We did a 'jeep tour' of some of the 'antiquities' sites in this part of Colombia yesterday. The sites are in high places, using winding unpaved roads, so a 4WD jeep is the only way to go. We teamed up with a couple of young Canadians and hired Jose, a guide with a jeep.
The San Augustin (spelled locally as San Agustin) area was originally a Spanish settled area, in about the mid-1700's. So the town has a nice Spanish-style square with a big church. But the area was inhabited by indigenous peoples since about 3,500 BC.
In the early 1900's, some of the ancient burial sites left behind by these people were discovered, and more in the 1950's. The sites that were discovered early on were repeatedly looted and destroyed. Whatever artifacts and archeological information the tombs contained, was lost.
Fortunately, in some of the areas, not all the structures there were discovered by looters. A few were discovered and opened up by experienced archaeologists interested in studying and preserving the culture. Also, some of the antiquities that were looted have been returned to Colombia.
In 1995, the area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Colombian government has now made all the sites into parks, and have 24 hour security guards to protect the locations. The valuable items, like the gold ornaments left in the tombs, have been moved to the Museo de Oro and the National Museum, for conservation and protection.
What is left here are numerous large and small sites with stone carvings and elaborate stone grave structures. We went to two of the 3 major sites yesterday: Alto de los Ídolos and Alto de las Piedras (High Place of the Idols, and High Place of the Rocks).
There is still a lot unknown about the people inhabiting the area--there is not much written down. But to a layman's eyes, the carvings are similar to other such sites in Latin America. What's a little different are the elaborate tomb arrangements, with one or more carved figures guarding tombs lined with large slab rocks.
We also stopped at a few waterfalls and 'miradors' (scenic overlooks) overlooking the Rio Magdalena. It is just gorgeous.
One place we stopped was Estrecho del Magdalena, a place where the river gets very very narrow and deep, and the rapids are lethal. Jose said that frequently, tourists say "I am experienced at swimming in rapids" and jump in for a swim. We didn't ask him if anyone had ever survived, but he told us that 43 people had died trying to swim in that stretch in the last 5 years.
Needless to say, we didn't go swimming. (Actually, it is so cool here, there is no way you'd get me in that water anyway!)
More Pics of San Agustin
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