She's not a jockey yet...

We managed to drag our aching bodies out of bed early the day after hiking to the Aguacate to catch the first of three buses we would need to get to San Agustin. The student group’s driver offered to try and find room for us on his bus, but the teachers thought we would be too big a distraction. I think Megan was okay with that decision… We somehow squeezed into a pickup truck that would take us the first leg of our trip. There was three of us, and 14 more people. That’s right, 17 people in a pickup, the Colombian express. We made quick time through the country roads, almost sliding into a bus around a corner at one point. The drivers here have a perverse way of laughing when sudden death has been avoided. A bus and another pickup later, we made it to San Agustin.

We turned in early at our beautiful hostel (set on top of a canyon created by the Rio Magdelena). We dedicated the next morning to the archeological park of San Agustin. It’s filled with massive statues representing people, gods, and animals. Most of these figures were found guarding tombs, although some were buried along with the bodies. Like the culture that populated Tierradentro, the creators of these statues vanished before the Europeans arrived in South America. It’s amazing to see, although after a while we were suffering from a bit of ‘ruin overload.’ Luckily, we weren’t the only ones.

We trudged up a huge hill to check out a few statues that were placed where they could overlook the region. The sky was dark and we could tell that rain was upon us, but we ran into a few obstacles before we could leave… about 25 young students. They were from a province in Colombia that tourists don’t make it to- until a few years ago, it was still considered disputed territory with the guerrillas, and is still a bit dodgy. They were fascinated by us- all of the girls wanted pictures with Megan because she was so much taller than them! They wanted to know all about where we were from and what we thought about Colombia:

“Did you drive here!?|” (our favorite question directed towards Drouyn, an Australian)
“Have you eaten cuy yet?” (a local specialty of roasted guinea pig)
“How do you know you get the right change after you buy something?”
“Do you listen to Juanes in the U.S.?” (‘La Camisa Negra’… oh Latin pop)

Between all of the photos and autograph requests (we even signed fútbol jerseys!), it was like we had suddenly acquired celebrity status. The kids stayed with us for the rest of the time in the park; we left them at the front gate before walking back to town.

Meeting these kids was another great experience in getting to know the Colombian people, all so friendly and helpful. Everyone wants to talk, both about where we are from and about what we think of Colombia. Many conversations, especially in places like San Agustin or Tierradentro, eventually come to the topic of Colombia’s reputation. Many of these regions were dangerous in the past, even just a few years ago. However at this point these places are safe and the people are welcoming. Especially throughout smaller cities like these, people really look after us and want to include us in their lives. Following our adventures in the archaeological park, we walked around the city, explored, and talked with locals. That night we went out for a few drinks and actually ran into the same students that we had met in Tierradentro. It turned out they were university age, so when Megan and I called it quits for the night we left Drouyn to ‘practice his Spanish.’

(this little guy was attracted to the colors of Megan's bracelets)

We had plans for the next day to explore the area around San Agustin by horseback. We were assured that we were getting a great guide and some excellent, spirited horses- and they certainly were. We galloped through the area getting to see more statues, farms, cliffs, and mountains. We arrived at one site along the canyon called the Chipaquira that has figures carved into the rocks so they face the sun as it rises on the equinoxes and solstices of the year. We got to see the Coca plants that have given Colombia such a reputation. Each farmer is legally allowed to have 19 plants and many use them to make tea or even a sort of wine. By the time we turned for home we were beat, but it seemed that our adventures weren’t over yet.

Our ‘very spirited’ horses loved to run and as soon as one would take off it was almost impossible to hold the others back. As we passed another group of riders our horses took off at breakneck speed. I looked over my shoulder at one point and saw Megan’s horse running along, but without a rider. I somehow managed to get my horse to stop and jumped off to run back. Her horse had been trying to pass another inside a corner, and almost lost its balance. If she hadn’t fallen, it probably would have fallen on her. A bit shaken and with some serious bruises, she remounted her steed and we cautiously made our way home. After meeting our friend Spencer that night for dinner, who has been riding his bike across Colombia, we sat and watched the stars over the canyon for the night. One shooting star after another, we sat in awe of nature.

The next day was a recovery day before we dared the bumpy bus ride back to Popayan. We did check out a bar called “La Casa de Tarzan.” There was live music played by a few traveling South American hippies set in bamboo building that is designed to be like a jungle tree house. There is even a fireman’s pole that you can slide down if you don’t want to take the stairs!

We caught the Sunday bus back to Popayan. It was an election day in Colombia and so both San Agustin and Popayan were busier than we’ve ever seen them, especially on a Sunday (when towns are usually dead). The bus ride was a bit rough- it’s about 120 km through a national park, but takes almost 6 hours because the unpaved road is so bad. So I believe we’ll be relaxing in Popayan a couple of days before heading to Ecuador.