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Wed 31st- San Gil
The first thing I did yesterday was go for lunch- I asked at the hotel about the Vegetarian Restaurant but she didn't seem to have heard of it. Instead she recommended La Maná which is also recommended in the Lonely Planet so I went there. It was good food and very good value- you got 2 pieces of watermelon, soup, sliced crouton-type bits of bread, a choice of main- I chose pollo gratinado- chicken breast with a sauce, mushrooms and melted cheese, this came with rice, salad and plantain, cooked but still in its original form (like a banana)- it's the first time I've had it like this and you could taste a hint of banana like this-a little piece of dessert , 2 juices and a glass of water. All this for only 9.500 pesos! I needed to get my laundry done and the hotel wanted 1,000 pesos per piece which would quickly add up so I wanted a normal laundry. I asked in the restaurant but the waiter didn't know so he asked some other customers. They said there was one 2 blocks over so off I went in search of the place! I walked up and down the streets in roughly the area it seemed like they'd meant, asked a few people, no one knew…..I'd just resigned myself to just washing anything I really needed at the hotel when I saw the 2 ladies from the restaurant. They then took me there- how kind of them! It was quite a lot further than they'd originally said (hence why I didn't come across it) but was grateful for their help- another example of Colombians' friendliness. So having left my washing I headed to the park- Parque El Gallineral which was indeed a lovely place to spend a few hours. It was full of lovely flowers and trees with a type of moss known as "barbas de Viejo" -old man's beard- hanging off the trees. The river runs alongside the park and within the park there are streams and it was all very pretty and peaceful. The trees provided lots of shade which was nice, although I'm pleased to say although it's hot here, it's nothing like the coast. There's no humidity, I'm so glad! Had my first ice-cream, very nice :-) After it was time to pick up my washing then I wandered back to the hotel via a bakery for some cheap tea- I had a chicken empanada which was fine til I bit into some chicken's bones! Had a slice of cake too, second of the day (breakfast was a slice of cake on arrival at the hotel!). There are lots of bakeries here with lots of lovely cakes….will be hard to resist!
Thursday 1st- Chicamocha canyon
I went to the Parque Nacional del Chicamocha. It is the second largest canyon in the world, 2km deep. The National Park has various activities you can do but the highlight is the cable car, one of the world's longest cable car rides (6.3km/4 miles!), which takes you down into the canyon and up to the other side. It took about 25 minutes each way and you spend some time on the other side before returning. The views within the canyon and of the river were great. I was lucky to be just behind a lovely Colombian couple in the queue. They were on holiday here and have lived in America for 40 years. We took the cable car together and I wandered with Martha and Gilbert and we ate lunch together too. They were so friendly and I really enjoyed chatting to them. Once back on the other side I said goodbye to Martha and Gilbert and headed to the viewpoint, via the big Santander monument. Rather than walk up the 'mirador' I jumped in the little 'chiva' (colourfully decorated type of open sided bus) and ended up being with the Venezuelan family who'd been in our cable car on both journeys! Short ride to the viewpoint for great 360 degree views- pretty stunning! It was then time to head back to San Gil so I went to wait on the road where the buses would come by, only had to wait about 10 mins. It's the main road between Bucaramanga and Bogota so there is a lot of traffic, including massive trucks and lorries. I forget to say about getting to the park- the driver kept overtaking lorries on corners (fairly windy road!) so I just had to avoid looking, as I have no idea how they could know it would be safe to overtake!
For dinner I went in search of the Vegetarian restaurant and was quite pleased with myself for finding it! I understand the way towns are laid out here with Calles (streets) running vertical and carreras (avenues) going horizontal but at the same time I find it hard to figure out where places are….no dinner service tonight so had to look for other options. Ended up with a slice of pizza and some 'salchipapas'- have been wondering what they are, having seen them on lots of fast food menus- turned out to be bits of frankfurter style sausages and chips with sauce on it. Was ok but hardly the healthiest dinner, ha ha! I did drink some water though (am finding that often the gaseosas- fizzy drinks- are not diet ones) and got some grapes on the way back to the hotel! I sat and chatted with Guillaume and Constance (the French couple) for a bit on my return as they too had just got in. They had done paragliding in the canyon, sounded amazing. I could be half tempted but would be too scared!
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