Town of stone statues
Trip Start
Sep 23, 2010
1
71
366
Trip End
Jul 13, 2012
San Agustin, Colombia
Monday, March 28, 2011
Got up at 8am, had breakfast and then checked out around 9. We then loaded up and walked to the bus station where we had the usual harassment from touts trying to get you to go with their bus company. They are physically worse here! We made a choice and waited for it to arrive, approx. 11am. We knew it wouldn't be a big bus but we tried to get the biggest we could but ended up on a 21 seater and sitting at the back! We also knew it would be a bumpy ride but we didn't realise how bumpy! The main road soon disappeared and turned into a bumpy dirt road and being at the back we felt every bump! Some of the bumps had us leaving our seats and got quite painful in the end. At 3pm we stopped for a food break which was a welcome relief from all the bumping around and at 3.30 headed off again, but half an hour in the road turned back into smooth tarmac. An hour or so later we stopped at a junction and we had to change to a car for the last 5ks. The driver loaded the boot full with our packs and a massive roll of something and tied the boot half open with Cat's pack tied on top of it! We then drove into town whilst the driver explained the tours he could offer us. He dropped us off at his office and we loaded up and walked to the hostel we'd made reservations with. It was a bit further than we thought it would be and was up a massive hill and when we got there it seemed deserted. When we finally got someone's attention he was a little rude and showed us a very nice dorm! Problem was, that we asked for two en-suite doubles and the dorm wasn't, he only had one double as another couple had decided to stay another night and that wasn't even en-suite. We normally wouldn't mind this but the toilet was outside and the shower was in another block all together. So we loaded up and walked back down the hill to another hostel we saw on the way, this one wasn't much better to be honest so we tried yet another at the bottom. The owners were Colombian and spoke some good English and were very enthusiastic and showed us around and had two en-suite doubles. Sorted! Once we were in, their guide friend came and explained what he had to offer and then the driver that drove us in from the bus turned up and reiterated what he had too. As we were all tired and hungry, we said we'd sleep on it, get some dinner and let them know in the morning. So we walked down to a nice local restaurant El Fogon, (recommended by the hostel) and had steak and chips. Ours was very nice but Sam's was a bit fatty. After dinner we had a wander and then went back for a shower and got off to bed as it had been a very tiring day.
29th Mar.
The morning didn't get off to a great start as I'd been up half the night with trips to the bathroom. We finally got up around 8.30am and had breakfast in the hostel, (well I shared one with Cat as I still had no appetite) It was one of Marios specials, scrambled eggs with tomato and spring onions and if I'd been feeling better I'd have enjoyed it. Glyn, Sam and Cat went for a walk whilst I stayed by the loo as I couldn't keep away from it for very long and when they returned we walked down the pharmacy to get me some thing for the acid reflux. At lunchtime we decided it was a bit late to go to the archeological site as it closed at 4pm. Glyn and Sam wanted to go horse riding instead and I persuaded Cat to go with them so that I could relax and try to get better. Once they got saddled up and hit the trail, I settled in and watched a really bad Tarantino movie and after that finished my book in the hammock with a view upstairs. After finishing my book, I sat and chatted with a few other people staying in the hostel about our travels etc. At around 6.15pm Cat and the others returned from their horse ride and it seems that the horses weren't as tranquillo as they'd been told and Cat has decided that she'll never ride again! After a little rest we went into the town to find something to eat and had hot dogs as they were light and I still wasn't hungry. When we got back to the hostel we settled in for the night with a movie, (the Cinder Path) and got off to bed.
30th Mar.
After another unsettled night I'd decided enough was enough and we headed down to the pharmacy once more to get something stronger. I explained my symptoms and the pharmacy decided that I had Amoebas and promptly came out with two sets of tablets and a bottle of liquid. He also pulled out a dessert spoon and said take two of the liquid now and when you get some water take one of the tablets too and continue that every six hours. The other four tablets were a strong antibiotic and had to be taken all at once after lunch. So we left the pharmacy and I got a little emotional as I was in a lot of pain during the night with trapped wind. When we got back we had a light breakfast and then got ready to go the the archeological park. The walk to the park took around an hour (mainly uphill) and then a further three to go round it. There are around 130 stone statues in the park of various sizes and styles, some of which have a tomb behind it. It was a beautifully set location with a river running through and it was surrounded by mountain landscape. We finished in the park around 3.30pm and walked back along the road (this time down hill) to the centre and back to our hostel. When we got back we relaxed for a few hours until around 6.30 and then we went to El Fogon for dinner. After that we went back to the hostel for a shower and to pack most of our stuff ready for the morning. Tired from a busy day, we got an early night as we needed to catch a bus in the morning.
