Welltravbrit's Colombia - Statues, Tombs, and Carnaval!
Feb 17th, 2016, 05:56 PM
#21
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I forgot to add this link to the post on the Aguacate hike along with photos of the views and the track. It gives you a much better sense for the walk than my description above. It was all a bit of a scramble in parts and I fell and torn my trousers as one point but we really enjoyed the opportunity to get out into the countryside and walk. There's nothing like exploring the landscape after spending so much time looking at it from a car window.
http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2016/...hiking-to.html
Tierradentro was a great destination for us because it combined a nice place to stay, congenial company, archeological sites and walking - no wonder I like it so much! Highly recommended for those who like any or all of this list of things!
http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2016/...hiking-to.html
Tierradentro was a great destination for us because it combined a nice place to stay, congenial company, archeological sites and walking - no wonder I like it so much! Highly recommended for those who like any or all of this list of things!
Feb 18th, 2016, 09:03 AM
#23
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for the encouragement and so glad it seems useful crellston, we've certainly looked at your trip reports over the years, particularly for Asia I think 
.
Being more entertaining than LP is a pretty low bar, but I'm glad to say I pass! I have to say I generally find the Rough Guides more amusing!
In Tierradentro, La Portada seems like the nicest place to stay by far. We booked by email and paid the morning we left so it was all very relaxed but they were fully booked. The meals were ridiculously cheap. A simple three course supper served with fresh mango juice was about $3. There is a municipal hotel with a pool down by the museum but when we went by hoping for some lunch the place was devoid of people. Finally we found someone who told us there was no food. Well, no food being produced by the hotel as we did see guests bringing food and cooking equipment into their rooms!
There are lots of options in San Augustin though to me all the nicest places are a little out of town. I looked at a place run by a Frenchman that looked charming but we wanted to be near the archeological park and I didn't fancy the bamboo walls. However, it looks attractive, gets good reviews and he was very nice by email, so it might be another good option.
.Being more entertaining than LP is a pretty low bar, but I'm glad to say I pass! I have to say I generally find the Rough Guides more amusing!
In Tierradentro, La Portada seems like the nicest place to stay by far. We booked by email and paid the morning we left so it was all very relaxed but they were fully booked. The meals were ridiculously cheap. A simple three course supper served with fresh mango juice was about $3. There is a municipal hotel with a pool down by the museum but when we went by hoping for some lunch the place was devoid of people. Finally we found someone who told us there was no food. Well, no food being produced by the hotel as we did see guests bringing food and cooking equipment into their rooms!
There are lots of options in San Augustin though to me all the nicest places are a little out of town. I looked at a place run by a Frenchman that looked charming but we wanted to be near the archeological park and I didn't fancy the bamboo walls. However, it looks attractive, gets good reviews and he was very nice by email, so it might be another good option.
Feb 18th, 2016, 10:35 PM
#26
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'm off to Ireland next week so I really need to wrap this up, though it will take me a few weeks to post everything on the blog.
We'd planned a transfer from Tierradentro to Popayan in advance because the standard option was a bus leaving at 6am. It's something I'd call a "chicken bus" (from my experiences backpacking in the early 1990's) but what in Colombia is called a "chiva", a bus with open sides and wooden slates, brightly painted with wooden benches. Lets just say I didn't relish the prospect and the "authenticity" of the experience no longer seemed necessary, particularly as I'd read we might not end up with even a hard wooden bench to sit on! So instead we'd arranged (with Cesar in San Augustin) to have the driver stay on for a couple of nights (along with his wife and small child). It made for an easy transfer and we left around 10am after a leisurely breakfast.
Once again it was a spectacular drive but this time the hilly mountainous landscape was more varied, lush tropical hills gave way to more arid territory, steep hillsides and deep valleys. The road hugged the mountains and the drop offs were again precipitous. At a certain point we climbed into a cooler high desert landscape with distinctive plants in a National Preserve and then we dipped down into rolling hills and agricultural country with huge fields under cultivation, mainly potatoes apparently. We passed through quite a number of towns and in one we were stopped by the military who had my husband and the driver get out of the car. The front of the vehicle was searched and both of them were given a thorough pat down though the police didn't disturb either myself or the driver's wife in the back of the car.
This is taken from an upcoming blogpost, link to the photos to follow....
After about four hours we arrived in Popayán which fell conveniently between Tierradentro and Pasto on our itinerary and it was a great stop for a couple of nights. We didn't do too much, we wandered around, walking into a colonial church here and there, strolled around the main square and generally relaxed, I even had a manicure. The central colonial core of the town is quite large and the historic buildings are painted white with nice wrought iron lamps on each street.
We were there over the holidays (early January) and the bad news was many of the restaurants and several of the house museums were closed. However, we were lucky enough to stumble upon the new Fiesta Des Reyes (or King's holiday) for Epiphany (January 3-6th, 2016) which included a food festival celebrating the traditional foods of different regions in Colombia. In addition to the food stalls there was a nearby stage set up in the central square with live music in the evenings. Luckily this was all one one block from our hotel!
The Hotel Plazuela was very reasonably priced (we paid around $40 per night though I think it was a little less when they removed the hotel tax) It's housed a colonial building built around two internal courtyards and though the rooms aren't large they have been tastefully modernized and we found it a comfortable place to stay.
The other obvious choice in town was the Dann Hotel Monasterio . I'd avoided it because it had lukewarm reviews. However, it is a stunningly lovely colonial building with large cloisters and looked nicer in person than it had looked on the web. Though I didn't see the bedrooms I enjoyed my cup of tea as we relaxed there one afternoon. This is clearly the fanciest place in town, though it's still very reasonable by US standards.
We made it to the museum of religious art which is housed in yet another colonial building. During the colonial period Popayán was an important religious center and apparently their Easter celebrations are still attract great devotion and are particularly large.
In the evenings we made our way to the central square to see the lights, listen to the music and to eat at the food stalls which had been put up for the fiesta. I have to say the Colombians take their Christmas lights VERY seriously! As we found everywhere in Colombia people were very friendly and curious to know where we were visiting from, and what we thought about Colombia. A friendly journalist tried to persuade us to come on his radio show but we begged off, due to our non-existent Spanish, I did the same with a tv presenter in Pasto! Sometimes it's advantages not to speak a language too well!
There was a large police presence for the fiesta and it was a reminder that as you go south into Cauca Province you are in what was a FARC stronghold The most recent attacks in this area were on the military in 2014, right before the ceasefire and there were a number of deadly car bombs in Popayán in 2011. Clearly the area has been heavily militarized from both the left and the right and the conflict has been particularly destabilizing in the rural areas where hundreds of families abandoned their already marginal farms.
However, the ongoing peace process promises the possibility that the FARC and other "guerrilla" or "paramilitary" groups will transform into a viable political (rather than military) forces and that a Truth Commission will examine atrocities on all sides. In Popayán we were interested to pass a government office dedicated to "Unidad para la Atencion y Reparacion Integral a las Victimas", known in English as, "The Unit for the Attention and Reparations of the Victims of Colombia". Their national website states, 'All for a New Country; Peace, Equality and Education'. Clearly reconciliation, equality and peace are difficult to achieve but the process is underway in Colombia. The Victims and Land Restitution Law allows victims of the internal conflict to claim, as stated at the UN, "comprehensive reparation, which includes: satisfaction measures, rehabilitation, compensation, restitution, and guarantees of non-repetition."
I wanted to learn more about the recent history and I was sorry we didn't have time to visit the Museo Casa de La Memoria in Medellin. I believe there's a similar museum in Bogota dedicated to honoring the victims of armed conflict.
http://www.museocasadelamemoria.org
Despite, or perhaps because of the violent history in Colombia we found people were incredibly welcoming and warm. Popayán is a university town and with a large student population it attracts an interesting crowd including quite a number of intellectuals.
One evening we bumped into a young Colombian architect who we'd met in Tierradentro (he was still recovering from the "chicken bus" ride to Popayán which was apparently as bad as I imagined) and he introduced us to a number of his friends including a Colombian poet and publisher, and Scottish teacher who has lived in Colombia for the last twenty years. If only we'd had more time in Popayán we would have taken them up on their offer to show us around. but we were heading to Pasto to catch the Negros y Blancos Carnaval.To be honest the town started to come alive to us when we met these guys and I think Popayán would have been much more impressive when seen with through their eyes which included a lot more of the cultural history of the place which we knew so little about. Perhaps next time. Regardless we really enjoyed an evening walking around the plaza and listening to music as we chatted about Colombia.
We'd planned a transfer from Tierradentro to Popayan in advance because the standard option was a bus leaving at 6am. It's something I'd call a "chicken bus" (from my experiences backpacking in the early 1990's) but what in Colombia is called a "chiva", a bus with open sides and wooden slates, brightly painted with wooden benches. Lets just say I didn't relish the prospect and the "authenticity" of the experience no longer seemed necessary, particularly as I'd read we might not end up with even a hard wooden bench to sit on! So instead we'd arranged (with Cesar in San Augustin) to have the driver stay on for a couple of nights (along with his wife and small child). It made for an easy transfer and we left around 10am after a leisurely breakfast.
Once again it was a spectacular drive but this time the hilly mountainous landscape was more varied, lush tropical hills gave way to more arid territory, steep hillsides and deep valleys. The road hugged the mountains and the drop offs were again precipitous. At a certain point we climbed into a cooler high desert landscape with distinctive plants in a National Preserve and then we dipped down into rolling hills and agricultural country with huge fields under cultivation, mainly potatoes apparently. We passed through quite a number of towns and in one we were stopped by the military who had my husband and the driver get out of the car. The front of the vehicle was searched and both of them were given a thorough pat down though the police didn't disturb either myself or the driver's wife in the back of the car.
This is taken from an upcoming blogpost, link to the photos to follow....
After about four hours we arrived in Popayán which fell conveniently between Tierradentro and Pasto on our itinerary and it was a great stop for a couple of nights. We didn't do too much, we wandered around, walking into a colonial church here and there, strolled around the main square and generally relaxed, I even had a manicure. The central colonial core of the town is quite large and the historic buildings are painted white with nice wrought iron lamps on each street.
We were there over the holidays (early January) and the bad news was many of the restaurants and several of the house museums were closed. However, we were lucky enough to stumble upon the new Fiesta Des Reyes (or King's holiday) for Epiphany (January 3-6th, 2016) which included a food festival celebrating the traditional foods of different regions in Colombia. In addition to the food stalls there was a nearby stage set up in the central square with live music in the evenings. Luckily this was all one one block from our hotel!
The Hotel Plazuela was very reasonably priced (we paid around $40 per night though I think it was a little less when they removed the hotel tax) It's housed a colonial building built around two internal courtyards and though the rooms aren't large they have been tastefully modernized and we found it a comfortable place to stay.
The other obvious choice in town was the Dann Hotel Monasterio . I'd avoided it because it had lukewarm reviews. However, it is a stunningly lovely colonial building with large cloisters and looked nicer in person than it had looked on the web. Though I didn't see the bedrooms I enjoyed my cup of tea as we relaxed there one afternoon. This is clearly the fanciest place in town, though it's still very reasonable by US standards.
We made it to the museum of religious art which is housed in yet another colonial building. During the colonial period Popayán was an important religious center and apparently their Easter celebrations are still attract great devotion and are particularly large.
In the evenings we made our way to the central square to see the lights, listen to the music and to eat at the food stalls which had been put up for the fiesta. I have to say the Colombians take their Christmas lights VERY seriously! As we found everywhere in Colombia people were very friendly and curious to know where we were visiting from, and what we thought about Colombia. A friendly journalist tried to persuade us to come on his radio show but we begged off, due to our non-existent Spanish, I did the same with a tv presenter in Pasto! Sometimes it's advantages not to speak a language too well!
There was a large police presence for the fiesta and it was a reminder that as you go south into Cauca Province you are in what was a FARC stronghold The most recent attacks in this area were on the military in 2014, right before the ceasefire and there were a number of deadly car bombs in Popayán in 2011. Clearly the area has been heavily militarized from both the left and the right and the conflict has been particularly destabilizing in the rural areas where hundreds of families abandoned their already marginal farms.
However, the ongoing peace process promises the possibility that the FARC and other "guerrilla" or "paramilitary" groups will transform into a viable political (rather than military) forces and that a Truth Commission will examine atrocities on all sides. In Popayán we were interested to pass a government office dedicated to "Unidad para la Atencion y Reparacion Integral a las Victimas", known in English as, "The Unit for the Attention and Reparations of the Victims of Colombia". Their national website states, 'All for a New Country; Peace, Equality and Education'. Clearly reconciliation, equality and peace are difficult to achieve but the process is underway in Colombia. The Victims and Land Restitution Law allows victims of the internal conflict to claim, as stated at the UN, "comprehensive reparation, which includes: satisfaction measures, rehabilitation, compensation, restitution, and guarantees of non-repetition."
I wanted to learn more about the recent history and I was sorry we didn't have time to visit the Museo Casa de La Memoria in Medellin. I believe there's a similar museum in Bogota dedicated to honoring the victims of armed conflict.
http://www.museocasadelamemoria.org
Despite, or perhaps because of the violent history in Colombia we found people were incredibly welcoming and warm. Popayán is a university town and with a large student population it attracts an interesting crowd including quite a number of intellectuals.
One evening we bumped into a young Colombian architect who we'd met in Tierradentro (he was still recovering from the "chicken bus" ride to Popayán which was apparently as bad as I imagined) and he introduced us to a number of his friends including a Colombian poet and publisher, and Scottish teacher who has lived in Colombia for the last twenty years. If only we'd had more time in Popayán we would have taken them up on their offer to show us around. but we were heading to Pasto to catch the Negros y Blancos Carnaval.To be honest the town started to come alive to us when we met these guys and I think Popayán would have been much more impressive when seen with through their eyes which included a lot more of the cultural history of the place which we knew so little about. Perhaps next time. Regardless we really enjoyed an evening walking around the plaza and listening to music as we chatted about Colombia.
Feb 19th, 2016, 09:27 AM
#27
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Here's a link to the Popayán pictures, much of the text on the blog is the same,
http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2016/...l-popayan.html
http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2016/...l-popayan.html
Feb 20th, 2016, 10:01 AM
#28
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
PASTO - "NEGROS Y BLANCOS CARNAVAL"
DAY ONE - From Popayán it was another incredible car journey (lush landscapes, high desert, precipitous drops, steep hills, curving roads and rolling agricultural hills but no puking kid) to Pasto. We had intended to take a bus but ended up taking a transfer which made the whole thing very easy. It seems that ease was the theme of this trip!
The attraction in Popayan was the multi day carnival known as the Negros y Blancos Festival which falls over Epiphany and culminating in two days of event and a final carnival parade. Symbolizing racial harmony the first day we were there was all about marking people in the street with black paint that is smeared onto your face and the second day was dominated by, you guessed it, a symbolic white, in foam and flour. This is a messy business and I don't like mess, particularly right in my face.
In a way we couldn't quite believe we'd picked coming here. I don't like crowds or big events, I generally avoid anything involving a mass event, I never go to large concerts and I wouldn't think to go to a parade at home. But there was something about this event that looked interesting, local and engaging and sure enough it was great. You really have to see the pictures to get a sense for both the chaos of the flour and foam and the scale of the floats and the parade and I'll be posting them on my blog in the next week.
The first night we nervously joined the fray wearing plastic ponchos we'd bought in the single rainstorm we encountered in Popayan. What a godsend they were. One the advice of some people we met we also bought cheap ski googles which were on sale everywhere to protect our eyes. Looking like a pair of low rent bandits in giant plastic condoms we set out for the two main squares where there were large stages with bands performing.
It was great, complete chaos but exhilarating. if you hung back people would leave you alone but you had to watch out for stealth attacks. We were of course defenseless because the foam cans looked like an environmental disaster and we weren't going to buy them! Ironic given that we'd blown our carbon footprint flying to Colombia, and avoiding public transport when we got there, but I guess there's no logic to be found here!
When we got to the main square we sat on a low wall and listened to an incredible Tropicale band on the main stage. Because it's a large square it was easy enough to find a quieter spot. The squares were cordoned off and while all the events were free you had to pass through a security check to get in.
For the most part everything was very good natured and only a few people tried to smear the black paste on our faces, most pausing slightly for ascent before they went ahead.
DAY ONE - From Popayán it was another incredible car journey (lush landscapes, high desert, precipitous drops, steep hills, curving roads and rolling agricultural hills but no puking kid) to Pasto. We had intended to take a bus but ended up taking a transfer which made the whole thing very easy. It seems that ease was the theme of this trip!
The attraction in Popayan was the multi day carnival known as the Negros y Blancos Festival which falls over Epiphany and culminating in two days of event and a final carnival parade. Symbolizing racial harmony the first day we were there was all about marking people in the street with black paint that is smeared onto your face and the second day was dominated by, you guessed it, a symbolic white, in foam and flour. This is a messy business and I don't like mess, particularly right in my face
.In a way we couldn't quite believe we'd picked coming here. I don't like crowds or big events, I generally avoid anything involving a mass event, I never go to large concerts and I wouldn't think to go to a parade at home. But there was something about this event that looked interesting, local and engaging and sure enough it was great. You really have to see the pictures to get a sense for both the chaos of the flour and foam and the scale of the floats and the parade and I'll be posting them on my blog in the next week.
The first night we nervously joined the fray wearing plastic ponchos we'd bought in the single rainstorm we encountered in Popayan. What a godsend they were. One the advice of some people we met we also bought cheap ski googles which were on sale everywhere to protect our eyes. Looking like a pair of low rent bandits in giant plastic condoms we set out for the two main squares where there were large stages with bands performing.
It was great, complete chaos but exhilarating. if you hung back people would leave you alone but you had to watch out for stealth attacks. We were of course defenseless because the foam cans looked like an environmental disaster and we weren't going to buy them! Ironic given that we'd blown our carbon footprint flying to Colombia, and avoiding public transport when we got there, but I guess there's no logic to be found here!
When we got to the main square we sat on a low wall and listened to an incredible Tropicale band on the main stage. Because it's a large square it was easy enough to find a quieter spot. The squares were cordoned off and while all the events were free you had to pass through a security check to get in.
For the most part everything was very good natured and only a few people tried to smear the black paste on our faces, most pausing slightly for ascent before they went ahead.
Feb 21st, 2016, 10:15 AM
#29
I would love it! Great stuff.
The Mama Negra festival in Ecuador is another one to recommend to adventurous SA travelers. There are two dates, on at the end of September and one in early November.
The Mama Negra festival in Ecuador is another one to recommend to adventurous SA travelers. There are two dates, on at the end of September and one in early November.
Feb 21st, 2016, 12:27 PM
#30
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks mlgb - thanks I'll file that one away. I must admit in general we don't make these things part of our plans but we were charmed by the carnival in Pasto. Years ago we went to a festival in Cachioeira in Bahia Brazil, for the sisters of the Boa Muerte (an anthropologist friend had done a film on the religion a few years before) and while I enjoyed it it attracted a number of foreigners (traveling in groups led by "experts - probably another anthropologist) and for some inexplicable reason it didn't speak to me even though my friend put us in touch with lots of locals.
Your report, along with Glover's and SusaninToronto's were helpful in encouraging us to jump right into Colombia with gusto!
Your report, along with Glover's and SusaninToronto's were helpful in encouraging us to jump right into Colombia with gusto!
Feb 21st, 2016, 04:06 PM
#31
I love your description of yourselves in Pasto...I bet it was amusing. The Pasto carnival sounded much wilder then what we experienced in Vilcabamba, EQ. For carnival. Although we didn't venture into town in the night, so who knows how wild it may have gotten. Enjoying reading about the parts of Colombia we missed,
Feb 21st, 2016, 05:04 PM
#32
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
<The Pasto carnival sounded much wilder then what we experienced> it seems pretty famous for the stuff been thrown, I guess that's their thing and it fits with the "black" and "white" theme. Things just got crazier the next day!
CARNIVAL -THE MAIN EVENT
It's difficult to describe the local character and the grandeur of carnival in Pasto. The preliminaries may be all about covering the gringos (and anyone else) in flour or foam, but once the parade begins it's mesmerizing. I think the best way to convey it is to let you know that our camera/phones ran out of juice about half way through. We were sure it was almost over but the largest floats hadn't even begun! We had no sense for the scale of the event and it was far larger than we had anticipated. Luckily a very kind woman in the seat next to us sent me her photos.
The parade is made up of of multiple small groupings and floats, musicians, drummers and dancers. Themes varied from animals, indigenous myths and the natural world, to famous South American literary figures. We sat and cheered while it all passed us by.
The aesthetics of the carnival were very particular, with a neon palette on most of the floats and larger figures. There was a cartoonish and somewhat fantastical aspect to most of the characters. Brightly colored and assertive, they demanded attention; I thought perhaps they would glow in the dark! There was definitely something ominous and foreboding about them.
My expectations were shaped by images of the famous carnival in Rio, but Pasto was quite different. With a single exception, the women were not wearing the distinctive skimpy, bejeweled and feathered carnival costumes with their large headdresses. While the floats may have displayed half naked women, the majority of the real women were dressed quite modestly. Clearly not all carnivals are the same.
The carnival struck so many cords: mythic themes, education, magic, environmental issues and much more that we missed in a glow of passing noise and neon. We had rented seats right at the corner where the parade turned, a well spent $3 per person! It was an excellent spot - well, pretty good until the tourists from the nearby city of Cali decided to cover me completely in foam. I was a sitting duck; we were waiting for the parade to begin and my husband had gone for a stroll, smart man!
Of course we hadn't bought any foam to fight back with- as the whole thing looked like such an environmental nightmare! Finally, I uttered a weak, "No mas!" Everyone laughed at the pathetic gringa, but cut me a break. It was all in good fun and later they passed us a shaved ice in the colors of the Colombian flag! Another of our neighbors (the one who sent on the photos) bought us a can of foam for our own defense! As a tourist you couldn't have asked for a better reception, I love the Colombians and we loved the south.
There were lots more floats and people; they just kept coming, and getting larger and more elaborate. What was wonderful about the entire day was how local, and predominantly non-commercial the whole event seemed to be. There were no corporate images or electronic bill boards to be seen.
There were so many different creatures represented in the costumes, from the birds and the bees, to the ocean (whales, octopus and fish) and the farmyard. Many of the characters and floats had a distinctive South American aesthetic, reminiscent of familiar archeological images with headdresses, pectorals and earrings. There were so many characters and floats to look at and they were passing us for hours; there must have been as many people in the parade as watching it!
Here you can see some of tBy this time the parade he larger floats came down the street, the carnival had already exceeded all our expectations - we were completely wowed. Because our cameras had run out of juice we were just sitting and enjoying the whole thing, while watching out for incoming foam of course!
I highly recommend visiting Pasto for the carnival if you're nearby for the first week in January. Currently there are only a few foreigners going to this event but it's so much fun and you'll get a great welcome.
"Que Rico!" as they would say in Colombia.
CARNIVAL -THE MAIN EVENT
It's difficult to describe the local character and the grandeur of carnival in Pasto. The preliminaries may be all about covering the gringos (and anyone else) in flour or foam, but once the parade begins it's mesmerizing. I think the best way to convey it is to let you know that our camera/phones ran out of juice about half way through. We were sure it was almost over but the largest floats hadn't even begun! We had no sense for the scale of the event and it was far larger than we had anticipated. Luckily a very kind woman in the seat next to us sent me her photos.
The parade is made up of of multiple small groupings and floats, musicians, drummers and dancers. Themes varied from animals, indigenous myths and the natural world, to famous South American literary figures. We sat and cheered while it all passed us by.
The aesthetics of the carnival were very particular, with a neon palette on most of the floats and larger figures. There was a cartoonish and somewhat fantastical aspect to most of the characters. Brightly colored and assertive, they demanded attention; I thought perhaps they would glow in the dark! There was definitely something ominous and foreboding about them.
My expectations were shaped by images of the famous carnival in Rio, but Pasto was quite different. With a single exception, the women were not wearing the distinctive skimpy, bejeweled and feathered carnival costumes with their large headdresses. While the floats may have displayed half naked women, the majority of the real women were dressed quite modestly. Clearly not all carnivals are the same.
The carnival struck so many cords: mythic themes, education, magic, environmental issues and much more that we missed in a glow of passing noise and neon. We had rented seats right at the corner where the parade turned, a well spent $3 per person! It was an excellent spot - well, pretty good until the tourists from the nearby city of Cali decided to cover me completely in foam. I was a sitting duck; we were waiting for the parade to begin and my husband had gone for a stroll, smart man!
Of course we hadn't bought any foam to fight back with- as the whole thing looked like such an environmental nightmare! Finally, I uttered a weak, "No mas!" Everyone laughed at the pathetic gringa, but cut me a break. It was all in good fun and later they passed us a shaved ice in the colors of the Colombian flag! Another of our neighbors (the one who sent on the photos) bought us a can of foam for our own defense! As a tourist you couldn't have asked for a better reception, I love the Colombians and we loved the south.
There were lots more floats and people; they just kept coming, and getting larger and more elaborate. What was wonderful about the entire day was how local, and predominantly non-commercial the whole event seemed to be. There were no corporate images or electronic bill boards to be seen.
There were so many different creatures represented in the costumes, from the birds and the bees, to the ocean (whales, octopus and fish) and the farmyard. Many of the characters and floats had a distinctive South American aesthetic, reminiscent of familiar archeological images with headdresses, pectorals and earrings. There were so many characters and floats to look at and they were passing us for hours; there must have been as many people in the parade as watching it!
Here you can see some of tBy this time the parade he larger floats came down the street, the carnival had already exceeded all our expectations - we were completely wowed. Because our cameras had run out of juice we were just sitting and enjoying the whole thing, while watching out for incoming foam of course!
I highly recommend visiting Pasto for the carnival if you're nearby for the first week in January. Currently there are only a few foreigners going to this event but it's so much fun and you'll get a great welcome.
"Que Rico!" as they would say in Colombia.
Feb 21st, 2016, 05:06 PM
#33
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Third from last paragraph is meant to start...
"By the time larger floats came down the street, the carnival had already exceeded all our expectations" I really shouldn't cut and paste from the blog!
"By the time larger floats came down the street, the carnival had already exceeded all our expectations" I really shouldn't cut and paste from the blog!
Feb 22nd, 2016, 11:25 PM
#37
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Glad you're still following along!
To see a picture of us in our ridiculous carnival kit go to the new post on my blog....
http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2016/...-carnaval.html
To see a picture of us in our ridiculous carnival kit go to the new post on my blog....
http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2016/...-carnaval.html
Mar 2nd, 2016, 02:07 PM
#38
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
OK, one of the problems with travelling is you need to finish one trip report before you start on the next trip. In the interest of finishing this up I'll speed things along.
Here's a post with lots of pictures of the main event in Pasto which was the Blancos day. Lots of fun....
http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2016/...-in-pasto.html
The final day in Pasto we went to a festival of the cuy or guinea pig where apparently 80,000 were expected to be eaten, yikes! They roast them on large customized spits. I hadn't eaten them since a trip to Peru twenty years ago and they were equally forgettable! We had met up with another couple (one Canadian and one Colombian) who were great fun and they offered some of our cut to an older man nearby, thankfully he wanted the head which needless to say none of us were fighting over!
We listened to some traditional music and hung out. There was no more throwing stuff so it was much more manageable!
After Pasto we headed to Medellin, I won't bore you with the five hours spent at Pasto airport. lets just say flying in and out of mountain top airports makes for tedious weather delays.
We only had two nights in Medellin so we knew we were giving it short shrift and rather like Yestravel and Gotravel we found it had to decide on where to stay and nothing looked particularly interesting. We stayed in Poblado which is safe, generic and boring, though the area around Parque Llegaras looked more promising. Because we knew there was lots to see in Medellin and we only had a short time we opted for a half day city tour. The guide was fine (others may well like him) but the best bit was that we got to see a lot of the city in a relatively short time.
We started off at a viewing point looking over the city and then headed down to Commune 13, took a ride on the incredible aerial tramway and then went to the Minorista market which I highly recommend. He then dropped us at the Botanical Gardens where we had a lovely lunch at Insitu and then took the very modern metro to Botero Sq and the Antioquia Museum which has some wonderful Colombian art as well as an international collection, most of which was donated by Botero.
I highly recommend visiting Comuna 13, which was one our favorites in Medellin. It's a changing working class neighborhood built into a steep hillside. Comuna 13 was notoriously the most dangerous part of a very dangerous city, but just as things have changed for the better in Medellin as a whole, they've changed in Comuna 13 too .We very much wanted to see the neighborhood because it's well know for both street art and a newly built series of outdoor escalators that are part of the city's ongoing program to improve social conditions by linking outer (or economically deprived neighborhoods) with the center. These public transportation initiative have become symbolic of the so called "social urbanism" in Medellin, which combines access, new public buildings symbolizing a returning presence of the state, and improved public spaces.
Blog post with pictures to follow..
Here's a post with lots of pictures of the main event in Pasto which was the Blancos day. Lots of fun....
http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2016/...-in-pasto.html
The final day in Pasto we went to a festival of the cuy or guinea pig where apparently 80,000 were expected to be eaten, yikes! They roast them on large customized spits. I hadn't eaten them since a trip to Peru twenty years ago and they were equally forgettable! We had met up with another couple (one Canadian and one Colombian) who were great fun and they offered some of our cut to an older man nearby, thankfully he wanted the head which needless to say none of us were fighting over!
We listened to some traditional music and hung out. There was no more throwing stuff so it was much more manageable!
After Pasto we headed to Medellin, I won't bore you with the five hours spent at Pasto airport. lets just say flying in and out of mountain top airports makes for tedious weather delays.
We only had two nights in Medellin so we knew we were giving it short shrift and rather like Yestravel and Gotravel we found it had to decide on where to stay and nothing looked particularly interesting. We stayed in Poblado which is safe, generic and boring, though the area around Parque Llegaras looked more promising. Because we knew there was lots to see in Medellin and we only had a short time we opted for a half day city tour. The guide was fine (others may well like him) but the best bit was that we got to see a lot of the city in a relatively short time.
We started off at a viewing point looking over the city and then headed down to Commune 13, took a ride on the incredible aerial tramway and then went to the Minorista market which I highly recommend. He then dropped us at the Botanical Gardens where we had a lovely lunch at Insitu and then took the very modern metro to Botero Sq and the Antioquia Museum which has some wonderful Colombian art as well as an international collection, most of which was donated by Botero.
I highly recommend visiting Comuna 13, which was one our favorites in Medellin. It's a changing working class neighborhood built into a steep hillside. Comuna 13 was notoriously the most dangerous part of a very dangerous city, but just as things have changed for the better in Medellin as a whole, they've changed in Comuna 13 too .We very much wanted to see the neighborhood because it's well know for both street art and a newly built series of outdoor escalators that are part of the city's ongoing program to improve social conditions by linking outer (or economically deprived neighborhoods) with the center. These public transportation initiative have become symbolic of the so called "social urbanism" in Medellin, which combines access, new public buildings symbolizing a returning presence of the state, and improved public spaces.
Blog post with pictures to follow..
Mar 2nd, 2016, 03:22 PM
#39
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Here's the blog post on Comuna 13 with lots of street art shots and more on the transformation of Medellin for anyone who is interested...
http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2016/...-medellin.html
http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2016/...-medellin.html
Mar 3rd, 2016, 06:06 AM
#40
Great photos! I think I forgot to mention after we saw you in Bogota we mentioned some of the places you suggested for Medellin to our hotel guy. He thought we were nuts wanting to go to Comuna 13! As it turned out we never made it there which I think relieved the people at the hotel.
