In truth, San Gil was pretty far down my list of priorities. It's known as the adventure sports capital of Colombia, but while I'm a big fan of adrenaline, I decided to prioritise the things I really couldn't see elsewhere. In the end though, San Gil worked out to be a nicely placed stop on my route from Palomino back to Bogota to fly home, and I'm so glad I went - it turned in to one of my favourite places.

After minimal sleep on the overnight bus (I'm usually pretty hardy with buses, but even I felt sick as the driver lurched around for 14 hours with little suspension), Marina (my new travel buddy) and I headed straight out to Barichara. A 45 minute bus ride away, the pretty colonial town is almost entirely rows of simple, one-storey, white shops and houses with red roof tiles, and cobbled streets that lead up steep hills. After a disappointing breakfast (I accidentally ordered a lamb arepa, which was huge and not at all what I was in the mood for) we explored the down and the stunning views of to the valley that surrounds it, then headed for the Camino Real. The Camino is a short hike through the valley to the smaller town of Guané, over rocky hills, winding footpaths and tree-lined flats. We started out very relaxed, but as dark clouds appeared behind us we started to speed up, hoping to arrive before the heavens opened. We got a little wet, and on arrival found out we'd missed the last bus back to Barichara. Luckily we were able to convince a local tuktuk driver to take us despite the rain that was now lashing it down.

San Gil is most famous for its white water rafting. The rapids on the Suarez river are apparently the best in South America, from class 2 all the way up to class 5+. The safety briefing made the experience sound quite scary, going through all the ways things could go wrong, but in the end it didn't feel at all unsafe, and was a huge amount of fun. Our team bonded well, and although I unintentionally swallowed a fair amount of the river, everyone just about stayed in the boat.

With these being the last days of my time in Colombia, I decided to pack the activities in and headed paragliding the next morning. It was more relaxing than exhilarating, and I really enjoyed the silence in the air, being kept up by just a piece of fabric. My tandem pilot did an excellent job of catching thermals and in not long we were much higher than we started, soaring high above the canyon and the river below. Perhaps because of this, on our way down to land he snuck in some aerobatics, swinging us left and right until the wing was slightly below us. Brilliant fun.

Marina and I also went caving that afternoon. Given the other adrenaline fuelled activities on offer it didn't jump out to me as something to do, but a few people at the hostel we were staying at had recommended it very highly, so we decided to see what all the fuss was about. What I expected to be a nice walk through a cave was in fact quite adventurous. Our guide (who was 16 years old!) led us through some narrow passageways, ducking under low ceilings with water up to our chests, narrow potholing sections and probably the scariest bit - pulling ourselves underwater through a gap to the next section of cave as we held our breaths. It was a different kind of challenge. I required me to push myself more than the paragliding for example, and I really felt a sense of achievement by the time we'd finished. The deepest point of the cave we saw was an underground waterfall 75m below the surface of the earth. One final waterfall to say goodbye to a country filled with them. This one wasn't the prettiest or the biggest, but it felt like a very special one all the same.

And with that it was time to leave for home once again. Colombia wasn't a country much on my radar before this trip. It's so easy to only see coffee, cumbia and Pablo Escobar, but there's a whole lot more to a huge and varied country, and there's a lot more still to see. I think I'll remember Colombia as the country of water. Countless waterfalls, rivers and beaches, rafting, tubing, and not to forget poured hot into some ground up beans to make a delicious drink that I've finally been able to appreciate.

Until next time, Colombia.