Colombia

After much back and forth, we decided to make a short visit to Colombia. Unfortunately, this border crossing was quite annoying. The Colombian customs officer was a bit conceited. Instead of asking us something, he preferred to use the magnifying function of his smartphone to read the relevant data from the vehicle registration document. At the same time, he had some problems with the printer, so we spent over five hours at customs. This time delay once again ruined our plans, but we are now totally relaxed and somehow managed to reach our sleeping place before dark. The first stop was the Santuario de las Lajas. This cathedral or place of pilgrimage was somehow strange. The blinking lights on the church facade mocked every French Christmas light chain. But somehow the whole thing was quite fascinating.

The next notable stop is the coffee Hacienda Guayabal. The way there was quite adventurous and we were really glad that no one was coming towards us. Otherwise, we would have had to go back 3 kilometers. But everything worked out fine. The coffee tour lasted four hours and surprisingly was quite entertaining and fun. Besides the theory, economic facts, and coffee tasting, there was also a walk through the coffee plantation. Which was pretty exhausting. In the end, we even received a Colombian coffee certificate. :-)

Other travelers told us to visit the small village of Guatape and the different peninsulas. So we did, but the problem was that Silke had caught something. The five-hour drive up and down was torture, but eventually Silke's stomach was completely empty again and it went uphill. The village with its colorful houses was nice to look at. But the real highlight was the granite monolith Piedra del Penon, an island mountain with 659 sweaty steps. The view reminded us of the intro to Inga Lindstrom's Heart Cinema on Sunday evenings. Fantastic 😊. Actually, we wanted to relax for a few days on the Rio Claro, but Silke's body just didn't agree. The combination of 95% humidity, insects like Couleur, and heat was just too much. I (Silke) looked like a crumble cake and it just didn't get any better. Only one thing helped: going "into the mountains". The crumbs didn't get better, but at least it wasn't so humid. In Ecuador, an overreaction of the immune system was later diagnosed. Nothing dramatic and with the help of the postponed medication, the ordeal was over after three days.

The drive to San Agustin was outstanding. Dozens of waterfalls and an indescribable view. Such a panoramic path naturally also has its pitfalls. It took us over 8 hours to cover the almost 300 kilometers. But it was worth it. In San Agustin, we found a nice parking space with friendly neighbors. We decided to leave Maggi behind and walk to the archaeological site of San Agustin. The tricky part was the misleading sign. It said that we were only 500 meters away from the entrance, but in reality, it was 2.5 kilometers. Really frustrating, at every turn we expected the entrance and it just didn't come. But eventually, we arrived. The park displayed various partly huge sculptures and statues of the San Agustin culture. Especially impressive were the snake representations in a riverbed. However, it took us several attempts to recognize them 😊.