On the road again, moving South into the mountains - Mompox, San Gil, and paragliding in the Chicamocha canyon
We had a lovely day driving through the mountains to the city of Valledupar. We encountered a flooded road which the locals assured us wasn’t too high, but I ended up with a wet foot and leg! The city of Valledupar was interesting, it’s on the border with Venezuela and hardly any tourists go there, but it is a town that clearly has a lot of wealth. We suspected from illegal dealings, and we were happy to just be passing through!
Mompox:
The next day we had a long drive to the town of Mompox - the town that time forgot. Mompox lies on the river Magdalena, and is bordered by two provinces - Magdalena and Bolivar. It used to be a prosperous trading town owing to it’s location, but a change in trading routes left the town cut off and frozen in time. It’s also rumoured to be the inspiration for the fictional town in the famous Gabriel Gracia Márquez book, One Hundred Years of Solitude.
We enjoyed wandering the streets of Mompox, and looking for all the churches (there are lots!). Lots of the buildings are colonial and have an internal courtyard - most of them are now coffee shops and restaurants.
We also went on a sunset boat trip down the river and into the wetlands and swamp, which was very relaxing. We saw lots of birds and some monkeys, and learnt about how the locals fish in the swamp. It rained for the 30 minutes of the trip, luckily we had our raincoats! And it’s the first time we’ve needed them in our trip so far, so we can’t complain!
San Gil:
After a swift two days in Mompox we were back on the road again, and we did our longest ride on the bike yet - 350km through the mountains to Bucarmaranga. We spent one night in the city of Bucarmaranga, and the next day rode for a few hours to the small city of San Gil. The ride took us across the Chicamocha Canyon - a beautiful mountain pass with lots of switchbacks and beautiful views.
Once in San Gil, we rode for 10km into the mountains to our hostel, and we ended up camping on the hillside of the hostel for a week. The campsite was lovely and relaxing, and the hosts (a British guy and his Colombian wife) were very helpful and welcoming. They cooked lovely food and we had several thali dinners and big healthy breakfasts every morning. The campsite had a wood fired pizza oven, and we made pizzas with another couple one night. We also had campfires and enjoyed the views.
We spent some time in the town of San Gil, including a day at the Suzuki garage getting our bikes serviced.
One day we went paragliding - something we’ve both wanted to try for a while. We were driven to the top of a mountain (at 2000m) in the Chicamocha Canyon, and this was to be our launch pad. To set off we had to run as fast as possible to the edge of the mountain and not stop til the ground ran out - it was terrifying! Once in the air, the views of the canyon were spectacular, truly amazing. But the sensation of the paragliding was less enjoyable - lots of turns in the air and stomach drops left us both feeling queasy (and I was actually sick mid flight). We ended up landing at the river because there weren’t too many thermal currents that day, and we took the cable car back to the top of the mountain. Overall a good day and a good experience, we were glad to have done it but wouldn’t go rushing back for a second try!
We also spent a day on the bikes riding in the mountains to a waterfall - Pozo del Pino. The ride was off road on a track winding through the mountains, and the views were amazing. We were the only people at the waterfall and enjoyed having it all to ourselves!
We did a day trip to Barichara, a small traditional town in the moutains. We spent some time wandering around the town, and having coffee on the central square. Then we walked to the village of Guane on the Camino Real, an ancient walking route through the mountains. The walk was short at around 10km but it was beautiful and the views were spectacular. The village of Guane was small and quaint, with cobblestone streets and friendly people. We tried the local drink of chicha - which originally was made by indigenous women who would chew maize until it fermented in their mouths then spit it in a pot to ferment more. It was made illegal by authoriries in the 1950s because it was said to make people stupid! These days apparently the process has been mechanised, and the drink is thick yellow and sour! An acquired taste for sure, and still technically illegal to drink!
Another day we did another trip out on the bikes to the town of Zapatoca, high in the mountains, and an 8 hour off-road mountain ride round trip. Zapatoca lies high up overlooking two canyons - the Suarez and the Chicamocha. The ride itself was only 70km each way, but took so long becuzae it was muddy, rocky and slow! We crossed the river and had quite a climb to get to Zapatoca. We stopped in a beautiful quaint village for a coffee, where we met some police who were doing a phone campaign. There had been lots of rain so the roads were muddy and flooded in places, but nothing the bikes couldn’t handle! Once we got to Zapatoca we stopped for lunch in a lovely courtyard, had a wander around, and went to the mirador viewpoint. Then we got back on the road for the return journey - keen to get back before it go dark!
We really enjoyed our time in San Gil, the nature and adventures were amazing. We also really liked the hostel we stayed at, and it was nice to be camping again! We could have spent a month here and not run out of things to do! But after an amazing week, we decided to move on as there is more of Colombia we want to see.
Next stop: Guadalupe
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