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In some civilisations, life was simply a preparation for the afterlife. To them death was the ultimate goal, more important than life itself. These civilisations built magnificent burial chambers all over their kingdoms. A sort of departure lounge to the heavens. Just think of the ancient pyramids in Egypt or the even older Celtic tombs at Newgrange in Co. Meath, Ireland.
Visiting the funeral sites of Tierradentro and San Agustin in south west Colombia, I was constantly reminded of similarities to Newgrange. Although built by a unknown people on the far side of the world about 4,000 years later, I couldn´t help thinking that maybe we had come across some Colombian Celts! Well the Irish do love to travel!
A rough half-day bus ride took us from the warmth of Popayan through mountain villages where the land was stripped bare by the cold. My heart missed a beat at the sight of villagers wearing balaclavas. It was the highlands of Colombia after all.
We saw a bulldozer parked next to a wooden shack where one man is stationed to keep the road passable - landslides are frequent on the route as the dirt road is etched into the
side of the mountain. Looking across there were fantastic views of mountain and valleys. Looking down there was a horrific view of a sheer drop.
Our journey ended in the tiny village of San Andres de Pisimbala (great name!), our base for exploring the Tierradentro area. Tierradentro is a part of Colombia definitely not yet on the gringo trail. We didn´t mind at all being the only tourists around, in fact it was part of the appeal.
Starting from two museums (small but well done), we spent the next three days following a hand drawn map and the occasional signpost up and down trails to visit tombs, statues and waterfalls. There are about one hundred tombs across four sites around Tierradentro. They range from collapsed holes in the ground to well preserved decorated chambers, but all were similar in design. The best tombs are currently protected for conservation.
A security guard / unofficial guide at each site unlocks what looks like a trap door into the ground. He waited at the top while we climbed down large steps, some so high I had to stretch my leg down from one to another, landing on tip toe. Poor
Jess was in desperate need of a step ladder! At the bottom we discovered a chamber with a dome ceiling and central pillars. It had been dug out of the soft rock with the pillars actually carved from the rock. The tombs were empty now though, bones and ornaments long since robbed. But the grave robbers couldn´t take the decorations. Red and black paintings of lizards, faces and half-moon cover the walls, columns and ceiling. I was amazed that the colours were still so vivid.
My favourite tombs were at El Aguacate, high on a mountain ridge. On the way up we met a local boy who was from the inidigenous Paez comunity. Spanish was not a first language for any of us, but we still managed to comunicate. He told us that he lived with his parents and five brothers nearby where the family grew coffee beans. He came up with us to the tombs and showed us tricks with his machete. From the tombs the view was eye popping. It occured to me like a good place to depart for the afterlife.
One hundred miles south of the Tierradentro tombs lies San Agustin. To get there
A tomb
San Agustin took a 4.30am start, three buses and a pick up truck. Sitting on a local chiva bus at 5am with my eyes watering because there are no windows or doors and we are thundering down a mountain, felt like someone had slapped me from a dream. After twelve hours bouncing about, we arrive in San Agustin. It had a very diffeent vibe. It was a big busy town and quite touristy (with a good number of gringos wearing pyjama trousers!). Not the nicest town at all in fact, thankfully we decided to stay in a cosy family-run guesthouse in the countryside, 25 minutes walk uphill from the centre of San Agustin.
The ten sites around San Agustin are different from Tierradentro. I thought they were more similar to the design of Newgrange in that the burial chambers are not dug from rock, instead flat stones were used to build the entrance and tomb, then covered by a mound of earth. The front of the tombs are guarded by impressive statues. Big burly bouncers but with class. About 500 statues have been excavated, seven metres being the tallest monster. Some statues were almost cartoon like, whereas others were strikingly realistic.
After two days of walking and horse riding from site to site in San Agustin, we had our fill of history. We almost didn´t go to Tierradentro but it turned out to be a highlight of Colombia for us. At both sites, the people who built the tombs and statues are a bit of a mystery to historians and archeologists. So I think my explanation of Colombian Celts is as good as any!
From James
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Jim Beam
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La Portada Hospedaje
link to hotel refered to in this blog: LaPortadaHotel.com