I am writing this blog the day before my birthday and just like last year I was abroad in Pai, Thailand, I am sick and decided to stay alone. All Gods plan?
Day 1
Took a leisure breakfast at the guesthouse before heading to town.
I decided to go eat at the fish place again with someone I met in Salento
The evening striked earlier than I could remember.
The heat has worn me down quickly and in a minute I was in bed in my next hostel. Switching hostels made the day less productive.
Day 2
Hiking day – got up early at the breakfast table to organize with a few mates to hike up the nearby crosses early.
The ascend was no easy job, not only it was steep with the heat and humanity that just made extra challenging
With a short break, we started descending (the girls had a Salsa class at 1pm, which was also why we were kinda sprinting up)
I hung out at the hostel for a bit before meeting up with a Dutch from the previous guesthouse for a late lunch and happy hours. Unfortunately, he’s a vegetarian which I didn’t know before (I wasn’t expecting a mid aged man was also following the trend). This made my choice of restaurant extra awkward
Later I met up with a German from my Medellin’s school. A lovely lad. Ridiculously smart & wise especially given he’s only 19.
Later we made dinner. My mate forced me to make Kung Pao Chicken. The French tagged along, though we probably should have charged him
Next day I decided to head down to Popoyán. I probably would have stayed a bit longer if I knew the German would join me for the same hostel. We actually ended up meeting up for the 3rd time again.
Day 3
I think I was the only obvious foreigner, and the bus driver let me sit at the captain’s seat for better viewing.
The weather in Popoyán was quite to my like, it’s just perfect. Warm during the day and cools off at night. I decided to walk half an hour from the bus station to my accommodation. The city actually felt quite safe. Which explains why there are 17 presidents of Colombia that originated from the city.
Quickly checked into my hostel where it’s probably the cheapest private room I’ve ever had ($7). It has a kitchen and a rooftop as well.
Following the recommendation my hostel, I went for a Menu del dia.. for 10k. that’s $2.5 for a beef tongue. Absolutely perfect.
After lunch, there was a short shower and it ended up clearing the sky with rainbows
I ended up going to my be loved Exito for some grocery shopping for the night.
The only downside is that the protein in the supermarket wasn’t the best. I quickly learned to buy from a nearby fresh market. It wasn’t much going on at night, but indeed perfect for resting a bit finally.
Day 4
Woke up relatively early to walk up to the local fresh market which was next to the hostel
Before starting my walking tour of the day
There wasn’t too many people showed up despite being so rich in history and also being on the UNESCO heritage list. Almost all buildings are easily 500-600 years old. This really puts America to shame.
Clear blue sky too
There’s also this local artisan market next to the bridge
Following the recommendation (The guide was really sweet to show up where her favorite restaurant was. Also later showed me the local church celebration where you get local Christmas deserts after I showed her I was interested in food – I wish I tipped her more for such a hospitality)
I headed back to the hostel to lay down a bit before getting a text from this lovely guide that the most important Catholic celebration was happening in town.
I am familiar with Catholicism and it’s all in Spanish and it’s beyond my grade. The indigenous performance was nice however.
I do like the fact that niños or little kids get priorities followed by teachers at the university
It was at this time, my German showed up. To wake him up from his previous night’s lack of sleep, we went for a coffee first.
As usual, we went shopping for our reunion and potluck.
Fun night.
Writing this, I have to say I definitely enjoyed being with people. It’s a tradeoff, perhaps between always doing something with someone or doing nothing with no one there’s a silver lining. Being sick forced me moving the needle towards the latter, judging by how behind I am updating my blog it’s probably needed either by force or by choice.
Day 5
We decided to take the cheapest menu del dia again.
Both dishes are amazing. The chicken nuggets and pork chunks are fried to perfection. It was actually my first time having pork done this way. The veggies were hawaiian style, not sure where the Colombians learn it from.
Later we walked to a local market in the city center where it’s a bit sketchy, nevertheless people were acting they already knew me.
I definitely took a love in the city. For one thing the only time I was called out as Asian was in a friendly tone and everyone seemed rather excited to see me. I remember this shoe vendor, just couldn’t stop saying “Nihao” even from across the street. I didn’t want this much attention and after the 4th time I had to avoid going through that street.
Another gentleman in a nice SUV also stopped half way on the street to greet us and the next day we saw each other again at the artisan market he acted he’s found his lost brother.
I must say Popoyán takes a unique role in defining my Colombian experience.
After a nap (It seems Europeans love taking naps), we went for a slightly longer trek to the crosses in town
While the hike was beautiful, the mosquitos were intense.
Last stop was to catch the sunset at a church
One more potluck. My German decided to do Nasi Goreng. I doubt he’s had an authentic version before, but I did admire his culinary curiosity.
Day 6
New people showed up, a Polish and a French. The Polish girl was initially very sweet and gave up lots of detailed recommendations about Ecuador which I was heading next. However, those two quickly turned against each other on European politics. The girl started the whole climate conspiracy, which was the first time among all hundreds of Europeans I’ve met. I am just really shocked somehow an European can fall so far right.
Nevertheless, the French I’ve met became my travel partner for the next 10 days before he eventually got sick and we had to part away. He’s a hard core environmentalist (vegetarian, refuse to fly, etc) which doesn’t happen often amongst the French, either.
After market lunch,
We went to have what I thought was weed beer… (just expensive juice, oh well)
After getting another coffee at a local theater café (I wish I took pictures, but the café was at the entrance of a traditional movie theater and it’s decorated with all the movie posters. I definitely had fun trying to reconcile the Spanish with the original English titles.
At night we decided to do German.
Schnitzel with mashed potatoes as our last meal.
Since we didn’t use the hot sauce we bought for the “nasi goreng”, I made a very drunk decision to put it over the mash potatoes. Nevertheless, our stomachs hated us the next day.
I also got pretty drunk, I guess it’s a tradition to part our ways
Day 7
Travel day to Pasto – where we’d stay our Christmas night in.
It’s a stunning drive where loads of cyclists decided to take such route.
The hostel we were staying at turned to be a French owned. The owner just came back from US since his son wanted to see the country where his dad last worked prior to coming to Pasto
It was only two of us. The other guest decided to leave town and fly to Bogota since she didn’t want to stay her Christmas alone. I definitely got lucky by self inviting to a Christmas party hosted by the French’s classmate’s family.
Stayed tuned for the Christmas chapter.
Expenses
| Week 38 | Currency: | COP | 3913 | ||
| Day | Food&Drink | Lodging | Transportation | Other (tickets/tours etc) | Day total |
| 1 | $17.04 | $13.41 | $1.95 | $9.71 | $42.12 |
| 2 | $40.54 | $13.41 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $53.96 |
| 3 | $13.93 | $7.67 | $10.89 | $0.13 | $32.61 |
| 4 | $16.49 | $7.67 | $0.00 | $8.94 | $33.11 |
| 5 | $13.29 | $7.67 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $20.96 |
| 6 | $15.84 | $7.67 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $23.51 |
| 7 | $12.52 | $9.97 | $15.33 | $0.00 | $37.82 |
| $129.66 | $67.46 | $28.17 | $18.78 | ||
| Total | Grand Total: | $244.08 |
Very nice! That’s interesting how many different types of friends you made along the way and how polarizing many are, even when they are from Europe.