A pleasant Villanueva vibe

@wwaycorrigan

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One trend I've noticed in Colombia's low-lying lands — lower than Bogotá that is — is that even rather small towns have a more sinister side to them compared to their loftier equivalents.

Villanueva on the fringes: Looking south towards the vast plains. 

I refer to locations in what is called tierra caliente, literally 'hot land'. It seems to be a case of 'hot by name, hot — in various ways — by nature.'

Bovines and barrels

As a very rough guide, it applies to places with an altitude below 1,500 metres. That is to say, an urban centre closer to sea level is, in my experience, more prone to insecurity issues than a similar-sized settlement at a higher altitude and thus cooler climate.

I've found this "nastier nature" in the likes of Chaparral, Girardot, La Dorada and Tocaima.

Thus, it was to my pleasant surprise that I encountered no such dangers in the largely nondescript town of Villanueva on a recent, somewhat unplanned visit there. (The nearby Monterrey had been the original choice but bus schedules/routes meant it was easier and cheaper to get to Villanueva. For this particular trip, the destination was of secondary importance to the need to escape Bogotá.)

'If the town has a more sinister side, I didn't find it on this visit.'

At 420 metres above sea level and sitting at the entrance to the Casanare department's vast low-lying plains, Los Llanos, which lead all the way to Venezuela, Villanueva's economy is chiefly driven by bovines and barrels. It is, after all, Colombia's cowboy country and also an important petroleum-producing region.

Cowboy country (no animals were hurt in the making of this monument). 

Indeed, the principal peeve is the regular noise from the big oil trucks constantly passing through. As my first night taught me, it's best not to take a hotel close to the main street. Thankfully, owing to the fact — one assumes — that it is a trucker stop, the town has many accommodation options dotted all over.

That aside, while the heat may give it a coastal vibe — minus the sea, of course — there appears to be none of those overbearing Costeño types about (Costeños being Colombians from the coast, particularly the Caribbean region). One is generally left to one's own devices. (Do note, I visited midweek, maybe it's different at the weekends, but I doubt it.)

Plain sailing

While my referring above to Villanueva as nondescript may seem negative, it's just a case that, architecturally wise, it hasn't much going for it. Those vast plains that stretch out to the east and south are, nonetheless, quite captivating, a significant contrast to the undulating landscape of the Andean region.

The layout of the town itself very much reminded me of Casanare's capital, Yopal, a small city I visited a few years ago. I do recall being rather indifferent about Yopal. In fact, I remember thinking that it was relatively expensive, most likely due to the oil economy, so I left with more of a negative than positive impression.

Villanueva, on the other hand, seems affordable across the board. It must also be said that as a result of my current mindset even hell would entice me because of my general boredom with Bogotá.

Impressive: Río Upía. 

What Villanueva lacks — a stream aside — is a natural cooling-off spot within a comfortable walking distance. Yopal, for its part, does have the expanses of the River Cravo Sur close by.

There is, though, the impressive Río Upía eight kilometres south. It marks the border with the Meta department, with the small town of Barranca de Upía on the other side, on the river's southern banks. The broad, fast-flowing waters don't look like the best place to go for a refreshing dip all the same. Conditions might be a little tamer in the dry season.

Back in Villanueva, the barrios to the north-east of the lively main road offer a chilled-out vibe, nice for a casual wander as the town thins out and runs into sparse woodlands.

If the town has a more sinister side, I didn't find it on this visit. And going by the overall friendly demeanour of the locals, I'd be surprised if it does have one.
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Colombia: For better and for worse

In our last post, we saw how the security concerns some may have about visiting the departments of Caquetá and Putumayo may be a bit off the mark. In a way, you could say both places are microcosms of what Colombia as a whole was for the international community just a decade or so ago.

Colombia has plenty to offer on the tourism front. Is it set to become overrun with foreigners?

Only those with a devil-may-care attitude, and slightly crazy to boot, would consider touring the country independently. Only certain spots were seen as relatively safe in an overall dangerous country; now, the opposite is pretty much the case.

Of course, that's a very welcome development, the almost complete transformation of a country's external image from no-go to go-to. These days, as it has been for a while, it's the 'loony left' neighbour Venezuela that's the place to avoid (even Wrong Way has his doubts now; what a difference a year makes).

We only need to look at the various publications that have listed Colombia as one of the top countries in the world to visit in 2017 to get a measure of this bright, new global appeal (for example, Bloomberg, CNN and Lonely Planet, among others).

We expats here have been endorsing Colombia as a tourist destination for years, but it took the recent peace agreement between the government and Farc guerrillas to give the place the 'official' stamp of approval; Colombia is de moda. So it seems in any case.

It will be interesting to see if this new-found love abroad will convert into an increase in tourism numbers in the year and years ahead. 

Considering what the country already offers and its potential, it would appear that things are only going to get better on this front for the foreseeable future. (Do note, the country needs to tighten up significantly on its rubbish management and waste disposal culture when entering the tourism 'big league'. This is to name just one area where work is required.)

Yet, like many places that become universally popular, that this means it's 'better' depends on who you ask.

The tourist influx on Colombia's Caribbean coast has been ongoing for years, with areas that were once tranquil spots now becoming somewhat overrun.

San Agustín: A must-see for many ...

Indeed, for some of the longer-term expats, there's a danger of the country losing a little appeal if big-spending foreigners start flocking here in numbers. A bit selfish and apocalyptic that one perhaps. 

(I must say I didn't feel comfortable on my recent one-day visit to San Agustín's archaeological park just because of all the foreign faces about. But what does one expect at a Unesco World Heritage Site?! Plus, because of the crowds I somehow avoided having to pay; silver lining and all that.)

That aside, and while not trying to pour cold water on things, the peace process currently in place is not, obviously enough, a panacea for all the country's ills. For one, you've the issue of former guerrillas continuing with criminality to make ends meet, but now arguably doing it in a way that's a more direct threat to the civil population.

There's also what could be seen as the more worrying and difficult-to-tackle problem of general crime in a vastly unequal country that happens to be an important source of one of the world's most popular illegal drugs. This 'common or garden' safety issue will more than likely keep tourism numbers in check, as it does in other Latino countries.

So while Colombia's doors may now be open to the outside world like never before, there's no guarantee that this will have any positive impact on the average local. It might just make things worse, in a number of ways.
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