It was hotter than Hades climbing the path to the town of Barichara from the campground. Apparently the town shuts down at noon for two hours so my cunning plan put me on the bridge under the blazing sun around one o’clock, which if not the hottest hour it was close enough.
Remarkable for one as chaotic as me, I had my walking stick, a useful memento from the hospital, a hat and I hate wearing headgear, and a thermos bottle of water which I sucked dry during the hourlong stroll through the gates of hell. I was prepared to an unusually efficient degree.
The campground is lovely, with shade, an electrical outlet, solar heated showers and splendid views. However I was on a mission as Layne wasn’t feeling well so I had to get supplies in town.
I had one false start as my camera battery was dead but luckily I found out soon enough that I could turn back. Rusty stayed with Layne as I wanted to get on with the job and not end up walking a dog that didn’t want keep going. So he stayed behind and I’m told he was on watch waiting for me to get back. I made it with his while when I staggered back three hours later and the reunion was joyful for both of us.
After I spotted the first sign pointing the way there were no more but I had two indicators in my favor. One was from Sue, our Canadian Land Rover fellow traveler, who said the trail psssed under the radio tower so that was the general direction. You can barely see it in the hazy light through the bushes on the right.
And then to make it easier on myself I followed my usual practice of walking the most well used trail. Anyway I snaked across the unkempt fields under the blazing sun looking up rather apprehensively at the ridge riding vertically above me.
The trail meandered in circles it seemed like but I figured it must go somewhere. My main preoccupation was finding some ginger ale and some toilet paper for my ailing wife who spent the night projectile vomiting (I’m told, I slept through the whole drama…) and was waiting for the hero’s return under the van air conditioner. I didn’t want to walk in a big circle and miss the town entirely.
I clambered over dry stone walls and I will admit to being extra careful. I really don’t want a twisted ankle or a broken nose to impede a journey which requires lots of perseverance as it is. When I was younger I never worried too much about hurting myself but I guess aging really does have an effect on some of us.
The walk wasn’t far and an early start would make temperatures much more comfortable. We’re camping at 4200 feet and it’s cool enough to require a blanket to sleep but by the middle of the day it’s hot and dry.
I plodded along wondering how I was going to climb the apparently impenetrable ridge in front of me but I was in the correct trail and my plodding took me uphill.
Hugh and Due stroll to town in forty minutes being lean mean Canadian hikers. It took me an hour to get to the top and ten more minutes to amble to the outskirts of town.
But Hugh did say there was one point where the trail goes a bit vertical and you scramble rock to rock. I guess I found it.
Walking back to the campground especially with a loaded backpack seemed a poor use of my time so it was here I confirmed in my head I was riding a tuk tuk back and for three dollars it seemed a bargain.
Hugh and Sue’s Land Rover is parked in the sun for a sunset view, while we were barely visible through the branches of the second tree to their right.
Up I went and around the shoulder never quite reaching the radio tower at the top of the hill.
The brand new cement road leading to to the campground was clearly visible through the haze.
We were quite surprised to drive it the night we arrived. Apparently it is a project of the local council much appreciated by locals, and us too.
Back to reality and I kept pressing on up and around the ridge.
There was the tower, my landmark, behind me:
I knew where I was now as I had seen this design on Sue’s Instagram post.
I’ve seen these circles show up in pictures of Colombia and I don’t know why. In North America piling up stones is now frowned upon I believe but not here:
I was there and awake enough to get my Panasonic G95 to take an old fashioned timer selfie.
The goal, Colombia’s best known heritage city.
On the way into town I came across this magnificence. I skimmed the words and I think someone is taking a land ownership dispute public. There’s a park nearby and I think some one is claiming ownership to some of that land. It was too hot to stand around unraveling the mystery so I kept going.
The park is a lovely spot to take a break so I did.
I found the dedication to mother quite touching.
The park is the product of a club named for Barichara’s most famous citizen. Aquileo Parra (a last name well known in Key West by the way!) was born in the city in 1825 and learned to read and write with no formal education and went on to become a successful merchant,. He used his money to enter politics and in 1876 was elected President of Colombia, the culmination of a hard fought career. There were three candidates and Congress selected the most radical of the three to break the electoral deadlock created by the popular vote. It all went south from there.
Parra was a Liberal and as president had two main planks in his platform. One was to provide health care (in 1876!) and the other was to get public education out of the hands of religious orders and offer a public education system free for everyone. Colombia is still powerfully Catholic by the way but these ideals were revolutionary at the time and if you look around the US today it’s not so different. His plan went over like a lead balloon with the opposition, so the shooting commenced.
The president won the war in 1877 and his presidency closed out with a treaty with France which you may heard of regarding building a canal through the Colombian province of Panamá. Parra is the only President to come out of the region of Santander so I suppose a memorial to him is a good idea. I was surprised to find it here in this eco park.
They’ve reused plastic bottles in the construction…
…not only of the gazebo but also the shed:
Dogs welcome on a leash. The trail is not going to work for Rusty I think. Like it or not he is growing older but he likes riding tuk tuks so we can still get him to town easily.
Outside the park I walked past an adobe remnant.
And then I was in town. It deserves its own set of photos which will come later as it’s quite photogenic!
Light blue races reminded me of Key West.
I got some ginger ale and the toilet paper and some odds and ends but shipping isn’t easy as there is no advertising allowed in this heritage city. We expect to be here a week so we’ll have time to get to know Barichara, a city in a country unknown to outsiders. Colombia is really quite surprising and I might add totally safe to travel if you haven’t figured that out already.
Hugh and Sue posing for our campground owner just before they left for the mountain road we abandoned.
And here’s Joep (“yoop”) bringing us our morning’s freshly baked loaf. This campground isn’t normal.
We’ll see Hugh and Sue down the road I’m sure.
Now we are the sole overlanders here. Amazing.
