Friday, September 24, 2010

We almost didn't come to Giron

From Mompox, we could only make it to Bucaramanga in a very long day. Bucaramanga is the second largest city in Colombia. The new bus terminal is 5km outside town. Another 5km is the colonial town of Giron. So, instead of staying at the modern hotel at the bus station, we took a room with a balcony right on the square in Giron.

Sun-Ling enjoying the view from our hotel room.
Giron, Colombia

Giron has a lively colonial center. The local tourist office is run by the police. They hardly speak any English, but are extremely friendly. They insisted on sending a young woman to show us around town. We managed to decline, but not as smoothly as I would have liked, not a situation we have had much practice. Later from the balcony, I spotted a police office showing a few tourists around.

Giron is surrounded by hills.
Giron, Colombia

The white washed walls of the old colonial town.
Giron, Colombia

I was going around exclaiming what a nice town it is. John pointed out it is because we wished we lived in a town like this.

Giron, Colombia

5 comments:

Crash Eddy said...

In the white-washed walls photo, one lone pedestrian walks the narrow curb/sidewalk but no traffic appears in the street. Do automobiles roar down the streets such that pedestrians must be so careful?

Sun-Ling said...

What I did not say earlier was one of the reasons that I liked Giron
so much was the public transportation. There are many public buses and school buses moving people, so the streets are not overflowing with cars and motorbikes. I was walking on the sidewalk just to be courteous to the drivers that do come down the street.

Susan in Florida said...

So the lone walker is Sun Ling?

john said...

Right. That's Sun-Ling.

Susan in Florida said...

I will now recognize that hat in the photos to come.

I am really enjoying the blog...the photos and the narrative. Thanks for sharing this adventure with us.

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