Getting In

I had purchased the bus ticket from Bogotá to San Gil online in advance and the website said arrive an hour early and that boarding would be 30 minutes before. Moni assured me this wasn’t true and that I could just show up 15 minutes before the departure time. Obviously I trusted her but I was still a bit anxious when I showed up about 20 minutes before my first bus trip in Colombia. Immediately I was overwhelmed by how huge the Bogotá terminal station and I had no idea where to go. One of the hardest parts about Colombian bus travel is that there are so many different companies so it’s very confusing to figure out which one is correct for your destination. And even then you still don’t know exactly when or where the bus is leaving from (some other challenges – they are never on time so you’re always worried that you’re in the wrong spot and somehow missed it. Or there is a land slide in the road…more on this in a future story). After asking several people I finally made it to the right area for my bus company’s departure. Every time they announced a new bus I asked if it was mine with no success. At this point it was 10 minutes past the scheduled take off time so I was a little worried I somehow missed it. Luckily this Colombian guy who was also headed in the direction of San Gil had been doing the same thing so he sat next to me in the terminal and we began to chat a bit using my limited Spanish (which had improved thanks to hanging with Moni). Finally the bus arrived and we ended up sitting next to each other and chatting for about the first 2 hours. After the first little bit we had to use google translate on his phone to really keep the convo going. It was a good experience and confidence booster chatting with a local for so long. He was quite entertained by it as well. After the first few hours of talking, our conversation was spare for the remainder of the 7 hour bus ride. 

The City

San Gil is in the Santander region and is the action sports capital of Colombia with activities like bungee jumping, paragliding, rafting, bici cable, zip lining, etc. It’s a popular backpacking destination because these extreme activities are all very cheap, relatively speaking. The town itself has a very chill vibe and the people are incredibly friendly. You could walk around at night time and feel completely safe. It was a nice blend of relaxed vibes in town and thrill seeking adventures outside of town. The roads in town had very steep inclines and like all the colonial style towns it has a plaza in the middle facing the church. There was also a river that runs through town with a beautiful botanical garden along side it. One of the major draws to the area, and the reason for so many action sports, is the Chichamocha Canyon which I’ll describe in further detail later.

The Hostel

I stayed at Macondo Hostel which was a beautiful property with a hot tub and a nice garden area with hammocks for chilling. They had a daily board to sign up for action sports which made it super easy to plan your next adventure, and to see who was doing what activity. There was also group activities at night like Fútbol Monday and Tejo Tuesday. The whole place had a very communal feel to it. 

The owner was an Australian guy, Sean, who came out here 20 years ago when Colombia only had 4 hostels at that time. He rafted the Rio Suarez with friends and knew he had to grow the industry here. He had a great perspective on Colombian tourism and the area. 20 years ago everyone skipped Colombia when coming from Ecuador and headed straight to Venezuela so people thought he was crazy and now it’s the opposite. It’s quite interesting how quickly things can change. I don’t think my parents would have ever imagined going to Vietnam and now it’s one of the most popular backpacking spots in the world. 

My only complaint was the beds themselves sucked. They were very creaky bunk beds so if you slightly moved in your bed then it was very noisy. And I had the top bunk too so that really sucked. Luckily my fourth night I was the only person in my dorm so my 4 person dorm turned into a private room. 

The People

The interactions I had with locals was in the market, at restaurants, taking taxis, and doing tourist excursions; and my love for the Colombian people continues to grow. Everyone is really friendly and happy to talk to you even if the conversation is limited. I had some really great taxi rides where I got to continue practicing my Spanish in its basic form. 

It was incredibly easy to meet people at this hostel because of all the extreme sports activities. You would sign up for an excursion and odds are multiple other people in the hostel would be doing it too so it made for a strong bonding experience. And then at night everyone would talk about the activity they did and start making plans for the next day’s adventure. 

I met so many people here between the excursions and Tejo Tuesday that it would be crazy to list them all but some that I was closest with were:

• Kirsten (Netherlands)
• Nanette (Curaçao)
• Pauline (Belgium)
• Aviv (Israel)
• Obri (Israel)
• Jaime (Australia)

Tejo Tuesday

The scoring for Tejo was different than when we played in Bogota but the general concept was the same. We did teams of 4 with three games done tournament style where the winner got a free taco plate at a Mexican restaurant in town. I was on a team with Aviv, Omri, and Jaime and we ended up being the champions going 3-0 (still undefeated in my tejo career, should have quit while I was ahead) which won us the free tacos. It was a really fun night and great opportunity to meet a bunch of different people from the hostel. 

Parque Natural El Gillineral

On my third day in town I decided to take a break from adventure activities and just wander around town. I had already rafted and paraglided, which is what I came here to do, and I was too scared to bungee. Some of the other activities looked fun but I wanted a chill day. I spent my morning wandering around the market and bought fresh veggies and pasta to cook for lunch. That afternoon I strolled down to Parque Natural El Gillineral, the botanical gardens in town. It was a very beautiful garden with a nice variety of tropical plants and flowers. I was really enjoying the peaceful alone time walking through the park in a state of bliss. I sat down on a mossy bench and took a deep breath appreciating how grateful I am for this experience. I had some very deep and insightful thoughts sitting on a that bench reflecting on my life over the past few weeks. Colombia has been such amazing place and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to start my trip. I was 2.5 weeks in and it felt like I’d been here a lifetime.

Chichamocha Canyon

With a length of 141 miles and a depth of up to 2,000 metres, the Chicamocha Canyon is often tipped as the second-largest in the world.

Paragliding

I really wanted to raft the Rio Suarez (most intense rapids in the area) but the water levels were too high so I decided to do paragliding as my first day activity. No one else in the hostel had signed up for paragliding that day so it was just me and a Colombian couple in the car. It was a beautiful 1.25 hour drive winding up the mountain with small towns and houses on the hills off in the distance. As we got closer to the launch off point there were spectacular views of the Chichamocha Canyon.

The instructor gave us a run down on what to do and less than 15 minutes after arriving they strapped me into my suit, attached me to the guide, and we were off.

It was such a crazy feeling just running off the edge of the cliff with the massive canyon below putting all your trust in both this stranger and the gear. Once up there it was actually very chill and relaxing. You can just put your legs up and let your arms free while the guide does all the work. It was an insane bird’s eye views of the Chicamocha Canyon below as we flew through the air moving with the wind. I couldn’t stop smiling as I tried to soak in every second of the experience. I could get used to this flying feeling and gorgeous view.

When the wind pushes you up and down it’s a weightless feeling and when it pushes you side to side it’s a bit shaky. I felt safe the whole time although for a second the back of your mind does wonder what would happen if something went wrong. But then you ignore that fleeting thought and go back to enjoying the incredible experience while it lasts. 

Toward the end the guide asked if I liked roller coasters. When I said yes he started jerking us side to side then did a bunch of 360s in the air. This part was wild. Seeing the world spinning so quickly around me while flying in the air had my heart racing and my stomach churning. I felt dizzy after that part but overall was fine. 

Then what I feel like is the most challenging part…landing. Similar to docking a boat, you never get the landing perfect the first time. We had to circle around a few tries before he got us at the right angle and height to land. As we got close to sticking the landing I had to stick up my legs and plopped onto my butt when we hit the ground. It was supposed to be 20-25 minutes but I ended up being in the air for a little over 30 minutes. Wow what an incredible experience! And it cost a little under $50 which is way cheaper than it would be at home. Afterwards me and the Colombian woman from my car chatted for a bit while she waited for her husband to finish. It must have been the exhilarating rush from paragliding but I was speaking very well and had one of my best conversations to date with her. 

Rafting

On my second day, Rio Suarez still wasn’t open so I decided to settle for rafting the Chichamocha River which was the medium level intensity. There was a huge crew of us from the hostel going which made the 2+ hour bus ride a lot more fun. The landscape was desert-like inside once inside the canyon as we got closer to the river for rafting. Although the standard safety speech is a necessary evil before rafting but it always makes you even more anxious/nervous when they bring up all the different what if scenarios. They had 2 kayakers going along with the rafting which always provides an extra level of comfort. 

It was absolutely beautiful rafting down the Chicamocha river between the canyon. Besides the fact that rafting is a thrilling experience, I always love the feeling being on the river getting a different viewpoint of the surrounding area, especially after paragliding over the Chicamocha the day before. The first hour was pretty mellow floating down the river, chatting amongst ourselves on the raft, and soaking in the gorgeous landscape. But the last 30 minutes got more intense including one section that was probably the most nonstop rapids I’d ever done, which really wore out the arms. Overall it was a moderate rafting experience as far as the rapids go but there was a few heart racing moments. None of the three boats seemed like they had expert rafters so there was a few times where the guides intentionally avoided the crazier rapids. I wish we had just gone for it but oh well maybe skipping it was for the best. The very last rapid did nearly knock me off the boat but the tight grip of my foot saved me and in the end no one fell in from any of the three boats. Solid day on the river and once again rafting proves to be a strong bonding experience with the people that you do it with. Afterwards we were treated to a nice 4pm lunch in the backyard of a local family that lived nearby our exit point from the river. 

Camino Real Village Hike (3 days, 29 miles, 8080 ft elevation gain, 5900 ft elevation loss, point to point)

Kirsten and I decided to do the unguided 3 day Camino Real trek from Cabrera to Los Santos passing through 6 colonial villages and going from the top of Chichamocha canyon down to the river and back up the other side. It truly was an adventure through the countryside of Colombia. Most people just do a small portion of this hike going the 2 hours from Barichara to Guane but I had stumbled upon the multi day trek online a few weeks prior and thought it looked interesting. It’s very off the beaten path so there wasn’t really much info about it other than a couple blog posts. It was awesome to see that our hostel had a section in the excursions booklet dedicated to this trek. Since it required going to remote villages and wandering through rural farms I was glad Kirsten said she was interested in doing the trek because this didn’t seem like the type of thing you’d want to do alone. Nanette joined us for a portion of the first day going from Cabrera to Guane before taking the bus back to Barichara. 

Day 1: Cabrera > Villaneuva (15.1 miles, 4222 ft elevation gain, 1800 ft elevation loss, point to point)

Cabrera > Barichara (Stats include walking around Barichara. 5.9 miles, 1600 ft elevation gain, 300 ft elevation loss)

• Starting point of the trek. Tiny town that for some reason had 6 cops hanging out at the square at 8am
• Started out with very steep uphill slope using rocks as “steps” and following the Jesus plaque pilgrimage (there was at least 10 of them along the way up). Challenging start to the morning as we gained about 1000 feet in the first mile but leveled off after about 25 minutes and then we just followed a road into Barichara. Rewarding to enter the town by foot

Barichara > Guane (4 miles, 100 ft elevation gain, 1200 ft elevation loss)

• Barichara is a very charming and relaxing town that is a popular day trip/one night stay from San Gil
• This sleepy small town was once named most beautiful town in Colombia
• Stone streets surrounded by white buildings with red shingle rooftop and gorgeous hillside views in the distance
• Seemed like an easy place to spend an evening just wandering down every street in town soaking in the vibe. But also it all looks the same so it was easy to leave after eating a 10am lunch and 30 minutes of wandering around
• Windows open in the buildings that you’re too curious not to peak in

• Hike to Guane is classic Camino Real walk for those looking to just do a couple hours. This segment and Jordan to Los Santos were the only sections during our 3 day Camino Real trek that we saw other people
• All downhill along “cobblestone path”. Beautiful views along the way and going through some nice green landscape
• The entrance to Guane was my favorite of any village entrance. All the sudden you find yourself walking into this quaint little town nestled in the valley with an even more stunning backdrop than Barichara and the smell of fresh food wafting from the window of the first house you walk by
• We grabbed an afternoon drink then said our goodbyes to Nanette

Guane > Villaneuva (5.2 miles, 2500 ft elevation gain, 300 day elevation loss)

• Started out with narrow uphill along overgrown trail. Could tell this was a path not traveled very often
• Next section followed a gravel road with the occasional farm house on either side of the road. Sometimes we were greeted by barking dogs, and while my experience with dogs in Colombia has mostly been positive, these dogs were very protective of their land and would sometimes flash teeth. So it actually became a bit nerve wracking to where Kirsten and I would carry a stick or rock to protect ourselves just in case. It started out as a gradual uphill but toward the end it got really steep and since we were already over 10 miles into our day it was quite exhausting
• Finally we got to the top of the hill (much harder than expected) and could see Villanueva off in the distance. But first we had a couple miles of downhill through some pretty muddy sections

It was an incredibly long but rewarding first day of the the journey. Walking through four villages felt like something out of medieval times or Lord of the Rings. We had an amazing hotel in Villanueva that night. All the other guests were Colombian families and couples then in comes too sweaty gringos that had just hiked over 15 miles all the way from Cabrera. We earned our nice stay! It was at the top of the hill so had phenomenal view of town, pool, snake slide, hot tub, friendly staff, and a tasty dinner. After the shitty sleeping situation in San Gil, it was so nice to have a comfy queen bed.

Day 2: Villanueva > Shangrila (8.8 miles, 905 ft elevation gain, 4000 day elevation loss)

• Beginning of the morning was all along a dirt road through farm land with some nice views of the hilly, rural landscape
• Reminded me a bit of walking along a ranch road in west Texas but much greener surroundings
• On several occasions we shared the road with the cows

• After about 2 hours we approached the Chichamocha Canyon and the real beauty began to set in. Absolutely stunning views from the top of the canyon, the river, and all the surrounding landscape
• I have seen the Chichamocha Canyon from the air, by water, and now by land so I’d say I truly conquered it…and it did not disappoint from any of the three perspectives
• We knew this part would be hard given how downhill it was to the river and the lack of shade but sheesh the sun was intense and it was a douzy on the knees
• Plus some sections you really had to be careful going down with the rocks. But all so worth it as the views were continually amazing throughout.
• Got a close up look at the changing fauna as you went down through this dry tropical rainforest seeing cacti, succulents, salimancha, aloe, etc

By about 12:30 we finally made it to Shangrila and once again had a nice accommodation with a big pool. At $40/person, it was pricey for Colombia (although LBR still insanely cheap) but it also included all 3 meals, pool access, and a spacious room with 3 beds and 3 fans inside a white adobe hut. Okay fine we’ll settle…

We had a great afternoon hanging in and around the pool just soaking in the sun and relaxing. Just before sunset we walked the 5 minutes to the river where there was a shaded area with hammocks setup. Ahhh the good life.

Day 3: Shangrila > Jordan > Los Santos (5.1 miles, 2956 ft elevation gain, 100 ft elevation loss)

• A little over a mile on flat ground from Shangrila to Jordan. There were 3 dogs following us the whole way, 1 from Shangrila and 2 others that joined us along the way
• Crossed the bridge over the river and it was all uphill from there to make it back to the top of the canyon
• Nice, wide cobblestone path but it was nonstop up and had some steep sections which were tough on day 3 legs
• Even though it was early in the morning the sun was blazing and we were sweating out more water than we were drinking
• This trail was heavily trafficked with most people going downhill into the canyon. We stopped at a few of the rest points and chatted with people. More Spanish practice!
• There was a kid grabbing mamones from the trees and he threw us down some. It’s a little fruit that is kind of like a lollipop where you peel the skin then suck on the inside

Wow what an accomplishing feeling when we walked into Los Santos, our 6th and final entrance into a colonial city. The town was bustling on a Sunday morning and it felt like we were in the big city after what we had experienced the past few days.

After some breakfast and ice cream, we had to figure out the journey back to San Gil which was not nearly as straight forward as getting to Cabrera because now we were on the other side of the canyon. This part of the trip turned out to be harder than hiking over 25 miles in 3 days. Per Sean’s instructions in the hostel booklet, we took the bus toward Piedecuesta but we weren’t passing through the city he had mentioned to get off. We had told the bus bus driver we were going to San Gil so once we got to this fork in the main road he told us we could get off here. All the sudden we’re just standing on the side of the road just hoping we can catch another bus back to San Gil. While this usually works out for the local Colombians we were looking and feeling lost. This kid also waiting in the same area started talking to us and basically said since it’s a holiday weekend all the buses driving by here will be full and we need to go to Piedecuesta to buy a ticket. Well shit should have never gotten off the first bus. After waiting a bit longer the kid flagged down a taxi for us and rode with us into town to the bus station. He was super helpful and we were able to get tickets for San Gil departing in 30 minutes. But then he lingered around which made Kirsten nervous that he wanted something more from us. I told him we’re good now and offered him some money but he kindly declined and just wanted to snag a photo with us for Instagram. You never know what someone might want to get from you but turns out he was just a super nice and helpful kid. Then in classic Colombia fashion our bus showed up over 20 minutes late and since it was a holiday the traffic back to San Gil was terrible. We had left Los Santos just after 11 and didn’t get back to San Gil until 6. It was a long ass afternoon on the bus but after hiking 3 days it was nice to just sit. I was taking the overnight bus to Medellin that night so this was just the beginning of many more hours sitting on a bus.