Roaming South America

On the road again

November 2, 2022

Well, I'm on the road, again, this time I expect to see pretty much all of South American. If all goes according to plan I will spend 1-2 months in each of the following countries: Ecuador, Perú, Bolivia, Chile, (cross the northern half of Argentina) Paraguay, Uraguay. I expect to see a bit of Brazil crossing from Paraguay to Uraguay.

I left Roldanillo (in the northern half of the Valle del Cauca, Colombia) on Sunday the 30th I took a bus to Buga and left on Tuesday. Tuesday I arrived in Popayán. Tomorrow is Thursday and I will leave in the morning to go to a pueblo called Pitalito, in the Huila departamento (similar to a province).

Buga has a population of around 115,000 people. In Buga, I walked all over the city and viewed many historical places, parks, etc. There are pics in the photo album, check 'em out. Buga is one of the oldest cities in Colombia—it was founded in 1555. Buga has a church called "Basilica del Señor de Los Milagros". Buga receives some 3 million visitors a year, people coming specifically to see the Basilica.

Popayán is south and in the departamento Cauca (not to be confused with the Valle del Cauca departamento). Popayán has a population of somewhere north of 300,000 people. Popayán was founded in 1537 and still has many original historical buildings throughout the city center. It is famous for the many universities, one of which was founded in 1827. There have also been 17 Colombian Presidents from Popayán, as well as many famous poets, painters, and composers. UNESCO named Popayán their first city of gastronomy. UNESCO also declared the Easter week processions a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Patrimony of Humanity. These processions are documented all the way back to 1558

"El Morro del tulcán" is an archeological site in the city. It is a pyramid without the pointy top. There is a rocky path that leads up to the top where a monument was built way back in 1937. Now, due to years of neglect and damage from no-gooders, there's not much left of the monument. The pyramid itself dates back to between 500-1600AC.

The major city-center park/plaza is called Caldas Park, and it dates back to 1537, the year the city was founded. There is a statue in the center of the park, but over the years that centerpiece changed several times, the first being a 'trap' - where 2 men were beheaded.

In the photo album are pics of all the places mentioned and many more. Unfortunately, some of the church interior pics are out of order from their exterior pics because of the different times of the day that the pics were taken - the interior pics had to be after 5 pm when the churches opened for services. There are pics from the top of the pyramid and pics of the "tres cruces" at the top of another hill alongside the city.

The city clock tower was built between 1673-1682 and was built with 96,000 bricks. The clock was built in England and added to the tower in 1737. The 1983 earthquate damaged the original clock but it was restored by the same company that made the original clock hundreds of years before. But, since then it has again stopped working.

Humilladero Bridge, made of brick and masonry, was built in 1873 across a fault which is also a flowing stream. In the photo album are pics.

The photo above is the Iglesia de San Francisco (The San Francisco Church). The existing church you see is the second. The original church was built in the 1500s but it was destroyed in an earthquake in 1736. This new church was built in the 1760s-1770s. The blessing of the church took place in 1787. Then the earthquake of 1983 did a fair amount of damage to the church but it was restored in the late '90s. The church bell was cast in gold and bronze. Inside and at the front of the church is the monstrance. The upper section of it is of gold and there are diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and pearls used for decoration.

Tomorrow morning I will leave for Pitalito. Check back for updates and more pics.