Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [206]
On the grounds of the resort complex Calima Windsurf Club ( 683 1068, 889 8048; www.calimawindsurfclub.com) is Viento Extremo ( 315 554 2131; www.vientoxtremo.com), which rents jet skis and boats. This ambitious hotel complex has big plans for future expansion. A small eatery serves budget meals.
BOATING
Numerous captains offer excursions on the lake. Try El Arriero Paísa ( 253 3597; restaurantearrieropaisa@yahoo.es; entrada 5), a small resort that also organizes boat trips. Also try the M/N Bonba ( 315 555 4745), which leaves from the Muelle Lago Marina next to the Comfandi complex. Expect to pay around COP$12,000 to COP$15,000 per person, minimum six people.
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Sleeping
Cogua ( 317 513 7332; cogua.colombiakite.com; dm/d without bathroom COP$20,000/30,000) The closest thing to a hostel in Darién, the Colombian owner of Cogua has four rooms with shared bath and hot water and a kitchen you can use. There are two patios, one facing the lake and another facing the mountains. The owner also runs a small kiteboard factory, where he makes custom boards from coconut fiber and guadua (a type of bamboo). He’ll even let you design and custom-make your own board. Cogua is a short walk west of town in a private condo complex.
Hostería Los Veleros ( 684 1000; www.comfandi.com.co; s/tw/d/tr/q incl full board COP$156,000/190,000/200,000/227,000/256,000; ) The best hotel on the lake, Los Veleros is part of the Comfandi complex, and prices include three meals and admission to the recreation center, with three pools, Jacuzzi and sauna, and activities for the kids. Some of the rooms have balconies with spectacular views of the lake. Packed on the weekend, during the week you’ll have the place to yourself. An on-site disco on Saturday night sometimes goes till dawn.
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Eating
El Fogón de la Abuela ( 316 298 2928; Carrera 6A No 8-61; mains COP$5000-10,000) This cheap restaurant does the best set meals in town – which is to say, pretty average. It’s on a noisy street two blocks from the main square.
Meson Ilama ( 667 9703, 315 488 5599; www.mesonilama.com; mains COP$18,000-22,000) About 10km from Darién is this large, exposed-timber restaurant with huge windows and views of the lake. It does all the basics very well – sancocho (a typical Colombian stew), churrasco (grilled meat) baby beef and trout. Worth it just for the views.
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Getting There & Away
There is a direct bus service every hour to/from Cali (COP$10,000 to COP$12,000, 2½ hours) during the day. You can also take any bus to Media Canoa (a large roundabout on the road to Buga, COP$5000 to COP$6500, one hour) and grab a passing Buga–Darién bus (COP$4600, 1½ hours). Coming from the north, get off in Buga and grab the half-hourly service to Darién (COP$6500, 1½hours).
Note that there are two bus routes that come out here to Lago Calima and Darién. They cost the same. If you’re going direct to Darién, ask for the bus to Jiguales; for the kitesurf/windsurf schools, ask for the bus that goes along the lakeshore.
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Getting Around
There are no taxis in Darién. Jeeps sometimes hang out on the main square, and can take you around town and along the lakeshore, but these are expensive (around COP$20,000).
Buses shuttle between Darién and the dam (COP$1500), past the kite schools, from 9am to 9pm on the hour, except for noon to 2pm, when they run on the half-hour.
CAUCA & HUILA
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These two departments are home to Popayán, one of Colombia’s loveliest colonial cities, plus the country’s two most important archaeological sites – San Agustín and Tierradentro. Here you’ll also find the peculiar Desierto de la Tatacoa, a striking anomaly outside Neiva, halfway between Bogotá and San Agustín.
In the days of river travel