San Augstin and the tomb raiders

Hola!

Volcano walk didn´t work out due to a problems with the guide...So decided to hit the road again and head down south. Nb camera is alive again after its swim, still no screen but am getting pretty good at shot-guessing..Have also gone and added some pix to last post.

Its a hot afternoon and have just spent a dusty morning riding around to check out some pre-inca archaeological sites consisting of tombs and carved stone statues. I went with a couple of fellow american and german travellers that are staying at Casa De Francisco, a funky hostel on top of a hill overlooking the town. It was great riding, through, farmland, coffee plantations and a little jungle. The horses were pretty spirited so we got quite a bit of a gallop in. All for $6, with guide!





A bit about the sites from the ´go.southamerica.about.com´ website "The sites are relics of a civilization that that flourished and died between the 6th century B.C and 12th A.D.. Thought to be a cultural center and used by a succession of varied indigenous groups that disappeared before the Incas arrived on the scene, this region has several sites with the same type of statues and carvings, but the most important is the site at San Agustín, now the Parque Arqueológico de San Agustín, and listed in 1995 on the World Heritage List of UNESCO.

The park sprawls over an area of 500 square kilometers and is considered the largest of the pre-Columbian sites in South America, and brings together cultural influences from peoples of the Andes, Amazonia and the Caribbean groups. Though not much is known of the cultures who created the statues, dolmens and carvings, these relics tell a tale of their own. The lush landscape serves as a foil for statues representing mythical and real creatures, perhaps gods and actual men, as well as the Goddess of Motherhood. There are about 500 statues and tombs are scattered in groups over an area on both sides of the Rio Magdalena Gorge, and there may be more undiscovered to date."

So potential tomb raiders take not of the last bit of the above. If anyone is keen?

Arrived yesterday after a uneventful but windy overnight bus ride from Salento. Managed to find my way up the hill to Fransico´s chilled out hill top retreat. There are several buildings mostly constructed from bamboo and mud brick. Fransico is a French guy, no surprises who arrived here some 15 years ago and setup the hostel. It´s good having a kitchen again and this am had a smothie-off - who could create the best smoothie..My mango, pineapple, banana and yogurt number was a knockout!

Tomorrow i´m heading to Tierradento, which has more archaeological ruins including impressive tombs. Is a 7 hour or so bumpy and dusty ride..yeah!
later,
d.