We had already read about Colombia’s love of Tejo (less of a drinking game as such, but a game that goes hand in hand with drink), so when we saw a bar advertising ‘gunpowder and beer’ we just had to go in.
It was actually quite daunting, but that was exactly the reason it was so cool. The front bar was dark, smokey and very local. I asked for two beers so that we could assess the situation. She said “TEJO?”. Yes….. tejo is ‘free’ whilst you are drinking there.
The sign was in English so I should have guessed there would be gringos out the back already playing. They were joined by a few locals. The bar lady summoned a lovely Colombian man to show us the rules.
First, you choose your Tejo throwing stone. He told us to choose carefully, to feel the stones and to choose one which meant something to us. Choose a winner!
The ‘court’ set up is a raised container of clay. On the clay is a metal ring and on top of that are little triangles of paper filled with gunpowder. You take turns to throw your stone at a metal ring. Getting your stone in various areas adds to different points, and if you hit the ring itself one of the envelopes filled with gunpowder will EXPLODE!! As beginners we threw from five metres. Sometimes we hit, sometimes we missed and sometimes it EXPLODED!
Once you have thrown you often have to dig your stone out of the clay. The court has implements for you to do this with. You smooth the clay over and replace any envelopes that you have hit. There’s always someone on hand to replenish your beer. SO. MUCH. FUN. If we had discovered this earlier in Salento we’d have been back every evening! Unfortunately this was our last one.
It got interesting later on when the drunk owner bought out his own professional stone. This was serious stuff; he had it wrapped in a cloth, inside a camera case, inside a bumbug. I ducked for cover a bit when he started throwing it from twelve metres. He didn’t hit any… we think this game is just made up for Colombian’s love of drink!
This is a fantastic social game, in a very friendly bar, where you can drink a few and meet fellow travellers or locals. I’m now thinking of how I may set up Tejo in my garden once I’m home!
