This week's diary includes a sad goodbye, being all alone in southern Colombia, finding an amazing desert and partying with locals in the mountains.
My name is
Joe Harrington; I'm travelling through Central and South America for eight months, here's what happened on week 13.
Next stop: Tatacoa Desert, Colombia
Myself and Floris (Dutch) left Salento at 12pm for Armenia which is where you can get a bus for the various different routes down south.
Floris was going to Cali because his flight out of Colombia was from there and I was headed in another direction to find the Tatacoa Desert so we had to part ways.
It was a sad moment. We'd spent almost every minute of every day of the last month in each other's company and we became really, really great friends.
Like I said before in these diaries, saying goodbye to people is the worst part about travelling but it's part and parcel of it.
Here's some travel advice from the man himself.
https://instagram.com/p/BHesOD2hlm8/
(L-R: Me, Floris Van Oordt)
Happy trails, Flower. SQUAROO!
That farewell meant I was all alone again and travelling solo in south Colombia which is considered the more dangerous part of the country. *Gulp*
I jumped on the bus from Armenia to Neiva (€14) which is a big city near the Tatacoa Desert.
I'd never heard about the place until a Dutch girl named Lisa I met in the north told me about it. That's the beauty of not planning too much, you can be so flexible.
Estimated time to get to Neiva: 6 hours. Actual time to get there: 11 hours. The bus was stopped in the middle of the mountains for four hours.
There was an accident up the road where a car crashed into two little houses, they collapsed and one person was killed.
The scene when we eventually drove past will live with me for a long time. Adults and children crying, the whole community gathered around the houses and emergency vehicles everywhere. So sad.
I eventually got into Neiva at 12am. I had planned on going to the desert once I arrived there but that wasn't possible because it was so late.
I was feeling very uncomfortable because it was night time, I had all my bags and valuables on me and I was by myself.
After a few minutes of scouting the place out I spoke to a policeman and he walked me to a cheap hotel near the station.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHOaSxMhpy4
When I told him I was from Ireland he started pointing at me shouting "IRA". I politely responded with, "No sir, I am not a member of the Irish Republican Army." He just laughed at me.
The hotel was... well... it was grim, but it did the job for the night and it only cost me €10. It could've been worse.
The next morning I set off for the desert and got there through a combination of a local bus and a tuk tuk (€7). The place was completely different to anything I'd seen before.
I met a Dutch guy and three Israelis in my hostel and we shared a tuk tuk (€4 per person) to the Grey Desert which is 30 minutes away.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHSyqFXhQUi
I explored the place for about two hours climbing hills and following random wandering paths.
The colour grey isn't the most visually rewarding but the place was amazing because of the unusual patterns in the sand and the plants that were growing there.
We got the tuk tuk back to the hostel and I walked 20 minutes to the main attraction in Tatacoa Desert, Cusco, for sunset.
I'd seen pictures of Cusco online and it looked cool but seeing it in person with a red sunset is one of the highlights of my whole trip.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHSyUiZhf5Z
I sat in that spot until it got dark and soaked in the view because I know I'll never be back there again. What a beautiful place.
I went back to the hostel, ate and was in bed by 8:30pm. There's nothing to do there, it's a desert but I did learn some hebrew words including 'sababa' which means 'that's cool'. I think. I hope.
I dragged myself out of bed at 5am to see the sunrise and boy was it worth it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHVwkZLBHhz
I got the 8am jeep out of the desert and back to Neiva feeling so happy that I went off the beaten track to see Tatacoa. A special place.
Accommodation: Saturno de Noches. €6 per night for a private room.
It was more like a cell but it was perfect for what I needed there... a bed.
Food: Excellent food in the hostel.
Drink: There isn't a huge drinking culture there, it's a desert. I'd advise water.
Highlight: Seeing Cusco at sunset. Wow.
Lowlight: Repeatedly standing on cactus thorns. Ouch.
Next stop: San Agustín, Colombia
My next stop was a town called San Agustín high in the mountains of Huila on the banks of the Magdalena River (Bus from Neiva - €8).
I'd heard it was a very authentic Colombian town, again, a bit off the beaten track, and there was plenty to do there. Perfect.
I had a walk around the town when I hopped off the bus and quickly realised how far off the beaten track I was. There's wasn't another backpacker in the town and I was the only person in my hostel.
My residence in San Agustín
I decided to embrace the situation and I saw it as a chance to improve my Spanish and to experience real Colombian life in a non-touristy place. A test too though.
The next morning I went on a jeep tour (€13) of the local area and I spent the day with the guide Raphael and the Ruiz family from Medellín.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHVri-nhrDU
The tour was excellent. We went to the narrowest part of the Magdalena River, visited various archaeological sites and saw the highest waterfall in Colombia.
A sculpture at Alto De Los Ídolos in Isnos which dates back to around 200 B.C
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHVqncyhobF
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHVt5M3BBUP
The guide Raphael also took us to a panela factory. Panela is a natural sweetener made from sugar cane that's really popular in Colombia.
We watched the production from start to finish. It looks like... well, see for yourself, but it tastes good.
It was an excellent day with great scenery, fascinating history, local insight and great fun with the Ruiz family and Raphael.
I got back to the hostel at 6pm, had a shower, ate some chicken and broccoli and hit the hay for another early night.
I had no problem waking up early in my hostel thanks to the owner's collection of pet birds which includes Rebecca The Parrot.
Rebecca The Parrot
Rebecca loves a good loud roar between at 6am and 6:30am every morning. I thought somebody was being attacked the first time I heard her. So long to my precious beauty sleep.
There's also a cat.
https://twitter.com/ImJoeHarrington/status/749038401538629632
The next day was amazing. My buddy José, who works for a tour company in the town, told me to meet him at 3pm because there was going to be a huge celebration that evening.
It was the weekend of the San Pedro Festival which was news to me.
I met him at the main crossroads in the town and a huge parade rolled into the town. Floats, dancers, bands, animals, sports teams, not too dissimilar to the Rose of Tralee tbh.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHYQAp-BKZp
An Irish guy from Dundalk named Dave saw this blog on JOE and contacted me on Instagram. He was in town too so we organised to meet up.
He joined us at the corner, it was good to see another Irish head. José and his friends José (II) and Christian ran off and told myself and Dave to follow them so we did.
We ended up at a bull ring about 10 minutes out of the town and the place was full of people. It was a huge party.
People were getting pissed on beer and Aguadiente (local spirit), which they were sharing with us, and going crazy for the bulls and matadors.
Anybody could jump in the ring and as the evening passed by and the Aguadiente passed the lips of the local guys, there was plenty of Dutch courage.
Here's a video clip of a close call.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHYQcRDhPnI
Just to clarify, they didn't kill the bulls at the event. When the animals were tired, they replaced it with a fresh bull.
Once that finished up, the party moved back into the town and the atmosphere was frenetic. The streets were awash with people, horses, motorbikes, smoke, food vendors and the drink was flowing.
I went back to my hostel for food and break from the Aguadiente. I regrouped, met my Dutch friend Lisa, and walked around to soak in the atmosphere.
We bumped into a local guy called Steven on the street and had a nice chat with him. He invited us to join him and his friends at a cool bar called Territorio Libre.
We spent the night drinking and dancing. Well, I was trying to dance. I'd be considered an awful dancer in Copper's so you can imagine how bad I am here.
The people here are incredible dancers. They move differently to us, it's so great.
It was such a fun night and to spend it with locals was cool because we were doing exactly what they do on a big night. Authentic.
Not even Rebecca The Parrot could wake me up the following morning and I surfaced around 10am. I went to a local bakery and got this into me.
Breakfast in a local bakery for €2.50
I had a relaxing day after that, I walked 3km to Parque San Agustín which is another archaeological site in the area.
It's a really fascinating place to visit.
The museum at the start is brilliant to give you a background on the history of the place and the walks are great with amazing sculptures around every corner.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHaap0Xhe0v
There's also a nice challenging hike up to the highest point, Alto del Lavapatas. The view is lovely.
Here I am on top looking like I'm standing for the national anthem or something.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHaYUWCB45X
I got back to San Agustín town at 3pm and strolled around talking to locals and taking in the sights.
My Spanish is improving at a huge rate here because nobody speaks English and I have no other choice but try and communicate en Español. See!
My grammar is still BRUTAL but I am having small conversations and little jokes with the locals and it's been really enjoyable.
I'm leaving tomorrow to head further south towards Ecuador, fingers crossed it goes smoothly.
Accommodation: Hospedaje El Jardin. €6.50 per night for a private room with bathroom.
It not luxury by any means but it's located bang in the middle of town. The staff are nice.
Food: Go to any one of the dozens of bakerys or roast chicken places. The food has been excellent.
Drink: Street drinking is normal and Territorio Libre was great fun.
Highlight: The people. Everyone has been so kind, so friendly and so helpful.
Lowlight: The weather. It's kind of cold and it rains a lot.
One of the local churches in San Agustín
If you've any tips, advice or questions, let me know on Twitter at
@ImJoeHarrington or
Instagram/ImJoeHarrington.
Talk to you next week.
Read more about my trip to Central and South America here:
Diary #2 - Miami, Guatemala City, Antigua
Diary #3 - Antigua, Lake Atitlan
Diary #4 - Entering El Salvador
Diary #5 - El Salvador, Leon, Nicaragua
Diary #6 - Volcano boarding in Leon, Laguna De Apoyo, Granada
Diary #7 - The volcanos of Ometepe and Sunday Funday in San Juan
Diary #8 - Monteverde and Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
Diary #9 - Bocas del Toro, Panama City
Diary #10 - San Blas Islands, reaching Colombia
Diary #11 - Exploring north Colombia, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Punta Gallinas
Diary #12 - My first week in Medellín
Diary #13 - Meeting Pablo Escobar's brother, Guatape and Salento
