Colombia - San Andres de Pisimbala
Viernes 16 Febrero 1979 - Popayan —> San Andres de Pisimbala
Suzi & I woke ourselves up with an alarm clock (kindly lent by the nice man of Gualcala) at 4:20 am in order to catch a 5 am bus to San Andres de Pisimbala. We managed to down cafe con leche before the bus took off in the dark. The fare was 108 pesos, on a very comfortable and uncrowded autobus. What a pleasure it is to travel on such buses where one doesn’t have to fight & keep secure one’s seat!
The road was narrow & dirt/shingle and as the sky brightened I could see we were travelling through some beautiful green pastures & mountain valleys. There were healthy looking dairy cows on the paddocks and a beautiful landscape of trees dotted over the fields. The bus stopped about 7 am at a roadside cafe where just about everybody got out to have some coffee & bread. I had cafe tinto - a small cup of sweet black coffee, and pan de queso, a very tasty cheese bread.
It continued on towards Inza, through further spectacular scenery of towering green cliffs & deep valleys. This is really Andes country & it feels good to be here at last. Past Inza, the bus stopped at a sign pointing to San Andres about 9:30 am. We walked for maybe 5 km, stopping for hugos de mora (blackberry juice), and met Loid from Oaklahoma walking along the road. A Colombian who was on the bus with us, invited the three of us to stay in his house so we walkeed up to the puebla de San Andres & to his place. He said we could pay him as we like for the room. We arrived very hot & sweaty and were given some guava hugo to refreshen us.
I washed some clothes and then went to eat with Suzi. Had an enormous dinner of soup, and rice, veges etc. Suzi and I went for a wander later down a valley, across a bamboo bridge and up a hill to Alto de San Andres, where we explored about 9 caves. A guide led us down each one & lit matches in the places of most interest. Saw some remarkable markings on the walls & pilars of the caves. One cave had a beautiful design of red & black diamond pattern, as if off a modern wallpaper. There were drawings of human beings & faces in the stone & clay walls.
The caves apparently were solely burial chambers. The floor of each had a little pit where bones were found. There were also some connecting tunnels between caves. From the top of the hill we could view the whole of the San Andres valley & township perched on the slopes. A beautiful canopy of trees, red in flower, filled the valley.
Other obvious plants were banana trees & bamboo groves. As we walked back it was like coming through an enchanted forest. The whole area is so peaceful & adorned with nature’s beauty. Muy tranquilo.
Met a Venezulean guy &, his Spanish speaking English wife? in the restaurante - discussed Colombia & Venezula, etc. talked with the children at the house, showed them my C.American almanac. Watched the coffee bean husk washing off process. The guy who owns the house apparently makes his living from growing coffee.
Calculated that my birth day began at 7 am this day, equivalent to 12 midnight on the 17th in Nueva Zelandia. But I won’t be 24 until 5 am on the 17th, Colombian time. Anyway, I’m celebrating & considering my 24th birthday both today & tomorrow. Must make the most of it.
* Sabado 17 Febrero * Saturday 17th February, 1979
I have entered my 25th year in one of the most peaceful and amiable environments I have ever been in: SAN ANDRES DE PISIMBALA, tucked in a beautiful colourful valley where hummingbirds and butterflies dance among the flowers of the trees, surrounded by inspiring misty mountains which bare their giant green rock outcrops, like shoulders and knees.
The valley is painted with huge trees covered in red flowers, which are so bright and crimson when one is close to them. The amazing thing is that these trees flower for only 15 days of the year, and that time is now, the very time I should arrive for my birthday. The valley must never look more beautiful. The area is called Tierradentro meaning ‘the inner land’ - or a very inaccessable place as it once was.
I awoke to discover a little parcel beside my bed, placed by my good friend Suzi. She had given me a very thoughtful little gift - a pack of cards made in Colombia, inside a cloth bag she had sewn herself.
The next wave of kindness came when my ‘adopted’ family came into the room with not one, but two glorious birthday cakes covered in icing. The elder daughter had specially gone to the market to buy the ingredients, and had baked the cakes specially for me, during the day. I cut off slices and shared them around with everybody.
Lloyd, Susan & myself caught the local bus to Inza at 9 am. Saturday is market day in Inza, so we made the trip to check out the activity. This was a real market for the people, an exchange of fruits and vegetables, animals, and weavings. I spied some beautiful woolen ponchos but learnt that they were made in Ecuador. Took some photographs using my 135mm lens, and then we returned on the roof of another bus. The mountain scenery is so magnificent that we wanted to have a full, unimpeded view from the top.
Suzi and I explored the Museo at San Andres. They have an interesting collection of funeral pots found in the caves with some well preserved designs on them. I copied one into this book. Upstairs, were some ethological artifacts of the way of life of the Indian people here; A huge wooden machine, with wooden cogs, for squeezing the juice of sugar cane; drums & clothes. Suzi was given some coco leaves to chew, and some white powdery rock to mix in with her salivary gunk. The guide was very alert & keen to point out everything to us.
After the museum we began a 1½ hr climb to El Aguacate, the site of numerous caves on top of a high ridge, overlooking the valley of San Andres, and on the other side, Inza. We both enjoyed the climb. The air was so clean & fresh, yet not cold. The most important cave had a little roof structure over it. I went down armed with flashlight & candle & sat for a few minutes, observing some interesting designs of humanoids and/or insects.
One creature had hands with 3 fingers, 4 toed feet and a tail, with a human? face. There were also diamond patterns & snake designs. Suzi & I carried on along the ridge, past numerous caves. We were guided down a smaller ridge by a little boy whose house was just down the hill. He ran down the hill as if he could fly. We walked for a few more hours, past some hillsides & crops. Arrived back at our home about 5:30 pm.
In the evening we ate at the restaurant just down the hill from our house and met again with Venezulean couple. Suzi had bought me a bottle of Spanish wine for my birthday, which we shared amongst the 5 of us. Unfortunately it didn’t go far. Dinner was steak, rice, tomato & fried banana. We played cards & chatted for the rest of the evening.
And so ended the most excellent birthday I’ve ever enjoyed. Being with people who cared to make it special for me, made the difference.
