I made it!  Yes, a year ago today I set foot on a plane with a one way ticket and a wad in the bank, partly wondering what the heck am I thinking, but on the other hand, overjoyed with the possibilities ahead.  I wasn´t sure I´d make it a year.  My sister and I joked that if I came back early she´d hide me in her basement and I would tap out blog entries from there, pretending to be abroad.  Heck, maybe the stories I could´ve fabricated would´ve been more adventurous.  I´m happy to report, though, that I didn´t update my blog from a dark, dusty basement, and once again, here I go again.

My travel companion and I made it to Popayán for a quick overnight stop.  The town was pretty, with lots of white-walled colonial buildings, but there wasn´t much to see and absolutely no nightlife to speak of, so we set out for San Agustin the next morning on what would be the bumpiest ride of my life.  Once you get off of the Panamerican highway, the roads are unpredictable.  We were heading to a small town southeast and towards the off-limits jungles, but still in safe areas.  At one point we were stopped and had to get off for a weapons search by the military police.  After six bone-rattling hours, we made it to San Agustin, a town home to stone statues and tombs that litter the surrounding countryside.  The statuary is the draw, but once you reach the town, the tranquility keeps you there.  We pulled up to the Casa Japones, a place recommended by other travelers, and both of us knew we would stay longer than the original one night we planned.  We were the only guests in this hacienda-like guesthouse, with lots of hammocks and a view overlooking the small town.  I know I´d spend at least a day reading on the porch.  So day one, reading on the porch.

The best way to get out in the country and see the statues is by horseback, and as I actually haven´t been on a horse this trip yet, I was anxious to saddle up and ride.  The day we chose looked overcast, so I was out-voted as far as giving it a go that day.  As it turned out, the day was beautiful and didn´t rain.  Instead we went to the Parque Arqueologico, a park west of town that is home to about 130 statues and would also be a pleasant three hour hike. During our walk, we ran into a couple from Seattle who have been traveling for about two years with no plans to return home.  They sold everything and hit the road, although they are currently scouting property in Colombia with the idea of opening up a hostel here to start making money.  My companion invited them to hang with us for the night, promising good weed and booze, and they ended up being a welcome addition to the group.

A few words about my travel buddy.  He´s super nice, very friendly, extremely smart and knows a total of four languages, but he´s also a major alcoholic and on a Leaving Las Vegas bender.  He wakes up, cracks a beer and is on a steady diet of booze and cigarettes all day.  When we ran into the couple at the park, he was constantly pulling out a bottle of rum from his backpack and taking sips, even at the table during lunch. I was a bit embarassed, but these two didn´t bat an eye at this, and as I would find out later, have wild streaks themselves.  They were in about the first month of quitting smoking, which proved to be comical.  In any event, it´s been a bit stressful traveling with him.  He was a crutch for me as far as speaking Spanish and I had some experiences I would not have had without him, but at points it was unbearable being with someone like that who wreaked of booze and cigarettes.  After one long journey sitting next to him, I had a massive headache.  I didn´t want to adopt a ¨if you can´t beat him, join him¨attitude either, although after a night of being attacked by a cockroach the size of Montana while reading in my bed (Ok, it just climbed on me, but that was enough), I almost thought getting wasted every night would help me sleep.  Instead I slept under a burning light bulb hoping the light would keep them at bay!

We did have fun, though.  The first night in town we hit up a local saloon and met some locals.  By the way, San Agustin is definitely a place that makes you feel like you are on the frontier.  Horses are not an uncommon sight on the streets and you just have this feel like you are on the set of a wild west movie.  Anyway, we met some locals who invited us to a salsa club around the corner, so I tried that out again, with not much progress.  One incident did put me off a little.  Before we left an African-Colombian woman approached me and we chatted for a while.  Our new friends were ready to leave but would have nothing to do with the woman I was speaking with.  They insisted she was bad and gives people drugs, but I found her delightful. I felt horrible having to tell her she couldn´t join us at this club, but I know nothing of the local prejudices among the people here, which is what I chalked it up to.  Otherwise, these locals were lots of fun and welcoming.

The couple we met in the park convinced me that I should try to get to the Galapagos Islands while I´m in this neck of the woods, so after our day with them, I woke up anxious to get on the horses and see the country before leaving.  The weather continued to show signs of rain, but I insisted we get going regardless.  So we set off out of town to see some more statues and a spot that overlooks the Rio Magdalena.  I also saw up close some genuine coffee bean fields.  Colombia is amazing.  There is so much unspoiled jungle and the rolling hills and mountains and streams make it a feast for the eyes.  We rode the horses to a point overlooking the river, and while my guide and travel buddy smoked a joint, I took endless pictures of the beauty around us.  Brooding clouds threatened our tranquility, so we got moving in a hurry, only to meet up with the inevitable rain.  I think I mentioned it more than once that we should´ve gone the day I had planned, but it did us no good at that point.  I threw on my rain jacket and off we went, plodding along on horseback in the rain.  Once I surrended to the total drenching I could not avoid, I was so happy.  Here I was, on a horse, in the rain, among the coffee bean plantations of Colombia, and I smiled and laughed.  It was exhilorating.  My horse Costello would take off for a quick run and I felt like a real cowgirl on the run from the law.  We pulled up to the hill overlooking the town, and as rain dripped from my hat, I  I felt like Pale Rider, coming into a new town after a long day´s ride, although it had been only about 30 minutes and part of the trail was paved.  No matter.  It was my fantasy and I was loving it.  So I rode my horse into town, pulled up to the nearest saloon and ordered a stiff one to warm my soul.  Ok, so maybe not.  Instead, we got back to the guesthouse and I quickly dismounted and ran for cover from the rain.  I changed into warm clothes and upon exiting the bathroom, slipping and fell on my ass.  So much for the coolness of Pale Rider.

The afternoon was spent in the hammock, reading the new book I traded with the Seattle couple and tried in vain to capture a picture of the hummingbird busy among the flowers around me.  The next morning I woke early.  I was going to be on my own as my travel buddy was into the peace the place provided and he still had a bunch of weed to go through.  I was nervous as it had been almost two weeks since I was solo, but I underesimate my ability to communicate with the locals.  I found the colectivo to the next biggest town where I was to grab another bus to the next biggest town yet again.  I ended up meeting this very nice fellow on the bus to Mocoa.  He spoke a little English and with my horrible Spanish, we chatted for some hours waiting for the bus to fill so we could go.  He was the second fella to compliment me on my eyes (a blue that is rare around these parts).  He also hung around and had lunch with me once we reached Mocoa while I waited for my next bus to Pasto.  One thing I noticed during my journey yesterday • no one tried to screw me over because I was a tourist. I paid the same fare for the three legs of my journey as the locals, and cabbies don´t quote you ridiculous prices for short journeys.  This place must be like what Thailand was years ago before it became the huge tourist destination of today.  Places along the Carribean coast are a bit different and I do think you find some of that, but the last few weeks have been so refreshing.

If you ever come to Colombia, well, go to San Agustin for sure, but make sure at least one route takes you on the Pasto to Mocoa road.  Before I came to South America, I would picture in my mind traveling on a bus, on some dirt road, weaving along the edges of a mountain, with the threat of a shear drop right below you.  Well, that was me yesterday.  The distance between Pasto and Mocoa doesn´t look very far on the map, but it took almost 8 hours to cover given the need to make our way up into the mountains and down again, reaching Pasto at about 2500 meters.  It´s chilly here.  The journey to get here was amazing though!  I couldn´t stop taking pictures, but most of them didn´t capture the beauty I wanted to memorialize as they were blurry from all the bumps.  The others took no interest in the scenery, but I took picture after picture, exclaiming to myself how astonishing the landscape is here in Colombia.  We had to drive over waterfalls and turn corners that made me cry for my mother, but it was breathtaking.  At the highest point we´d reach, we had to get off and go through the search again by the military police. I wasn´t sure about taking pictures, but stole one before I got off the bus.  As the day wore on, our lighting was disappearing, making me more anxious about the road ahead.  We were in the clouds at some times and visibility was low, but we took it slow and steady, finally arriving in Pasto about 10 p.m.  It´s a treat when the price you pay to get you some place also gets you admission through some of the most astounding places on Earth.

So here I am in Pasto, on my one year anniversary since I left.  I´m enjoying Colombia more and more with each day, but I am on my way out.  I have one more stop before I make my exit, and then but a few weeks to get to Lima where I meet my sister from home, so I want to see a bit of Ecuador, possibly the Galapagos, before then.  The luxury of time is a thing of the past, but even though the need to hurry is a frustration, I shall relish each moment until I find myself home again.

After an overnight bus ride south of Bogota I arrived in San Agustin around 8am and after resting for a little bit I headed out to see the archaeolgical park with the mysterious statues. The countryside was nice and green with deep rolling hills, while the town itself was smaller than any place I had been in Colombia so far, which was nice for a change. It was a short 3 km walk to the park past lots of restaurants and small hotels and hostels. The statues in the park were really amazing, there were many different kinds and in different shapes and sizes. Originally the statues were found buried in man made stone tombs and were since removed from the tombs for display purposes. The park had several sites with groups of statues and was fairly crowded with Colombian tourists. They didn´t have any booklets or literature on the origins or history of the statues so there wasn´t much to do but wander around the sites and look at the various statues. At one part there was a bridge across a river overlooking a massive series of carvings in the rock of the riverbed that formed really interesting shapes and channeled the water in intricate curves downstream. On the trail towards on of the sites there was a shack were they were pressing sugar cane juice from the raw sugar cane. It was pretty tasty when mixed with a touch of fresh squeezed orange juice, although with all the sugar in it, one glass was more than enough, and at fifty cents a glass not bad at all. After having lunch at one of the restaurants on the way back I tried to figure out my next destination, whether I would go see the burial tombs at Tierradentro or head to Popayan or Pasto for the carnavals there on the 5th and 6th. I decided to try to make it to Pasto as everyone said that the carnaval there was the best, so I bought a bus ticket for 6am the next morning, as the road is unsafe to travel on at night because it is very isolated and dangerous, in hopes that I could get to Popayan and then move on to Pasto the same day a total of 12 hours of bus rides. Everyone said that the road to Popayan was very rough but with beautiful scenery, I thought it would be worth it as the road goes in the valley right next to a large volcano.

How can you describe Andres? It's not a restaurant, it's not a club, it's not a wax museum. It's one of the most fun, delicious, and wonderful EXPERIENCES you'll ever have. Whether it's a lunch filled with good meats and actors doing a bull fight, or a dinner filled with mojitos and dancing until dawn, there's no such thing as an okay time at Andres. The patacones are very good, I like them without cheese. The ceviches are some of the best in Bogota. The menu can be overwhelming. If going in a group, I'd recommend having an experienced person order for the table. The tres para dos (chicken, lomo, punta de anca) is always good for the two of us. For drinks, the sangria is delicious, as are the mojitos and the mandarinos (vodka and mandarina). The mojitos are the size of your head, and a bottle of sangria is actually two carafes. Don't say I didn't warn you. Rent a driver and plan to stay all night...literally until 3 or later. The music mix is always very danceable. Just remember to order water. After you're done, make sure to get consume and empanaditas outside. They're the best hangover prevention ever.

We arrived yesterday on the 6am bus from Popayan. It was so bumpy and dusty. The road is actually only 160km from Popayan to San Augustin, but takes 5 to 6 hours due to it being unpaved and windy.

We booked into El Maco, which is about 1km out of town and walked into town to book a jeep tour as we had been stopped by a guide once off the bus. Couldn't find him anywhere so we went to the tourism office and asked if we could book - no luck there, although they did give us a free map of the area. They told us to go down the road and book with a guy mentioned in our guidebook called Luis. No luck there either as they were closed. The other tourism office was also closed, and the bus ticket office was also closed. For a town aching to regain it's previous tourism of 20 years ago it is barely trying. We had a late lunch at a place next to Donde Richard which was an open restaurant. We had steak, and it was the BEST steak I have ever had. I will proudly say that up until this point of course, we will see if that changes once we reach Argentina! A fantastic meal only for about $14,000 ($9NZD). We ended up booking a jeep tour for $25,000 pesos which would take us all around and was about 7 hours in total. Seemed pretty good to us!

Although, next day when we got there, the other people had cancelled which means it was off. We decided to head to the actual park instead anyway. The main park is large, and we were soon approached by a guide with really good English. His name was Jerry. Not his real name, but everyone apparently called him Jerry, after Jerry Springer as he was rather humorous - of course this was all according to him!

He was very intelligent, and we learnt so much with him guiding us. For example, the statues date from 3300BC.  At this time, the civilisation knew how to conduct brain operations which were shown from skulls recovered from the sites. These skulls showed that a piece of the skull had been removed and then replaced, having them lived at least 6 years afterwards as the skull had fused together again. It was just amazing. Also, the stone statues had characteristics from Asia and Africa. For example some statues had asian eyes, or eyes depicted in statues from Eqypt (such as eagle eyes), also some statues were depicted in very similar dress from India and Egypt. Animals were also carved and depicted tigers, elephants and gorillas - all animals which are not found in South America. They don't know too much about the actual people that lived there, and how exactly they depicted different continents. Jerry's explaination was that these people from different continents came to be buried or to die in San Augustin. I'm not too sure if I believe in that, although it is possible they came to live and therefore died in the area. Another theory seems to be that they transported themselves on another dimension to these other continents, although Jerry explained that this didn't make sense as bodies were found with artifacts from other continents as bodies were buried with their belongings and other things such as food and water for the next life. It was really interesting - we highly suggest getting a guide as there is so much information it blows your mind! Jerry charged us $30,000 pesos, of which we gave $40,000 pesos in total in the end as the tour was so indepth. We also talked about insects, the situation in Colombia at the moment and other Colombian traditions. The tour took about 3 hours or so.

We also made an appointment to meet him later that night as Nathan was going to visit a Sharman. For those that don't know what a Sharman is, they are like a witch doctor, and are highly regarded in the community. They are spiritual and also medicinal. Anyway, Jerry had told us that every 4 years he goes and a potion which he drinks cleans his system out. Anyway, it all sounded like a very interesting experience so we decided to go. Of course, Nathan to participate and myself to watch! No way was I going to, more so because it makes you throw up and have the runs (and not to mention hallucinations also)!

Anyway, we got there and the Sharman has about 6 gorgeous children. They all live in this little house and were so well behaved. I watched the TV most of the time with them. The Sharman put on his head dress, necklaces and his wand thing made of some sort of tree. In short, Nathan had to drink some liquid which he describes as tasting like wood. He had no react, so over one hour later the Sharman repeated the process and he had to drink another one. Jerry said it was really unusual and that the Sharman had said Nathan was very strong. Soon after the second lot Nathan started feeling ill, much to my delight simply because this was what is suppose to happen, and we better be getting our moneys worth!! A wee while after we left for El Maco, the Sharman said Nathan should be fine. How wrong was he! Nathan spewed his guts out before getting to the hostel and it continued once we were there. He also got the shakes and had hallucinations. All which he describes now as pretty cool. He was hallucinating that he was a snake, that butterflies were flying out of his body etc. Pretty out of it. He feels fantastic though today. All for $70,000 pesos and what an experience!!