Hi dear travellers! I would like to invite you to a new adventure together with Eric Rupert through the astonishingly beautiful places of Colombia. Enjoy the reading and especially the wonderful pictures!
I left Ipiales early as I would have a long journey ahead of me. My next destination was Popayan, here there were some interesting sights to see. First of all the city it self as it was a colonial city, the National Park Puracé, the remarkable archaeological site of San Agustin and the burial caves of Tierradentro.
I arrived around sunset and found myself a nice hotel in the centre. After checking in I had a nice walk through the city which was full of light for Christmas what give the city a nice atmosphere.
The next morning after I had a nice breakfast I went to the tourist information center to get some info on the places I wanted to visit. They had little information instead of some maps and folders and directed me to go to the tourist police office for the security questions. The could tell me that the whole area would be safe for me. There was guerrilla activity but as I was from Holland and not from the States I shouldn't have any troubles. This didn't really secure me and I went to the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente for more info about Park National Puracé. They told me the northern part of the park would be safe but anything else was not safe to go. The more I asked about the security conditions the more different answers I got. It is difficult to get the correct info. I decided to go to the National Park and return the same day, just to see about the conditions and if it is nice enough I always could return.
After breakfast I took the bus to Puracé. On the bus I met a student from Popayan who was going back to her parents in Nieva. After a 2 hour bus ride I arrived at the Thermals of San Juan, where 112 hot sulpher springs combine with icy mountain creeks to produce spectacular arrays of multi-colored mosses, algae and lichens. A wonderful place!
On the way back I stopped at the other entrance of the park where I had a nice chat with the people from the visitors center. They told me that the weather for climbing Volcan Puracé would be better in January or February so I might have to come back for that. Back in Popayan I did a night tour through the city to see some of the churches.
On Sunday I went sightseeing in the city which is the best time for it as all the shops are closed and most of the streets are empty. At night the owner of the hotel offered me some beers was he was already drunk.
On Monday morning I met with a girl who I met in PN Puracé. She had some nice books about the beautiful places in Colombia. I wrote down all the nice places I wanted to visit, which are a lot. After researching the book I think I will stay the full 3 months to see this beautiful country. Just before leaving to Cali I phoned my brother as it was his birthday. The road to Cali was magnificent, amazing landscapes and mountain scenery. In Cali I booked in at Iguana, a backpackers place, bought a map at a 'papeleria' and found my way to the city center. Here I had some food (which made my stomach to turn upside down) and enjoyed my stroll through the city.
La Ermita, the most beautiful church in Cali
Tuesday was research day. I went to several tourist information places to get some info about the national parka I wanted to visit. Unfortunately they were all closed. As my stomach was giving problems I stayed at the hostal the next 2 days. At the hostel I met with Ramy, an Israeli, who was interested to go with me to Pereira to explore one of the interesting parks close by.
We left Friday morning early and my stomach seemed to be better. In Pereira we went immediately to the tourist offices for information about the parks. Most of them were closed as it was Friday afternoon but via via we arrived at the good places with info and maps. We decided to go to Park Ucumari and from there to PN Los Nevados to laguna del Otun.
Again a early morning to take a chiva (open bus) up to La Suiza, here they would have some more info for us to continue our track. La Suiza is a tourist center at the Sanctuary of Flora and Fauna Otún Quimbaya, which offers several walks in the forests and has Cabañas for the tourists to stay. They told us that we could not stay at the Laguna del Otún as it would be to dangerous but after asking more it should be ok if we would go up there and return the same day. We decided to take the next bus to La Pastora from where we would walk to the lake, after a few walks in the Sanctuary.
La Pastora was also set up for the tourists and the atmosphere was great. It wasn't busy because everybody was buying gifts for Christmas but this was better for the atmosphere. We arranged to sleep on the pillows next to the fire instead of camping. We both had the feeling that we could stay here for a while. The surroundings were beautiful and the place was very relaxed.
Instead of enjoying La Pastora we headed for El Bosque close to the lake but after 3 hours of walking we decided to return as my stomach took too much energy and my foot was hurting (still from the Piñan trek). In the afternoon we visited the waterfalls close to La Pastora, very beautiful in amazing sceneries.
This is in the Sanctuary Flora & Fauna Otun Quimbaya. They have very beautiful and strange plants.
They have very nice walks in the Sanctuary which leads you to very nice plants.
Besides nice plants they have also a big variety of animals that are very interesting like this butterfly with transparent wings.
This leaf has hair on one side.
The chiva that brings you to the point where you have to continue walking to La Pastora.
This is an information sign about the route to Laguna del Otun in Los Nevados NP.
This is the route to La Pastora.
La Pastora where you can get some info, rent horses, get food, camp, sleep etc. Very nice and friendly people.
This is the relax area with a lot of pillows and a nice fire for the night. And for us it was also our sleeping place.
The river Otun
Some nice waterfalls in the neighborhood.
This waterfall can be seen from La Pastora.
The next morning I returned to Pereira while Ramy stayed for the afternoon and took a bus later to Manizales. Back in Pereira I took a shower, brought my cloths to the washer and went to look for Christmas presents. While I was walking over the market I got robbed from my wallet. Nothing serious but a bit more money than normal as I was planning to buy some gifts. First time ever somebody was able to rob me.
Reprinted with the permission of Eric Rupert.
http://www.backpackingforlife.com/
Pereira, Colombia
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