Popayan and Ipiales 8/7/12 - 8/9/12

Matt didn't really enjoy the night bus ride to Popayan.  It started out with ear problems as the bus descended and his ears had to equalize to the pressure.  Then bad stomach cramps every 5 to 10 minutes, capped off with motion sickness.  Kristin's bus ride wasn´t bad ;). 

Once settled in, we ventured to the top of a hill to overlook the city.  The rest of the day we walked around town and rested from travelling through the night.

The next day we went on a downhill mountain biking adventure.  The driver dropped us off at the "hot springs", but they actually weren't very hot, nor did it feel like a fresh spring.  The "hot springs" were a bit of a dissapointment. 

Regardless, we spent a little time there and then headed down the hill with two other English couples. The ride was about 30km through some of Popayan's beautiful mountains.  We were told the ride was mostly downhill; however, we discovered there was quite a bit more uphill than anticipated.  It was still good fun and a good workout.

We stayed at Park Life Hostal on the suggestion of a friend who had recently passed through.  It was an old colonial home converted into a hostel directly next to the main church in the town sqaure.   The owners were very nice, welcoming, and informative.  We had our own room for $10 each.

The next day started early since we had about a 14 hour adventure to get us across the border and into Ecuador.  Before we left the Colombia border we stopped in the town Ipiales, based on recommendations from other travelers, to see a church.  We didn't expect much, but to our surprise the church was set in the mountains and was spectacular.