Fri 26th 0930 On internal terracey bit of hostel. Paid tab, no problem. Drinking my 1.5l Brisa Manzana sugar free. Have semi-packed, just copied latest load of photos from O6 to USB stick and on to K1 so they're backing up to GP now.
K1 batt only 44% so I may risk leaving it in dorm to top up a bit.
Slept OK but not brilliantly. Tim was in dorm when went back last night, spoke to him a bit - he'd been into another hostel and met a Colombian girl and was going hiking with her in a few days and is therefore moving to that hostel tomorrow. Lucky git. :-) Though TBH I'd probably have been super reticent had some Colombian (male or female) proposed going for a hike.
I will go shove K1 on charge and do a bit more packing. Checkout 11 and plan to hang on til then.
1910 On bench outside room at Barichara accom. Been fiddling with refundable flights from Panama to Bogota and writing pitiful WA messages to Rab asking for advice for about an hour. :-)
On the whole today has gone fairly well.
They decided to clean the only bathroom at hostel just as I was about to leave and I really needed to go given how much I'd drunk that morning. I wasn't in a rush as such but I was irrationally worried they'd claim I'd stayed past check out and kick up a stink. I hovered around til about quarter past and then asked the owner woman cleaning if I could use toilet and she said yes.
Walk to terminal hot but took it steady and not insanely hot. Got on bus no problem, couple of probably Dutch tourists sat in front of me and a few locals. Bus left almost immediately (there's one every 20 mins I think) and paid when got off - 7k. Bus dropped us in main plaza and 99% sure that's where to get a bus back.
(Jumping ahead, I noticed during wandering later in day there's a bus company office off main plaza and I asked permission to take a photo of their timetable jic. They have a direct bus to Bucaramanaga but I think it runs at arse o'clock in the morning - before dawn - and frankly I suspect I'm better off getting a bus to San Gil, trogging from local to long-distance terminal there and getting one of the ultra-frequent SG-Buc buses there.)
Apart from one wrong turn which OM rapidly corrected, I walked down to new accom no trouble - it is a smidge out of town but nothing insane and while maybe a hostel hostel would have been chance-of-socialising, it feels good to have a very decently priced private room. They didn't even ask my name when I've arrived, owner chap just waved me into my room and I still haven't paid despite mentioning it a couple of times. Minor annoyance is that he told/asked me to use the small bunk bed instead of the double - it's a quad double bed+bunk room, which I have to myself - but for the money I'm not making a fuss. (It works out about USD15/night, I think. Guide book - not that I trust it - makes out Barichara is expensive for budget people like me and I am here over the weekend too FWIW.)
I had to grab the owner when I saw him a bit later to ask for the wifi password and a sheet for my bunk, and later (after going into town and coming back) managed to find him eventually to ask if there was a refrigerator I could put a bottle of water in, at which point he showed me upstairs kitchen. So he seems super accommodating but has arguably been a smidge slack about actually showing me round. All sorted in the end though.
The pool is just a small plunge pool as expected. There are at least three smallish cats here - two have let me stroke them - and at least two and maybe three dogs. One dog is a white woolly one (no staying power, I assume :-) ) which has let me stroke it, the other one or two are larger and a bit inclined to go barking at stuff occasionally (and one of the reviews - just one - mentions problems with one of the dogs) but at least one of them has had a calm sniff at me as I sit here and I'm not too worried about them. The grounds are largish and quite nice (nothing compared to that hotel in Nuevo Arenal, but nice) but not so enormous that I can easily visualise myself trogging across a vast expanse of scrubby ground between street and my room with the owners nowhere in site and a dog getting stroppy with me.
So I went into town for a wander and food, stopping in at very nearby pool to have a chat with woman at booth - 10k, changing facilities, no need to wear shower cap, open IIRC 930-1800 every day.
The town is undeniably pretty, lovely views into the distance (though I have this irrational feeling it ought to be all snow-capped mountains). I did get something of a "mad dogs and Englishman" vibe wandering round, it is hardly deserted but you get off the main plaza and a lot of streets are empty and just shut up houses and the occasional car or tuk-tuk (first time I think I've seen those on this trip).
This doesn't feel a super cheap town - which, for example, is likely to avoid casual indulgence in baked goods, empanadas and the like. I wandered a bit trying to find somewhere to eat and eventually stumbled on Mi Linda Barichara, although there was no menu outside it looked like some locals were eating there and I went in (though what I hoped was a menu on a lectern was actually a bible) and saw a "por favor cancele en caja" (something like that; not checked grammar) sign which all seemed reassuringly down to earth so I took a punt and sat down and got a menu and the prices were OK if not amazingly good. I had a reasonably competent chat with the helpful waitress and got a lomo de cerdo with rice, undressed (just lemon and salt) salad, a chunk of probably fried yucca (vaguely like a white banana chunk) and some vaguely refried beans but not quite stuff which I carefully tasted and which turned out to be quite nice. Also a meat/vegetable soup beforehand. 30k for the food and 3k for a nice, not tiny but not huge limonada tradicional. Minor glitch when I went to pay, I handed over 50k and got 12k notes+as it turned out 2k change and this didn't seem right so I asked (nicely, I think) and although it feels a little odd (this has not happened before, but this is a touristy place and this is probably the most "upmarket" restaurant I've been in) I *think* the extra was a service charge/"tip". I had been intending to tip 3k anyway - though I didn't see a tip jar - so while this feels (but may not be) vaguely scuzzy, at worst they've tricked me out of money I was going to give them anyway. Barring a bad experience, I expect this is going to be my go-to place for main meal here.
I had taken Barclaycard Rewards card out with me in the intention of getting cash - I have plenty, but I took the last 50k note in my main stash out this morning to put it aside to pay the bill here with - and there was a Banco Agrario (sp) on plaza and I used the machine no fuss to withdraw 1.4k for a tolerable 22k fee. I do wonder - but not sure - if using a credit card offers extra protection in the event of a dispute. But I mainly used this card as I don't want two disputes on with Starling at once, and haven't put new funds in Starling, and since the BR card worked well in VdL it feels like the go-to card. Anyway, I did that before wandering to see the place and find a restaurant - maybe silly but it was broad daylight and this place feels ptetty safe - so after I ate I popped into the MLB bog and stashed the cash in my hidden pouch until I could get it home.
Having "solved" the affordable food problem I felt much better about the place. I popped into the church ("templo") on the main square, dropped 1k in change in the box and took a few photos - really quite attractive (as most of the churches here are) and of course also quite cool. (It's hot but not intolerable on the streets, and quite nice in the shade.)
Tried to wander round a bit for exercise but also a bit worked up about the prospect of swimming ("excitement" - too strong a word - plus nerves about whether I'd be able to for both sporting and practical reasons). I did wander round a bit and went into Nona's Bread on main square for an affordable but not cheap latte (5k+0.5k tip) - it was very nice though. A far cry from the 2k cafe con leche and 1k biscuits at Onzagueno though - such places may exist in the more remote streets but I suspect it's too touristy here for this to be super common.
I went into what looked like a supermarket to buy water and maybe some post-swimming snacks, but they seemed to sell no water at all, let alone the 5l size I hoped to get. I asked (it felt slightly awkward, but maybe I imagined it) staff and they said no, they didn't sell water.
I wandered a bit and found a small shop with a table and a couple of guys drinking beer and although as often case everything was unpriced I asked and some bread-ish snacks and a litre bottle of water were 2k each, which seemed tolerable, so I got a litre of water and two different bags of the snacks. Was offered a carrier bag, I asked if it was free - which the guy didn't seem to understand at all - but he gave me one anyway and I only paid 6k, so yay, I got a free carrier bag! Take that eco-fascists!
Walked back to hostel, rinsed swimming trunks just to make sure they weren't going to turn the pool dirty (they were fine, but you never absolutely know with this "swimming hole" type water I guess) and washed 3 sets uw. I managed to see owner walking past and he gave me the sheet I'd asked for and I asked about refrigerator (I said "refrigerador" cos I thought it was more Latin American-y, but he said "nevera?" , so I should have just gone with that in first place).
I was hanging round a bit but about 1630 I went to pool - didn't time it properly, but it is probably 2-3 mins walk. So I left virtually everything extraneous in room - trouser belt, both phones, most of my money, etc - to reduce worries about losing stuff.
Could hear music and shouts as approached but manfully carried on, hoping (probably partly true) these were coming from adjacent sport ground. Woman at desk very pleasant, was an old guy sitting outside booth who I awkwardly wished good afternoon to, woman pointed to changing room (dark and not super slick but not disgusting or anything) and said she would look after my stuff. So I changed and gave her my bag and shoes and went to pool.
A group of about five (not necessarily that young) probably locals sitting at tables near-ish pool - no idea if they paid - and playing music (quite Colombian-y and atmospheric in a way, not "threatening" type music as maybe some kinds of rap or whatever could be) and I felt a bit awkward but the pool itself was empty and I figured I just had to ignore them.
I had timed it about right and after maybe first 5-10 mins there was no direct sun on me, and very little even to start with, so didn't have to worry about sunburn. Water not actually "wow, this is warm" but certainly not cold, probably as warm if not warmer than indoor pools in London. (This is obviously an advantage of going at end of day, but given they don't open til 930 there is no way I'm going in morning as that's 3.5h after sunrise and chances are I'd risk getting burned.)
Side of pool said 1.6m but it is obviously not as it came up to my neck if I stood flat-footed. I was a bit cautious getting in but it turns out the entire pool is the same depth - no shallow or deep end. The odd floating leaf and dead insect but not particularly unexpected in an outdoor pool and the water (while I didn't notice a major chlorine smell) presumably clean etc.
So I did swim and no one molested or spoke to me. I had the entire pool to myself most of the time, as I was on verge of getting out I noticed one guy over the other side but I hadn't even seen him getting in. Apart from a couple who left the group playing music not long after I started who gave me a thumbs up, no one hassled me or paid me any attention at all.
Was maybe in water 25-30 mins but for me that's not bad. When I got out and went to booth to get my stuff, there were about 7-8 guys sitting round drinking beer - the woman there (officially or not) clearly serves beer and it acts as a little mini social club . Felt a bit awkward wearing just swimming gear but not a problem as such. Went and got changed - there may have been showers but I wasn't fussed and as I was barefoot I didn't want to go into the "baño" side of the changing room - and left no trouble. Was half wondering if I should tip the woman - was thinking 2k - for looking after my stuff but wasn't sure. I had it ready but as there was a crowd of people sitting round and she was serving someone I just said goodbye and left.
I vaguely plan to go back most/all of the next three days and we'll see how it goes. I may give her a biggish tip on my last day if it feels appropriate.
I hadn't planned to drink tonight but having accomplished this swimming feat I wandered back towards town 5 mins to a small shop I'd seen - again, a few locals in there buying and drinking beer and it felt slightly "threatening" - not in the sense anyone is going to really have a go, but like it's a kind of local place for local people (joking, but also in a serious literal way). I asked and woman at counter said they did have beer in cans and I got three (chilled - though irrelevant as I put them in fridge when I got back anyway) Aguila at 3500 each, which feels OK - esp for a small local shop not a supermarket and buying indvidually not a six pack or whatever. I may have one when I finish writing this up.
So I then came back to hostel, had a shower (which I obviously mostly didn't need, but perhaps good to get chlorine off and I wanted to cut my nails so seemed a good idea to soak them slightly) - which was warm-ish (suicide shower) BTW, nice but not necessary - and did cut my nails and then I think I came to sit out here on my bench (and I've seen no one except the presumed owner woman and the odd dog all the time I've been out here - but it is nice and tranquil etc) and started looking at Panama-Bogota refundable flight as already noted.
I do need to look into Colombia-Panama flight and I may do that in a bit. A quick look at guide book while killing time at hostel this morning suggests that canyon is mainly a day trip from either San Gil or Bucaramanga, there's a park with a cable car ("must do") and some zipline stuff ("maybe, but not too fussed" is my take), rather than it being a town or whatever you go stay in. Not saying there isn't a town, but I don't think I really "need" to try to stay there.
I suspect a day trip from San Gil would have been marginally easier than from Bucaramanga, but I was occupied all the time I was there and the hassles of staying in San Gil another two nights to visit it from there would be more than the hassle of just visiting from Buc. So while I need to think about this, and flight prices may affect my departure date anyway, it may be that this canyon is merely a "priority" day trip during my 3/4 days in Buc and not something I actually need to push back my departure for.
I also had quick look re getting to Buc airport and there are taxi colectivos from somewhere central. I think it's a pretty big place and I don't necessarily want to be miles from general attractions, but as my priorities in Buc are this canyon day trip (needing bus), getting stuff printed (if I don't do it here) pre-flight and getting to the airport, I probably want to pay attention to hostel location in Buc and if possible choose somewhere convenient for both buses and these taxi colectivos. (If my flight is super early I may be forced to get hostel to book me a taxi. But if I have time in hand, I can try for taxi colectivo and then go back to hostel and ask them to call me a taxi if it falls through.)
1958 OK, enough writing. Gonna go get myself a beer and try to sit here and just relax. This is the trouble with "big" and esp international hops like Panama and back - the prep work does eat into the time and emotional reserves of "yeah, on holiday, no rush, just sit here and chill this evening" . There's often a bit of that in terms of "where will I go/what will I do tomorrow?" and "what about bus/accom for next hop?" , but that is a bit less "serious" - prices and stress are lower and if you fuck up it's less of a big deal.
2000 Going for beer!
2017 Having beer. Nice enough but not orgasmic.
Wrt that canyon the "optimal" solution would probably have been to stayed an extra day at same hostel in San Gil (poss stealing that day back from Barichara, as I would have spent the day going from there), but I had already booked this and didn' [biggish black dog - so there are three, and two biggish - just wandered up and sniffed at me a bit but didn't seem too upset and it has just wandered off, I said hi but didn't touch it - both big dogs barking now but presumably it is nothing to do with me, except for making me *slightly* edgy they seem fine with me sitting here] didn't read about this until this morning and it's not a huge deal. If I had extended same place one extra day would be enough, whereas if I go back to San Gil just to do this visit I'd really need two nights. So going from Buc is the way to go, I think.
FWIW the skin on back of left hand started peeling in that slightly gross but slightly fascinating way the other day. It has mostly come off/I have mostly pulled it off now, I think swimming may have helped get last bits off. Back of right hand shows slight signs of peeling but nowhere near as much, maybe it didn't get quite as badly burned as left hand.
At risk of stating obvious, no lifeguard at the pool but I wasn't too concerned anyway - barring major crowds I would have swum along the wall, and I am more-or-less competent anyway though I guess always risk of accidents or panic - and once I got in and found it wasn't deep anywhere it was even less of a concern. It is of course possible I'd swim smack bang into the wall - I don't go terribly fast, but fast enough for it to bloody well hurt, especially when doing backstroke and I can't see where I'm going - and knock myself out and drown, but I was careful, if only because it's damn painful even if I don't knock myself out. :-)
It was vaguely weird not having a shallow end though.
2038 Stripy kitten came up to me and had a fuss. Then it growled and white woolly dog chased it off. But white woolly dog now sitting by me very amiably and having a bit of a stroke.
Had a couple of jam ring pastry things. May go get another beer in a minute.
2044 Got beer. Woman (owner?) singing along with a song playing distantly which I recognise ("me acompanaras... mi camino... el corazon... mi destino... no quedo... atras" - it's *very* famous but I can't name it) and which is oddly cool. This is like on a radio in the owner's part or something, not on a sound system out here on terrace/balcony, so it's distant and slightly tinny. Sort of cool though.
Kitten wants to play but I'm edgy about getting scratched. Woolly dog seems to like me and has come to sit by me.
Trying to vaguely chill and vaguely think things through. Wrt tomorrow I plan to walk along the "edge" of town where OM shows a number of lookout symbols, that plus ideally a swim will be plenty.
2052 Trying to google song, it might be "Eres mi destino" but the original seems to be in English by Paul Anka. None of the versions I looked at briefly on YT had the mariachi-ish flavour of the version I just heard (and I am not certain the words were the same).
Let's actually open the beer.
2056 Did see a shop with a sign on counter saying "se vende hormigas culonas" as wandering round earlier. Not sure if I want to try this or not, but anyway. (I happened to see the bit in the guide book about this, so - I might have worked it out anyway - I know what this is, it's 99% certainly the same thing Tim told me about and showed me his photos of.) Gut feeling is - though it's not a huge factor - these are likely to be cheaper in Bucaramanga than Barichara.
They still seem to have Christmas decorations up here at accom. This seems very common. I have a feeling I may have observed it before (in Chile??) and maybe it's a general Latin American thing. I don't know, it does feel a bit weird at the end of January though. (El Original Arroz Paisa had some Christmas decorations up, for example, and there were still some big Christmas models in Parque El Gallineral, and in general it's pretty common.)
2105 Wrt taking money out earlier I did wonder if I should get less so I'm not carting quite a valuable chunk of Colombian cash round on top of quite a valuable chunk of USD (as my day-to-day reserve and way to amortise cash machine fees) in Panama, but I figured it's OK. I also still have about a week in Colombia - albeit I'm effectively paying for four days' accommodation in that week/eight days with cash I had before the withdrawal today. While I don't need hundreds, I also don't want to be trying to skimp and carry "just enough" to cover my needs when I land in Colombia after the boat trip. A big part of the feeling of "comfort" I expect to have when landing back in Colombia in Swhatsit with the nearest cash machine a bus+once-a-day boat away is that I'm relatively flush with Colombian cash and don't need to worry. Also, if I try to estimate over-precisely I risk not having enough and having to do another withdrawal before I fly out. Ultimately it's not ideal but feels better to err on side of having more money than I might need - as has been observed before, if I lose my pack the money is going to be a pisser but the loss of everything else is going to be much more significant.
Saw "Old Parr" in Nona's Bread. I have definitely seen this all over the place (just in Colombia or other places in LA? I suspect it was prominent in CR too) and I can't remember for sure but I think it's not something commonly seen back home. At some point - certainly not now, when I'd have about a week to consume the bottle (I can't fly with it, natch) - I should maybe buy a 35cl bottle of this just to try it, have the odd shot-equivalent at night and gradually drink it solo (unless of course I meet anyone to share it with). Ditto I maybe could/should buy a small bottle of aguadiente. I will shelve this idea til I get to Panama but if there's Old Parr or something local there I may buy a small bottle of it.
(I generally prefer to drink beer to spirits, but given I'm not drinking a lot and not going out in the evening in general, I don't think it would be a practical or health concern to be having a glass or so of spirits "some nights" .)
2119 I am thinking four nights in Buc is probably OK. First night is "after arrival", so I hope to have wandered a bit and got food but won't see much. That gives three full days. Without checking guidebook, one to go up the hill with Jesus statue and viewpoint (Tim mentioned this *but said it was closed*, so need to check, and it *may* be in my guidebook), one for a daytrip to canyon and one for (if I haven't got it done in Barichara) scooting around finding an internet cafe type place where I can print out my flight reservations (Bog-home, Panama-Bog) and my actual flight ticket for Buc-Pan ready for the flight, and we could say that same day - if necessary - is also used for finding where taxi colectivo to airport go from.
I am sleeping on this before even looking at tickets. Prices etc may influence me to stay a day longer or push it and leave a day earlier. It would be nice to have a day in hand for " emergencies" pre-flight, but I don't want to waste time excessively (and I may on cost grounds, as well as perhaps social hopes, want to be in a dorm in Buc, and then I'd probably splurge on a private - tho maybe in a hostel, but easy access via metro from airport and easyish access to bus terminals to get out are important factors - for my two nights in PC on arrival - so if I am in a dorm, five nights might be slightly overdoing it, tho not nec a big deal). If I did depart a day "early" I would at least have my flight booked and would prob be able to get printing done here in Barichara. (I don't know if I need *anything* printing, but given the general bureaucracy with return flights from Panama it feels safer to have printed documentation of the return flights.)
2133 Just finished second beer. Quietly OK but not "wow" , and will leave the third for another night. Had a sugar bread biscuit thing (one of the snacks I got for 2k each), OK, a bit dry but sort of nice. May have another. Pleasantly warm but not hot out here, next to no breeze, crickets going fairly loudly and competing with (I infer) shouts from people playing football (or basketball? I did see a court when I was swimming - I hear bouncing, but it sounds vaguely football-ish to me) on nearby sports ground (right by pool).
It does and doesn't feel late. I'm slightly surprised it's half nine, but in contradictory ways - it feels like the evening has hardly started and where has the time gone, but then it also feels like I "ought" to be moving to bed. Given I have some privacy I may "go to bed" but actually watch a bit of YT with no active intention to go to sleep straight away. If I'm up 9-10ish tomorrow I think that's fine, I will see as many of those mirador type points (there may also be a waterfall) as time and walking energy allow. I do hope to swim but if I don't that's fine - it would be good to swim at least twice and ideally three times during my four nights here, given I obviously don't know when I'll get another opportunity.
2148 It is nice enough out here, but I'm not actively enjoying it, so to speak, and may be milking it a little. I have had a bit of a think about flight to Panama as noted above - and I do need to remember that even if I find myself not doing everything I would have liked to do before I go, that's a shame but not end of world - and I think I have the basic plan down but I will sleep on it (and perhaps chew over it while at viewpoints etc tomorrow) and maybe look to book (and make final decision on dates taking price into account) tomorrow night. I think I am going to go in and "drift" towards bed. It would be absolutely fine if I didn't go to sleep until midnight or later, given my late-ish aspirations wrt getting up and the fact that if I truly felt I wanted to/enjoyed it, sleeping even later would not be a problem tomorrow (whereas today I had to be up to checkout, albeit hardly early, and the day before I had to be up in time to get over to JC by 10).
2158 Room has fly screens on windows. I may open them once I'm in bed for ventilation, though this isn't ideal for privacy as I am on ground floor.
It's slightly warmer in here than outside (I shut window shutters earlier when I had a shower) but not stifling. A fan would be nice but not as essential as some reviews (maybe at different times of year?) made out - I think it's more comfortable in here without fan than with one in dorm last night.
0124 Finally in bed. Gorged on remaining snacks too. Never mind...
K1 batt only 44% so I may risk leaving it in dorm to top up a bit.
Slept OK but not brilliantly. Tim was in dorm when went back last night, spoke to him a bit - he'd been into another hostel and met a Colombian girl and was going hiking with her in a few days and is therefore moving to that hostel tomorrow. Lucky git. :-) Though TBH I'd probably have been super reticent had some Colombian (male or female) proposed going for a hike.
I will go shove K1 on charge and do a bit more packing. Checkout 11 and plan to hang on til then.
1910 On bench outside room at Barichara accom. Been fiddling with refundable flights from Panama to Bogota and writing pitiful WA messages to Rab asking for advice for about an hour. :-)
On the whole today has gone fairly well.
They decided to clean the only bathroom at hostel just as I was about to leave and I really needed to go given how much I'd drunk that morning. I wasn't in a rush as such but I was irrationally worried they'd claim I'd stayed past check out and kick up a stink. I hovered around til about quarter past and then asked the owner woman cleaning if I could use toilet and she said yes.
Walk to terminal hot but took it steady and not insanely hot. Got on bus no problem, couple of probably Dutch tourists sat in front of me and a few locals. Bus left almost immediately (there's one every 20 mins I think) and paid when got off - 7k. Bus dropped us in main plaza and 99% sure that's where to get a bus back.
(Jumping ahead, I noticed during wandering later in day there's a bus company office off main plaza and I asked permission to take a photo of their timetable jic. They have a direct bus to Bucaramanaga but I think it runs at arse o'clock in the morning - before dawn - and frankly I suspect I'm better off getting a bus to San Gil, trogging from local to long-distance terminal there and getting one of the ultra-frequent SG-Buc buses there.)
Apart from one wrong turn which OM rapidly corrected, I walked down to new accom no trouble - it is a smidge out of town but nothing insane and while maybe a hostel hostel would have been chance-of-socialising, it feels good to have a very decently priced private room. They didn't even ask my name when I've arrived, owner chap just waved me into my room and I still haven't paid despite mentioning it a couple of times. Minor annoyance is that he told/asked me to use the small bunk bed instead of the double - it's a quad double bed+bunk room, which I have to myself - but for the money I'm not making a fuss. (It works out about USD15/night, I think. Guide book - not that I trust it - makes out Barichara is expensive for budget people like me and I am here over the weekend too FWIW.)
I had to grab the owner when I saw him a bit later to ask for the wifi password and a sheet for my bunk, and later (after going into town and coming back) managed to find him eventually to ask if there was a refrigerator I could put a bottle of water in, at which point he showed me upstairs kitchen. So he seems super accommodating but has arguably been a smidge slack about actually showing me round. All sorted in the end though.
The pool is just a small plunge pool as expected. There are at least three smallish cats here - two have let me stroke them - and at least two and maybe three dogs. One dog is a white woolly one (no staying power, I assume :-) ) which has let me stroke it, the other one or two are larger and a bit inclined to go barking at stuff occasionally (and one of the reviews - just one - mentions problems with one of the dogs) but at least one of them has had a calm sniff at me as I sit here and I'm not too worried about them. The grounds are largish and quite nice (nothing compared to that hotel in Nuevo Arenal, but nice) but not so enormous that I can easily visualise myself trogging across a vast expanse of scrubby ground between street and my room with the owners nowhere in site and a dog getting stroppy with me.
So I went into town for a wander and food, stopping in at very nearby pool to have a chat with woman at booth - 10k, changing facilities, no need to wear shower cap, open IIRC 930-1800 every day.
The town is undeniably pretty, lovely views into the distance (though I have this irrational feeling it ought to be all snow-capped mountains). I did get something of a "mad dogs and Englishman" vibe wandering round, it is hardly deserted but you get off the main plaza and a lot of streets are empty and just shut up houses and the occasional car or tuk-tuk (first time I think I've seen those on this trip).
This doesn't feel a super cheap town - which, for example, is likely to avoid casual indulgence in baked goods, empanadas and the like. I wandered a bit trying to find somewhere to eat and eventually stumbled on Mi Linda Barichara, although there was no menu outside it looked like some locals were eating there and I went in (though what I hoped was a menu on a lectern was actually a bible) and saw a "por favor cancele en caja" (something like that; not checked grammar) sign which all seemed reassuringly down to earth so I took a punt and sat down and got a menu and the prices were OK if not amazingly good. I had a reasonably competent chat with the helpful waitress and got a lomo de cerdo with rice, undressed (just lemon and salt) salad, a chunk of probably fried yucca (vaguely like a white banana chunk) and some vaguely refried beans but not quite stuff which I carefully tasted and which turned out to be quite nice. Also a meat/vegetable soup beforehand. 30k for the food and 3k for a nice, not tiny but not huge limonada tradicional. Minor glitch when I went to pay, I handed over 50k and got 12k notes+as it turned out 2k change and this didn't seem right so I asked (nicely, I think) and although it feels a little odd (this has not happened before, but this is a touristy place and this is probably the most "upmarket" restaurant I've been in) I *think* the extra was a service charge/"tip". I had been intending to tip 3k anyway - though I didn't see a tip jar - so while this feels (but may not be) vaguely scuzzy, at worst they've tricked me out of money I was going to give them anyway. Barring a bad experience, I expect this is going to be my go-to place for main meal here.
I had taken Barclaycard Rewards card out with me in the intention of getting cash - I have plenty, but I took the last 50k note in my main stash out this morning to put it aside to pay the bill here with - and there was a Banco Agrario (sp) on plaza and I used the machine no fuss to withdraw 1.4k for a tolerable 22k fee. I do wonder - but not sure - if using a credit card offers extra protection in the event of a dispute. But I mainly used this card as I don't want two disputes on with Starling at once, and haven't put new funds in Starling, and since the BR card worked well in VdL it feels like the go-to card. Anyway, I did that before wandering to see the place and find a restaurant - maybe silly but it was broad daylight and this place feels ptetty safe - so after I ate I popped into the MLB bog and stashed the cash in my hidden pouch until I could get it home.
Having "solved" the affordable food problem I felt much better about the place. I popped into the church ("templo") on the main square, dropped 1k in change in the box and took a few photos - really quite attractive (as most of the churches here are) and of course also quite cool. (It's hot but not intolerable on the streets, and quite nice in the shade.)
Tried to wander round a bit for exercise but also a bit worked up about the prospect of swimming ("excitement" - too strong a word - plus nerves about whether I'd be able to for both sporting and practical reasons). I did wander round a bit and went into Nona's Bread on main square for an affordable but not cheap latte (5k+0.5k tip) - it was very nice though. A far cry from the 2k cafe con leche and 1k biscuits at Onzagueno though - such places may exist in the more remote streets but I suspect it's too touristy here for this to be super common.
I went into what looked like a supermarket to buy water and maybe some post-swimming snacks, but they seemed to sell no water at all, let alone the 5l size I hoped to get. I asked (it felt slightly awkward, but maybe I imagined it) staff and they said no, they didn't sell water.
I wandered a bit and found a small shop with a table and a couple of guys drinking beer and although as often case everything was unpriced I asked and some bread-ish snacks and a litre bottle of water were 2k each, which seemed tolerable, so I got a litre of water and two different bags of the snacks. Was offered a carrier bag, I asked if it was free - which the guy didn't seem to understand at all - but he gave me one anyway and I only paid 6k, so yay, I got a free carrier bag! Take that eco-fascists!
Walked back to hostel, rinsed swimming trunks just to make sure they weren't going to turn the pool dirty (they were fine, but you never absolutely know with this "swimming hole" type water I guess) and washed 3 sets uw. I managed to see owner walking past and he gave me the sheet I'd asked for and I asked about refrigerator (I said "refrigerador" cos I thought it was more Latin American-y, but he said "nevera?" , so I should have just gone with that in first place).
I was hanging round a bit but about 1630 I went to pool - didn't time it properly, but it is probably 2-3 mins walk. So I left virtually everything extraneous in room - trouser belt, both phones, most of my money, etc - to reduce worries about losing stuff.
Could hear music and shouts as approached but manfully carried on, hoping (probably partly true) these were coming from adjacent sport ground. Woman at desk very pleasant, was an old guy sitting outside booth who I awkwardly wished good afternoon to, woman pointed to changing room (dark and not super slick but not disgusting or anything) and said she would look after my stuff. So I changed and gave her my bag and shoes and went to pool.
A group of about five (not necessarily that young) probably locals sitting at tables near-ish pool - no idea if they paid - and playing music (quite Colombian-y and atmospheric in a way, not "threatening" type music as maybe some kinds of rap or whatever could be) and I felt a bit awkward but the pool itself was empty and I figured I just had to ignore them.
I had timed it about right and after maybe first 5-10 mins there was no direct sun on me, and very little even to start with, so didn't have to worry about sunburn. Water not actually "wow, this is warm" but certainly not cold, probably as warm if not warmer than indoor pools in London. (This is obviously an advantage of going at end of day, but given they don't open til 930 there is no way I'm going in morning as that's 3.5h after sunrise and chances are I'd risk getting burned.)
Side of pool said 1.6m but it is obviously not as it came up to my neck if I stood flat-footed. I was a bit cautious getting in but it turns out the entire pool is the same depth - no shallow or deep end. The odd floating leaf and dead insect but not particularly unexpected in an outdoor pool and the water (while I didn't notice a major chlorine smell) presumably clean etc.
So I did swim and no one molested or spoke to me. I had the entire pool to myself most of the time, as I was on verge of getting out I noticed one guy over the other side but I hadn't even seen him getting in. Apart from a couple who left the group playing music not long after I started who gave me a thumbs up, no one hassled me or paid me any attention at all.
Was maybe in water 25-30 mins but for me that's not bad. When I got out and went to booth to get my stuff, there were about 7-8 guys sitting round drinking beer - the woman there (officially or not) clearly serves beer and it acts as a little mini social club . Felt a bit awkward wearing just swimming gear but not a problem as such. Went and got changed - there may have been showers but I wasn't fussed and as I was barefoot I didn't want to go into the "baño" side of the changing room - and left no trouble. Was half wondering if I should tip the woman - was thinking 2k - for looking after my stuff but wasn't sure. I had it ready but as there was a crowd of people sitting round and she was serving someone I just said goodbye and left.
I vaguely plan to go back most/all of the next three days and we'll see how it goes. I may give her a biggish tip on my last day if it feels appropriate.
I hadn't planned to drink tonight but having accomplished this swimming feat I wandered back towards town 5 mins to a small shop I'd seen - again, a few locals in there buying and drinking beer and it felt slightly "threatening" - not in the sense anyone is going to really have a go, but like it's a kind of local place for local people (joking, but also in a serious literal way). I asked and woman at counter said they did have beer in cans and I got three (chilled - though irrelevant as I put them in fridge when I got back anyway) Aguila at 3500 each, which feels OK - esp for a small local shop not a supermarket and buying indvidually not a six pack or whatever. I may have one when I finish writing this up.
So I then came back to hostel, had a shower (which I obviously mostly didn't need, but perhaps good to get chlorine off and I wanted to cut my nails so seemed a good idea to soak them slightly) - which was warm-ish (suicide shower) BTW, nice but not necessary - and did cut my nails and then I think I came to sit out here on my bench (and I've seen no one except the presumed owner woman and the odd dog all the time I've been out here - but it is nice and tranquil etc) and started looking at Panama-Bogota refundable flight as already noted.
I do need to look into Colombia-Panama flight and I may do that in a bit. A quick look at guide book while killing time at hostel this morning suggests that canyon is mainly a day trip from either San Gil or Bucaramanga, there's a park with a cable car ("must do") and some zipline stuff ("maybe, but not too fussed" is my take), rather than it being a town or whatever you go stay in. Not saying there isn't a town, but I don't think I really "need" to try to stay there.
I suspect a day trip from San Gil would have been marginally easier than from Bucaramanga, but I was occupied all the time I was there and the hassles of staying in San Gil another two nights to visit it from there would be more than the hassle of just visiting from Buc. So while I need to think about this, and flight prices may affect my departure date anyway, it may be that this canyon is merely a "priority" day trip during my 3/4 days in Buc and not something I actually need to push back my departure for.
I also had quick look re getting to Buc airport and there are taxi colectivos from somewhere central. I think it's a pretty big place and I don't necessarily want to be miles from general attractions, but as my priorities in Buc are this canyon day trip (needing bus), getting stuff printed (if I don't do it here) pre-flight and getting to the airport, I probably want to pay attention to hostel location in Buc and if possible choose somewhere convenient for both buses and these taxi colectivos. (If my flight is super early I may be forced to get hostel to book me a taxi. But if I have time in hand, I can try for taxi colectivo and then go back to hostel and ask them to call me a taxi if it falls through.)
1958 OK, enough writing. Gonna go get myself a beer and try to sit here and just relax. This is the trouble with "big" and esp international hops like Panama and back - the prep work does eat into the time and emotional reserves of "yeah, on holiday, no rush, just sit here and chill this evening" . There's often a bit of that in terms of "where will I go/what will I do tomorrow?" and "what about bus/accom for next hop?" , but that is a bit less "serious" - prices and stress are lower and if you fuck up it's less of a big deal.
2000 Going for beer!
2017 Having beer. Nice enough but not orgasmic.
Wrt that canyon the "optimal" solution would probably have been to stayed an extra day at same hostel in San Gil (poss stealing that day back from Barichara, as I would have spent the day going from there), but I had already booked this and didn' [biggish black dog - so there are three, and two biggish - just wandered up and sniffed at me a bit but didn't seem too upset and it has just wandered off, I said hi but didn't touch it - both big dogs barking now but presumably it is nothing to do with me, except for making me *slightly* edgy they seem fine with me sitting here] didn't read about this until this morning and it's not a huge deal. If I had extended same place one extra day would be enough, whereas if I go back to San Gil just to do this visit I'd really need two nights. So going from Buc is the way to go, I think.
FWIW the skin on back of left hand started peeling in that slightly gross but slightly fascinating way the other day. It has mostly come off/I have mostly pulled it off now, I think swimming may have helped get last bits off. Back of right hand shows slight signs of peeling but nowhere near as much, maybe it didn't get quite as badly burned as left hand.
At risk of stating obvious, no lifeguard at the pool but I wasn't too concerned anyway - barring major crowds I would have swum along the wall, and I am more-or-less competent anyway though I guess always risk of accidents or panic - and once I got in and found it wasn't deep anywhere it was even less of a concern. It is of course possible I'd swim smack bang into the wall - I don't go terribly fast, but fast enough for it to bloody well hurt, especially when doing backstroke and I can't see where I'm going - and knock myself out and drown, but I was careful, if only because it's damn painful even if I don't knock myself out. :-)
It was vaguely weird not having a shallow end though.
2038 Stripy kitten came up to me and had a fuss. Then it growled and white woolly dog chased it off. But white woolly dog now sitting by me very amiably and having a bit of a stroke.
Had a couple of jam ring pastry things. May go get another beer in a minute.
2044 Got beer. Woman (owner?) singing along with a song playing distantly which I recognise ("me acompanaras... mi camino... el corazon... mi destino... no quedo... atras" - it's *very* famous but I can't name it) and which is oddly cool. This is like on a radio in the owner's part or something, not on a sound system out here on terrace/balcony, so it's distant and slightly tinny. Sort of cool though.
Kitten wants to play but I'm edgy about getting scratched. Woolly dog seems to like me and has come to sit by me.
Trying to vaguely chill and vaguely think things through. Wrt tomorrow I plan to walk along the "edge" of town where OM shows a number of lookout symbols, that plus ideally a swim will be plenty.
2052 Trying to google song, it might be "Eres mi destino" but the original seems to be in English by Paul Anka. None of the versions I looked at briefly on YT had the mariachi-ish flavour of the version I just heard (and I am not certain the words were the same).
Let's actually open the beer.
2056 Did see a shop with a sign on counter saying "se vende hormigas culonas" as wandering round earlier. Not sure if I want to try this or not, but anyway. (I happened to see the bit in the guide book about this, so - I might have worked it out anyway - I know what this is, it's 99% certainly the same thing Tim told me about and showed me his photos of.) Gut feeling is - though it's not a huge factor - these are likely to be cheaper in Bucaramanga than Barichara.
They still seem to have Christmas decorations up here at accom. This seems very common. I have a feeling I may have observed it before (in Chile??) and maybe it's a general Latin American thing. I don't know, it does feel a bit weird at the end of January though. (El Original Arroz Paisa had some Christmas decorations up, for example, and there were still some big Christmas models in Parque El Gallineral, and in general it's pretty common.)
2105 Wrt taking money out earlier I did wonder if I should get less so I'm not carting quite a valuable chunk of Colombian cash round on top of quite a valuable chunk of USD (as my day-to-day reserve and way to amortise cash machine fees) in Panama, but I figured it's OK. I also still have about a week in Colombia - albeit I'm effectively paying for four days' accommodation in that week/eight days with cash I had before the withdrawal today. While I don't need hundreds, I also don't want to be trying to skimp and carry "just enough" to cover my needs when I land in Colombia after the boat trip. A big part of the feeling of "comfort" I expect to have when landing back in Colombia in Swhatsit with the nearest cash machine a bus+once-a-day boat away is that I'm relatively flush with Colombian cash and don't need to worry. Also, if I try to estimate over-precisely I risk not having enough and having to do another withdrawal before I fly out. Ultimately it's not ideal but feels better to err on side of having more money than I might need - as has been observed before, if I lose my pack the money is going to be a pisser but the loss of everything else is going to be much more significant.
Saw "Old Parr" in Nona's Bread. I have definitely seen this all over the place (just in Colombia or other places in LA? I suspect it was prominent in CR too) and I can't remember for sure but I think it's not something commonly seen back home. At some point - certainly not now, when I'd have about a week to consume the bottle (I can't fly with it, natch) - I should maybe buy a 35cl bottle of this just to try it, have the odd shot-equivalent at night and gradually drink it solo (unless of course I meet anyone to share it with). Ditto I maybe could/should buy a small bottle of aguadiente. I will shelve this idea til I get to Panama but if there's Old Parr or something local there I may buy a small bottle of it.
(I generally prefer to drink beer to spirits, but given I'm not drinking a lot and not going out in the evening in general, I don't think it would be a practical or health concern to be having a glass or so of spirits "some nights" .)
2119 I am thinking four nights in Buc is probably OK. First night is "after arrival", so I hope to have wandered a bit and got food but won't see much. That gives three full days. Without checking guidebook, one to go up the hill with Jesus statue and viewpoint (Tim mentioned this *but said it was closed*, so need to check, and it *may* be in my guidebook), one for a daytrip to canyon and one for (if I haven't got it done in Barichara) scooting around finding an internet cafe type place where I can print out my flight reservations (Bog-home, Panama-Bog) and my actual flight ticket for Buc-Pan ready for the flight, and we could say that same day - if necessary - is also used for finding where taxi colectivo to airport go from.
I am sleeping on this before even looking at tickets. Prices etc may influence me to stay a day longer or push it and leave a day earlier. It would be nice to have a day in hand for " emergencies" pre-flight, but I don't want to waste time excessively (and I may on cost grounds, as well as perhaps social hopes, want to be in a dorm in Buc, and then I'd probably splurge on a private - tho maybe in a hostel, but easy access via metro from airport and easyish access to bus terminals to get out are important factors - for my two nights in PC on arrival - so if I am in a dorm, five nights might be slightly overdoing it, tho not nec a big deal). If I did depart a day "early" I would at least have my flight booked and would prob be able to get printing done here in Barichara. (I don't know if I need *anything* printing, but given the general bureaucracy with return flights from Panama it feels safer to have printed documentation of the return flights.)
2133 Just finished second beer. Quietly OK but not "wow" , and will leave the third for another night. Had a sugar bread biscuit thing (one of the snacks I got for 2k each), OK, a bit dry but sort of nice. May have another. Pleasantly warm but not hot out here, next to no breeze, crickets going fairly loudly and competing with (I infer) shouts from people playing football (or basketball? I did see a court when I was swimming - I hear bouncing, but it sounds vaguely football-ish to me) on nearby sports ground (right by pool).
It does and doesn't feel late. I'm slightly surprised it's half nine, but in contradictory ways - it feels like the evening has hardly started and where has the time gone, but then it also feels like I "ought" to be moving to bed. Given I have some privacy I may "go to bed" but actually watch a bit of YT with no active intention to go to sleep straight away. If I'm up 9-10ish tomorrow I think that's fine, I will see as many of those mirador type points (there may also be a waterfall) as time and walking energy allow. I do hope to swim but if I don't that's fine - it would be good to swim at least twice and ideally three times during my four nights here, given I obviously don't know when I'll get another opportunity.
2148 It is nice enough out here, but I'm not actively enjoying it, so to speak, and may be milking it a little. I have had a bit of a think about flight to Panama as noted above - and I do need to remember that even if I find myself not doing everything I would have liked to do before I go, that's a shame but not end of world - and I think I have the basic plan down but I will sleep on it (and perhaps chew over it while at viewpoints etc tomorrow) and maybe look to book (and make final decision on dates taking price into account) tomorrow night. I think I am going to go in and "drift" towards bed. It would be absolutely fine if I didn't go to sleep until midnight or later, given my late-ish aspirations wrt getting up and the fact that if I truly felt I wanted to/enjoyed it, sleeping even later would not be a problem tomorrow (whereas today I had to be up to checkout, albeit hardly early, and the day before I had to be up in time to get over to JC by 10).
2158 Room has fly screens on windows. I may open them once I'm in bed for ventilation, though this isn't ideal for privacy as I am on ground floor.
It's slightly warmer in here than outside (I shut window shutters earlier when I had a shower) but not stifling. A fan would be nice but not as essential as some reviews (maybe at different times of year?) made out - I think it's more comfortable in here without fan than with one in dorm last night.
0124 Finally in bed. Gorged on remaining snacks too. Never mind...
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