June 15, 2018 – June 16, 2018

A Colombian we had met earlier in the trip had recommended that we try to go to San Jose de Guaviare, on the llanos (plains) south and east of the capital city of Bogota. He said that there was a lot of wildlife and that it was a beautiful and little visited place set between the mountains and the amazon jungle in Colombia. We did a bit of research and decided that it sounded very interesting and we were very excited.

We made our way through the city of Bogota (after successfully getting propane – yeah!), then climbed up into the clouds. We passed many men walking along the road, all wearing Andean wool ponchos, wide brimmed hats, rubber boots and machetes. The highway curved around and through the mountains, along rivers and through long, long tunnels. There were waterfalls everywhere.  We were enjoying the drive and our plan was to see how long it took to get to Villavicencio, a small city along the route, and then decide whether to continue on or to stop for the night.

As we approached Villavicencio, I decided to check on the weather forecast for San Jose de Guarviare. Immediately a bunch of red alerts came up. The area had received a lot of rain over the last few months and a lot more was forecast. Things were starting to flood. The town and the surrounding departments (Colombia is divided up to departments rather than states or provinces) were on alert for evacuation.

We also saw that the highway on the other side of Villavicencio had been closed a few hours prior due to a land slide. We decided we needed to spend the night where we were and then head back towards Bogota….we didn’t want to end up in the middle of an evacuation zone and, we didn’t want to get trapped on the wrong side of any landslides.

I looked in iOverlander, but there wasn’t much for camping in the immediate area. We headed towards a place that was just out of town, but when we got there there were “For Sale” signs and the place looked boarded up. We tried a hotel and one restaurant, asking if we could camp in their parking lot, but both said no. The waiter at the restaurant suggested we try a neighbouring town, where things were much more easy going.

Between the two towns we spotted a horse operation, that advertised rides and camping and so we pulled in to ask if we could camp in their parking lot. It was next to a horse corral, smelled strongly of all things horse and was full of flies, but we were getting desperate. After some talking the owner, Jaime, told us that yes, as an exception, he would allow us to camp, for 15,000 pesos ($7.50 CAD). When we asked if we were parked in the best spot, he said that one of his employees would show us where to park.

We got into our truck and followed a man on motorcycle out of the lot, back on to the highway, and then down a country road. At the end of a gated laneway, we were told to park next to a big ranch house…..nice. A woman came out of the house and began showing us around. The outdoor TV room, the swimming pool, the kitchen, the bathroom and showers. Then she and our motorcycle guide led us to a waterfall and a small swimming hole.

The inner courtyard.

The pool, brimful with recent rain. There were many species of birds in the nearby trees.

When we returned to the house, another man and woman, also employees of Jaime, arrived on horseback, and then let Derek and I ride around the yard a bit on their horses.

The one woman took my phone to take some pictures of us.

My horse really wanted to run…and yes, my feet are almost dragging on the ground!

They instructed us to give a thumbs up pose for the camera!

After visiting for an hour of so, they all retreated to their house a few hundred metres away, telling Derek and I to make ourselves at home and enjoy our evening. But not before giving us mangos and oranges.

The next morning the woman returned with two bowls of soup for us. We ate our soup and closed up our camper, and went to her house to return the dishes and to say our good byes. We gave her two blow up air mattresses that we had stowed in the truck for her nieces to play with in the pool. She gave us more fruit and a couple of coconuts, and we thanked them for their hospitality, amazed yet again of the generosity of the people we meet on this journey.