There are one hundred and sixty-eight humming bird species in Colombia, more than anywhere else on earth and eight are endemic to Colombia. They are amazing birds and the only birds that can fly backwards, which we saw as they left the feeders. We saw many, but because they are so small, I really struggled… Continue reading Hummingbirds
Minca
As I already have mentioned, Colombia ranks first in the world with regard to diversity of bird life and houses over 22% of all bird species in the world! In the Tayrona region of Sierra Nevada alone, there are 320 species of birds and Minca is a hotspot to see rare birds found nowhere else… Continue reading Minca
Indigenous Peoples of Colombia
There are 1.5 million indigenous peoples in Colombia and they represent 87 different tribes and 65 different languages. This was not apparent to me when I first started to research about the people of Colombia. I read about the Muisca and Taironas, but what I hadn’t appreciated was that their descendants branched into different groups… Continue reading Indigenous Peoples of Colombia
Villa Maria, Tayrona
We flew from Popayan, via Bogotá to Santa Marta. We then drove for about an hour to get to Villa Maria, Tayrona, where we stayed for the next three days. Villa Maria is a real wild jungle location, only a few kilometers from Tayrona National Park. It is set in a 45-acre property, which the… Continue reading Villa Maria, Tayrona
Insects
Continuing with my theme of insects, I will cover the remaining insects that we saw, other than moths or butterflies – which was not a huge number. I expected to see many more, but this trip was not an insect hunt and it was just those that crossed paths with me along the way. One… Continue reading Insects
Butterflies
Having said I didn’t see any butterflies in the little café, I did see some butterflies elsewhere, both in the south and in the north. This Epiphile epimenes butterfly was stunning. It was on one of the carvings in San Agustin and it is endemic to Colombia, so it was a real thrill to see… Continue reading Butterflies
Hotel Dann Monasterio, Popayan
I already covered Popayan, but I only included one photo of the hotel we stayed at, Hotel Dann Monasterio on the previous day’s post, when we arrived. It was completely renovated in 1990 and The Monastery cloister area was converted into 47 bedrooms and some meeting areas. The hotel has been beautifully restored… Continue reading Hotel Dann Monasterio, Popayan
Moths
I mentioned the many butterflies, moths and other insects that we saw in the café, but now that I have had a closer look at them, we didn’t actually see any butterflies in the café, they were nearly all moths, along with a cicada and a leaf insect. Thinking about it, that makes sense, that… Continue reading Moths
Drive to Popayán
I posted earlier about some of our drive to Popayán, but I do have a few more photographs that I didn’t have available at the time. I mentioned the little café that we stopped at before driving through Puracé National Natural Park. The kitchen in Restaurante Coma Rico was quite different, in that the cooking… Continue reading Drive to Popayán
Town of San Agustin
The small colonial town of San Agustin is very enchanting, having hardly changed since the Spanish built it. In the town centre is a plaza, with a bust of Simón Bolívar, the political leader who lead Colombia to independence. Across from the plaza is the Church of St. Agustin. It was interesting to see how… Continue reading Town of San Agustin
Colombia Trip 2019 