We had become quite comfortable in San Gil - enjoying our coffee and arepas for breakfast with the locals at the corner cafe, hanging out under the huge ceiba trees in the central parque just outside our hotel doors, walking up the neighborhood stairways for a little exercise and a view of the city, and we had even become accustomed to the boisterous sounds of constant traffic outside our windows which had started to fade into normalcy. But, the time had come to move on - so on our final day we decided we should visit the only real attraction listed in our trusted guide book - the Parque El Gallineral. Its a riverside park, with various walking trails and a big swimming pool ...which did not really look that inviting...
But the trees are the main draw - they are covered with barbas de viejo - long silvery fronds of tillandsia that create a surreal effect of glimmering shadows of light. I went a little crazy with the camera action ...knowing that in the days to come the majority of the pictures would start to look alike.
Next stop - a bus to Tunja, and onward to Villa de Leyva. As we packed up and were headed out of our hotel we noticed a woman walking around, room to room, taping a notice on every door -- which looked like a closure notice. Interesting. We asked at the reception downstairs and he said it was the government demanding more taxes. He didn't seem to bothered, like maybe it was a normal occurrence. They shut you down until you pay what they ask for...we wondered if we would have been "evicted" if we had not been leaving or if they would just "close" each room as the guests left. Well we hope they sort it out as we liked this hotel and would hate to think we were the last travelors who were able to stay there.
