Mr & Mrs – A blog of our round the world trip travelling through South America and South East Asia » Gallery: Treasure hunting in San Agustin!

Gallery: Treasure hunting in San Agustin!

Posted by lynette on July 9, 2009, at 4:48 pm | Category: Colombia, Photos | One comment

The novelty had worn off slightly for us by now as well…

San Agustin was a must stop for us; ancient carved stone heads and animals set in a tranquil town high in the mountains. We had heard many negative comments, which always help as your expectations can only be beaten. Yes its true there are more statues and carvings than you probably need, but they are a great insight into the history of the land and stretch back to 3,500BC. Beyond the statues you’ll find a great town that is very helpful for your budget and a great place to kick back and escape the heat.

Big monument…

We arrived from Cartegena via a flight with Avianca to Bogota (COP$160,000 each) and then a night bus to San Agustin with Coomotor (COP$45,000 after some bargaining). The flight we found with an excellent Colombian flight comparison site, http://www.co.despegar.com. The flight was great also; only 1hr 20mins but they still squeezed in some juices and snacks. No need for another Ryanair showdown just yet! The bus we were better prepared for this time but we didn’t need to be; it also included snacks and drinks as well as a blanket. Very welcome, although the 3am stop in a petrol station and forcing everybody to vacate for ten minutes certainly wasn’t!

A lot colder but more vegetation than Cartagena!

On arrival to San Agustin, you can tell they’re gearing up for the tourists, as you are swamped by ten or so guides who want to take you to a hostel, book you on tours, and basically snap up everything you might want in our stay within your first five minutes. We evaded them fairly successfully, but let one call our prebooked hostel Casa de Francois to arrange a pickup. For us it is free, but they get some pesos from the hostel, so happiness all round. As Francois climbed up the hill in his newly purchased (but very old) van, Steve & I had to get out for the last 50 metres otherwise it couldn’t make the hill. No problem for us, as this particular hostel has more character and quirks than all the others we’ve stayed in put together! More on that later.

Cute little girl came over and chatted to us in Spanish before buying some cake

The first day was spent sorting out some home admin and taking a walk around San Agustin. The grocery shopping was great fun; they’re missing many crucial ingredients such as ginger and baguettes (for a curry and breakfast), but we found a market that sold fresh fruit and veg so we stocked up for some home cooking. The rest of the day we chilled out at our hostel, Casa De Francois, which is owned by a French chap called… Francois! It was easy to relax there – isolated in the hills, it is a farm come hostel selling various things from the farm – coffee, jam, bread (although sadly not French baguettes), eggs etc. The grounds are covered in beautiful foliage with herbs, fruit and vegetables scattered throughout. The piece de resistance though are the buildings which Francois co-ordinates and helps build. Central building contains the kitchen (with an awesome basket system to store your food – why no other hostel has thought of this is beyond us!), and Francois’ family’s living quarters. The dorms and rooms are spread across the form and made in various shapes/sizes but all have glass bottles embedded in the walls which play with the light streaming through them! Everything if possible is to be recycled there so definitely a hostel for an eco-conscious traveller. And, they have duvets!!!! We fell asleep that night listening to the sounds of the Columbian countryside which was mucho tranquillo!

Just in front of the River Magdalena – I’m having a particularly bad hair day!

Day 2 we had booked a jeep tour with 3 others at our hostel and were faithfully told there would only be the 5 of us in the jeep – sounded good! So at 9am we all trekked down to the jeep to find that there was already a small Columbian family in the back, laughing we asked how the five of us were to fit in the 4 remaining seats. We soon stopped laughing when we discovered that we indeed had to squeeze our butts into minimal seatage. When I say ‘we’ I mean me (Lynette) who was relegated to ‘seat’ i.e. cushion in between driver and passenger seat. For two thirds of the day I remained there, gear stick hitting off of left leg, right knee bouncing against the radio and for an hour or so, being headbutted by Steve as he continuously fell asleep and his lolling head was bounced quite forcefully into mine.

This is a tomb, aka a hole in the ground. There are lots of these in San Agustin.

First stop of the day was to a small museum with tombs outside, it sounded fascinating but in essence was one room of the museum all in Spanish with a series of tombs outside. They were essentially holes in the ground and you couldn’t see anything of interest in them – the museum didn’t contain the artefacts that had been discovered in them. Slightly disappointed but still enthusiastic, we arrived at a place where you can see the River Magdalena. The rapids were beautiful and the scenery stunning. We wandered around for approximately 20mins before on in the world’s uncomfiest jeep to the highlight of the trip – Los Altos Dos Idoles. Once there, you can buy a ticket into the park and a second separate ticket if you go to the Archaelogical Park (not on the jeep tour) or as we did buy a combo ticket which gives you a discounted fare into both but is only valid for two days. Therefore if you go to Los Altos Dos Idoles one day, you must go to the Archaeological Park the next or vice versa. There is also one price for Columbians, and a second, more expensive, price for foreigners.

Steve doing impression of the monument, aka looking like he’s going to the invisible toilet…

Los Altos Dos Idoles involved a steep walk up a very large hill (they don’t cater for the elderly or disabled here!) to see a number of sacred tombs. Some had carved monoliths in front of them, representing guards of the tombs – some male, some female, some animals. The carvings were ornate and awe inspiring to think how these ancient peoples made them and also the detail they put into the engravings for funeral regalia. The tombs varied in size and elaborateness. After lunch, we headed to another set of tombs (holes in ground) before heading to a giant waterfall. Along the way, the scenery was beautiful – trundling along through fields of corn, sugarcane, plantain, coffee. There were spectacular hill ranges and small waterfalls scattered along the way. However all this was marred by the fact that the roads were dirt tracks that had been recently churned over by heavy machinery and as such were almost impassable. Once or twice the driver nearly turned back and at one point we all had to get out to enable the jeep to get up the hill. It probably wouldn’t have seemed as bad if the jeep were comfortable, but as aforementioned it wasn’t. If you were to do this jeep tour, I’d recommend asking to see the jeep before booking and checking that it appears safe and qualifying the limit of number of people going along.

Beautiful waterfall in the background

When we reached the large waterfall, it looked outstanding. We were really a little too far away from it as the water spectacularly crashed onto the rocks below and you really wanted to be closer to hear the crash and feel the water vapour. When we set off, we refused to get back into the front seat and two others from the tour swapped with us – all of a sudden, they could see why we were so irritated! Our final destination of the tour, I wonder if you can guess, was to some more tombs aka holes in ground. On the whole, we, and the others from our hostel, weren’t impressed with the jeep tour but we were told from our fellow hostellers that the horse tour we had booked for the next day (with a different guide) was far better. That evening, we got merry with Francois and a lovely UK chap called Ollie. Francois told us about our guide for the next day who had apparently only been released from house arrest two weeks before for trying to grow a cocaine farm…all of a sudden the next day seemed slightly more daunting…

Me getting on my horse, gleeful at first…I soon named him Satan

Day 3 of San Agustin started with us meeting our guide, Carlos, for the horse riding trek. We got on our horses and were then told to pull the reigns to slow them down…slightly dubious! I soon nicknamed my horse ‘Satan’ as he didn’t like having the reigns pulled and liked to buck. Even Carlos had a go on him, couldn’t slow him down and told me that he was ‘lively’. Superb! Throughout the day, the horses galloped along through muddy roads and up narrow tracks – it was quite daunting to say the least. My horse even outran Steve’s and our German fellow trekker – ha! We stopped at several monumental sites – mainly of more monoliths and tombs but they were more spectacular and ornate than those of yesterday. Carlos eagerly gave us explanations for each statue but some were a little far-fetched. At one point, we walked down a steep cliff-side to be shown some monoliths on the cliff-face. Carlos pointed out a monkey and a bear but to be honest they could have been penguins for all you could make out. The highlight of the trip was by far riding on the horses through the countryside with Carlos pointing out the many different crop types en route. He took pains in telling us that he only did horse rides and didn’t show any cocaine factories too…and could we possibly tell Francois that – funny!

Yeah, he didnt do that when the horse was running…

We were dropped off at the hostel, instead of the Archaeological Park we were expecting, so we went for dinner and then decided to walk the 3km to the Park ourselves as we were a little stiff. Around 5km later (another trend of time/distances magically increasing on the way), we arrived. The walk around the Archaeological Park took around 2h and a walk in the park it wasn’t! Huge hills and flights of stairs in between each section of the park, with mosquitoes to accompany us. You really need to take bottles of water here with you too – although sold there, they are very expensive. Each site in the park contained amazing monoliths, far more ornate than those we had seen out and about. One of the most frustrating things about the monoliths is that due to the destruction of most information by the Inquisitors, no-one really knows what each monolith or site’s pertinence is. Along with that, many monoliths have been excavated and moved from their original placement and it is hard to trace which monuments were moved from where and what their relevance could have been in situ. Not much that anyone can do about this, and it doesn’t negate the enjoyment of seeing them, however if you like fact finding like we do, it can be frustrating not being able to piece the information together. If you like mystery, you’re in your element! The Archaeological Park was by far the area that we found with the best information and best monoliths so if you’re stuck for time and can only pick one thing, do this one!

Sitting back at the hostel, watching the sunset – absolutely gorgeous

After a day of serious walking and horse riding, Steve and I sat on the balcony at Casa De Francois (although the walk up the hill gets longer every time…) and watched the sunset over the mountains and the colours it threw onto all the foliage around us – a really beautiful setting. Then beer with Ollie over table tennis before heading into town for a few more at the local bar!

Chill out time in San Agustin A few days in the tourist hot spot that isn’t San Agustin. Lots of stones and amazing scenery. Too many stones really.
A lot colder but more vegetation than Cartagena!	Info if you want it on the River Magdalena in San Agustin	Just in front of the River Magdalena – I’m having a particularly bad hair day!	Entry to the worst museum in the world…	This is a tomb, aka a hole in the ground. There are lots of these in San Agustin.
Two monuments in the museum, there are much better ones later on!	Start of another hole in the ground…	These all have significant importance in San Agustin history – not sure what it is though…	A chicken and chicks at the start of Altos De Los Idoles	Big monument…
The gazebo type things protect the monuments that have been moved from original location to here…the horse is just for effect	Monument in front of a tomb – they are supposed to protect the dead.	More monuments in front of tombs…	This monument got in the tomb…joke – it’s a coffin	Particularly evil monument – our guidebook says its unknown if they were made to look like the people they were guarding…hope not!
Steve doing impression of the monument, aka looking like he’s going to the invisible toilet…	Hole, monument…you get the picture	Adapted hairstyle for moi to make pictures slightly better…need that hairdryer people!	Holes, stones, no statues…	The park again, not made for those with damaged legs.
This statue is apparently holding two children…	My lovely husband brightening up the statue pictures…	Crocodile statue!	The entrance to Alto de los Idolos.	This is the, ahem, ‘road’ we had to go up in a jeep…we got out at one point to make it easier.
Beautiful waterfall in the background	Quite a torrent – made us all want to go pee	Very wet in front of another hole in the ground	This statue was apparently royalty as he had a necklace on, he also looks very fat	The novelty had worn off slightly for us by now as well…
This statue was carved in a, um, compromising position – the creator maybe didnt like the person they were carving for…	Tomb with as I call them ‘rib rocks’ to cover the body	Two in one! The top one is a kind of iguana but it’s tail is a snake.	Profile pic…	Salto del Mortino waterfall.
You dont really want to slip here	Steve refuses to remove these pictures and I dont know how yet…	Long, thin waterfall	Me getting on my horse, gleeful at first…I soon named him Satan	Better statues than yesterday!
These flying beasts are apparently very vicious but house themselves in the ceiling of all monument coverings	Pretty bush…	These are Coca leaves and taste RANK! The hair got dyed that night too ;o)	Horses behaving for a change – Satan had gotten used to me by now and the ‘pull on the reigns to slow him down’ theory we were told to do – not what I’ve been told before!	I was given this whip by our guide, Carlos, to hold – he then told me it’s made out of a bull’s ‘instrument’. Gee, thanks….
Steve in front of a beautiful view	River Magdalena again…	OK, so this was a massive hike to see this guy, the rock at the very bottom left is apparently a carving of a monkey. I pointed out it could be a penguin for all you can see!	Carlos playing with a stick…	This Ladies and Gents is apparently a bear. Carlos wasn’t amused when I said I just couldn’t see it…
Our stop for a drink on the way with the horses.	Steve on his lovely horse who was a lot calmer than mine and mine’s older brother…	Yeah, he didnt do that when the horse was running…	He actually went slowly down the hills every now and again	Carlos told us the one on the left was an eagle, me and my German friend both agreed – it’s an owl.
Apparently these are magic mushrooms in the turd	On the way to another hole and statue…	This one’s a cool statue though you have to admit!	Ooooh, and another one. Apparently they are ‘smiling’…	Rather weather beaten – doesn’t the one on the right look like a snowman?
Carlos had more beer pitstops than we did…	Two kids who untie your horse from the railing before you get there and then ask for money…cheeky little #?%*s	Only 4522km to where we fly home from!	What’s more disturbing – our German friend’s strange belly or my pink/red skinhead combo?	Big bad wolf blew the walls of his house down.
Trying to look interested in another hole	A sun god	I’m sure the locals dont mind us taking the mick out of their heritage…	Fat statue…	This was to be one of the most interesting areas of the Arqueological Park – this photo was more interesting than when you get down there…
Weird shapes in the rock – the bridge around the outside where you can see them clearly was helpfully shut…	Half a head	Me, statue…done.	Ooooo, pretty butterfly! Makes a change from a hole in the ground at least	Grasshopper – not as interesting as Sticky Bob but that might be because we found out after the photo he was dead…
Smiley statue!	Smiley Steve in front of not smiley statues	Bird statue with a worm in his mouth	One of the areas of the Arqueological Park which took 3h, yes 3h of statues (!), to walk around	So you get a feel for how many holes in the ground there are around here…
Sorry, all I can see is my bad hair – I have developed another easy maintenance hairstyle now…	Arty photo as we race towards the Park end and a much needed beer	Cute little girl came over and chatted to us in Spanish before buying some cake	Impromptu performance – lasted the whole of 20 seconds before the Fun Polica aka the Park guards came and told them to shut up	He’s Argentinian
Sitting back at the hostel, watching the sunset – absolutely gorgeous