TRAVERSE 115
historic centre radiate out, where it is possible to enter the incredible gold museum that tells the incredible history of the civilisations that followed one another before the arrival of the Spanish.
We were fascinated by the extra-large works of the master Botero: hands, oranges, women, moustached men and children and even the commanders of the FARC( Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces). In front of the steps of the church of San Francisco, colourful stalls full of sweets, dancers, singers and groups of tourists. The trip gave us a friendship that will last over time: Max, Canadian by birth but of Colombian origin, was travelling the Pan-American Highway from Toronto and shared with us the visit of the city. We gorged on empanadas and took the cable car up to the Monserrate monastery to discover that the best view of the city is on the other hill that would reach with our motorbikes, and it is from there that we say goodbye to Bogotá.
We left the comforts of Giovanni ' s house, who’ d hosted us during the week that allowed us to organise ourselves to continue the journey, and we returned to travel following the course of this infinite mountain range. We descended to land in the Desierto de la Tatacoa which to be precise is not a real desert area even if the almost 40 ° C would make you think otherwise. It is a semi-arid jungle area that owes its climate to the peaks that exceed 5000 metres of the Nevado De Huila that surrounds this plain and intercepts most of the precipitation.
In the ravines and rocky walls, eroded by the rare and brief storms, a unique ecosystem for Colombia has been created where scorpions, weasels, spiders, many species of birds and cacti of all shapes live. Villaveja is the only real inhabited centre where most of the inhabitants live off tourism-related activities and only a few of them have remained tied to livestock farming. A circular tour on dirt roads allowed us to venture into this surprising landscape where the red of the rocks contrasted with the blue of the sky and the green of the few trees that
TRAVERSE 115