I spent Monday (7th) visiting the sites of Tierradentro, a second archaeological park, described in my guidebook as being well off the standard tourist trail but worth the trip. It's said that the rough ride to get here is worth it! And I had planned to visit as part of my visit in this area (the desert, San Agustin and Tierradentro). I hoped for a decent journey to get here but was ready for missed connections as I knew it was at least 3 transports to get there. In the end it was 4- the collectivo from San Agustin to Pitalito took longer than expected so I arrived at the terminal a tiny bit late to get the 10am bus. Instead I went to a place called Garzon and then onto la Plata (instead of direct) but had to wait an hour 10 minutes til it filled up. My bag had also got wet on the way to the bus terminal as it was raining and my bag was on the roof of the jeep! My rain cover kept it mostly dry but not completely. I hoped these weren't going to be bad omens for the trip! I chatted to a friendly Colombian on the first part of the journey as he had to squeeze in the middle front seat! He also kindly bought me a couple of bags of a locally produced snack so I could try it. Second transport took about 90 minutes too and didn't have to wait long to connect, but in la Plata I had approx. 90 minutes to wait, but it looked like I'd arrive before dark. The jeep transport was full! At one point there were 13 adults (incl driver) and 4 children squashed in. I'd say it would comfortably seat 11 people! The road was a bumpy, dirt road which followed the river. It was often quite narrow and on the other side of the road was the drop to the river! Luckily no mudslides but there were a number of puddles. It was a 90 minute bumpy ride but the views that I could see through a little gap at the front and the back of the jeep were great. We arrived safely and I was at my hotel before dark. There was a girl here who I'd met in Salento so we chatted about where we'd been and had a nice dinner at the hotel. I was asleep by 9.30 and slept nearly 12 hours despite the heavy rain which woke me now and then. I set out later than planned because of the rain but by then it had stopped which was good.

After breakfast I set off to walk to the museums, and had a look around them, then started the walk up to some of the tombs. The area is known for its tombs which are believed to date between 600 and 800 years ago. Not much is known about the people but the tombs would have contained the ashes and remains of the people. To enter the tombs you go down massive stone steps, which I at times found really hard to get up and down. In each one at the bottom of the steps were the chambers which are supported by columns. Some have geometric designs etched, chiselled and painted within them. There are faces on some of the columns and paintings within the chamber (various designs). Interesting to see and a guide explained that the more colour and more paintings the higher up you would have been in society. These are secondary tombs so it is where the urns were put once the corpses had decomposed in the primary tombs. The bones were put into urns which were placed in the chambers- they told me that a family would be put together in one tomb. The tombs were pretty awkward to get in and out of- the stone steps were really big and quite small spaces to get in and out of. The walk I did took 3 hours total and took in the tombs of Alto de Segovia and Alto del Duende and the statues at El Tablón. It was about 2 hours uphill and not for the first time in my trip I wished I was fitter! It was hard work walking uphill! The views were great though as the surrounding countryside is beautiful. I started to enjoy it more once I was on the flat! I was too tired to walk any further so missed out the third lot of tombs that I was going to go to and my knees were really hurting. Had a wander to the village of San Andres de Pisimbalá which is right next to the hotel, it's a tiny village! The church is very pretty, a white building with a thatched roof. Then had a chat with a guy in a shop- more good Spanish practice! Dinner time now and chatting with a couple of other travellers- I am planning on getting the 6.30am bus tomorrow!