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richiecdisc Says: Iglesia San Juan Bautista is Pasto's most stunning piece of colonial architecture. Though renovated a few times due to various devastations, the current structure was completed in 1667 and the site on which it stands has an even longer history as a religious site of...
richiecdisc Says: Compared to some of Pasto's “other” churches, The Cathedral is a little lackluster in appearance though not so with regard to history with the original Chapel of St. Francis of Assisi having been desecrated during the lootings of 1822. It fell into disrepair and just before...
richiecdisc Says: Iglesia del Cristo Rey remains a bit of an enigma to me as I never got within its impressive walls. It always was closed when I was in the vicinity. That said, its twin octagonal towers fringed with angelic statues always captured my attention even from afar when I spotted...
richiecdisc Says: Iglesia de la Merced is another fine church of Pasto that could easily be overlooked from its relatively unimpressive exterior though considering its long history of devastation from earthquakes it's a wonder a church stands in this place at all! The original structure dates...
richiecdisc Says: Pasto has an array of very different churches and one of the most unusual is Iglesia de San Sebastián. The original San Sebastián was built in the Gothic style and completed in 1790 but city planning and the ever present threat of earthquakes led to a newer version being...
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Helados de la 22: on a mission for ice
richiecdisc Says: Pasto is noted as a cold town and one thing I had read about was a local ice cream called helado de paíla. This was evidently prepared in a copper tub with ice beneath it, all by hand. Many years earlier we had another such frozen treat called queso helado in Arequipa in...
Chipicchape Centro: a very nice last meal in Pasto
richiecdisc Says: It was time for our last meal in Pasto and one of the last in Colombia. Though we had a couple of nights in Bogota on our way home, we had spent the first days of our Colombian adventure there and figured to be retreading familiar culinary ground when there. We were thinking...
Pan Latino: the real quimbolito experience
richiecdisc Says: Though it hadn't been much more than 40 minutes since we had enjoyed an espresso at Cafe Veracruz we were hankering for something sweet and walked by an unpretentious local bakery on Calle 20. We walked in to see a wide selection of Colombian baked treats and one sweet we...
Cafe Verecruz: a nice espresso in Pasto
richiecdisc Says: Though the coffee scene in Colombia had started slowly for us, we soon discovered that if you were willing to pay a bit more and frequent more upscale places, good coffee did exist in the land of Juan Valdez. Forget the tinto, you have to look for espresso. Of course, most...
Lechoneria: finally found the pig
richiecdisc Says: We had been traveling around Colombia for nearly two months without seeing lechona or roast pig. This was a staple for us in Ecuador and even Peru years earlier. It seemed odd that it would not be popular here too. Now that we were no so far from Ecuador once again, we...
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Getting to Pasto is easy from many cities around Colombia. You can even go directly to Bogotá in 22 hours if that strikes your fancy! We arrived from Popayán on a bus that took around six hours of spectacular scenery. This is one trip still considered safest during the day and with views like you will get why do it at night anyway? We paid 28,000 COP ($14) each for the journey.
We also took a small and somewhat cramped bus to Ipiales which took about 90 minutes and cost 7000 COP ($3.50) each. On our return to Pasto, we paid 9000 COP ($4.50) for a much larger Fronteras bus which was a lot more comfortable and worth the $1 each splurge!
Heading home, we flew on Avianca back to Bogotá. This internal flight was included in our round trip flight from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Bogotá which cost us $430 each. It saved us a lot of time backtracking but did kind of pin us in on going all the way down to Pasto which seemed a good idea in the planning stage but later not so desirable. That said, we're glad we did it as we saw Popayán as a result and actually quite enjoyed Pasto as well.
Updated Jan 15, 2011
Plaza de Bomboná: don't touch these babies
richiecdisc Says: Though Plaza de Bomboná is not the traditional produce market we might have hoped for and it's not the photogenic South American classic you might be looking for, it is none-the-less a great example of a local market and very interesting in that respect. We went mostly in...
ARTESANIAS MERCADO BOMBONA: HANDICRAFTS
swesn Says: This huge market is located in a warehouse like building.In one section, there are cheap eateries. What drew my attention were the roast pigs smoking above barbecues. I am sure they are delicious.In another section, you can find various Colombian handicrafts, woollies,...
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Colombia, like most South American countries, is not super geared to the vegetarian. Sure, if you eat fish and cheese you can get by but there are many things that you not only will miss out on but will be confronted with on a constant basis. Going to the markets in particular is not for the squeamish or animal rights activist. Different cultures certainly have varying ideas of what is right and wrong, and what is appetizing and not. I love the markets and must admit love seeing the head of a pig in a restaurant's window. It means lechon to me, roast pork.
Written Jan 15, 2011
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Luggage and bags: While a backpack is not necessary in Pasto, if you are doing small overnight trips, you might want to have one. Better yet, a pack would be perfect for trips like this where you are often traveling in small vehicles or sharing rides with others.
Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Dressing in layers will serve you best in Pasto where it can get quite chilly suddenly. This is a high altitude city and when the sun goes in, which it often does, the temperatures drop.
Photo Equipment: A wide angle is necessary for capturing the stunning interiors of Pasto's many beautiful churches. A zoom can come in handy too for taking shots of the altars from afar, making yourself less conspicuous as well as giving your shots a better angle. Get one with image stabilization as you will be working in low light situations in the church where pulling out a tripod is not really an option!.
Miscellaneous: Thanks to D for being the perfect partner to snack around. :)
Written Jan 15, 2011
richiecdisc Says: If you are in the need of a miracle, look no further. Spanning one gorgeous gorge sits the neo-Gothic Santurio de Las Lajas, an other-worldly sight especially at night. Though the original church in this spectacular location was built in 1803, this lovely incarnation dates...
richiecdisc Says: Laguna de la Cocha is perhaps the top sight of Pasto. It's not exactly in Pasto, being a 45 minute taxi ride away but it certainly considered a must see by all Colombians visiting the city, and for good reason. With a backdrop of rolling green hills, this miss-enshrouded gem...
Iglesia Felipe Neri and Iglesia de San Andrés
richiecdisc Says: Two other churches seen only passingly en route to the Plaza de Bomboná market were Iglesia Felipe Neri and Iglesia de San Andrés. Neither was open when we passed so I cannot on the interiors. The latter was a simple brick church largely in the Romanesque style though there...
richiecdisc Says: Six hours on a bus south we were in Pasto none-the-less, the victims of high cost flight changes and our own stubbornness. We arrived to find a cuter town than expected and set off to find new culinary delights to keep us busy till Las Lajas became the finale we hoped for....
on finding Pasto not so bad after all
richiecdisc Says: Though initially we were not happy to have pre-booked our flight from Pasto, we found the town had many charms. Food was one of them but certainly it had its share of fine churches too. Iglesia de San Juan Bautista was particularly stunning, especially its interior. Pasto...
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Pasto may not be on the average tourist to Colombia's top agenda list but it is not without considerable charm despite a less than perfect climate and it being somewhat isolated from the rest of the...
COLOMBIA 2005 >> ... +| Part of SA 2005 |+ ... For more details of my PASTO Travelogue (SA 2005), please visit : 06) COLOMBIA CONNECTION ( .. Santa Marta .. Cartagena .. Medellin .....
Pasto is today the political capital as well as, at 450,000 inhabitants, the largest city in Colombias Narino department. At an average altitude of just over 2500m, it is also the highest, and thus......
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