Feb. 24 Day 9
Today we had a free day and so woke up at our own pace and had a leisurely breakfast at our hotel. We headed out to a botanical garden outside of the city centre which featured the house where Bolivar died. The gardens were huge and full of wildlife, particularly huge iguanas that could be spotted in most grassy areas. As lurching as these beasts seemed, Meg got to close to one and we saw how quickly it could bolt away and up a tree when necessary.
The house of Bolivar had rooms with fairly simple furniture and we felt that we'd have appreciated it more with a bit more background history. Some rooms had portraits of his generals and famous battles but not with enough context to make them mean much to us. A case full of tube of sand from various significant places in his life seemed a bit much.
Sharing these ground was an arts centre with a large outdoor theatre and four rooms full of modern art, some of it quite good. It was a hot day so we strolled through the park looking at plants and iguanas before grabbing a cab back to the city centre. It cost a bit more to return as the cabbie had to "tip" the guard at the gate who called the taxis for the tourists.
Back in town we had lunch a ta very funky vegetarian restaurant full of reclining tourists. It had a varied menu, tasty food and a living wall fed by a series of tubes and nozzles which sprayed mist into the restaurant every little while.
Meg went back for a nap while Wendy and I went to the gold museum. The bottom floor had extensive displays of how the Tayrona people lived before being eradicated by the Spanish. Very elaborate pottery and goldwork were there with good English explanations. Upstairs was a room on Bolivar and explanations of local archeological sites but as I ascended the stairs the guard told me I only had 5 minutes until closing so I just scanned the rooms gaining no real insights.
It closed at 3 so Wendy and I went for a stroll by the water. The city had a very nice promenade and beach with tanker and a cargo port to the right of the beach. We went out on a dock which straddled a large marina and watched tourists and hawkers walk around or enter what was probably an overpriced sunset bar just behind us. On the way back we saw a stray dog that looked like it was about to die, with its eyes open and lying on its side. Strays were everywhere in Columbia and many of then were pretty sad looking.
That evening we gathered with Filipe to greet our new members and go over our hike. We had 7 newbies out of 16 for the trip, most of them younger than us. We would only need a daypack, leaving our larger backpacks at the hotel. Everyone seemed excited and a little intimidated by where we were heading, which felt positive. We then headed out to a Mexican restaurant with good food but were misled by the drinks menu. Meg and I both ordered the clamato and beer, but the clamato was a brown, briny worchestershire sauce-based glop which tasted horrible. we had to get a second beer to get the nasty taste out of our mouths.
The next day had an early start so we headed straight to bed after dinner.
Today we had a free day and so woke up at our own pace and had a leisurely breakfast at our hotel. We headed out to a botanical garden outside of the city centre which featured the house where Bolivar died. The gardens were huge and full of wildlife, particularly huge iguanas that could be spotted in most grassy areas. As lurching as these beasts seemed, Meg got to close to one and we saw how quickly it could bolt away and up a tree when necessary.
The house of Bolivar had rooms with fairly simple furniture and we felt that we'd have appreciated it more with a bit more background history. Some rooms had portraits of his generals and famous battles but not with enough context to make them mean much to us. A case full of tube of sand from various significant places in his life seemed a bit much.
Sharing these ground was an arts centre with a large outdoor theatre and four rooms full of modern art, some of it quite good. It was a hot day so we strolled through the park looking at plants and iguanas before grabbing a cab back to the city centre. It cost a bit more to return as the cabbie had to "tip" the guard at the gate who called the taxis for the tourists.
Back in town we had lunch a ta very funky vegetarian restaurant full of reclining tourists. It had a varied menu, tasty food and a living wall fed by a series of tubes and nozzles which sprayed mist into the restaurant every little while.
Meg went back for a nap while Wendy and I went to the gold museum. The bottom floor had extensive displays of how the Tayrona people lived before being eradicated by the Spanish. Very elaborate pottery and goldwork were there with good English explanations. Upstairs was a room on Bolivar and explanations of local archeological sites but as I ascended the stairs the guard told me I only had 5 minutes until closing so I just scanned the rooms gaining no real insights.
It closed at 3 so Wendy and I went for a stroll by the water. The city had a very nice promenade and beach with tanker and a cargo port to the right of the beach. We went out on a dock which straddled a large marina and watched tourists and hawkers walk around or enter what was probably an overpriced sunset bar just behind us. On the way back we saw a stray dog that looked like it was about to die, with its eyes open and lying on its side. Strays were everywhere in Columbia and many of then were pretty sad looking.
That evening we gathered with Filipe to greet our new members and go over our hike. We had 7 newbies out of 16 for the trip, most of them younger than us. We would only need a daypack, leaving our larger backpacks at the hotel. Everyone seemed excited and a little intimidated by where we were heading, which felt positive. We then headed out to a Mexican restaurant with good food but were misled by the drinks menu. Meg and I both ordered the clamato and beer, but the clamato was a brown, briny worchestershire sauce-based glop which tasted horrible. we had to get a second beer to get the nasty taste out of our mouths.
The next day had an early start so we headed straight to bed after dinner.
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| Meg in front of some modern art. |
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| One of Bolivar's iguanas. |
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