Tuesday, September 15

I (Nancy) set out at 6am in search of coffee. None of the restaurants were open yet but in the park a man was selling “tinto”, a very strong black coffee served in a small plastic cup. The park was already alive, teaming with school kids, old men sharing stories and a few young lovers holding hands.

There had been a large thunderstorm the night before which knocked out the internet server, not an uncommon experience. We finally gave up and wandered up to the local hostal to find out what tours were planned but the ones we were interested in had already left and we decided we were not ready to try paragliding. We located the Parque El Gallneral which is located on an island between the Quebrada Curiti and Rio Fonce. The large trees are covered in moss that is 6-8 feet long and it does remind one of walking though the forest of middle earth in The Hobbit. Both rivers are very large and contain a lot of silt so they are churning and gray, almost sinister. The park is very beautiful with winding paths and lots of flowers as well as some tame Amazons and Macaws. A thunderstorm came up while we were in the park and we spent some pleasant time sitting under a tree limb, drinking Chicha( a strong fermented maize and corn syrup drink native to Colombia) and watching a couple of Macaws and their antics.