Throwing Rocks at Gunpowder, aka: Tejo

September 18, 2015

When Taryn and I visited Salento, of course I googled things and read through Lonely Planet to ensure we didn't miss anything exciting.

One thing they both had in common was Tejo. And basically all either one said was 'It's throwing rocks at gunpowder, go try it'

So we did. And it was.

It's something akin to horseshoes. There is a slanted wooden target maybe 2.5 feet square, filled with clay. In the center, squished in the clay is a metal ring, maybe 6in diameter. (I forgot my measuring tape that night so all measurements are approximate) you stand back, and throw flat, couple-pound (also forgot my scale) palm sized round disc rocks at the target, trying to get the rock to stick the clay. Ideally in the center of the ring.

But wait, there's more.

Around the ring are 4 little paper triangles filled with gunpowder. Hit one of those suckers just right and they explode.

Throwing rocks at gunpowder.

We weren't very good at it. The old cowboy looking Colombian running the place gave us a rundown on the scoring system, then of course put us right in front of the group of young guys having a drink.

I think they were laughing internally.

We improved some with practice, and a couple of them tried to give pointers. Due to language barriers and accents this was met with a limited amount of success.

We did start hitting and sticking the target though.

The first time we got both rocks to stick at the same time

Taryn got a solid bulls eye.

We exploded maybe 4 triangles all together. I jumped and yelped at each one.

My first exploded paper!

The place was filled with the smell of gunpowder.  It was so nice. Reminded me of rockets and fireworks.

And we had a marvelous time. For a whopping ~$3 we had a drink and played 3 rounds. Then our arms started to get tired. Because throwing rocks is kind of tiring.

We were throwing maybe 15 feet at the targets. There were other Colombians there playing on the big kid pitch which meant more like 40 feet.

And they were hitting the target. *head shake*

Villa de Leyva

September 20-22, 2015

Our second destination for Adventure Week after Valle de Cocora was Villa de Leyva.

It was a cute, whitewashed, colonial town under a big sky. Especially at night when the cool wind blew off the hills, it reminded me of how Eastern Washington feels.

We spent the first day walking around town, window shopping and trying not to turn an ankle in the street. Cute colonial town had cute colonial streets of mostly flat rocks cemented mostly at the same height. It was dangerous walking.

That night there happened to be a charranguera performance in the main square.  There were a bunch of groups playing charranguera music, which I had never heard before, but consists of 3 stringed instruments, one metal twangy sounding, and a scraper.  One group sang their last song about how onions are the best, but some people don't like them.  The last group had matching, color coordinated pants, which I enjoyed. Mr. Yellow pants with the scrapy instrument got really into it and was fun to watch.

Video of one of the songs.  Hopefully sound quality is okay.

This video shows the kind of dancing done to this music.  And a puppy.

Day two we logged about 12 miles. We had breakfast and headed out of town towards El Fósil. It was a lovely walk along the road through red hills and scrubby plants. We arrived at the museum where they have a kronosaur fossil amidst others.

Unfortunately when we arrived at the ostrich farm we found it closed. I really wanted an ostritch selfie to add to the llama selfie and giant rodent selfie.

We did go to Pozos Azules, lovely blue pools that used to be irrigation but the farmer found the minerals responsible for the lovely blue color were not so bueno for crops.

We slept well that night.

Day 3 we went to Ràquira, 45 minutes away. It was full of arts and crafts and pottery. Lots of terra cotta, lots of painted pieces.

The random Sid the Sloth figurines might have been my favorites

And of course they have everything Minion there

I forgot my hat on top of Minnie Mouse while I took a picture with a duck. I realized it back in Villa de Leyva and since its my favorite hat and I get sentimental, I went all the way back to get it and Taryn got a bit more shopping time in Villa de Leyva.

What is this, a duck? Obvioulsy made by someone who had only heard of one by rough description.

Then we headed back to Bogota for the night before I had to say adios to her.  It was a lovely beautiful week of adventure.

Last night drinks at Bogota Beer Company.  They had real tasting beer!

Valle de Cocora

September 18-19, 2015

After our day in Bogota adventuring to Monserrate, Taryn and I bid hasta luego to Orlando and Nell who had been kind enough to allow houseguests for the past week, and hopped a bus to Armenia with a transfer to Salento.

Yay for meeting new friends in Peru!

Salento is the cutest most colorful town. All the houses are white with bi-colored doors, balconies, and wall designs.

Its also got a mirador (lookout) with a breathtaking view.

The stairs we walked up to get there

We hung around town our first half-day after arrival. In the evening we went for a walk down the road just to see what was out there, and then split a brownie with ice cream at a candlelit cafe listening to a young guy play guitar. It was beyond delightful.

(We also played tejo, a game which involves throwing rocks at gunpowder.  It will get its very own post.)

This tree had character

This bird flew in circles, always returning to this post.  Which was good, because bird photography when the light is failing is harder than it sounds.

The next morning we got up early and caught a Jeep to Valle de Cocora for some hiking. We had 14 people riding. 8 in the back, 3 in the front seats and 3 of us standing on the tailgate.

Moving Jeep selfie! I didn´t announce I was taking a picture, but my companions noticed anyway.  It turned out perfect.

30 minutes and almost a head on collision with a motorcycle who was definitely on the wrong side of the road when going around a curve later, and we reached our destination.

View from the road

Through the fabled Blue Gate to start the hike and we were on our way.

Trailhead selfie!

The first part was through open hills with wax palms (palmas de cera) rising towards the sky.

The second half was through cloud forest with some sketch looking bridges. They had warnings posted to go one at a time.

Then 2km up a hill to Casa de Colibris (Hummingbird House) which lived up to its name.

Also hummingbird photography is difficult.  I got a lot of blank and blurry photos, showing where a hummingbird had been at one point.

Back down to the main trail and straight uphill to the Ranger Station which had a great view and inviting lunch spots.

That's when the clouds, thunder, and rain moved in. Try as they might, they couldn't ruin the walk back down to town.

The wax palms rising through the fog were magnificent and when we got below the clouds a little the views were breathtaking.

Definitely some of my favorite scenery so far.

Panorama courtesy of Taryn

Back in town we changed clothes, shopped a bit more, I sketched the church and had a nice talk about cultural differences with a gal who came to see what I was doing.

We listened to Guitar Guy a little more over hot chocolate and ice cream and then back on the bus back to Bogota to get to Villa de Leyva, taking with us memories of rolling hills and palm trees.