15-17 November

In the end I decided to wash my bag again so it was only ready and dry on Monday! On Monday I went to the mall and the cinema and had a chinese meal with a few different chinese dishes and rice, the food was tasty, apart from the rice which tasted strangely of butter! Since I was still here I decided to stay an extra day so I could go to the indigenous market in Silvia which is about an hour from Popayán. Rabea was back Monday evening so we went together. It was interesting to see the local indigenous people who had come from the surrounding area to do their buying and selling. They still dress in traditional clothes, which include a woollen type of sarong, a blue top, black bowler hat. We got some cheap fruit and veg to make dinner. As always it looked so big and brightly coloured! There seemed to be loads of different potatoes- we bought a couple of types for our dinner, made a really nice change from pasta or rice! In the afternoon I repacked my bag ready to leave to Pasto on Wednesday.

So on Wednesday I took the bus south to Pasto with Elena (a German girl I had met in Salento). It took 6 hours and was probably the worst journey I have been on here in Colombia- twisty, windy roads through the mountains with the usual overtaking! But he also seemed to drive too fast and needed to break a lot! Anyway, we got to Pasto and went for dinner where we had slices of pizza and every piece came with a cup of coke! A whole pizza cost about £8 or £9, far too much. Then we went shopping so Elena could spend her last pesos and she managed to get some hiking trainers which she wanted. The next day (Thurs) she left for Quito.

I went to the Laguna de la Cocha which is about 30 minutes from Pasto. It's Colombia's second largest lake and was a beautiful place to spend my last full day in Colombia! I went on a boat trip to the island on the lake where there is a forest to walk through. The boat went out to the lake via a waterway which had reeds on either side but was really still and the reeds, trees, houses and clouds were reflected really clearly in it. Alongside the waterway there are lots of wooden houses, some brightly coloured. On the little boat were 3 friendly Colombians so I walked with them through the forest and then afterwards had lunch with them. What a fitting way to end my trip in Colombia- I feel really lucky to have met so many so many friendly, genuine, helpful Colombian people who have been a big part of my experiences here. Lunch was delicious- the trout was the best I have had as not only did it taste great it also had no bones which makes it so much more enjoyable!