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Arriving San Gil we immediately checked in at the Sams VIP hostel in the middle of the town, on the edge of the center park. It´s on of the best valued hostels I have stayed on so far on this trip. It´s brand new with an awesome kitchen, everything you need of free internet, coffee, TV, bar, porch with views of the park, a swimming pool and even a sauna. Colombia has proven to be very comfortable to travel and live in. It is the so far safest country I have been in as well. A funny thing to say after what happened to me, but it is very true. And even though this is true, a lot of travellers still avoid it because of that old reputation. I would have loved to stay here the rest of my trip, but I have a very big desire to see Bolivia so that is where I will go towards, slowly moving my way south on buses through the rest of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Chicamocha, On the way to San Gil
The next day we got up early and had breakfast at the hostel before we set out to the small village of Curiti, to visit a cave they have there. Buckled up with helmets and lanterns we headed into the cow fields and suddently it was right there in front of us. La cueva de la vaca (cows cave) is a narrow but extensive cavesystem and they have yet to find an exit. We adventure 1 hour into it, swimming, crawling and even diving underwater for some seconds to get through. We saw bats, spiders, wierd no light growing plants and fungus, lots of stalagmites and stalactites and generally wierd stoneformations carved out by running water. The guide told us that they have been 10 hours into the cave and that from there you need scuba equipment to get further.
Out of the cave, all muddy and wet and cold, we got a lunch at Curiti before we headed back to San Gil. After one hour at the hostel we got restless so we went and did a bungeejump, off a twisted, old looking bungee tower right next to the river. 18 dollars for the jump, so signed wavers or anything like what you would find in more regulated places. But we trusted it to be safe and we all had our first bungee jump experience here that day. Even though small(20 meters) it was still a rush and we all screamed as we got airborne.
Yesterday we took the bus to Barichara, 40 minutes from San Gil. It is a small colonial town, famour for its beauty. And it was beautiful with a lot of charm. Walked a national monument trail to the nearby village of Guane. In Guane time doesnt exist, and I bet it has looked exactly the same for the last 100 years! Didnt hear an engine or a car, very few people and all of cobblestone and red tile roofs. Just like any other colonial village around here, but still magical.
People looked at us like aliens, but still wished us welcome and told us where things were and what to do, without even having been asked. We had a traditional lunch of goat and blackberry juice/milkshake before we visited the local museum. I was very surprised to see that they had thousands of fossils. 100 million year old shells, squids, and whatnot. Even big dinosaur fossils! And it is all found around the river in this region. After having a cup of some aweful local booze of maiz, we started the 2 hours trek back to Barichara once it stopped raining. The locals wished us a happy journey back as we passed their houses on the way out. Back at the hostel we had a calm night with pool swimming and sitting in the sauna.
Today I have spent lots of hours trying to figure out things with pictures, blogging, backup, etc. I will go to Bogota tonight and hopefully get there early tomorrow morning. Tomorrow it is elections here in Colombia, and I want to get to Bogota before things starts to happen. Rumors say that there will be more than dobble the amount of police forces around tomorrow, so it probably means that something interesting might happen.
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