Colombia has some different travel options, including small buses and vans. The best part about the smaller transports is that the windows open plus we don't have to tolerate a LOUD, obnoxious (U.S.) movie. Sure seemed like a good idea to try a small bus for our next trip northward.
With 8 tangerines and plenty of drinking water, We headed out for Popayan, population 270,000. I visited here in 1972 with my college buddy Paul, so I was curious to see it again.
The road we traveled is the Pan American Highway, just a fancy name for a two lane road that twists, winds, and spurts through the Andes. Our small bus carried only about 20 passengers, an advantage when passing the innumerable tanker and freight trucks. This means that we spent a good deal of the time driving down the WRONG side of the road, barely skimming by the oncoming traffic. These drivers seem to have an amazing sense of spatial relations. I just look away.
With Mario Andretti behind the wheel, we passed through beautiful green valleys, deep arid canyons, coastal plains, and eventually climbed up into Popayan through a valley of beautiful banana, coffee, and bamboo groves. I love bamboo.
Did I mention it was hot at the lower elevations? Humid too. We saw (from the bus window) some perfect land where we would like to live. The unfortunate part is that we've been told this entire area in one of the last strongholds of the FARC guerilla forces and that we should only travel it during daylight hours.
Popayan is okay. It was as clean and colonial as I remember. The whole town was leveled in the 1880's by an earthquake and was rebuilt. And I must say it's holding up very well.
We took an evening walk from our hostel up through the center of town and all was peaceful. Small groups of people, and very few cars. Utterly different than everyplace we've been. Quite lovely in a cobblestone/gaslight sort of way.
We had a tasty dinner of cheese and chicken arepas. New to me, but Starr treasured them during her Venezuelan days.
Our hostel is the best we've stayed in. The staff is helpful, information about the town is well-prepared, and almost everything works. We have a private bathroom, as well as a sitting room with a view of the city above one of the busier intersections in town.
One of the reasons we like staying in hostels is that the guests like to spend time in the common rooms comparing notes about their travels and how to make the traveling life work. Much better than staying in hotels where everyone stays to themselves.
Popayan is a place we like.
