Pretty Popayan

We had a guided walking tour of Popayan this morning and it's very obvious why it's called the White City. We started at the main square and The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption.

The cathedral was destroyed by an earthquake on Maundy Thursday, 31 March 1983 while mass was taking place and although the earthquake only lasted 18 seconds it destroyed the cathedral, and much of the city, killing many people.

The city's historic downtown is rich with colonial architecture and some cobblestone streets still remain. Many of the buildings house the city's universities with disused tunnels connecting some of them. One of the buildings which had been a private home now houses an exhibition of the Semana Santa (Holy Week) procession.

El Morro de Tulcán is a pyramid built in the pre-Columbian era (between 500 and 1600 BC) and offers great views over the city. As we wander back towards the historic centre we are accosted by a large group of very friendly school students near humiliation bridge. I'm now wondering how many Instagram pages we'll appear on.

In the afternoon we make our way to Jesus of Nazareth Church, the oldest catholic church in the city and then climb to the Sanctuary of Bethlehem where the cross that stands at the front of the church was cursed by a Bishop after he was forcibly removed. He said if the cross ever fell the city would end. The 1983 earthquake damaged all but a small part of the cross and locals believed if it had collapsed completely the city would have ceased to exist.

In the evening we enjoyed local food and drinks in the relaxed cafe scene in the closed off streets.