As I have given up on planning my travel well in advance I do get to places I have never even heard about. Filandia is definitely one of them. A small touristic village (Pueblo as locals say) halfway between Bogota and the Pacific coast.
It was recommended to me kinda last minute before I had to decide where to go to escape the business of Bogota. The hostel looked cheap and clean and decision was made. Off to Filandia. The only "problem" was that it is not so close at all.
What was supposed to be an eight hours drive turned out to be a whole day experience.
It was actually the Colombian independence day. I was naively thinking that it would be quiet. Nope, it surely wasn't! Everybody seemed to be going somewhere and prolonged weekend holiday just started - Nationwide!
I have arrived already well into the evening of celebrations and the whole city was shining in the Colombian colors. I do not celebrate these things as I can't care less about nation states, but Colombians do take it seriously and during my short trip to the market I have seen plenty of empty rum bottles around. However needless to say I haven't seen drunks around - everything in Salsa vibes - clean and organized.
It would be a pity though to write about this Friday night on steroids for too much as we have a better thing to do...
On the next morning I have decided to visit the mountains surrounding Filandia. There was a catch however. In Colombia it is quite common to be forced to pay entry fee or join a guided tour of some sort. That is definitely what wasn't my plan. So after informing myself in a little in local tourist office I knew - "Más o menos" where to go to avoid paying for anything.
It was the only option in close proximity - a canyon near by - maybe an hour walk to get there. So I packed my cameras, bananas, good mood and went for it...
Shortly after I have left the village a nice rocky road led me to typical Colombian countryside. I have encountered many domesticated animals on the way. Sometimes even a domesticated "bandito" - a random guy with a machete just walking around or pretending cutting bamboo.
That is always quite an adventure - encountering locals while they are possessing a machete...
99% of time nothing happens of course. But the feeling is a dopamine rush almost every time.
Before I have made it to the canyon I had to pass through what looked like a control point. My heartbeat increased as I have expected the worst - an entry fee. To my luck it was kinda abandoned and only few dogs were barking around. Nothing was stopping me from entering my desired destination anymore.
I have collected few beautiful rocks did some exercise and was ready to leave when some local kids entered the area and started to act annoyingly. Sadly these kids were the only "monkeys" I have had a chance to meet or see. The whole area is known for them, but I just wasn't lucky this time around.
On the way back I tried ninja style walk up the hill and was very quickly back in the area of Fincas (understand country houses) and domesticated animals again. Horses, dogs and cats were greeting me on my way back and without words - were saying goodbye...
All the best,
Global Local