Day 205, 206, 207 - San Gil - Tuesday 8th, Wednesday 9th, Thursday 10th May 2012

I can't decide which is worse - Indian bus driving skills or Colombian bus driving skills?! It's a close call! Anyway before I get to the journey part……………we miraculously we managed to get ourselves to the bus terminal, buy two tickets to San Gil and even get ourselves coffee and snacks for the journey! Our Spanish is improving!

We boarded our bus and we're most impressed by what we found - reclining seats, footrests, TV's and hardly any other passengers! Great we thought - the eight hour journey is going is whizz by. This thought lasted all of about five minutes at which point we noticed how cold it was and how everyone else on the bus seemed to have blankets. We'd heard that the buses in South America were fond of the air con but this temperature resembled Antarctica!! So eight hours later we arrived in San Gil suffering frost bite and feeling a bit queasy and moody. We caught a taxi to the lovely Hostel Le Papillion where we were greeted by the very friendly husband and wife owners. Maria is from Colombia and although speaks very little English was great at speaking slowly and using sign language to help! Sylvian is from Switzerland and spoke excellent English which was quite welcome after four days of trying unsuccessfully to communicate with people in Spanish! We checked in and hit the sack straight away to get some well needed zzzzzzzzzzzz's.

The next day we were up quite early, as we had set the alarm, and decided to explore around the town. Our hostel was about five blocks from the main square so we took a leisurely walk there for some breakfast. We found a small café which was packed with locals, so armed with our Spanish phrase book we grabbed a table. After about ten minutes we realised that they weren't serving breakfast and never do, just coffee and snacks. We were starving but the place was so nice, full of Colombian men chatting away, and we had wasted ten minutes of the waiters time with our broken Spanish so we decided to have a coffee then breakfast somewhere else. It proved to be a good idea as the coffee was brilliant, strong, but brilliant - it was so much tastier that back home and seemed much richer in flavour plus we got a little biscuit on the side so we were chuffed. San Gil is a really nice place and we sat with our coffee and just watched the Colombian world go by, Soph was getting a few funny looks as she was wearing hot pants and the café we were in was packed but all just men!! We then popped over the road for some egg ranches (poached egg in tomato, onion & tobacco sauce) and the old classic - scrambled egg on toast! Once breakfast was done we decided we needed to work some of our food off so we headed for the Cero De La Gruta. This is at the top of the main hill in the city and so we began our walk. Me, not being the best map reader in the world took us the wrong way, it was however much more fun! We ended up walking all through the undergrowth, in the mud and scrambled up the hill only to reach the top to see the path opposite!!! At the top there is a statue of Jesus and loads of flowers and places to pray and views over the city which were amazing. Soph took some pictures and we both had a little pray (got caught in the moment!) and then we noticed that it starting spitting. We didn't have an umbrella so we took shelter under a small wooden gazebo - then the rain really started and it absolutely hammered down - we were both in t-shirts and flip flops, not really prepared! We got socked and so did the local football pitch - check out the photos!! The owner of the hostel told us about a really nice restaurant in town so after a luke warm shower we headed to El Mana; here we had a three course meal and three drinks each for $20'000 COP which is about £7 - bargain and it was really nice!!

Up and out today and we both decided to start the day healthy as we always seem to eat something fried or stodgy so we headed to the fruit market- we were in for a treat!! We both ordered fruit salad from one of the little market booths but with no paw paw - we both think it tastes like vomit! When it came over it was massive, with all types of fruit, granola and covered in condensed milk - it was beautiful!! The local market is a beautiful mix of fruits, meats, clothes and metal work all being sold within a few 100 metres. Everyone's working really hard but still smiling, the kids are playing and it's really nice that we feel welcome and comfortable in their presence - we haven't seen any other tourists yet!! The market is next door to the bus station so we finished our food and took the bus to Cascadas de San Juan Curi, this is a huge waterfall about forty minutes away by bus, the journey was the bumpiest in the world but well worth it. As we arrived we could see the waterfall set amongst all the trees on the other side of the small jungle. We paid the land owned $5'000 COP and took the long winding path towards the jungle. The walk itself was great and on the way the views kept getting better and better. We crossed a small stream, then a bigger one, then a river (using the ropes provided) until we finally reached the base of the waterfall. Now I'm not sure how high it was but when I stood under it the water was hitting me with some force!! Maybe 50 -60 feet? After chilling for an hour or so we headed back, on our route back we saw butterflies the size of small birds, tobacco plants, cows, peacocks, chickens, geese and turkeys.

When the bus dropped us off in the morning it was because we asked the driver to stop at the cascadas, not because it was one of the buses stops, so we were a bit worried about how to get back. I suggested that we just wait outside and when the bus went past we'll wave it down….Anyway just as we were discussing our options a Colombia couple in their truck (who had been at the waterfall) asked if we wanted a lift - well that was what we could make out! We said we needed to get to San Gil in our best Spanish; they spoke no English and just nodded and smiled… We trusted our instincts and smiled and nodded back and jumped into the truck. Soph was speaking Spanish - "What is your name? My name Sophie! The bill please! I like desserts" - That's all then Spanish we really know!! After a while we reached their hotel as they needed to pick up their luggage, when Soph realised that they too had just got married and were on their honeymoon - lots of pointing at rings and laughing followed!! They were great and dropped us back to our hostel (if you had told me months ago that we would happily jump in a Colombia strangers car, I'd of said you were mad!!). The Colombia people we have met so far are sooo friendly and really helpful -even when none of us can understand each other!

In the late afternoon we visited Pargue El Gallineral; this is an eco-park but was pretty disappointing apart from the dog that followed / lead us around - he was like our own little guide of the park. Back at the hostel I was so hungry and remembered I had seen a pizza place in town so we headed there to eat the biggest pizza in the world and washed it down with a few beers before heading back to our hostel and bed. I swear I will never eat pizza again!!