The best or worst?! ride was the last which involved sitting crunched up in a four wheel drive (complete with nuns) for a few hours on the bumpiest roads. Fortunately we managed to catch my bag just in time before it fell off the roof into an enormous puddle - the reaction from the driver was a huff and puff as if it was such an inconvenience to re-tie the bag. I think that if we had not been watching the bags he would have quite happily kept on going leaving my bag behind to float in mud squelch.
When we finally arrived in the Tierradentro area, we were relieved to say the least. The pain on the boys faces said it all! The main town, San Andres de Pisimbala has a population of a few hundred people, 2 restaurants, a handful of shops and lots of horses! It was like going back in time - coffee beans left out to dry in the streets and horses being used for daily work and roaming freely throughout the village. Surrounding this sleepy town are 100's kms of incredibly bumpy dirt roads - as such we saw only 2 other tourists during the 3 day stay.
Situated on stunning hilltops are 40 or so excavated burial tombs dating from AD 500-900- a bit of a trek but well worth it for the views! Entered via spiral staircases, some of the burial chambers are 8 metres underground and painted/decorated in geometric designs in red, black and white. Interestingly little is known about the tombs and the indigenous groups that inhabited the area, as they simply disappeared many years before the Spanish arrived. It is believed though that there was a 2-stage burial process - the first involved burying the body in a simple grave, followed by cremation and burial in a decorated underground tomb. However, the reasons for this method of burial are largely unknown, other than these people believed strongly in the after-life.
The burial chambers were fascinating and beautiful, however a little creepy and steep to get down to. At one point I freaked out thinking that we might all be locked in the chamber - hummm was this the real reason why we didn't see any other tourists while we were there?!
We stayed in one of the only guest houses in town, and luckily the wife of the owner was the best cook - however we still ate the usual rice, beans and (if you can call it) steak. The soup was the definitely the winner. After dinner, the town was silent, rather unusual for a Columbian town as there is normally someone blasting salsa beats from their home. After a full day of walking we finished the day off with Coca wine - which had a striking resemblance to sherry and freaked out as a massive flying bug with a long neck ?!? burst into our room just before lights out. ek
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