Above: Bucaramanga’s main square.
Having been spoilt with travel by private car two days ago, we decided to repeat the experience from Barichara to Bucaramanga, where we stay only one short night before a morning flight. It’s a nightstop of necessity. Public transport would require one change, taking 40 mins plus waiting time plus at least another 3h.
Our driver picked us up at 1000 for the 3h ride to Bucaramanga via San Gil. It definitely warmed up and got more humid along the way. During the later part of the ride, the canyons were quite impressive.
While waiting for the official 1500 check-in, we wandered around Bucaramanga and took lunch at a Swiss-themed restaurant. It was normal food with some Swiss-influenced options. Wandering around, the town was untidy with litter, a few homeless people sleeping on the streets, beggars and a few glue-sniffers. This is just our nightstop for a morning flight.
I had booked a very cheap hotel by the bus station for about NZD18 because I had planned on taking the bus. It was an OK choice. It was bearable without the air-con and a little too cold with it on. The thing I hadn’t expected was only cold water in the shower! At 3150 ft, Bucaramanga is not exactly hot like Malaysia but pleasantly warm.
Kim had a ticklish cough every now during the ride so we decided to do a rapid test. This and the one three days ago came back negative. So, we feel better about our driver earlier developing a cough towards the end of the drive (perhaps in sympathy).
As the town looked dodgy in parts during the day, we decided not to wander too far at night. To our surprise, our area was quite lively and felt quite safe at night. Despite that, we went to a local restaurant and had a very unhealthy meal of burger and chips for me, and chips topped with cheap sausage for Kim.
The cold shower in the room was missing its shower rose. It actually worked better without it. I think if cold water had been all over me, rather than one part of my body at a time, I wouldn’t have coped as well.