We enjoy our breakfast under the beautiful eucalyptus tree watching gorgeous hummingbirds as they hover at the bird feeders.

Our 9 o’clock pickup is on time, which is good because we have a long four hours transfer to the next quaint town, Barichara.

The road is mostly very good, but there are several places where it was washed out by landslide or floods so there are constructions. Still at some point there is a long stretch of road which turns into a dirt track. The landscape is changing dramatically as we progress in our trip, we leave cactus and succulents for sugar cane fields, jungle, guadua (the local bamboo) and palm trees. As we close by our destination, we see coffee plantations. After climbing down from 2100m to 1300m, we have finally reached tropical climate!

Skye and Sandra enjoy the beautiful scenery. It’s the opportunity for Skye to listen to his Spanish lessons. As Ryo puts it: “Dad, while you improve your Spanish, I’m going to improve my English”, this consists of watching Star Wars movies non stop on his tablet!!

We reach Barichara after one o’clock, it’s really very quaint and is set at the edge of a plateau overlooking a canyon.

We have a big room in tiny hotel Achiotte. Ryo is a bit groggy and doesn’t take to well that there is no swimming pool… spoiled brat! But he quickly regains his good mood after a nice meal in the old town.

The afternoon is spent lazing on the veranda, swinging in our hummocks! We do another wander in the little town and visit the pretty cathedral before buying beers in one of the numerous little shops.

We study the restaurant options while sipping our apéro on the veranda. Dinner is at Shanti, it’s a super cute 3 table restaurant, and we are lucky to arrive early as it is top of the list in Tripadvisor. Carolina, the owner is really adorable, she does everything with so much care and love, and the freshly made dishes are delicious. It’s a good way to finish a quiet and relaxing day.