San Gil-Barichara-Curiti

24.09.-26.09.11

The night bus from SANTA MARTA to BUCARAMANGA on Friday, 23.09.11 took only 9 hours and therefore we arrived at 6am in Bucaramanga…..BUT for the entire trip it was freezing cold and I was soooo glad that Doro offered me her sleeping bag.

In Bucaramanga we then took the next bus to SAN GIL our next destination where we arrived three hours later. We were expecting a much cooler town as it was set in the mountains but we were positively surprised when we arrived there and it was still very hot.

We took a taxi into town and checked into the Hostal "Sam's VIP Hostal". As we both were quite hungry we walked over to the main "Plaza" where we had a good breakfast at one of the local restaurants. Afterwards we went straight to the market were we had a fresh fruit salad.

Later on I walked back to the hostel were I had a nap and Doro did some more sighseeing in "San Gil". San Gil is a busy little town with approx. 43.000 inhabitants and the perfect place for all kind of adventure sports…..as horse riding, rafting, abseiling, paragliding, caving etc. etc.

And as Doro and I were planning to do one of these thrilling outdoor activities we decided to do our first Paragliding Flight the next day in the afternoon.

So on Sunday, 25.09.11 we got up at 7am, had breakfast and took an early bus to the nearby village of BARICHARA which was recommended to us.

Barichara is like a film set, boasting pristinely renovated 300-year-old whitewashed buildings and coble stone streets. We just strolled for 2 hours through the lovely and quiet village and walked from one "artisanal" shop to the next one and at 11am we took the bus back to San Gil.

At 12.30pm we walked over to the Hostel "Macondo" where the Paragliding Company picked us up. An hour later we arrived at the Paragliding hill from where you had a beautiful view down to the "Valley of Curiti". Unfortunately we were waiting for nearly two hours for more wind….but when it started raining and the wind dropped, we drove back to San Gil. Mmmhh…..Doro was very disappointed as she had to leave the next day and couldn't try it the next day.

On Monday, 26.09.11 I was planning to do the "caving" at the "Cave de Vaca" in Curiti and I was very happy when two girls, one from Ireland and the other one from Columbia, joined me for the "claustrophobic" water cave. When we arrived at the company's office we were equiped with helmets and flashlight and walked over to the cave with our tour guide Luis.

First I was a bit scared when we walked down to the entrance which was quite narrow but as Luis explained every single step which was in front of us I felt alright. Puhhh…and the first part was actually the hardest part. Straight after we entered the cave we had to swim through a very narrow part and the water was much colder than I expected. And straight after this narrow part we arrived at a tiny cave where we had to dive for three meters in order to get to the next cave. I was very, very scared but Thank God they had a rope and we could pull ourselves from one end to the other.

The rest of the cave was fun and we saw lots of Stalagmites and Stalactites. The whole tour took 1 ½ hours, was very adventures and the guide Luis was very informative and nice.

After we changed into dry clothes we walked over to the nearby village of "Curiti" where we had lunch. At 1pm I walked back to the companies office where I was picked up half an hour later from the "Paragliding Company".

Wow….and I was very surprised when I saw 10 people in the van who all wanted to do the Paragliding. The van took us to the same spot where we went the day before and I could notice the difference of the wind straight away. So this time we were promised that we could definitely fly. And as I couldn't fly the day before, Manuel our flight instructor chose me for his first flight. Oh no…..I really didn't want to go first but I had no chance.

As the wind was very strong it was actually very easy to start and a few seconds later I was flying over the valley. Unfortunately one of the left stirring handles was stuck and Manuel wasn't able to free it up. First I was a bit scared but as I knew that Manuel was an experienced instructor with many years of experience I stayed calm. So after two minutes we had to do an emergency landing and I have no idea who he managed to get us down that smoothly.

He released the straps and off we took again in three minutes. This time we flew over the valley for 15 Minutes including some loops. Puhh……I really enjoyed it but the whole time I was holding on very tightly to the straps of my harness as I was still scared to fall out!

It took quite a while until everyone finished their flight and therefore we returned back to our hostels at 7pm at night. I was very, very exhausted after a full day of activities …..BUT I was sooo happy that I overcame my fear of heights and fear of "claustrophobic"!!!!

On Tuesday, 27.09.11 I left the hostel at 8 am and took the bus to "VILLA DE LEYVA".