Voyage Express

Day 4
We woke up late! Lied in bed, finalized our blog and videos, had breakfast with the nicest host family and then left the house to see a museum the most authentic colonial house in Pasto called Casa Taminango where Simon Bolivar had walked one day, in the distant past. We also went to the Carnival Artisanal right beside it with local artisans showcasing their local goods everything from paintings to clothes and food with herbal remedies. This fair goes from the beginning of the carnivals which is January 3rd until a day after the end of it, January 7. After that we wandered Pasto bumping along onto a market that had a bit of everything, it was called Bombona where adjacent to it is a little park decorated with christmas lights and walking paths.

Day 5
We ventured on our own with a friend to the Church Las Lajas in Ipiales, south of Pasto. We took a van for $10K(COP) each. If you haven’t been I recommend going. It’s a modern church build in 1920s reconstructed to look like 16th century Gothic architecture with flying buttresses and all.

We went to see the church lit up at night, what is normally an hour or so drive from Pasto to Ipiales, it was 2 hours in construction on the road. Once we arrived to Ipiales the closest town to the church we had to take another taxi which cost $8K (COP) for the three of us.

We seen and experienced a powerful force of nature and man alongside one another in synchronicity and synergy. This led us to look in awe at the church and lights installed. It inspired wonder and amazement in such an incredible environment perched between 2 cliff faces.

Once we left, we returned to the bus depot only to be met with no buses or people offering rides and if they were it was at ludacris prices. We chose to eat dinner there in a small “restaurant”, at that point we couldn’t make a decision with cloudy judgment from hunger and fatigue. So we had a decent meal and then we decided to wait for a better price. After laughs and cookies and some soap operas we met a driver ready to take us to Pasto. Our friend Akira and Meli were the ones responsible for acquiring this incredible and lucky find!

We get in for what should be no longer than 1 hour and half. The driver packed us beyond max capacity, a normal move. And another normal thing he had been driving for 11 hours already at around midnight. After we had payed and embarked he asked us to talk to him as he was extremely tired. We wouldn’t sleep till we almost hit Pasto and started to dose off. We arrive around 1 AM to an abandoned (because of the time!) bus station with no one but us and a couple of cabs ready to take us to our final destination, home which is where the story usually ends and it did, we fell asleep in moments.  

Day 6
Was spent with our host family. We woke up, had breakfast and headed to La Cocha, a lagoon south of Pasto one of the biggest fresh water lagoons in South America. We stopped at a view spot to look out at the lake from a distance. Enjoying the view of mountains and and small village at the base of the lake. We had some sweets and on our way to the lake once again, the ride is full of laughter and stories we arrive at the lake and head for lunch.

This lunch is typical of this place! We had trout or trucha in español. The trout came from the lake and all the food we had from the surrounding area. It was fantastic a unbelievable blackberry juice with trout and papas or potatoes from the district of Nariño. And a desert to die for, berry’s and cheese.

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Once we finished we walked the picturesque lake side village. Until we found the boats to take us to the island of La Corota. We where informed that going to la Cocha and not going to the islandof La Corota was like not even going to the lake. So we bartered around and found a ride to take us to the island and around for $60K COP for 6 of us.

Upon arrival, it is small but there is The Sanctuary of La Corota and you are surprised with another expense of paying to walk the trail on the island. 5K for Locals and 10K for Internationals except for Peruvians and Ecuadorians. You walk a small trail across the island to a lookout on the other side, once there you gaze upon the magnificent beauty of the lake and its awe inspiring mountain ranges perched around it. We walked back to the boat, boated back to the mainland. Walked back to the car and drove home from there a wonderful day full of stories and experiences.

A place like the district of Nariño has so much to offer and we had so little time. So until we see you again Nariño, much love. It is a place that would take a lifetime to see and do everything this place has to offer, but for those of you that have any time at all Nariño should be on your list.