Hoyo del Aire, La Paz, Santander: Colombia's big hole!

@wwaycorrigan

The sign at the entrance to Hoyo del Aire (literally 'Air Hole' in English) near the small town of La Paz in Colombia's Santander department, says that it is the second-biggest hole in the world.

Hoyo del Aire: Some hole for one hole!

One assumes this means naturally formed and on land as opposed to underwater. Whatever the case, do an online search for the world's biggest/deepest holes and this Colombian wonder doesn't tend to feature on any list.

For the record, from its base to the highest point above, the depth is 220 metres (almost 722 feet for the imperialists amongst us).

Locals seem to be in agreement that it was formed by a meteorite. That may be so; I'm certainly no expert on the subject. One thing that appears undisputed is that the hole was a convenient place to dump bodies — both dead and alive — during Colombia's more violent days. (I heard similar stories during my 2014 visit to the town of Pandi where there's another "convenient" natural hole for such macabre undertakings. See https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2014/11/fine-and-pandi.html.)

That aside, why it's not more internationally known is somewhat beyond me, especially considering the rapid rise in foreign visitors of all kinds to Colombia in the last decade as the country has left those more violent times behind it.

Plus, there are a number of other attractions around La Paz itself, 30 km north of the bigger and easier-to-reach Vélez, capital of the eponymous province in which both towns are situated and one I visited back in 2018 (see https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2018/03/a-rewarding-velez-view.html).

The fact that it's mostly a dirt track from Vélez to La Paz, meaning that the aforementioned 30-kilometre trip takes about an hour to cover by car, is probably one reason why Hoyo del Aire and its surrounds remain something of a hidden gem, internationally speaking at least.

As is usually the case with such sights, photos don't tend to do Hoyo del Aire justice, hence the video below (or watch it at https://youtu.be/OrSHRKhYvuw) for a somewhat better idea of its impressiveness. The aerial shot on the official sign, see photo above, does give some decent perspective, too.

Apparently, rappelling was available as a tourist activity in the past but it's no longer carried out after an "incident". I was told nobody died but the local authority decided to discontinue the practice.

One senses a business opportunity. You read it here first!

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Feisty Fusagasugueños

When it comes to nearby escapes from the madness of Bogotá, we're not stuck for options. There's Choachí, Girardot, La Vega, Melgar, Pandi, Tobia and Villeta to name just some of the places we're familiar with. Each of those differs in terms of their tranquillity factor, but all are unquestionably more relaxing than the capital city.

We can't, however, say the same for the big town -- city by Irish standards -- of Fusagasugá. OK, on the weather front, it scores well; warmer than Bogotá, but not too stickily hot as some of the locations mentioned above can be. Yet, with a population of over 130,000, it's not quite a peaceful rural getaway.

Fusagasugá: It has a couple of things going for it, in fairness.

In fairness, it's not marketed as that. Well, it's not marketed at all really, and with reason considering there doesn't seem much of interest to draw tourists. The pull factors tend to have nothing to do with the urban centre. For most of those who do go to the area, it's all about the rural retreats dotted around.

Yet cities and towns that don't rate high on the popularity scale have an attraction for us and, usually, we aren't disappointed (if you go not expecting too much, then it's easy to be satisfied; for example see previous posts on Buenaventura, Maicao and Turbo, to name just three).

So a stay in the centre of Fusagasugá with a couple of like-minded Irishmen seemed like a win-win plan. And in many ways, it was.

For starters, it's reasonably cheap in terms of food, drink and accommodation, especially compared to Bogotá. What's more, unlike some towns close to the capital and other locations in the regions, there is an abundance of well-kept attractive ladies about (that is to say, not carrying far too many pounds than they should be; each to their own and all that). Then you have the aforementioned agreeable climate.

That's about as good as it gets, though.

On arrival, not having a Colombian cédula (national ID) for the hotels there was a bit of a problem. It was hard work trying to convince them to let us stay. 

You would have thought that the Colombian-issued cédula extranjería, the compulsory ID all visa-holding foreigners must have, would have worked fine. But no. After a long chat with one receptionist we managed to convince her that all would be OK. If the police had any issue -- the reason behind this reluctance to check us in -- we'd speak with them directly. 

Pity those arriving with just a foreign passport, they'd have no chance it seems. This, though, rarely happens, it would seem.

Then there's the "people on edge" feel to things. Many appear to be lacking that relaxed, happy-go-lucky style that you'll find with Colombians in most other places (peak commuting hours in Bogotá excepted). No, in Fusagasugá it was more a "what are you doing here" attitude from a number of its inhabitants, and not in a friendly way, that.

One good representation of this was an off-duty policeman giving one of us an earful for, so it appeared anyway, no more than just because we were foreigners.

All this negativity might be down to the fact that the place tends to get types of a less-than-desirable nature spilling over from Bogotá -- the word for them in these parts being 'ñero'. Just a thought.

Now, not everybody was in fighting form it has to be said. The onset of dusk, however, is the signal for the feisty Fusagasugueños to come out in force.

So if you're planning to let the hair down in Fusagasugá some weekend, it's probably best to do it by day; leave the locals to their own devices at night.
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Fine and Pandi

You don’t tend to base yourself in Bogotá for its weather. OK, on sunny days it can be pretty nice, but such occasions are balanced out by chilly nights. 

The great thing, though, is that if you are looking for hotter climes all you have to do is take a short trip in basically any direction out of the metropolis to find them.

Pandi, Cundinamarca: It beats the madness of Bogotá, at least for a time.

However, there’s not much point in having such hotspots on your doorstep if you don’t utilise them. That’s how things had been for me lately, cooped up in the city, letting work and Bogotá’s, nay La Perseverancia’s, social life dictate the course of events.

In fact, it got to the stage where I needed a gentle push to break the routine. Somewhat paradoxically, that push came in the form of work; well, work of sorts.

What I had to do was be an English-speaking guide for a group of students of the language from a university in the south of Bogotá. They were having a day out, via the fledgling tour agency Colombia Limite, and to keep things English, the lady in charge felt it would be a good idea to have a native speaker on hand.

The fact that the majority of the group were at beginner level and thus couldn’t understand most of what I said (who does?) didn’t matter. It’s the thought of making an effort to have the day educational that counts, right?

Our destination? The unheralded town of Pandi and its surrounds in the Sumapaz province, 103 km south of Bogotá.

Pretty in purple: The gualanday tree. (Photo from clorofilaandcompany.)

Now, in a country that has quite spectacular natural beauty around every corner, each little town and village has to fight hard to get a piece of the tourist action. 

So considering that to reach Pandi requires a 30-minute drive on somewhat of a dirt-track road off the main highway about two hours outside of the capital means that it could easily be forgotten by many. The belief may be that other, more accessible places offer pretty much the same.

Yet, that it is a bit off the beaten track can be a pull factor – such secluded places generally do it for me, at least for a time.

Plus, it does have its own treats. As the welcome sign to the town proudly boasts (positioned miles outside, at that), it’s the home of cambulo and gualanday. What, you haven’t heard of them? They’re trees of course, special trees, apparently.

Unfortunately, on the day I visited nobody was able to tell me which one was which – a reason to go back, I guess. 

While both are pretty spectacular when in flower, from what I was told gualandays seem the most helpful for humans. A secretion their leaves produce is good for relieving sore throats and aching bones; better than a hot whiskey you might say.

'Devil Construction Ltd.'

The trees aside, another little ‘gem’ is The Natural Bridge, El Puente Natural, a gentle 20-minute downhill stroll from the village. 

Legend has it that the devil created it after losing a bet for the soul of an indigenous mortal. In frustration he kicked out at the narrow gorge walls, the force of his actions forming a natural arch over the river, which lies over 100 metres below.

Whatever about that story, the bridge has a much more haunting recent past, being the alleged dumping ground for dead and dying bodies throughout Colombia’s internal conflict of the last 60 plus years. The devil did not go quietly into the night after his construction project, so it appears.

Thankfully, a sense of tranquillity in the quite stunning scenery is the main vibe you get about the place today.

So you could do worse than go along with that feeling and take advantage of the serenity. In that regard, further on from the bridge is a residence that offers accommodation/camping facilities for those looking to overnight it in the wilderness.*

The chilly nights and madness of the metropolis can wait.
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*Colombia Limite looks after the accommodation and can also arrange activities such as rappelling and treks. You can contact the company via Facebook.