Still Monkey-ing Around in South America (Part II)

GIRON AND OUR ENCOUNTER WITH YET MORE ROAST CHICKEN EATEN WITH NONE OTHER THAN PLASTIC GLOVES!

As we sped along the side of the Chicamocha Canyon (according to the Colombian it is the 2nd biggest in the world -they have proof...."the Colombian Tourism Board says so"....so does that mean that if the Colombian Tourism Board declared that Colombia "is the 2nd biggest country in the world too" that people would be forced to believe that too?!) enjoying the spectacular views, we hear a thud from behind. I stick my head out the window expecting to see a trail of luggage strewn across the road behind us. Pleasantly surprised that there´s not, I realise that if I stick my head even further out the window, I can actually look behind my seat and into the trunk (I was sitting in the corner seat at the back of the bus....with the rest of the kool kids obviously!)

I peer in...and surprise, surprise...begin giggling, much to the bewilderment of the rest of the bus....couldnt help myself as I spy the trunk door flapping away and Katymae´s backpack precariously close to becoming roadkill!

The driver pulls over, gets out and walks around to the back of the bus, he closes the door, it swings back open....
Meanwhile, I am giving running commentary to the girls and the rest of the bus.....
The driver decides that in order to remedy the situation, he is going to try and use the key to lock the trunk shut...what a stroke of genius!!! Gear secured, driver in place, back on the windy, mountainous roads we go!

All things going smoothly until we round a sharp bend and almost career straight into the side of a stupisly positioned jeep. Wasnt sure if he was pulling out of anywhere, though seems unlikely as there was only the cliff wall for him to have "pulled out" from, and he didnt look too much like David Copperfield, so that theory is out. Therefore I came to the conclusion that he must have been doing a three-point turn!!
Our driver was pretty efficient with the brake and each of us was propelled forward and rudely awakened from our snoozy states. I merely rolled my eyes, but the huge guy (who had crossed himself numerous times before we left the bus terminal) who was sat beside me and already spilling onto my seat, was pretty nervous, making an already hot and sticky ride that much hotter and yet more sticky.

Now I know that I crack on about the bus journeys, but they truly are classic!!! The tone of the adventures of discovering a new town are always set by the difficulty of the journey in getting there...and if I didnt give you a journey by journey update...you wouldnt have nearly as much reading material!

So onto the surburb of Bucharamanga....Giron. The reason we decided to stop over here on our way to the coast was to shave about 2 and a half hours off of the bus journey up to Santa Marta. In reality, this place was fairly dull...not much to see or do, but always time for roast chicken especially if eaten with plastic gloves.

Mission accomplished...onto the coast we go!

posted by Priya @ 2:25 PM