Market day in the Andes

The animal market in Otavalo

Diana, our host in Popayan

I guess a lot happened since the last time I wrote. First of all, we were able to find a place to stay in Popayan. We met a nice family who let us stay in the driveway of their house and taste homemade marmalade. Diana and her husband did not only let us sleep there; she also invited us to have breakfast in the morning at the hotel she manages, La Loma

After this taste of luxury, we visited the city and it’s beautiful white houses, colonial style.

Like always, we wished we could have stay longer, and get a better feeling of the place in the evening, but we had to be on our way, and around 1 p.m., we were back on the Pan-American, in direction of Pasto.

Flying through the clouds

The drive down there, through the mountains was pretty, especially close to twilight, when the rain and light changed the surrounding landscape.

All the places we park to sleep are not exactly paradise

Eventually, in Pasto, we set camp in a truck parking lot which GPS coordinates was given to us by our French friends who camped there the day before on their way south.

Beautiful road across the mountains

Temperatures are getting colder as we advance, which get us worry about the cold we will meet in Peru and Bolivia.

Santuario Las Lajas

The following day, as we got closer to the Ecuadorian border, we exited the main road to visit the Santuario Las Lajas close to Ipiales.

The rain will come

After cooking a quick lunch, we speeded to the border, anxious as always at the idea of the long waiting time. As a matter of fact, it could have been worst, and we were done with everything in three hours. The whole process was free. It is always exciting to get to a new country. Perhaps because such an adventure could stop at any time if something bad enough happen, and the further I am, the best I feel.

Land border between Colombia and Ecuador

We decided to drive a bit in the darkness for once, as I wanted to be at a lower – and warmer –altitude. Once in Ibarra, feeling dirty and attracted by low prices of hotels, we decided to check in and enjoy a warm shower. It did cost us US$6 per person at the Hotel Imbabura (recommended). There were some nice restaurants in town, and it was great to relax after another long day of driving. When I woke up, I continued to work on the AP story I’m schedule to send soon about our travel through Central America. There are some great bakeries since we arrived to Colombia, and again, we took advantage of it. There is only one sad thing I would like people to explain to me. Why would you be in the area where the best coffee beans in the world are grown, and you regularly are offered Nescafe in coffee shops?

The animal market

Anyhow, we were ready to get back on the road. This time, cap on Otavalo, a close-by village in the mountain famous for its Saturday animal and craft markets. The markets date back to pre-Incas time where people from the lowlands were coming up to exchange goods with people from the mountain.

Breakfast at the market

I have to say, the animal market was by far my favorite, and the craft market, oriented toward the tourist crowds didn’t offer anything amazing. I saw more seducing hand-knit goods in San Cristobal, Mexico, for example. It is recommended to wake up early to see the best of the animal market, and to avoid the tourist buses coming up from Quito.

The animal market borders the Pan-American

In the small town, we stayed in the hotel, Residencia El Rancio, for US$5 per person. Yes, that’s right, two hotel nights in a row. As you guess, we are dreading the cold, and taking advantage of cheap places as we can. But don’t worry, soon enough your favorite travelers will be back under the rain.

The equator line

At 10 a.m., we were on our way to cross the equator line. We passed it around noon, on the Pan-American. Nothing much to see there, and in addition, we were on our way to pick up another traveler who will spend time with us in the upcoming weeks. Dan was arriving at 1:30 p.m. at the Quito airport. It was raining hard as we were going down south.

I promised my old friendI will get him some fresh oil

On the path of disappeared civilizations

Driving west in the mountains

We went through Neiva quickly in the morning, anxious to get to Tierradentro, a remote place in the mountains, before night. We stopped briefly in Campoalegre to celebrate the fact that the truck had 100,000 miles on the counter, and marked this anniversary greasing the tired chassis. I wanted to do an oil change as well, but the desired oil was not available, as the local temperatures were higher than the ones we will encounter in Peru and Bolivia.
It is also important to stop and speak to people to try to get the latest information on the road condition as well as possible guerilla activities. For the latest, the situation has improved considerably, and it looks like everything is quiet north of Popayan. After this city, sticking to the Pan American should be enough of a precaution, in addition of not driving at night.

Better to take the road in the dry season

The road to Tierradentro is not the best, and at time, can be cut in several locations. Luckily, the road, even if pretty rough, was drivable. Most tourists prefer San Augustin to our destination, and because Tierradentro is more remote, it guaranties the fact that the mountain sanctuary will not be flooded with people.

Magic scenery in the mountains

The road, through canyons and hills was fantastic, and the three-hours drive going as high as 2,500 meters (8,000 feet) was exciting. As usual, mountains are the best landscapes we cross, and it is even nicer when you know not everyone can access its marvel.

The highest cactus i ever saw

Tierradentro is home to a civilization that disappeared around the 9th century AD. Remains include underground tombs, as well as statues, as in San Augustin. The region has seen a strong guerrillas activity over the years, and only in the past four years it is possible to explore these tombs without being afraid of having to dig your own.

In the graves

Going down

To access the sites, we had to buy tickets at the museum (US$7), and first walk for 25 minutes up the hills. There lays a first group of tombs. We went down in the cramped caves, as deep as 9-meters (30 feet) and saw admired the painted walls and ceilings.

Inside the graves, painted walls and ceilings

More funeral temples awaited us 20-minutes higher, carved as well in the soft volcanic rock. After another 20 minutes walk, as our reserve in water was disappearing, we reached El Tablon, where statues – 500 years younger than the tombs – where exhibited. From there we went back down to our campsite, in the back of the Hotel El Refugio (recommended, camping US$8 for two people and a car).

Drying coffee

After drinking all the water we could put our hands on, and cooking lunch, we went back on the road to try to reach Popayan before dark.
The road was spectacular as well, and did bring us 3,500 meters high (11,500 ft) in a different landscape, typical of higher altitudes. There was a lot of roadwork going on, to reinforce the weak dirt road structure and add pavement.

Heavy trucks are too much for the dirt road

At one place, and few minutes before we passed, a loaded truck felt down 50 meters, taking half of the road along.

Not much space

The path itself could be pretty skinny in some part, making passing or crossing other vehicle perilous.

Waterfall in the high lands

Coffee plants

I would have love to spend a night somewhere in this dry landscape, but even if you know the area is now completely secure, you always feel a bit better in unknown territory if you speak to someone first, to make sure camping is not a problem.

Up high in the mountain

Eventually, we reached Popayan in one piece around 4:30 p.m., and began to look for a site we could sleep at.