Thousands and thousands of people are packed into the city centre to witness one of Columbia’s biggest celebrations and one of the biggest religious festivals in the world. Its Semana Santa (Easter) week in Popayan, my first stop in this fantastic country. The streets are lined by whitewashed houses that feel blindingly bright, and is so clean it almost looks like Disneyland. Theres more churches per square yard than anywhere else in the world. 
What the hell do they need or do with all of them? It’s not like each one is a different denomination, they’re all Catholic. Maybe they were like the Starbucks of their time – not wanting townspeople to have to be more than a few blocks from any given one.
Its not your typical festival: this is NOT Rio, and I’m certainly not covered in blue ink and shaving foam. Families are out in their crowds, mainly non-foreign tourists, to witness some of the parades and processions
In a kind of creepy but equally inspiring fashion, a group of young men (aged 18 or more) march around the city holding giant religious statues, that are known to dislocate many shoulders. The floats are obviously extremely heavy so the entire parade moves forward for thirty seconds then pauses for two minutes to give the men time to rest. It’s a great atmosphere and many friendly people approach me just to ask where I am from and if I like Colombia and to take a picture with me. Its certainly a welcome, from some of the likes in Bolivia who’d rather spit on you than approach you.
Popayan is also famous for its food. Its the gastronomical capital of South America. The street food is awesome, but questionably strange. I get myself a giant obleja: a big piece of communion bread like at mass, with arequipa (dulce de leche), jam, cheese gratings, coconut flakes, more jam, honey, yellow stuff that looks like mustard and some other strange toppings. All in all its pretty awful, but hey, its cheap. Other foods I try are much more successful.
