My name is Marion Vermazen. I am a traveler, hiker, reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, YouTuber, Spanish and French language student, knitter, weaver and genealogist.
Today we traveled from San Augustin to Neiva about a third of the way to Bogota. As we went lower it got hotter and hotter and we didn’t have air conditioning. By the time we got to Nieva it was 101 and humid. At least our hotel is air conditioned.
For dinner we had a good dinner in a Cuban restaurant.
Tonight is our last night at El Monastario, our wonderful hotel near San Augustin. Duke and I discussed over dinner and agreed that this is one of the best places we have ever stayed. This is Duke at breakfast.
Today we toured a coffee farm. It is about a mile down the road from El Monastario.
First we walked through the field and watched as Hector picked some coffee.
Then he showed us how he processed and dried the coffee.
Then he husked and roasted the coffee.
Finally he ground it and brewed some for us to drink.
It tasted great and we are bringing some home.
Today we walked a mile and a half over to the entrance to the park. About half way through our walk it started to rain and we got a bit wet.
From there we caught the bus into San Augustin. We changed money, walked around exploring, and stopped for coffee.
When we first arrived in town we found the bank where the daughter of the family Duke stayed with in 1980 works. The bank was closed for lunch so we came back at two. When we got back we found our way to the manager’s office. There were several clerks outside the office and a lot of people waiting their turns.
Duke stuck his head into her office. When she was done with her customer Duke went in and showed her the pictures from 1980. She was very happy to see them and they talked for about five minutes. She insisted we go show the pictures to her mother who lives about four blocks away.
We found the house. Her sisters and mother were there and we had fun laughing and talking. It was all quite an experience.
When we were done we caught a taxi back to our hotel.
Dinner at the hotel. My appetizer was topped with a quail egg.
For our main courses we had chicken and risotto.
Today was a day of rest. Our big accomplishment was changing hotels. We liked Hostal Huaka-Yo a lot. It is where we spent the last three nights. The people were helpful and friendly. The setting was peaceful and beautiful and our room was spacious and comfortable.
When Duke was making reservations for our stay in San Augustin he couldn’t decide between two hotels, Hostal Huaka-yo and Monasterio de San Augustin. So he booked three nights at the first and two nights at the second.
Today we packed up and moved. Monasterio is beautiful and what a view.
Our room is quite luxurious although there is no wifi in the room.
Our dinner was fabulous. A gourmet feast!
Today we went for a horseback ride! We rode about eight and a half miles and visited three Archaeological sites that are more remote than the sites we visited yesterday!! It was wonderful!
It is so beautiful here, lush with wonderful views and lots of interesting flowers, crops and birds. Our guide Boliva was great and his horses were nice and calm and well behaved.
Every morning we’ve been here we have heard a loud raucous bird in the trees. If I understood our guide correctly it is a chachalaca bird. Some people even have them as pets. At one of our stops we saw one up close.
Our first stop on our ride was Purutal – La Pelota. An ancient burial site that was excavated in 1984. That’s four years after Duke was here. The statues are colored. As I understand it these are the only statues that they have found that are colored. They are located exactly as they were found.
Our second stop was at La Chiquita. We left the horses at the top and climbed down to a spectacular overlook of the Magdalena River Canyon and two waterfalls. There were carvings overlooking the canyon too.
Our third stop was El Tablón where the statues were excavated by a German archaeologist in the early 1900s. They were sent to Germany and then later repatriated. Next it was back to our hotel.
I got to practice my Spanish a lot today talking to our guide. At one point I asked what he uses for coffee when he drinks coffee at home. He said he has a few coffee bushes. He picks the coffee, roasts it, grinds it, and brews it all right before he drinks it. Our hotel told us they do the same thing for our breakfast coffee. The coffee is delicious.
Coincidentally the wife of our guide is the niece of the man Duke stayed with in 1980. The girl in the picture below from 1980 is a bank manager today!
The ride today was so tranquil and beautiful. We saw fewer than twenty other tourists!
It started raining hard after we got back to our hotel. I wanted comfort food for dinner so I had delicious Pasta carbonara and Duke had lasagne.
I haven’t been on a horse since I was in college. I’m sore and tired tonight but it was a wonderful day!
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