Continuing south from Cali, we reached Popayan on new year’s eve, our last major stop in Colombia.

Popayan is an old colonial town with an all white historical center. Leo kept saying it looks like greece 🙂

Nothing particularly festive on our side for new year’s eve; we just shared some wine and hugs in our hotel room 🙂

The most notable part was the burning of the Taitapuros! All over Colombia (and other parts of latin America) life size human figures made of straw and fully dressed, often packed with firecrackers, are exposed along the side of the road, waiting to be set on fire on the 31st at midnight.

They represent the demons and all the bad things of the past that must be burnt to start the new year fresh and clean. The amusing part is that they often impersonate politicians!

We didn’t do much during our five days in Popayan, it was mostly a chill break from long bus journeys. And an opportunity to catch up with Leo’s schoolwork.