Colombian Pottery

Yes I am back a week already and I didn,t finish off my travel tales. So this is the final leg of our trip and it took until now for me to find pottery on this trip. Near Ville de Leyva there is a village that has a long history of terracotta pottery Raquira. We hired bikes and cycled 25km to the village and along the way we came across smoking chimneys of kilns and lots of bricks. We found a man very near the road making bricks in a very simple way. He dug clay out of a pit beside a homemade extruder. It consisted of a steel barrel with a mixing drill in the middle and it was turned by a donkey that was hooked up to it and walked a circle around the extruder. So simple. He then shoveled this clay into a wheelbarrow and placed it in piles where he would put it into a wooden frame to make the bricks. The frame made 5 bricks and he would make on average 500 in the day and would sell them for just under 40 cents each. Not a bad days work.

The area is rich in terracotta clay so it is an industrial spot for brick making. Some people had their own kilns while others would transport their bricks to a huge industrial kiln to fire theirs. You can see from the photo how big these industrial kilns are and they are all fired using coal so there is quite a lot of black smoke in the area.

We continued onto Raquira and were pleasantly surprised with the colourfulness of the place. All the houses and shops are painted in strong colours and along the bottom borders they have different aztec style patterns which give great visual impact. The square in the centre of the village has statues of the different trades and they are all made out of terracotta clay. I went for a wander in the back streets and found the potters at work and again chimneys giving out black smoke. A huge part of their production is casting piggy banks in plaster moulds. They throw planters of various sizes and also create a marble effect by throwing with a red and white earthenware together. I image pottery is a part of everyone who lives in this village and it has been a strong tradition for many generations. So after a few purchases we took the road back to Ville De Leyva.

We stopped off on the way back for a bit of local grub. This is what we have missed most from this trip the chance to start and stop where you like on your bike. The local dish here was spicy sausages barbecued and flat breads with cheese. These were also cooked on the barbeque by placing them on turntables in front of the charcoal. We had picked the popular spot because plenty of locals where buying flat breads to bring home and lots of friendly chat. We got back to Ville de Leyva before sunset so we sat in the square drinking beer and coffee watching the sky turn into a blaze. The Sqaure in this town was quite unique to all the squares in all the other towns we visited that had a lot of trees and plants whereas here it was bare of any greenery and just cobbled. It was nice to relax and soak up the second last day of Colombia.

Our last day was spent taking a bus to Zipaquira to visit the Salt cathedral. The salt miners had created a huge cathedral underground in the salt mines. They also carved the stations of the cross which were a spectacular site. They are still carving into the salt creating a new piece that covers about 50metres of wall. It was great to catch one last attraction before we had to fly home. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to do the miners tour as we had to leave time to get to the airport.

It has been an amazing trip and the main highlights would probably be Quilatoa, swimming with the turtles off Isle de Plata and the rafting in San Gil. So yes I would highly recommend Ecuador and Colombia but if I had to choose between the two it would be Ecuador there is a deep hidden charm and the landscape is beautiful with it’s patchwork of colour.

The Northen Coast of Colombia

Yes our travels are nearly over only two days left so after leaving Tony we headed to the coast for some chill out time.  We took an overnight bus to Cartagena a very large town on the North coast. One side of it is all built up with high rise appartments and hotels for the tourists facing the beach and then there is the old city surrounded by old fourtress walls. These houses within the old town are beautiful with lots of climbing wall flowers hanging from balconies.

We moved onto Santa Marta which is further North on the coast and is a bit smaller than Cartagena but the beaches there are not so great. What did surprise us was how windy it was in the evening. It felt like a gale force storm in our hostel that night. The next day we moved onto Taganga which was just a 15min drive from Santa Marta and was once a small fishing village but has grown over the years to cater for the tourist. It was a great chill spot to base ourselves for the next few days and for me to get some proper swimming in.

We headed to a more secluded spot the first day where the local fishermen base themselves. At first we thought they have great life sitting around waiting all day and then haul it all in in the evening. However it was a different set up all together. What we couldn,t quite figure out was the guy in a wetsuit who stayed at the edge of the net with a snorkel watching down below. At first we thought maybe he was mending the net but when he stayed in the same spot all the time we thought he must be watching for fish. After three hours we got our answer. A roar went up from wetsuit man and the next thing there were 17 men hauling in the net and yes they had cought themselves a big one and a few tidlers. The big one was a salmon and would bring in the big bucks. As the afternoon progressed they had three more catches with less time between them but always the man in the water on lookout. Paul bought himself a catch of the day and we cooked it that evening in the hostal. His first time to fillet a fish and not a bad job with a seriously blunt knife.

The next day we stayed on Taganga beach itself as we had to leave that evening. It is always fun to people watch and the beach is a great place to do it especially if you are hiding behind sunglasses. Anyway this guy was very entertaning posing for his boy friend !!!!

Our next port of call was to head inland again to San Gil. A town well know for a bit of adventure. We were looking for more rafting and did the small rapids the first day and the wild rapids the next. We had another Irish chic with us on the second day and an English guy and Norwegian guy. We had a total blast and one hair raiser which did flip the raft over but that made it all the more fun. I don,t have those pics with me at the moment but will post them up soon.

So presently chilling in Ville de Leyva and gettin bikes tomorrow to go to Raquira which is well known for it,s terracotta pottery so looking forward to that.

 

Southern Colombia

I can´t believe we only have a week left of our trip and the beginning already seems like it was ages ago. So to fill you in from our crossing back into Colombia we headed to the town of Popayan which is a good example of a typical colonial style town. It has an old side and the newer modern part. We stayed in the Old side in a family run hostel which we had to ourselves. It was almost like being part of the family staying there.

 

 

We decided to do another volcano hike outside Popayan. It was an early start to get a bus  leaving at4.45am. However it didn´t leave until 5.05am so could have stayed in the bed a bit longer. It was almost a 2hr trip to the turn off for Purace Volcano and by that time the sun was out and looking goood for our hike. We walked about 3km to the rangers hut where we woke him and he gave us some helpful directions and set us on the right way. This path was a good bit easier than our hike up Imbarra but weather was disimproving with the wind getting stronger and the cloud coming down. We made it to the summit in 2 and a half hours and height of 4,686mtrs so another record for me. We didn´t hang about as it was very cold and thankfully it got warmer as we descended. We got back to the road with a little shower of rain and thankfully there was a little cabin which had coffee for me. The daughter of the house served us while mother was doing the laundry. Her bigger brother came out on his bike and while we were waiting for the bus Paul shoed him a few bike tricks and I decided to give him my WAR bike shirt. He was chuffed with himself. Finally afte an hours wait a bus came to take us to San Juan which had thermal pools. Even though it was only 12kms down the road it was such a bad road that it took an hour to get there. The pools and rivers were beautiful colours and a bit smelly from the sulphur. We hiked back to the road and hoped to make it for the next bus but we missed it be 5 mins so it was a wait for the next one in fact it was almost 2hrs and in the end we were hitching anything that passed. This has to be one of the least travelled roads in Colombia. We eventually persuaded a truck driver to take us to the next village. I had to sit on Pauls knee and I think he lost the blood flow after the first 10mins of the 1 and a half hour trip. We eventually got back to Popayan at 7.00pm and it was straight to a resturant for grub. Needless to say we slept soundly that night.

The next day we headed to Salento which is highly reccommended and when we got there I can see why. It is a small town with all the house painted in bright colours and lots of cafe´s and art and trinket shops. My kind of place. We did another hike but more leisurly than our others to Cocora Valley. We thought we would see lots of coffee plantations as we were in an area called Zona Cafetere but not one in sight. It was a 12km hike to the valley and thenfollowed the river that took us into the cloud forrest. It was beautiful and very warm. We got back to Salento for the afternoon and time for me to browse the shops and indulge ingood coffee. Jesus Martin Cafe had been recommended to me and I saw why. He is a well awarded baristere and his coffee was sooooo good. It was a nice place to chill and write my diary. We also treated ourselves that night to good food. It seemed that the speciality of the place was trout so we shared a trout dish and a steak. It was all so good.

I was sorry to leave Salento but we had a date with another Irish runner who is running around the world. Tony Mangan started his journey at the start of the Dublin Marathon 2010 and is on his second continent. To check out his trip and story so far The World Jog tells all. We met up with him in Supia and he had just done 44km that day and was a bit tired. We had a good chat over dinner and said that we would keep him company the next day. The plan was that I would take all the bags onwards to La Virginia and then I would meet Paul and Tony just over halfway and we would all run back to La Virginia. Paul ran the full 50km with Tony and did 20km. It was pretty hot and gave myself and Paul a small idea of what Tony does everyday. It´s an incredable undertaking but it´s Tony´s passion and life long dream to do this trip and you have to admire him for his dedication and a bit of madness. However we need people like this in the world as they make us understand that if you want to do something strongly enough and you have the will you will achieve these things. The next day I ran with Tony and Paul brought his things onwards. I did 13km with him and then it was time for us to leave Tony as we had a bus to get to Medellin later.

That almost brings me up to date. We caught an overnight bus to Cartegena from Medellin and that is where we are at present melting in the sun.

Equador Altitudes

I,m a bit behind in my travel reporting as we are now back in Colombia but we covered a lot more of Equador after Banos. We did hit the Coast and made it to Porta Lopez where we did the poormans version of Galapagos and took a trip to Isle de Plata where we saw Blue Fotted Boobies and Frigets ( birds for those not in the know). We also got to swim with turtles which we did not expect to do at all. It was a total highlight these large awkward animals on land are so graceful in the water and I felt it such a privelage to swim with them. We also did a bit of snorkeling and saw quite a few colourful fish. It was a great day and all for just 35 dollars compared with 400 dollars to get to Galapagos.

We were lucky with the weather in Porta Lopez because as we headed North up the coast it was rainey days. We decided it was a bit humid and wet days on the beach no fun and headed back for the hills. We got to Otalava famous for its market of local crafts. It was a lovely town and we spent 3 days there. We did some local walks and I enjoyed browsing through the craft stalls and yes made a few purchases. On our second day there we hired bikes yes the first time on the trip to finally get on bikes. We went in search of Lago Cuichocha which is a volcanic lake with two little islands in the middle. It was a good 10km climb up to it and then Paul ran the perimiter and I just walked a quarter. I wasn,t feeling the best. The lake however was crystal clear and looked very inviting. The is a hotel right at the edge of it and has spectacular veiws but out of out buget. It was a nice downhill trip back to Otavala and a well desrved beer was had.

We then went onto La Esperanza a small village about an hour from Otavala. We stayed in the highly reccommended Casa Aida. A hostel ran by Aida herself since 1975 and she is still going strong. She told us that when she originally came there from Quito as a divorced woman with 3 children the locals did not want her. The women thought she was there to take their husbands and they thought she would attract the wrong sort of people with her hostel, drunks and druggies. But she stood her ground and if anything she has brought business to the local people and given welcome refuge to backpakers from all over the world. She also makes the best pancakes and berry jam. Our main reason to go to La Esperanza was to climb Imbarra, another volcano. We set off early and a taxi took us up 5kms to the beginning of the track. The day started fine but as we climbed the cloud came in. It was quite steep in places and rock for the final climb but we made it 4400mtrs a record for me. Thankfully we only had a short hail shower on the way down and as we got back to the road the sun was shinning again.

It was then time to leave Equador and head for Colombia. I was sorry to leave as I felt Equador is a beautiful counrty and the people are so friendly. The Indian people are a resilliant lot, living in harsh weathers, but there is always a smile on their face. There are wonderful colours in it,s landscape and they are reflected in the textiles that they wear and create.