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Back to Quito (again), and it was time to bid farewell to Fabien who was heading south for Peru to meet his sister. But not before a send off incorporating Thai food and a couple of flagons of rum, as once again it was free rum night at the Centro Del Mundo. Funny how our return trip alwys seem to coincide!
Kevin, Claire and I arose early doors and alarmingly fresh for the trip to Tulcan, which is the Ecuadorian border town for those travelling north into Colombia. Tulcan was as far as we wanted to go in one sitting so we spend the night in a random guest house. Not much to say about Tulcan, unless you enjoy touring obscure South American border towns, which unfortuntely we don't. Still, a good nights sleep was had and there was a rocking bakery next door.
Up again early the next day we headed to the border for formalities, rubbish exchange rates and the onward connection to Ipiales, the first town of note on the Colombian side of the border. Not much time spent here, we just waited for the bus onto our final destination for the day, the colonial town of Popayan.
So Popayan - not the colonial gem the guide books would have you believe but a pleasant enough place to stop, catch your breath and smuggly grin at the fact that you have made it all the way up to Colombia. Our hosts were pleasant enough, and the area has something of a cowboy feel about it...cowboy hats, people who look like cowboys, horses....cows! We enjoyed a few drinks in a 40 year old bar called El Sotareno, where the codger behind the counter plays dusty Salsa records and the customers drink mild beer. It was somebody's birthday and they gave us a significant portion of their cake....I'm starting to warm to these Colombians!
Onward through stunning, lush countyside on the road of broken arses and we finally arrived in the area's main draw, the stunning San Agustin area. The area is famed for the freestanding ancient statues that can be found throughout which were constructed BC by a little known civilisation as monuments to their dead. There's also a plethora of lodges / retreats in the area from which to base yourself for a few days, or more. Those kind folk in Popayan had recommended Casa de Francoise, so off we set to find Frank and his Castle.
What a find that place was, Francoise has owned the place for 15 years with the hope that tourism would one day take off. Eventually it did, but not before a few trips back to his native Paris for work to keep the place ticking over. His Finca is a former small scale coffee plantation just outside San Agustin town and he had spent the preceding years adding some funky stilted bedroom towers, a games room and the like. The place was chill chill chill with homemade french bread and jam thrown in for good measure - bliss! There was also a lovely Austrian couple staying there and Englishman Brian, who Kev and Claire had met before somewhere in Central America.
After a couple of days of general marvelment, card games, food and beer we decided it was time to explore the surrounding area...on horseback. A say that with bated breath as none of us had ever rode a horse before, but Francoise hooked us up with a local guide and assured us it would be fine. And fine it was - riding a horse is somewhat like driving a car but with a faulty engine management system. They generally do as told but occassional rev up for no apparent reason. We checked out some of the mysterious aforementioned staues and soaked in the glorious countryside. Claire and I decied our horses were gay as they couldn't stand to be away from one another and we laughed our innards up when Brian's stead decided to gallop off at 100 mph while he struggled to hold on and screamed his little heart out. Top day out!
We chilled at the casa for a couple more days and could have easily had a couple more, it was one of those types of places. From what we have seen so far you wouldn't believe that there's a low level war going on, save for the ubiquitous police, occasional soldiers and the odd piece of military hardware. But it has quickly come to our attention that the Colombians are a friendly, gregarious bunch who treat strangers with so much kindness it's almost embarrasing. I think that the sight of an increasing influx of tourists is proof to them that they have turned the corner from the bad old days of the 80's and 90's.
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