Some 4.5 million people migrated to their hometowns and vacation
destinations during Holy Week this past week in Colombia. I made the journey to
a small town called La Honda, located in the state of Tolima and a three hour
bus ride west of Bogota, with a friend who is from there. Known as the “City of
Bridges,”
Honda has plenty of beautiful scenery to offer one relief from the commotion
of Colombia’s big cities. The longest river in Colombia, the Magdalena, flows
through the heart of Honda, with big grass-covered mountains resting on the
outskirts.
I spent the majority of my
days cooling off in different bodies of water, whether it be the cool
freshwater of the plentiful rivers, or the lukewarm pool of a friend’s hotel,
in order to escape the 35-plus degree heat and humidity that blankets the small
town. It was hard to find a good spot to safely swim in the river though, with recent
rains raising the water level and current of many of the rivers in the area to
dangerous levels.
With my friend’s mother’s help, I enjoyed the pleasures of authentic
home-cooked Colombian food. My first day I sampled a dish called rice with hearts,
which thanks to Argentina and its passion for all things meat-related, I was
actually familiar with and was not completely repulsed by the chewy, elastic
chicken hearts. Fortunately the next day lunch was a bit lighter; I tried my
first ajiaco, a creamy stew
consisting of chicken, potatoes, and corn, served with rice, avocado, and
capers. In between meals I snacked on yucca bread, warm little rolls made with the
yucca vegetable and cheese, native to Tolima.
Other activities typical of Honda that I engaged in during
my three-day stay were the drinking of aguardiente, a black licorice flavored
liquor consumed in shot form; taking in views of the Magdalena River from the
boardwalk; waiting out downpours outside of a store for hours on end; and almost
falling off a friend’s motorcycle while cruising the narrow cobblestoned paths en
route to the river because yes, three people can fit on a two-person motorcycle
and no, it wasn’t raining too hard.
Located directly on the route from Bogota to Medellin, travelers
almost always pass Honda without a care for this little known, quiet town. But
it has its own scene, with a striking landscape and vibrant nightlife to
compete with the likes of the big bad cities surrounding it.