Sept. 23, 2023
During my travels in Ecuador I visited 36 towns/cities. In Perú, I visited 38; in Chile, only five; and in Argentina, I visited 16. In Uruguay, I visited five, and in Brazil, three. And in Paraguay I have visited 26. In Colombia I've visited 82. That's 211 towns/cities in South America.
I'm in Cartago, Colombia.
Cartago, Colombia, has a population of about 140,000. Cartago sits in a valley between the Western and Central Ranges of the Andes Mountains. Two rivers pass by, one directly next to the town and forms the border of the city and the department (province); the other is very close outside of the town. There are sugar cane and corn farms throughout the valley.
Armenia, Colombia, has a population of about 295,000 (as of 2018). Armenia sits at around 5,000 feet on the lower slopes of the central range of the Andes Mountains. The Quindio River runs alongside Armenia at the bottom of a fairly deep canyon. Armenia is not an old city, it was founded in 1889, but it was the first half of the 20th century when therme development really took off because of the coffee industry. Armenia is part of Colombia's Coffee Axis region.
Ibagué, Colombia, has a population of about 507,000, while the metropolitan area increases to about 629,000. The city sits in a valley in the Andes Mountains Central Range on the eastern side. The Combeima River passes through the western part of the city. The valley does not have a flat bottom, and the city is, therefore, quite hilly. They call Ibagué the "city of music." That expression dates back to 1886. A French count was impressed by the musical atmosphere of the city and the fact that it had a music conservatory. At the time, there were many buildings painted with music-related murals. I saw none during my visit.
Neiva, Colombia, has a population of about 358,000. This small city has the Magdalena River (the second longest river in South America) flowing along the western side, north to south, and the Ceibas River cutting through the northern half of the city from east to west. This area is the Magdalena River Valley, which sits between the Central Range and the Eastern Range of the Andes Mountains.
Mocoa (pronounced Mocóa), Colombia, is a city in the southcentral part of Colombia. It sits on the eastern side of the Andes Mountains, where the climate is not terribly hot, but the humidity is always very high, as in 77% is the lowest average, and that is for the month of September, the rest of the year is higher, typically in the mid-to high-80% range.
This was my second visit to Mocoa. I didn't visit because it is particularly special, it's not, but because I want to continue my journey north on the east side of the Andes.