Friday 2nd September- Curiti (visited from San Gil)

This morning I'd planned to visit the towns of Barichara and Guane. Originally I'd planned to stay there but since I'd heard accommodation was generally more expensive there I decided to stay in San Gil and do it as a day trip. Before going to have breakfast with Constance and Guillaume I was making a note of bus times etc and decided that if I was to try and do the walk between Barichara and Guane it would be best to leave earlier to do the walk before it got too hot. By chance I happened to see the Michelin guide said that a town called Curití would make a nice day trip from here so I decided to go there. It sounded like a nice town to wander in, a typical Santanderean town (Santander is the region I am currently in). The photo in a little brochure I found looked nice- a plaza with palm trees in front of the church. There are also craft shops there, I've so far avoided shops because I don't want to start buying too much too early! Anyway, after a nice breakfast we said our goodbyes- was good meeting them and it's a shame that our paths will unlikely pass again as I think they will mostly be in front of me given they are doing a similar trip but in less time. I passed on my recommendations for Peru and wished them well for the next week when they are doing some volunteer work associated with building houses but they weren't entirely sure what it would involve! I went to get the bus to Curití, imagining I'd have a wander round the town. Instead I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit a secondary school! When I arrived at the square I saw some pupils running round the square and thought they must be doing PE. I then watched as they practised a dance routine on the edge of the square. I decided to go and say that I'd enjoyed watching the students' work as I know how nice it is to hear good things about your pupils. I went over and said it to the guy I thought was the headteacher and he offered to show me around the school! As it was Friday he explained the children were all taking part in clubs- the last 2 hours of lessons on a Friday were always clubs. We went round and saw what they were doing- there was lots going on: painting, drawing, textiles-work (making toys), astronomy, sewing, gardening……in each classroom he introduced me and they were all happy to say hello! In one class they were making little gifts for a celebratory day which is coming up (not sure what!) and a girl gave it to me as a 'regalo' (present). There was a relaxed feeling about it all, but perhaps just because it's Friday clubs-time. He said it was good for the kids to be able to relax as they work really hard in lessons- which start at 6.30 (yes, 6.30!!!!) and finish at 1. He said some children travel for up to an hour from surrounding villages to get there, what an early start! After showing me round we had a chat in his office then he asked if I'd like to go and get some lunch. Two students came with us - a good opportunity for them to chat with me and I could have the chance to practise my Spanish- he also corrected me which was good- past tenses letting me down again! The pupils were interested to know how I find learning Spanish and what I think of Colombia. When I set out this morning I never imagined I'd have the opportunity to visit a school and meet yet more lovely people, what a great experience to add to my experiences of travelling, where the people you meet have such an impact on what you see/do/experience. The headteacher, Jose Luiz, even paid for all of our lunches. I then had an idea and offered to come back on Monday to either go into English classes so pupils could practise their English or I could tell them about England/school in England/etc. He said that would be great so that's what I am doing on Monday! Whilst my former colleagues return to school for the first day of the school year I'll be helping at this school……I'm looking forward to it!

When I got back I slept for a few hours then headed out for some dinner. I spotted salads on the menu at the place we had breakfast so went back there. Afterwards I popped into the supermarket to buy some fruit (what a healthy food day, no cakes today!) and took time to look at all the different fruits- there were lots of different kinds and what did I buy? Bananas and apples! There are some I've never seen; truth is not sure how you'd eat them, ha ha! Took some photos, luckily no one saw me as they might have thought it was a bit odd!