Sven joined us for the bus to Armenia before transferring to head to Bogota. At the terminal I stepped into my assigned role as interpreter, negotiator and bargainer for the four ladies and I as none of them spoke sufficient Spanish. So we caught a bus to notorious Cali on a relatively easy-going road. There we rapidly transferred to a mini-bus to Popayan for a journey which subsequently made up for the previous lack of winding roads.
We arrived in Popayan and Janet and I walked to the hostel to meet the others. Then we set out to explore the colonial beauty of the white-washed town centre. We found a great quaint vegetarian restaurant run by lovely staff who fed us heartily with all kind of treats for $1.60. Awesome! Then Claire led us on a tour of the town`s many churches, including one with more Jesus porn - I didn`t know he was a sadist! - you can`t quite see properly because the photo (true to vintage porn form) is blurry but his left hand is sinfully positioned.
We had crepes for dinner and then hit the hay. Then next morning I rose early in search of salvation. I miss you, Jesus!!!!! But a decent latte was not to be found. Saying goodbye to Janet we descended for another mini-bus journey to Pasto and Ipiales. This was punishing. We had a 1hr flat tyre delay and endured 7 out of 9 hrs of twisting roads and heavy accelerator/brake alternation. Colombia seems endlessly mountainous. The mountains did make for spectacular semi-desert and dry forest scenery. After a long wait and change of mini in Pasto, we pushed on for Ipiales. Gigantic drops fell away below us as the driver pushed the limits. We finally arrived in Ipiales, found our cheap but welcoming hotel and unloaded. That evening we ate at a surprisingly good local pizza/burger joint with gusto. For dessert I had a banana split. With cheese. LOTS of cheese. And no, it wasn`t a tasty surprise like vegemite and honey sandwiches. It was as bad as it sounds.
The next day we arose relatively early to visit the Las Lajas Sanctuary, a large and ornate cathedral built into the rock face where Mary`s face appeared to someone many years ago. Pretty cool, the coolest thing being it was built at the bottom of a steep river gorge. After that a quick double taxi transfer to find ourselves quite suddenly in Ecuador. Without ANY border formalities. It seems our few Irishmen short of a singalong taxi driver didn`t really know what was going on. So we hiked back across the border bridge to wait over an hour for the Colombian people to say yes you can go now. Thanks. The Ecuadorian entry was relatively easy and we then taxied ourselves to the mayhem of Tulcan bus terminal to bargain for ridiculously cheap fares to Quito. The 5hr bus ride cost $4.50!! Then to settle down on a smoothish journey and watch the rich Ecuadorian countryside slide by with barely a trace of native vegetation and a whole lot of Blue Gum running seriously amok. While an Antonio Banderas trilogy screened we journey through Ibarra and Otavalo - I had to stop to go the the loo in Ibarra and was bitten by a $·&&·% dog¡¡ Not badly, but it drew a tiny speck of blood; enough for my British friends to insist I visit a doctor once in Quito. We arrived a caught a taxi to our gringofied suburb of Mariscol and settled in to our hostel - it had been a marathon journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment