me - I actually felt pretty emotional.
People often ask me why I'm travelling on my own. My stock answer is the truth - I don't know of anybody else who would have both desire and the means to up sticks and run around South America for 3 months. Then they ask me if I get sad and lonely. And the truth is that there are moments where I think "I would love to share this moment with somebody" - which I guess goes some way to explaining why I write every scrap of
detail that I can remember in my blog posts. But on the way up the mountain, when I really was alone, I reflected on all the experiences that I've had so far - on the people that I've met, on the amazing hospitality shown to me by the people here. And here at the Masai Mara (of all places) I knew that if I were travelling with somebody else, I would probably have never made the effort to go and speak spanish all night with the bar staff at Cafe Con-Versano, I would never have been invited out to the club. Sure, travelling alone has its drawbacks, but the positives FAR outweigh them.
After about 90 minutes, we wandered outside to break from the deafening speaker system. The surrounding trees (hairy trees) were lit up in green and purple. A river ran nearby. The sound from the PA was still loud even here. We chatted, we drank, and eventually we went back to San Gil.
And that's it. Friday. My last day and last night in San Gil. Saturday would be all about packing up again and moving on...but that's another post.
Travelling tip: Before I forget,
some guidebooks mention that if you're travelling from San Gil to Bucaramanga, you might want to get a bus to PANACHI, ride the cable car across and then get a bus from the other side on to Bucaramanga. I actually considered doing this but didn't because I didn't fancy the idea of carting around all my stuff while exploring the park. But here's the thing - I don't think that they would have let me on the cable car with all my kit. It's (supposedly) "hand luggage" only....just a word of warning.
Hasta luego
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nicolas
non-member comment
Thnx
hey chris, thnx for ur blog, i enjoy the fresh reading of it. I only have a little thing to said about it, the name of the coffee is cafe Con-Verso, not conversano, just that XD Nico