The best of Barichara with BnB Colombia - My sister and I spent 34 days touring Colombia. Part of it I organized myself, but for 16 days we used BnB Colombia Tours. What an amazing company. A huge thank you to Helene Colmart, Valentina and Natalia for their excellent organization, logistics and communications via a whatsapp group. Their guides are also in a class of their own. We did the Santander part of our trip with BnB Colombia. Our guide Nicolas met us in the morning at our accommodation in Barichara. The plan for the day was the Barichara to Guane hike followed by a gastronomical tour of Barichara. Nicolas is a professional guide with a degree in tourism. He is also an extreme sport enthusiast and very fit. He provided us with walking sticks which helped a great deal on the uneven route. We walked about 500 meters uphill in Barichara to reach the start of the trail. The first part is a rocky footpath down the mountain. We saw a mocking bird amongst others and a false coral snake! At the foot of the mountain we crossed the tar road to go onto the stone-paved ancient trail that leads through bush and farm area to Guane. The views from this trail over the valley and the mountains behind, was breathtaking. Nicolas entertained us on the way with information about the history and fauna and flora of this area. After 7.75 km we reached the far end of Guane where Nicolas took us to a restaurant overlooking the river in the valley below. There we had ice-cold drinks and continued our interesting conversation with Nicolas. We started at 08h30 and ended in Guane at about 13h30. We are slow hikers (71 and 59 years old) but enjoyed the hike and took many photos along the way. The tuk-tuk ride back to Barichara was also fun. Back in Barichara Nicolas took us to a restaurant where he ordered an array of local colombian dishes for us to try. It was delicious. Nicolas has a passion for Barichara and he decided to show us all the special places in town. He took us to a small paper factory where he showed us all the different plants that are used to make paper and took us through the whole process. We even got the chance to each make our own paper. Then we visited a work shop where they show the traditional way of construction with wood, mud, straw, and dung. Buildings done in this way are resistant to earthquakes which are common in the area. Our next stop was a coffee shop where we enjoyed excellent cappuccinos. Nicolas was a fountain of knowledge, making this trip very memorable. After resting at the coffee shop, he showed us some more interesting little shops. We then visit the Santuario de Abegas (bee and honey place). We did not do a full tour because of lack of time. We only did the honey tasting (9 different honeys). Diane was an excellent host and we bought some honey as souvenirs. This is a great place to visit in Barichara. Nicolas also convinced us to try the local delicacy of roasted ants. It tastes like popcorn and is not at all off-putting. We then went to a coffee place where they sell the best Colombian coffee and we tried the coffee black and without sugar, it was very nice with a slightly sweet after taste. We also tried a local sweet made of coconut and panela (like caramel). Also delish. Nicolas walked us to our guest house and we parted at about 19h00. He and a driver would pick us up in the morning for our drive to Bucaramanga. This was indeed a day to remember.

Guane experience - Very nice experience. Its gastronomy. Its exquisite sabon. Its artisans who tell the history of the place in its streets