Ready to travel from Bogota into the unknown…
On the road to the border
There are so many travel opportunities in Colombia. The only reason I ended up in San Gil instead of Cartagena was the desire to get to Venezuela, and San Gil was a convenient half-way point between Bogota and Cucuta. What I hadn’t realized about San Gil is that it is an important starting-off point for many adventure-filled activities, from biking to white-water rafting, rappelling to horse-back riding and a whole lot more. Unfortunately, I didn’t find out about it until later, and I had already booked my bus ticket onward to Cucuta.
Gallineral Park, San Gil. Plenty of moss-covered trees, and a nice park for a relaxing stroll.
Déjà vu in San Gil
San Gil is a small town, with a pleasant town square and a lively and colourful market. Before arriving here, I had not yet had to find my own meals, as there was always someone around the help me with menu choices. Here it was different. Strolling around the market at about 1 in the afternoon, the wonderful smell of food drove my digestive juices into a frenzy, and there was nothing for it than to find a food stall and order some lunch to silence the cacophony. The problem was, I had no idea how to order food, nor had I yet learned that in most places they have set-lunch menus; a complete lunch including soup, vegetables, meat of one type or another, rice or potatoes, and a dessert, all included.
A complete meal set.
As I was meandering through the stalls, my eye fell on one particularly delicious-looking plate of rice and chicken, and through a whole series of mumbles and hand signs, I managed to indicate that I would love to have one of those dishes. With a smile I was told to sit down and wait. Oh the entire pantomime reminded me of the very first meal I had to order in a market in Thailand. Fresh off the plane, 30 years earlier, on pretty much the exact same date in August in 1986, I had stood in front of a food stall in a market in Hua Hin, and there too the chicken and rice dish looked delectable. By pointing and grunting I managed to get my chicken and rice, a meal I would repeat slavishly for the next week or two until I had learned enough Thai to alter my choices and settle for vegetables and pork or something else. As I sat waiting for my food in San Gil I couldn’t help but smile at the symmetry of the situation.
Soon the first plate arrived, a large helping of chicken with rice, beans, and vegetables; then a bowl of soup was placed on the table, followed nearly immediately by a glass of flavoured water – to this day I have no idea what the drink was, but it was refreshing, and it too will be one of the things I will go back for. The soup was delicious, a beef-based broth, almost stew-like. Who can blame me for going back there the following day for another helping? The stall-owner saw me approaching in the distance, and as I got closer, a smile spread across her face. She pointed at the table where I was meant to sit, and without me having to do any pointing or grunting, a similarly delicious meal was served, only today the choice was beef instead of chicken, and the soup was a chicken broth with potatoes. The best part of it all was the price for the lunch, a grand total of US$2.
San Gil town square
An Excuse for a Repeat Visit
For my stay in San Gil, I explored the town, its main square, some of its older buildings, and a nice, although not large, park within the town’s limits. There really is not that much to see within the town, one day of walking around is sufficient. There is a town about 1 hour from San Gil, Barichara, a small colonial town with a well-maintained town square, a quaint church, and an excellent view of the Chicamocha canyon, a place where many of the adventure travel activities take place. Getting to Barichara is not difficult, all you have to do is find the right bus terminal in San Gil, while coming back to San Gil is even easier as the main town square in Barichara also serves as the drop-off and pick-up point for bus services.
Main street, Barichara
I should mention here that I stayed with a wonderful family in San Gil, who took great care of me. When we travel, and we are invited into the homes and lives of people along the way, such hospitality adds tremendously to the overall experience and provides an opportunity to learn more about the culture and lives of people in distant lands. This hard-working couple are true entrepreneurs, developing some very interesting online concepts for exhibitions and museums. If anyone wants to learn more about virtual exhibitions and exchange information and ideas with them, drop me a line, and I will pass on the info.
Map of San Gil and surroundings : sites of interest
I must admit, the day and a half I spent in San Gil were not very well planned, my mind was on getting to the border and into Venezuela, instead of exploring the adventure activities around San Gil. We will all have those moments when we feel that better planning might have served us better, but hey, you’re traveling, and you can’t do everything; but that is very much an excuse for an argument that a follow-up trip is required.
