White Christmas in Columbia

After spending a week in Merida, I decided that I would take a short trip to Columbia, as I wasn't far from the border. The day of travel made me want to change my mind, but I had gotten as far as the border and I wasn't going to turn back. The border hassles were greater than I had expected, but made tollerable by my chance to play with some children, also in line. I sat in line for 4.5 hours before being told that I was in the wrong line and that I had to exit Venezuela before I could enter Columbia. The immigration for Venezuela was not easy to find, and I had to walk through the city asking people every couple blocks where it was. I went back and was able to walk to the front of the line to the same woman who I was dealing with, and then I was into Columbia. My arrival in Bucaramanga by way of overnight bus was not entirely pleasant, as I saw a guy run up to the cops with a knife wound in his back as soon as I sat down in the city centre square. I decided to move on to San Gil after that, as it was the only town I could get to without having to take another overnight bus.
The few hours that I did spend in Bucaramanga were pleasant, although there seemed to be little to do. The street markets were lively and the people were friendly. The fruit was also really delicious, and so I stocked up for the bus ride to San Gil.



San Gil turned out to be a great choice. I found a great hostel, Hostel Macondo, where the owner and the people are all really friendly. My spanish isn't improving as rapidly while I am surrounded by Whitey, but we are all solo travelers and it is very stress free. My first night was heading out to the town centre square, where we had dinner of delicious potatoes and pinchas, or meat-on-a-stick. Met some locals who were intent on getting drunk on Aguardiente, the Columbian firewater, and headed out dancing with the chicas.
Saturday was a bit of a slow start, as I had the 'guarda' still heavy on the brain, but I did manage to start off with rafting down the Rio Fonce, a class 2 river that was warm enough to swim in, and then a trip paragliding in the afternoon. This was followed by a trip to the market, and then an evening of hanging out with the gang from the hostel.
I began Sunday, December 22 with a trip to the market to pick up supplies for breakfast. Avocados, mangos, and a massive fruit shake for less than a dollar gave me energy to start the day. We got a bunch of people from the hostel together, and six of us rented bikes and headed to the local waterfalls. They were approximately 20kms away from town on a mostly flat road. The bikes were not bad, and the going was easy. James, an Australian who is here for a month, and I took the turn up the hill to head to the waterfalls, and discovered that it was a 4km long hill, quite steep, and it lead to a town that had no waterfalls. It wasn't all bad, as the town was having a festival, and we were able to enjoy a beer and a slice of pizza when we got to the top. When we asked around where the Casadas were, and got many different answers on which direction it was, it was clear that they weren't anywhere near, and we had taken a wrong turn. Besides, our friends who were behind us hadn't followed us to the town. We turned around, had a long, fast ride down the hill, and continued on the right path. About 30 minutes more riding, we arrived to the entrance of the park, and hiked to the base of the waterfall to meet our friends. There, we saw people swimming and diving, and others rappelling down the waterfalls, from about 45m up. A hike to the top of that waterfall proved to be great for photos, but we lingered too long and had a ride back that was mostly in the dark. When we got back to town, we grabbed a feast at a small restaurant for about $3, while outside, the town was celebrating a win of a favoured football team. Later, we headed back to the hostel for poker night.
The next couple days will be for exploring the other towns within a few hours bus ride, and then I will stay here for xmas with many of the other backpackers. After xmas, I will head to the coast for a few days, and then make the long trip back to Venezuela. Not sure where I will spend New Years, but if I can make it to Puerto Columbia in Venezuela, which I have heard is just a beautiful paradise, I might just do that. That would put me within a few hours of Caracas, and back with the family in January.