Desierto de la Tatacoa, Huila, Colombia
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Our next stop is Neiva.
Once again it is a 6 hour bus ride away and the road was twisty, turny and bumpy. As well as the potholes, we don't know why but they put speed bumps everywhere - even the main roads have speed bumps on them.
It was very stuffy on the bus too - or so we thought. When we arrived in Neiva, the heat just hit us as we got off and we realised then the air conditioning had been working the whole time, it was just that the outside temperature had shot up.
Once again we had a hotel in mind and a taxi took us there for around a £1. Most journeys in a taxi here only cost between £1 - £3. Even long trips have only cost £3.
Neiva statue
The hotel was horrendous. But trying to cut back on costs a bit we decided that the beds were clean (the double beds are all very tiny here, so we had to take a room with 2 beds), we had our own bathroom with shower. Oh and a fan in the room - bargain for £8 a night. It was only one night so we could make do. Anyway the people were so lovely we didn't want to offend them by leaving - they had gone to such a big effort to make us feel welcome.
We went for a walk - not too far - and found some food, then stopped at a street bar on the way back. It was just a very small bar but they had very loud music pumping out and everyone was dancing. We stopped and listened for a while then got up and joined in the dancing to the latin music. Fabulous.
Well it's fair to say we didn't sleep very well that night. Firstly it was so hot. Secondly, the music that seemed so lovely when we were having a dance and a beer, wasn't so lovely when you can still hear it and every other bar competing in the neighbourhood, at 2am!
Never-mind, the next day we were on the move again anyway and this time we were heading out into the desert.
Jody in the desert
Again we took a small local bus and the driver was very sweet. When we tried to take photos out of the window, he would slow right down so we could get better shots. Only moving off again when we were done. Can you imagine the bus drivers in England doing that?
The local buses don't seem to have any stops. You flag one down when you want to get on, and you tell the driver when you want to stop. It's a great system.
We had not arranged any accommodation in the desert, it was going to be a case of turn up and take what we could when we arrived. But like always, we had done some research and had a name to start off with.
We told the driver the name and he nodded he knew it so we sat back and enjoyed the scenery. We could see the earth getting redder and the trees thinning to become cactus the further we went.
We arrived at the area where they have the Observatory and knowing the guesthouse we had named was close by, we started to look for it. It's not like there was much to look at by way of buildings but there were a few scattered here and there.
But we needn't have worried. Our driver had it all in hand and drove us right through the gates and into the yard. He then parked up to wait for us whilst we went to enquire about rooms. Then once we had agreed a room and a price, what do you know, the bus driver had taken our bags off the bus and proceeded to carry them to our room for us. Incredible!
how tall
The helpfulness and friendliness of everyone we have met in Colombia never ceases to amaze us.
As you would expect being in the desert, it is very, very hot here. Probably hotter than when we were in Arizona. Or maybe it just felt hotter but we were struggling. Our room had a tin roof, wood and brick sides, no air conditioning and no fan. Nope not even a lowly fan. So as it was only around noon, we took a lie down just so we could remain perfectly still and not move. There was no air either it was stifling!
Towards sunset we ventured out and it was cooler outside than in our room! Donna Lilliana asked us if we wanted to eat that night and as the reviews we had read all said the food was good here, we booked a meal for 6pm (our Spanish has improved a bit now).
We walked through the dunes which were not so far away. They weren't really dunes but we don't know what else to call them. It was more like water had eroded through the rock which was now dry just left channels you could walk through.
They were quite lovely but after half an hour or so, we had seen as much as we wanted.
Dinner was.... um.....interesting. Jody had lettuce, fried eggs, half a boiled potato and rice. Yummy. Bryan had similar but with shoe leather... er we mean a piece of beef on top. Revolting!
The food in Colombia has not been great at all. We have always ensured we had a packet of biscuits or crisps on us in case we were left hungry. Now was one of those times and we cracked open the orange wafers!
The main point of us coming here was to go to the observatory. It isn't a huge affair, just a man with a passion and a couple of telescopes. But at weekends, he gives talks to people who turn up and lets you use his telescope. And apparently, this desert is one of the best places in the world to look at the night sky as it is miles from light pollution.
But not tonight!
no it's small
No, tonight there was a thin layer of cloud and he wouldn't let us in. Grrr! how frustrating. We had come all this way and suffered what we'd suffered, only to be thwarted at the last hurdle. Typical.
So with no other option, we went back to our guesthouse and played Toad. No gunpowder or explosions with Toad so no real excitement, but it killed 45 minutes or so. We managed to get Donna Lilliana to join in too which made it more fun.
We retired to our tin box and tried to get some sleep. The incredible heat didn't really cool off so it was not good, restless sleep once again and were were wide awake by 6am.
We ordered a taxi with Donna Lilliana and whilst we waited she made us a coffee, we watch more hummingbirds and got chatting to a Japanese chap named Shenya. He was travelling alone and wanted to know how to get to San Agustin.
Well there's a coincidence we said. We have just ordered a taxi, it's on its way you can join us if you like.
Because that is exactly where we are heading too!
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