Colombia

"Why do you want to go to Colombia?", asked everybody incredulously. Apart from the fact that I want to go everywhere which is reason enough for me ("because it's there", as they say), there are more than enough reasons to single out Colombia. Great coffee is a rather convincing one. Vast jungle, beautiful palm-lined beaches with beautiful snow-capped peaks visible in the distance, some of South America's most beautiful Spanish colonial towns and very lively, interesting and very beautiful people are a few other reasons that come to mind. And no, not every Colombian is a drug baron. In fact, I did not meet a single one.

On my first day in Colombia I did meet thousands of pilgrims, however, at Las Lajas where the Virgin Mary had been sighted in the past and a spectacular church was built across the deep canyon to mark the spot. I seem to be quite good at running into public holidays without knowing about them as I arrived fresh from an Ecuadorian election into Colombian Independence Day celebrations with flags flying, men marching and pilgrims flocking. This means all the hotels are full, yet magically I always find the last vacant room in town eventually.

Fascinated by the most unusual setting of the "church on the gorge", mingling with the pilgrims in the souvenir icon shops, I feel inspired to search out more Spanish architecture. No better place for this in the vicinity than Popayan - though Cartagena, which I missed out on, is supposed to be even better as it adds the coastal flair of the Caribbean (I believe in leaving some great highlights for a second visit!). It is great to wander across a plaza ringed by cobbled streets - dodging a horse-drawn carriage and a motorcycle, walk into a bank that looks like a colonial mansion complete with 18th century courtyard, and then casually stroll over to the automatic teller with immediate access to my VISA account from across the globe. All the modern facilities are available but Popayan takes pride in its ancient facades and even modern shops need to comply with minimalist advertising and old-fashioned nameplates.

After culture it is time for nature. Like all the Andes states, Colombia is divided into two jungles by the Andes. The bus from Popayan to the Amazon headwaters has to negotiate a rather muddy road on rather substandard tyres through very wet, very misty and very cold terrain to eventually arrive in very wet, very cloudy and very hot jungle. The edge of the eastern lowland gives you an opportunity to view some of pre-Columbian Colombia. San Augustin has a rather weird selection of friendly grinning and frighteningly-grimacing rock statues of men and gods strewn around a Unesco-declared World Heritage Site - some dating back over 5,000 years from forgotten cultures that left few other clues for us to reconstruct their history.

Tierradentro (literally "inside the earth") allows you to explore a bit deeper. Not only are there ancient burial caves, but possible descendants of those that made them still live in the hills nearby. Tierradentro is the kind of place where after two days you know half the village and they definitely know you. The interesting new immigrants among the mostly Indian population are a young German family that produces and sells Dutch-style round cheeses and home-made bread to towns in the area. They live on top of a steep hill without road access, right next to an ancient burial pyramid.

More fascinating people await in Bogota. I don't only mean my two fellow South Africans that work as English teachers in the city, that I met by chance. Old Indian grannies sit in the market, while the bold and beautiful salsa deep into the night. Not being a contortionist myself I can just stand back and marvel at the smooth Latino moves. On to Candelaria - the old part of town, where I feel less out of my league having a few cafecitos (small coffees) with the students - and those still wanting to be students at the age of sixty-five - among the Spanish colonial splendour. A lot of wealth originated in gold attained by variety of questionable methods, as superbly displayed in the Gold Museum. The heavy vaulted doors are enough of an attraction themselves, but to be surrounded by 8000 glittering pieces in one room is mind-blowing.

The Lonely Planet guide to Colombia leads you securely through cities, beaches, mountains and forests. The French IGN 1:1,500,000 map to Colombia is handy as it shows all the places you probably want to go to and how to get there.

Author: Gerhard Buttner
Date: 1 September 2001