Popayán, San Agustin, and Mocoa

Before making it into Ecuador, we stopped in three small towns that other backpackers had highly recommended. Once again, we didnt have any plans of stopping until we spoke with some travelers who convinced us otherwise. The first stop, Popayán, was only two hours south of Cali and is usually a pass-through town since it doesn't have any major draw outside of its laid back atmosphere. We only spent two days there, however, we enjoyed this town since it had a genuine and non-touristy feel. We'll remember it for the whitewashed walls, great cafés, and the best empanadas we've tasted in a while. We'll also remember it for having some of the worst pizza we've ever had. They couldn't make a regular pepperoni pizza taste normal if they tried. It was our punishment for ordering American food outside the states.

Side street led us to this small square

Whitewashed walls and colonial architecture

Looking down the main street

180 degree view of the town

Common area at the top of the hostel

The mini empanadas that changed our lives

The second stop, San Agustin, started with an extremely bumpy five-hour drive through the mountains. Shanta was saved by her motion sickness pills, but we were still crammed in the back of the bus shoulder to shoulder in toddler-sized seats. San Agustin is an archaeology buff's dream in the middle of breathtaking scenery. The outskirts of the town are strewn with carved stone statues and tombs from the 1st to 8th century. While there is still a great deal of mystery surrounding the ancient indigenous people, it's widely agreed that they were one of the first complex societies in the Americas. We took a few days to explore the amazing statues and enjoyed our daily "menu del dia" from a restaurant in town. For $2.50, you get a soup, salad, entrée (rice, beans and beef/chicken/fish) and a fresh fruit drink. We explored the surrounding waterfalls and hiking trails the last day before taking off down the road.

The mountains on the way in

Looking upriver

Wish we went down this

Getting a tan with a view

Looking downriver

Good spot for swimming

This shows how narrow these roads are

...and how steep

Archaeology!

Ancient tomb

Interesting since no crocodiles were ever in the area

Tomb entrance

Tomb for a lesser important citizen

One of the smaller falls in the area

View from the top

Everyone wants to see the view

Quite a fall to the bottom

My lunch on the way out of San Agustin

We left our hostel planning on going straight to Pasto, a border town, but changed our agenda once we realized we'd arrive there well past dark. Mocoa is the midpoint between San Agustin and the border, but it isn't typically found in guide books. In the next few years, it will become a backpacker hotspot since the town is quickly building a reputation as a waterfall mecca. When we got off the bus, we ran into our friend Martin from San Agustin and opted to book a few nights at the same hostel together. The three of us took off the next morning to see Fin Del Mundo, a huge waterfall that drops hundreds of feet into the rocks below. While hiking to the waterfall, we passed by several smaller falls that people were jumping from. The drops were about 15 to 20 feet and we immediately joined in. This made the grueling hike worth it. Right before we made it to the end, I slipped on a rock and got a nice cut on my hip (which required a few stitches) but after a day or two it was water under the bridge.

Hanging out with the monkeys 

Eating the leftover food from the hostel

The bridge could use some help

Before the hike began

Pointing us towards a grueling hike up the mountain

After we reached the top, the way down was easy

First pool (jumping ledge was to the right)

Navigating the path to the ledge with Martin

First jump

 

Jumping off the second waterfall

Just before I slipped and took a tumble on the rocks

Taking the $1 taxi to town afterwards

After a few days in Mocoa, we took an early morning bus to the border, got our stamps, and hopped on a new bus to Quito.

After 7 weeks, it was time to say adios to Colombia!

Touring Medellín

To get the most out of our week in the city, we decided to do a walking tour of downtown and a second tour of important places around the city relating to Pablo Escobar. The walking tour was the longest we have ever been on (4 hours) but it was well worth it. Our guide, Hernan, was extremely knowledgeable and remembered each person's name after hearing it only once. We started out close to the government offices and walked through all of the famous plazas and marketplaces. In the mid 1990s, the government started transforming these drug-ridden areas into parks and monuments to show residents that progress was being made and that the cartels were losing their grip on the city. Today, Medellín has a look and feel of a bustling American or European city.

The second tour dove into the rise and fall of one of world's most infamous criminals, Pablo Escobar. While Pablo owned hundreds of properties in Medellín, we only visited a handful. Most of them have been repossessed by the government but you can still see the amount of influence that he weilded in the city. At the height of his power, most cops and government officials in Medellín were either under his authority or killed off. Since he spent generously on public projects for the poor, there were many that became sympathetic towards him. However, by the time he was killed, it was impossible to ignore the physical and emotional damage attributed to his reign of terror. We would recommend reading Killing Pablo if you're interested in learning more.

Starting the tour with Hernan

Looking up from the Plaza of Lights

Our bingo friends 

Local mall in a building from the 1920s

The mall's skylight

Dutch architecture near downtown

Walking along one of the main avenues

One of Pablo's primary residences

Young Pablo's ID card

The house where he was shot 

Admirers still leave flowers at his grave

Palomino

Leaving the high altitude behind, we traveled once again to beaches farther up the Colombian coast. Most travelers make their way into Tyrona National Park, however, a friend we met in Minca told us that Palomino, a small coastal town near the Venezuelan border, is less crowded and cheaper. We took off after a quick pit stop in Santa Marta, and two hours later we arrived in the laid back beach town of Palomino. We still had a 30 minute walk ahead of us, but on our way to the Tiki Hut we met a Colombian who was driving to the beach to watch the sunset. Since our hostel was on the way, he offered us a ride. And given the fact that we were still a bit sore from our last hike with the packs, we gladly accepted the offer! He told us that he lives in Santa Marta but often takes weekend trips to Palomino to enjoy the beautiful beaches and sunsets. After our quick chat with him, we were eager to check in and get to the beach as well. Unfortunately, the waves are so high and dangerous that it is highly advised not to swim too far out. After soaking up some sun at the beach the next day, we decided to go tubing. I was excited to see how tubing the Palomino River in Colombia compared to the Russian River in California or the San Marcos River in Texas. There was one HUGE difference: we were the only ones on the river! Well, not the only ones, but the only tourists. We met some local kids along the way who were more than happy to see us. Not too long after, we noticed that Phill's tube was deflating quickly. Needless to say, Phill had to walk the remaining mile down the river. That setback aside, it was still a relaxing day on the river. When it was time to leave the Tiki Hut, we ran into the owner drinking with his buddies by the bus stop. He insisted we have a beer with him, which then turned into hours of drinking and learning local Spanish lingo. That was by far the highlight of the trip. 

Before hitchhiking to Tiki Hut

The hut

Two minutes from the hostel

The tide had its way with this tree

Phill loves taking pictures

Ridin' dirty

Before we knew the fate of Phill's tube

Palms for days

One of the last pictures of Phill's hat 

Some of the happiest kids we've met

More locals at play

Enjoying the river walk

Tubing ended at the beach

The impromptu bus stop

If you make your way to Palomino, the Tiki Hut is a must!