Yesterday we hiked from the bus dropoff at 9000 ft. to reach Lago Iguaque at 12,000 ft. This is the supposed birthplace of mankind. A Muisca Indian woman and her baby emerged from the lake and after the baby grew up, she married him and they peopled the earth. Then they changed into snakes and went back into the lake. I like this version better than Adam and Eve. Also, the Muisca version of the afterlife is singing and dancing which sounds pretty sweet.
The path was a steep rocky, rooty climb through the forest until we got to about 11,000 ft. where it opened up into paramo or steep mountain plain. There was mist coming in an out and there were many unusual plants and flowers including frailejons which are a flowering perennial hrub that only grows at high altitudes and resembles a joshua tree. We couldn't linger long at the lake becaue we had to be back for the one and only 4 o'clock bus. We were totally beat by the time we reached our hostal. We had a shower and quick dinner and had the lights out by 7:30. I was thrilled that with some diamox (for altitude sickness) and my migraine meds I as able to do the hike without a major migraine. I was very light headed and moving at a turtle pace, however.
We moved on to Bogota today in a very strange and much longer than expected bus ride. We rode to the town on the main highway to catch a direct bus to Bogota. However, just out of town there had been a huge accident and chemical spill on the highway. We waited for a long time at the highway entrance and then our driver decided to be creative. Off we went on a back road winding through the mountains. The road deteriorated quickly to a dirt road with many washouts from recent flooding. Also we went through tiny towns in our large greyhound size bus and could barely squeeze through. In each town the driver would ask for advice and directions and everyone on the bus would chime in with their opinion. Quite an adventure.
We arrived in Bogota on Friday night and the area we are staying in is really hopping. The main road has been closed off to cars and filled with throngs of pedestrians out having a good time and act after act of street music, jugglers, hare krishna, comedians, etc. Quite a scene.
My new favorite artist after Modigliani is the Colombian Butero who revels in everything fat. Let´s hope this mode comes back soon. He´s got a fabulous museum here.
12,000 feet is amazing! Dick has climbed Mt. Hood and certainly felt the effects of the altitude at 11, 200. As to giving directions, I think that the universal response is to be helpful albeit not usually consistent with those around you. Yes, those Butero folks look happy.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Bogota sounds great . . .
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