Popayan was as pretty as promised: all white colonial houses, a big plaza central with buildings lighten up in different colors and safe streets at night. Glad we did not got to Cali after all. If all went well, we would meet with Gus tonight as he was supposed to join us at our hotel. We would be then three riders on the road for who knows how long. Until then, we wanted to visit the small town of Silvia where we were hoping to meet Guambianos, a traditional Indian community. We took Chad's bike and Caroline hoped on the back for the day.
Women and men alike in traditional skirts
We headed north towards the town of Piendamo where we would take a secondary road to Silvia. The streets of Piendamo were full of people and many of them were from the Guambiano community. We soon realized that it was market day, attracting a lot of people from the area. Navigating through the madness, we exited town and found the road to Silvia. The ride took us again through beautiful mountain scenery, something we almost took for granted here in Colombia since it has been the norm so far. At the top of a last little hill right after a curve (these too were now the norm), we saw the village nested lower, its church standing tall.
Women and men alike in traditional skirts
We headed north towards the town of Piendamo where we would take a secondary road to Silvia. The streets of Piendamo were full of people and many of them were from the Guambiano community. We soon realized that it was market day, attracting a lot of people from the area. Navigating through the madness, we exited town and found the road to Silvia. The ride took us again through beautiful mountain scenery, something we almost took for granted here in Colombia since it has been the norm so far. At the top of a last little hill right after a curve (these too were now the norm), we saw the village nested lower, its church standing tall.
We parked the bike close to the main square which was much calmer than we anticipated: only a few people were walking through it or sitting on the grass or benches. Some of them were from the Guambiano community and as we sat on a bench, we had a better chance to observe their traditional clothes. Both women and men were wearing a skirt, black with white lines for the women and royal blue for the men and both of them also were wearing hats, like the ones you see in Ecuador. The top was changing from person to person but it was always of the same type of fabric. Some of them, especially kids and young women, were carrying a round things behind their back, made of straw with hints of color, that we later on figured could also be used as a hat to protect form the sun. It was funny to see the mix of tradition and modernity as many groups of people, especially adolescents, were both Indians and Colombians, mixing the two types of outfits. We wanted to take pictures but were a little shy to ask. We therefor decided to go back to Piendamo where there were so many people around and where it would easier
to snap the shots.
As we walked back to the bikes, a huge chicken bus stopped by, loaded all the way to its rooftop with big bags and kids. We love to see these buses, they are always so colorful and well decorated and it is amazing how many people, things and sometimes animals you can fit in it and on it. It felt kind of a luxury of space that we each had a motorcycle to carry one person and our belongings as here, they fit about five times more things on a much smaller bike.
An unexpected guide shows us Piendamo
Back in Piendamo, we finally found a spot that looked relatively safe and a little further from all the Sunday activity. Parked and our gear locked in the saddlebags, we starting walking, Chad with his camera around his neck. We had barely walked five minutes in the park that a guy asked us where we were from and what we were doing here in Colombia. His name was Gustavo and he was the director and main journalist of the small local TV. He was always interested in meeting foreigners and learning more about what they think about Colombia and especially his region. He invited us to have a fresh fruit juice with him and we started talking. He knew some English too but we carried on the conversation in Spanish. We talked for a while about our trip, Colombia and the challenges the country was facing, how the situation had changed for the better in the last few years. He was super friendly and genuinely happy to talk to us.
Once we finished the drinks, he asked us if we had a chance to walk in the town and we told him not yet. We told him that we had stopped here to take some pictures of the Indians and asked him what the etiquette was. He said that we should definitively ask before taking the picture but that some of them may ask for money, and in his opinion, we should not give it to them because it was not a fair request. He then offered to walk us through town, showing us the church, the streets and finally took us to the market. It was a pretty big one and we noticed that it was almost organized as a supermarket: one area for all the people that sold bread, one area for the fruits and vegetables, another for clothes and shoes... Gustavo was leading the way through the different areas and stopped each time we had a question about something we saw. He would explain what the thing was and would buy us a sample: this is how we tried Chontaduro, a little red fruit that tasted like a potato and that you could eat with salt or honey, as well as sweets made of c
ow gelatin that were pure protein (it did not taste bad but thinking of what it was made of was weird), local sausages and plantain. It was so much fun, like walking in a candy store and tasting whatever you wanted.
As we were walking, he suddenly stopped and went to talk to an Indian woman. Her name was Rosa Maria and he was kindly asking her if she would mind having her picture taken with both of us. After inquiring what the picture was for, she agreed since it was for our memories and the blog. He was really going above and beyond to please us. He went to buy fresh pineapple and told us he would like to invite us to his house, a 5 minute walk away, to share a fresh juice and introduce us to his wife and her son. He also wanted to show us his house so we followed him. We had a great time with him and his wife Alma, they welcomed us in their house and told us it was ours. They were so happy that we had come and accepted their hospitality.
On the way back to Popayan, we were both thinking about how different our day had turned out. Discovering the secrets of a little town, exploring a market and getting to know Gustavo and his family. Once more, Colombia had surprised us in a very positive way with the kindness and generosity of its people. As we parked the bike at our hotel, we saw Gus' bike there, which meant that our Canadian friend had arrived. We could not wait to tell him our adventures of the day and see if his experience in Colombia was as positive as ours. We were also looking forward to spend the next few days with him and ride the amazing Colombian roads together.
to snap the shots.As we walked back to the bikes, a huge chicken bus stopped by, loaded all the way to its rooftop with big bags and kids. We love to see these buses, they are always so colorful and well decorated and it is amazing how many people, things and sometimes animals you can fit in it and on it. It felt kind of a luxury of space that we each had a motorcycle to carry one person and our belongings as here, they fit about five times more things on a much smaller bike.
An unexpected guide shows us Piendamo
Back in Piendamo, we finally found a spot that looked relatively safe and a little further from all the Sunday activity. Parked and our gear locked in the saddlebags, we starting walking, Chad with his camera around his neck. We had barely walked five minutes in the park that a guy asked us where we were from and what we were doing here in Colombia. His name was Gustavo and he was the director and main journalist of the small local TV. He was always interested in meeting foreigners and learning more about what they think about Colombia and especially his region. He invited us to have a fresh fruit juice with him and we started talking. He knew some English too but we carried on the conversation in Spanish. We talked for a while about our trip, Colombia and the challenges the country was facing, how the situation had changed for the better in the last few years. He was super friendly and genuinely happy to talk to us.
Once we finished the drinks, he asked us if we had a chance to walk in the town and we told him not yet. We told him that we had stopped here to take some pictures of the Indians and asked him what the etiquette was. He said that we should definitively ask before taking the picture but that some of them may ask for money, and in his opinion, we should not give it to them because it was not a fair request. He then offered to walk us through town, showing us the church, the streets and finally took us to the market. It was a pretty big one and we noticed that it was almost organized as a supermarket: one area for all the people that sold bread, one area for the fruits and vegetables, another for clothes and shoes... Gustavo was leading the way through the different areas and stopped each time we had a question about something we saw. He would explain what the thing was and would buy us a sample: this is how we tried Chontaduro, a little red fruit that tasted like a potato and that you could eat with salt or honey, as well as sweets made of c
ow gelatin that were pure protein (it did not taste bad but thinking of what it was made of was weird), local sausages and plantain. It was so much fun, like walking in a candy store and tasting whatever you wanted.As we were walking, he suddenly stopped and went to talk to an Indian woman. Her name was Rosa Maria and he was kindly asking her if she would mind having her picture taken with both of us. After inquiring what the picture was for, she agreed since it was for our memories and the blog. He was really going above and beyond to please us. He went to buy fresh pineapple and told us he would like to invite us to his house, a 5 minute walk away, to share a fresh juice and introduce us to his wife and her son. He also wanted to show us his house so we followed him. We had a great time with him and his wife Alma, they welcomed us in their house and told us it was ours. They were so happy that we had come and accepted their hospitality.
On the way back to Popayan, we were both thinking about how different our day had turned out. Discovering the secrets of a little town, exploring a market and getting to know Gustavo and his family. Once more, Colombia had surprised us in a very positive way with the kindness and generosity of its people. As we parked the bike at our hotel, we saw Gus' bike there, which meant that our Canadian friend had arrived. We could not wait to tell him our adventures of the day and see if his experience in Colombia was as positive as ours. We were also looking forward to spend the next few days with him and ride the amazing Colombian roads together.
You guys always meet the coolest people! Sounds like a wonderful day!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, you'll have to be checking in on our blog soon. We leave to meet Darcy on the 16th!