Colin and I arrived in Popayan on March 2nd and checked into a convenient and very “backpacker” hostel called ParkLife we found right on the main square, getting their downstairs basement room called the Gipsy Quarter. The hostel’s land had originally been part of the Cathedral next door, before it was purchased by the Paisa family. They constructed a home of Republican architectural style (this replaced Colonial architectural style in the 1800’s) with materials from Europe. Eventually the home was sold again and converted into a hostel in the 1960’s. Though the history, concept, and rooms were interesting – it didn’t score amazing with us. We kept smashing our heads on the way too low bathroom entrance, and throwing spiders and other creepy bugs off us which would crawl into the room to the bed. This place is in desperate need of some renovations downstairs. I happened to spot a sign the hostel had up saying there is an interesting market to go to every Tuesday morning – and the next day was Tuesday! What great timing, especially because I wasn’t planning on going to it initially. I immediately made plans to attend the market the following day, then Colin and I headed out for lunch in Popayan.
Popayan was founded in 1537 CE and is known as the “white city” because of its colonial architecture. Unfortunately, much of the architecture was destroyed in the 1980’s, but many of the original churches are still standing. In one of these churches, the city’s cathedral, originally sat the ‘Crown of the Andes,’ – a 18-22 carat gold and emerald encrusted crown supposedly made with 450 emeralds taken from the Incan Emperor Atahualpa. The crown was sold to buyers in the United States in the 1930’s in order to raise money for health care. Obviously we didn’t see the crown as we explored the city, but we look forward to tracking it down when it goes on display in the United States.
Popayan’s claim to fame, besides being a colonial city and having a massive procession at Easter time, is its political and educational importance. Not only has the city been the home for 17 Colombian presidents, but it is also the location of the University of Cauca, one of the country’s best Universities – which is located in the old convent of the Dominican Order. Around Popayan are some interesting sites, including Purace National Park with includes the Purace volcano. Next to the city is a big pyramid built and used between 500 CE – 1600 CE by the indigenous community called El Morro del Tulcán, which is currently overgrown and now resembles a green hill. The Spanish found this mound and likely ransacked it to take or destroy anything left inside looking for gold. We drove past this hill but didn’t realize its importance!
We decided to eat lunch at a Mexican place near the main square. Not exactly traditional, but we needed a break from South American food. There was a sign in our hostel, however, which said Popayan was declared a ‘city of gastronomy’ by UNESCO for its food, which has been prepared in the same way for centuries. The city even has a culinary gathering called the The National Gastronomy Congress of Popayan every September to celebrate the quality of its cuisine. I do have to say the food was really good in Popayan, and although the city is known for its dishes which were originally created with a mix of Spanish fruit and indigenous recipes, we tried some of the more modern food the city had to offer as well. In addition to arepas and empanadas de pipian, we had some delicious Mexican, Italian, and loads of brownie and cake desserts which were fantastic. Next time we go back, I’ll have to try some of the dishes at the September congress event!
As we headed back to the hostel to rest after lunch, we passed by Caldas Park. The park was filled with people visiting with each other and feeding the birds. I read that the park used to be the central marketplace – and in October of 1546 the Spanish conquistadors Jorge Robledo and Alvaro Oyon were beheaded in the center of the park. The two were sentenced to death by the conquistador Sebastian de Belalcazar, as the group fought bitterly for control of various new ‘discovered’ territories in South America.
On March 3rd, Tuesday morning, I got up early and headed to the bus station by taxi to grab a minibus out to Silvia, an hour outside of Popayan. This market is probably the best market I had been to in all of South America, as the indigenous Guambiano Indigenous community (also known as the Misak people) who attend and runs the market still wears their traditional clothing. Which looks awesome! Such bright colors, awesome hand-woven shoulder bags, and men in long skirts.
When I got to the market I realized I was hungry, and saw a woman cooking up some corn pancakes with butter all over them. There was a sign in front of her stall saying she was making ‘arepa santandereana.’ Arepas are quite popular as a side for meals in Columbia and sometimes used as sandwiches in Venezuela! First the corn kernels are soaked and simmered, then kneaded into a dough. Once the dough is made into small balls, it is flattened and fried into small pancakes with loads of butter. The ones I tasted were so creamy and smooth I though they were potato pancakes!
After I finished eating I headed into the market, people watching as I walked. The Guambiano people looked really fun – the women were each wearing black skirts and solid colored tops, with bowler-style hats and blue scarfs, and the men were wearing grey ponchos, along with bowler hats and blue scarfs worn as skirts around their waists. Awesome! The marketplace was in an old school yard, with stalls spilling out into the streets on either side of the school. Here the Guambianos sell their agricultural products they grow in the surrounding countryside which includes cassava, beans, coffee, and loads of different kinds of potatoes. I got to try some empanadas de pipian (with a meat & veg filling, served with aji sauce) – and watch them be made as well! After going through quite a few different shops I ended up buying a bright and colorful hand-woven bag. I was quoted $45-$35 USD for similar bags, but ended up buying my bag for just $22 USD after haggling the price down!
I ended up back in Popayan before 2:00 PM and happened to run into Colin as he was coming back from lunch. The two of us went back to the hotel and had some much needed down time. We had been traveling pretty quickly to fit loads of things into our last weeks on the road!
Keeping up with the pace, on March 4th we thought we’d explored some attractions in Popayan. One of the first was right next to the hostel, which was the Catedral Basílica Nuestra Señora de la Asunción Church, the same church was suffered extensive damage when its dome collapsed in the 1983 earthquake which struck Popayan. When this church was built in 1906, it replaced a mud and stone church which had been in its place since the early 1600’s. Near the church a clock tower with an English-made clock (1737, restored in 1983) was constructed, which became known as the “nose of Popayan.”
One of the first places we went was the Popayan Museum of Natural History. This museum had loads of stuffed animals in it, along with some fossils, and a few pieces from popular ancient ruins we would see later on. First we took a look at the animals. There was a bug on display called the “peanut bug,” a planthopper (hops between plants like a grasshopper) bug which lives in Central and South America. This bug has fake eyes on its hind wings that it displays for protection, which it does while it simultaneously releases a nasty smell. It gets its name because there is a protrusion from its head which resembles a peanut.
The best were the birds and mammals. There was a multicolored tanager, the golden-crowned tanager, the masked trogon, and a stunning quetzal with its long green tail. Not all the beautiful birds were huge though – there was also a brown Inca hummingbird with a glittering purple throat! And finally, we got to see a few of the elusive animals of South America that we hadn’t caught sight of while our trip, albeit stuffed: the wild bush dog (perro de monte) and the smallest deer in the world, a pudu deer. Bush dogs look like small bears on four short, stubby legs – while they are actually related to maned wolves, they look nothing like their long-legged cousins. The dogs hunt in packs, targeting South American rodents such as capybara, paca, and agouti, as well as other animals like peccary, rhea, and sometimes tapir. Pudu are endangered, and present in Southern Chile. I was shocked at how tiny they were!
After the museum we continued walking around Popayan until we came across the Casa Caldas. The Casa Caldas was the house of the 5th of the 15 children produced by Popayan citizen Francisco Jose de Caldas. Caldas was one of Popayan’s famed graduates in the late 1700’s, and he served as a lawyer, a naturalist (even traveling with Humboldt), and a politician, the latter for which he was ultimately executed by Spanish royalists in San Francisco Plaza.
Colin and I also tried to get into the Casa Museo Mosquera, the house of the wealthy and accomplished Mosquera Arboleda family, but unfortunately it was closed for renovations. No colonial art for us that day! Casa Valencia, home of the Columbian Ex-President Guillermo Leon Valencia, was closed as well that day. We’ll have to hit up the museums of Popayan when we go through Columbia the next time!
As we wandered around some of the park areas outside we came across an old bridge called the Humailladero Bridge, which was built in 1873 and used to be one of the main entrances to Popayan city. The name of this bridge came about because locals previously had to crawl on their knees to get through the area – hence humiliation bridge was built to spare them the humiliation.
We ducked into the Municipal Theater Guillermo Valencia for a quick peak, and the San Francisco Church, designed in a baroque style. The plaza outside the church was the location where Popayan citizen Francisco Jose de Caldas was publically executed.
Colin and I decided that since we only had a few days left in Columbia, we needed to hustle. We ended up trading a couple of extra days in Popayan in order to get all the way out to the architectural ruins of Tierradentro – which was more than 6 hours away on a super high, twisted mountain road. We arranged with the hostel to leave our bags in storage in Popayan, and got ready to leave on the following morning.
Until Tierradentro,
Francesca
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