Las Lajas Cathedral, Ipiales, Colombia

The border crossing was easy, 15 minutes line for immigration and 20 minutes of friendly/relaxed time with the Aduana (bike import permit) and I was driving through much bigger valleys and mountains than in Colombia. I ran into a Canadian couple on KLR650′s who had driven from Argentina in 5 weeks or so.

Ontario Motorcycle Couple Heading North, Ecuador-Colombia Border

Passed within view of the second highest peak in Ecuador, Cayambe at 5,790m.

Cayambe Volcano 5,790m, Ecuador

Driving a bit foolishly fast as I wanted to make it to Quito before it was fully night. Still I had time to stop at the Equator-line and take a touristy picture.

GPS (almost) at the Equator, Ecuador

Equatorial line, Ecuador

Pasto Semana Santa Procession, Colombia	South of Pasto, Colombia	South of Pasto, Colombia	South of Pasto, Colombia
Las Lajas Cathedral, Ipiales, Colombia	Ontario Motorcycle Couple Heading North, Ecuador-Colombia Border	View overlooking valley 90kms before Quito, Ecuador	Cayambe Volcano 5,790m, Ecuador
Canyon en route to Quito, Ecuador	At the Equator, Ecuador	At the Equator, Ecuador	GPS at the Equator, Ecuador
Quito Old Town	Quito Old Town	Quito Old Town	Quito Old Town
Quito Old Town	Quito Old Town	Quito from Secret Garden Roof Terrace	Quito at Night, Ecuador
Above Quito, Ecuador	Above Quito, Ecuador

Pasto to Quito, Ecuador

The drive was all on the Pan-Americana, into tight valleys with some rockfall, big curves and mountains. Loads of cyclists riding from Pasto to Las Lanas church all over the road. Ecuadorian drivers were wilder and faster than the Colombians. Too many SUV’s.

I spent three nights at Hotel La Casa De Francois,  a French run  place that is probably the best hostal I’ve stayed at. Perched above San Agustin with the dormitory (a 4 bed 2nd floor cabana) to myself (Francois promised to put anyone else in the other dormitory) eating homemade real bread and jam.

The main reason for being in San Agustin is to see the archaeological park and the tomb-covering statues that were left behind by an unknown group of people.

Sun/Moon/Water(?), San Agustin, Colombia

Marty, Ian, Mark, Martina, and I took a 5 hour horse tour that went to some of the statues and a museum.

Marty, Ian, Mark, Martina Tasting Coca Leaves, Horse Tour, San Agustin, Colombia

Here is a good example of an interesting one of the statues.  The guide said the funeral urns found by the local farmers are sold (illegally) to rich people in the cities for 40,000 pesos (~$20 USD).

Unknown origin tombstones, San Agustin, Colombia

There is also one of South America’s highest waterfalls (apparently) nearby – Salto de Bordones. I took the bike down the bumpy path and discovered that I had sheared a bolt off my luggage rack (one of the four that holds everything on the bike).  The broken end of the bolt was extracted with some soldering by a rough bunch of mechanics on the edge of town.

Salto de Bordones, Colombia

“Road of Death” Mocoa to Pasto, Colombia

To go from San Agustin to Pasto you can either go back to the Pan Americana in Popoyan or drive south to Mocoa and then from there cross the Cordillera Occidental (Western Colombian Andes) over to Pasto.  I had planned on doing this so I could avoid spending another night in Popoyan.

I was told that it was informally known as the Colombian ‘road of death‘.  The drive to Mocoa was pleasant and so was the start of the road from there to Pasto.  It wound up with good views until I passed through the cloud layer.   A few cars stopped blocking the way in front of me and being wary about what they were up to, I kept about 100 feet downhill from them until I figured out there had been an accident.

Looking for the wreckage, above Mocoa, Colombia

It turned out a farmer with his wife and another person were driving their truckful of potatoes towards Mocoa when the cut a corner and the back wheel broke the earth free from the edge of the road and then then truck tipped over the edge. The farmer was dead and it wasn’t known if the others had lived.

Looking down from where truck went over, above Mocoa, Colombia

The potatoes were strewn all over the rocks below and their truck completely bent and crushed out of shape.   A few other drivers wanted to help me pass the road and asked me to follow them and bought me coffee and bread at a roadside stop halfway through.

Before Sibundoy, Colombia

It started drizzling as I got past the restaurant stop and the mud became really slick. My new Pirelli Scorpion MT-90 rear road tire skids pretty wildly in wet mud under the luggage load – I promised to replace it with dirt tire next time. The road had three recent mudslides from the rain that fell the night before and I had to wait in the cold rain for the bulldozers to unblock the road.  I arrived in Pasto just at nightfall and fell asleep before midnight.

Near San Agustin, Colombia	Near San Agustin, Colombia	Near San Agustin, Colombia	Near San Agustin, Colombia
Main House of Casa De Francois, San Agustin, Colombia	Martina and Ian Tasting Coca Leaves, Horse Tour, San Agustin, Colombia	Marty, Ian, Mark, Martina Tasting Coca Leaves, Horse Tour, San Agustin, Colombia	Coca Plant, Horse Tour, San Agustin, Colombia
Unknown origin tombstones, San Agustin, Colombia	Unknown origin tombstones, San Agustin, Colombia	Horse Tour, San Agustin, Colombia	River and Valley near San Agustin, Colombia
Unknown origin tombstones, San Agustin, Colombia	Unknown origin tombstones, San Agustin, Colombia	Unknown origin tombstones, San Agustin, Colombia	Unknown origin tombstones, San Agustin, Colombia
Martina, San Agustin, Colombia	Martina, San Agustin, Colombia	Mark, San Agustin, Colombia	Mark, San Agustin, Colombia
Unknown origin tombstones, San Agustin, Colombia	Unknown origin tombstones, San Agustin, Colombia	Unknown origin tombstones, San Agustin, Colombia	Unknown origin tombstones, San Agustin, Colombia
Salto de Bordones, Colombia	Salto de Bordones, Colombia	Salto de Bordones, Colombia	Salto de Bordones, Colombia
Salto de Bordones, Colombia	Salto de Bordones, Colombia	Looking for the wreckage, above Mocoa, Colombia	Crashed truck, above Mocoa, Colombia
Looking down from where truck went over, above Mocoa, Colombia	Looking down from where truck went over, above Mocoa, Colombia	Deathly Road, after Mocoa, Colombia	After Mocoa, Colombia
Death Road, Before Sibundoy, Colombia	Death Road, Before Sibundoy, Colombia	Death Road, Before Sibundoy, Colombia	Death Road, Before Sibundoy, Colombia
Laguna La Cocha, Near Pasto, Colombia	Laguna La Cocha, Near Pasto, Colombia

Tierradentro to San Augustin To Pasto, Colombia

I spent three nights in Popoyan, Colombia. It is a colonial town in the south west of Colombia in the Cauca department. It’s buildings are well maintained partially it seems as a result of it having one of the biggest Semana Santa celebrations in Colombia.    Every building is painted a stark white which to me has the effect of rendering it slightly like a very large mental asylum.  This feeling is re-enforced by the seemingly quietest main square in Latin America where the inhabitants don’t seem particularly partial to tourists – hissing or whispering under their breath ‘gringo!’ or ‘turista!’ on several occasions.

White Silence in Popoyan, Colombia

I had only intended on staying for two nights however Martina and Mark from Austria who I’d run into in Salento invited me to join them for dinner.  So we walked around to find the only affordable restaurant that was open – a Italianesque named place that looked quite promising with clean dark wood tables in a sleek modern style restaurant.  When my choice of a chicken sandwich and fried potatoes arrived it was it was apparent that something had gone horribly wrong with the chef.   The promised fried potatoes were not ‘bien cocinada’ as requested but rather the usual soggy undercooked white.  Opposing these on the other half of the plate was a soup of mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, and mustard submerged under which were pieces of lettuce and ripped up bits of chicken breast.  A forlorn single square of white factory bread sat unadorned floating slightly in the mayonnaise soup.

After this edible disaster we decided we thoroughly needed a strong drink so we proceeded to a liquor shop with two tables in front of the caged-in bottles.  After ordering two bottles of Aguardiente and several beers (Colombia’s favourite liquor, like a light Ouzo), the liquor store hanger-oner proceeded to buy as a number of bottles more.  So, after being the last up in town I woke up the latest in the hostel, well past the check-out time.  As I prepared to leave for San Augustin it started pouring rain and I was accosted on the street by the hanger-oner who showed up with two large beers and kept on insisting I drink one of them.  I declined and spent a rather wasted afternoon trying to rid myself of my headache.

Silvia to Tortoro with the Guanbianos, Cauca, Colombia

I drove to the town of Silvia for a day trip from Popoyan.  The main attraction appearing to be the ability to see a group of indigenous people named Guambianos who still retain their traditional way of life (growing potatoes and onions) and dress – wearing bowler hats jauntily accompanied by a blue skirt, a colourful scarf, and all topped off with army or ankle-high hiking boots.

After enjoying some trout from the trout farm I lay lazily on the grass in the main square until striking up a conversation with on of the bowler-hatted Guambiano fellows.  It went largely along these lines.

“Where are you from?
“Canada”

“I really want to buy a little table for 4,000 pesos.  Would you give me the money?”
“Umm, no.”

“But want the little tiny table, it would help me, would you give me 4,000?”
“No, but perhaps I could take your photo for 1,000?”

“Oh, yes!”

I then handed over the thousand and by this time had been joined on the other side by another fellow, this one holding a wood staff with three shiny silver buckles around it.  So I took the photo and was then told I had to pay double because that was the chief with the shiny staff.  I said no to the scrounger causing the chief to have a good chortle. My posse was now growing and cigarettes were handed out to all three fellows now surrounding me.

Dodger and Jaunty Chief, Silvia, Colombia

So with my mission accomplished in Silvia I then went looking for their village in the mountains. After following a degrading rock strewn path for an hour, I found another indigenous town name Totoro.   However, in this town instead of dressing in unusual clothing the main activity seemed to involve giggling at and harassing strange white people.  While sitting in a cafe downing a pan and cafe tinto the chorus of giggling grew louder after one drunk fellow had approached my then out-of-sight bike.  I went outside to see him sitting on it mimicking driving.  Annoyed I told him he could ask me if he wanted to sit on my bike.  This earned me some threatening looks from the assorted idiots as they ambled up the road.  I returned to Popoyan a little soured by the last events of the day.

Archaeological Park of Tierradentro, San Andres, Cauca, Colombia

About three hours from down a unpaved road lies the small town of San Andres also known as Tierradentro after the archaeological park there containing hillside statues and tombs buried under volcanic rock.   Halfway to San Andres I stopped at a restaurant in the high valley to have some breakfast.   I was greeted by a person from Bogota who was working for the Caterpillar corporation, training the locals on how to use the machines to build the new paved road that was currently half-built.  He told me one of his workers had been stopped and had their motorcycle robbed from him while passing on this road.   So with his admonitions to go fast and not stop for anyone I sped along as much as possible to the town on Inza and then on to San Andres.

The main sites stretch over about a 5 km area on the mountains overlooking the valley surrounding San Andres town.  While they weren’t spectacular the walk was pleasant.  I ran into Marie from New Zealand and we sat in the blazing sun laughing about the Gringo Trail that everyone including us seemed to be on.

El Tablon, Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia

Tombs, Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia

Above San Andres, Cauca, Colombia

Above Popoyan, Colombia	Popoyan, Colombia	Popoyan, Colombia	Popoyan, Colombia
Salsa club, Popoyan, Colombia	Salsa club, Popoyan, Colombia	Silvia, Colombia	Dodger and Jaunty Chief, Silvia, Colombia
Dodger and Jaunty Chief, Silvia, Colombia	Silvia to Totoro, Colombia	Silvia to Totoro, Colombia	Silvia to Totoro, Colombia
Totoro to Popoyan, Colombia	Totoro to Popoyan, Colombia	Totoro to Popoyan, Colombia	Totoro to Popoyan, Colombia
Totoro to Popoyan, Colombia	Tombs, Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia	Tombs, Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia	Tombs, Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia
Tombs, Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia	Tombs, Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia	Tombs, Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia	Above San Andres, Cauca, Colombia
Above San Andres, Cauca, Colombia	Above San Andres, Cauca, Colombia	Above San Andres, Cauca, Colombia	Above San Andres, Cauca, Colombia
El Tablon, Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia	El Tablon, Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia	El Tablon, Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia	El Tablon, Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia
Above Inza, Cauca, Colombia	Above Inza, Cauca, Colombia	Above Inza, Cauca, Colombia	Above Inza, Cauca, Colombia
Above Inza, Cauca, Colombia	Above Inza, Cauca, Colombia	Above Inza, Cauca, Colombia	Inza Church, Colombia

Cali to Popoyan, Cuaca, Colombia

Hike start

Heading up the unpaved road that goes through the valley I came to a locked gate that I thought was the start of the recommended hike.  So I left my bike, climbed over the gate and walked up the track.  It wound through pastures, then up into pine forests, and cloud forest all the while give good views of the palms and Corcora valley.  After about 4-5 km’s the trail came to a set of buildings – La Finca La Montaña where I was asked to register my name before following the steep trail down towards a private nature reserve called Acaime. After visiting the reserve and seeing hundreds of hummingbirds I walked through the jungle beside the river, through the pastures, past the trout farm until I found myself at the trailhead that people normally use.

Valle De Corcora Wax Palms

View from near 2900m

After the hike I drove to Cali and spent two nights walking around the center and talking to people on the street until quiet late in the morning. Cali’s got a sleazy and dangerous feel to it after midnight or so with many locals warning it’s completely inadvisable to walk alone at night.

Start of Hike

Salento to Cali and Valle De Corcora Hike, Colombia

Coffee Plantations, Chinchina, Colombia

Structure of the industry in Colombia

The workers and coffee farm (finca) owners both have collectives that represent their interests.   These include setting working conditions, a wage (dependent on world market coffee prices), and an incentive system based on individual performance in terms of picking only ripe beans.   Seeds for the plants are sourced from the government coffee plant lab where new disease, pest, and weather resistant strains are developed.   The reasons given are that a variety of strains are needed to avoid pests or weather affecting the entire farm’s crop or the entire industry.

Fair Trade is not used by the Colombian cooperatives who argue their standards are above those of fair trade – this is accepted by buyers worldwide according to my guide.  Pesticides are not permitted by the cooperatives as they pollute the flavour and aroma of the beans. Herbicides are used around the base of the plant to suppress competing plants.   Water restrictions and composting of waste husks and bean juice is mandated by the cooperatives.

The African Coffee War

An insect imported from Africa began affecting the Colombian crop in ~1995 by burrowing into a ripening coffee seed and then laying eggs, resulting in the seed rotting and dropping from the bush.  This apparently decimated the Colombian coffee crop until a wasp, also from Africa, was introduced that predates on the unwanted insect.   Currently the insect decimates about 15% of the beans, these are then used for domestic consumption or for instant coffee sold internationally.

Sewing The Seeds

The latest strains are bought from the government laboratory and planted in sand.  Apparently this promotes the development of a single root, the desired outcome to produce a tall productive plant.  The plants are left in the sand for several months, first sprouting a shoot with the seed at it’s top which then breaks open into two butterfly shaped wide leaves (known as the ‘butterfly’ stage).  Seedlings with curved or multiple root branches are discard. At this point they are transplanted into individual plastic bags of fertilized earth and put in the open where they are watered – unlike plants already put in the ground in the plantation.

Poor root structure coffee plant

Coffee plant nursery

Managing The Crop

After being planted and maturing, certain plants known as ‘machos’ do not grow tall with good branch and leaf separation as desired, but instead are short and squat with many leaves too close together to develop a good harvest of beans.  The others grow to about two meters tall and produce beans ripening all year round at different stages within the same bunch.   Plants are pruned usually by cutting them at the base of the plant promoting new shoots developing from the trunk – the best one or two of these is left while the other shoots are sacrificed.  From a mature plant, about 7 years or harvesting and pruning is possible before the plant is considered too old and unproductive and is replaced.

Ripening Beans

Coffee Plants

Prior to the development of the newer Colombian-created strains the coffee and cacoa plants were used symbiotically.  The cacoa plants provided shade for the coffee plants which didn’t thrive under direct sun.   Added benefits were the retention of soil on the steep slopes where the coffee was grown.  At the Hacienda Guayabal they had converted entirely to the newer strain and there was little in the way of shade trees covering the slopes.  It wasn’t clear what affect this has had on erosion there.

Harvesting The Beans

The workers get paid under 2,000 pesos (~ $1 USD) per kilo of ripe (red or yellow) beans collected.  They seem to average about 20 kilos per day.  In perspective, a hostal dormitory bed in a Colombian town costs 20,000 pesos.  They collect the beans in sacks made from the fibres of the Agave cactus (the same plant used to make tequila and mescal in Mexico) until they are full where they empty them into large 10 kilo bags.  When the bags are full they are brought to the ‘beneficio’ house where they are weighed and graded for quality by a collective official.  The official determines if the quality of the work (10% unripe beans gets a reprimand or an order to undergo retraining), 5% unripe beans is acceptable, and under 5% leads to a bonus for the worker.

Unripe beans and seeds infected with African insect

Separating the wheat from the chaff

In the ‘beneficio’  house (where the benefits of the work on the farm are realized) the beans are dropped into a large funnel-silo that feeds them into a machine (in red and green) that pops the two seeds from their casing and drops the casing into a corkscrew that takes the casings to a separate building where they are composted.  The conjoined machine (in blue) then takes the beans and using three litres of water rubs the beans to remove the sweet juice that coats them.  This juice contaminates water supplies and so is required by the government to be composted along with the casings.

Modern shelling and washing machine

Composting husks

The cleaned beans are then put in a large water tank where the poorer quality less-dense beans float and can been drawn off the top of the water through a pipe and strainer bucket.  The remaining ones are then passed through a series of canals with obstructions a various stages to trap the remaining beans that may only partially float.

Separating the wheat from the chaff (bad beans float)

Preparing for export

The beans are then moved into a large kiln where they are dried with air at 55 degrees celcius alternately blown from above and below for several hours.

Baking quality beans

After they are dried they are either sold as green beans or whole (with the husk intact).  Most of the money from coffee is made between the receiving the green beans and selling them after roasting. The Colombians tried roasting the beans and vacumn packing them for export but according to my guide (Alejandro), the coffee consuming countries quickly realized that the flavour of the coffee quickly degrades after roasting and preferred to buy the green beans (which can be stored for up to 8 months without degradation).

Asides

The tour was at Hacienda Guayabal, $20,000 pesos – two hours, $10,000 pesos for a well prepared lunch. Good guide – Alejandro.
The guide explained that Americans seemed the most ignorant about coffee – many asking if the beans were espresso beans.

Italians make the best preparation of the coffee – guide.

Some visitors to the hacienda do not even like coffee – much to the Alejandro’s amusement.

Colombian coffee is sweet and used when buying ‘blends’ to soften the bitterness of the less expensive coffee sourced from Vietnam, Ethiopia, and El Salvador.

Land on coffee farms in the Eje Cafetero region is cheaper than equivalent fallow land because coffee prices fluctuate too much and other crops or cattle farming is a more reliable return on the investment in the land.

Chinchina, Eje Cafetero, Caldas, Colombia	Chinchina, Eje Cafetero, Caldas, Colombia	Chinchina, Eje Cafetero, Caldas, Colombia	Chinchina, Eje Cafetero, Caldas, Colombia
Chinchina, Eje Cafetero, Caldas, Colombia	Chinchina, Eje Cafetero, Caldas, Colombia	Poor root structure coffee plant	Ripening Beans
Coffee Plants	Birds of Paradise – Banana Family (invasive)	Birds of Paradise – Banana Family (invasive)	Composting husks and juice
Composting husks	Unripe beans and seeds infected with African insect	Toxic red banana-type fruit	Coffee plant nursery
Modern shelling and washing machine	Separating the wheat from the chaff	More quality separation by floatation	Baking quality beans
Small shelling machine	Small roasting machine	Bathing bird	Bathing bird
Bathing bird	Farm out-building	Outside Salento, Colombia	Outside Salento, Colombia
Outside Salento, Colombia

Manizales to Salento, Colombia

El Peñol

On Sunday Sonny (Turkey/USA on a ‘new’ KLR650 – his interesting blog is http://www.la2ba.com), Esteban, and I took a short bike trip to San Antonio De Pereira, a small town in the mountains above Medellin. Although not much to look at, the ride to and from the town included the beautiful green gentle hills that define the Antioquia department of Colombia.    Sam (Australia/Canada on a KLR650) and Justin (USA on a KTM950A) came looking for us and after passing us in the mountains followed us down to the look-out above Medellin (where they were selling beer contra la leya). Sam’s KLR was spitting oil back into the air filter, onto his brakes and exhaust.

From El Peñol, Antioquia, Colombia

With Sam waylaid at Mr. Bike, Justin and I left on Monday at noon to see El Pinol – a huge slab of black granite that towers over the valley.   Excellent roads led through soft hills and fincas until we reached the artificial lake that surrounds El Pinol.  They had flooded the valley and the hilltops now form small verdant islands and peninsulas being rapidly developed for vacation houses.   After climbing the ~650 steps to the top of the rock and taking photos we had a late trout lunch in Guatape.

Towards Aguadas, Colombia

Justin and I then parted ways as he was returning to Medellin and I feel a strong urge to get going on my way after feeling trapped with no bike for almost two weeks.  I drove towards La Ceja and then took the road to Sonson, however with the sun going down and a sign spotted offering a finca with cabanas I decided to get off the road.  Camping in my own tent or using a teepee costs 30,000 pesos including breakfast, so I’m spending the night in a teepee in the hills overlooking La Ceja.   Well it turned out that they felt sorry for me and offered me one of the private cabins instead for the same price.

Towards La Pintada, Colombia

As I drove making my way towards the city of Manizales in the coffee region (Eje Cafetero) I came to a fork in the road with soldiers.  So I asked if I was heading the more winding and mountainous route, they said yes but it was not recommendable – not for the road conditions but for the people that I might encounter.  After thanking them I continued anyway to Sonson where I asked the army there. They replied that they had travelled the route 15 days ago and it was fine then – although it was a hard and steep dirt road route with rocks all over it.  I said that I wanted to do it and was then escorted by one of the army men on his bike to the edge of town where the dirt road started.  He put his bike on it’s sidestand and wasn’t paying attention as it started to move forward and then fell on my bike, knocking me and my bike over.

El Peñol	El Peñol	El Peñol	Justin, El Peñol
El Peñol	El Peñol	First to climb, El Peñol	El Peñol
Justin, El Peñol	El Peñol	Justin, El Peñol	El Peñol
El Peñol	El Peñol	El Peñol	Finca Los Lagos, Towards Sonson, Colombia
Towards Sonson, Colombia	Towards Sonson, Colombia	Towards Sonson, Colombia	Towards Sonson, Colombia
Sonson, Colombia	Towards Aguadas	Towards Aguadas	Towards Aguadas
Towards Aguadas	Towards Aguadas	Towards Aguadas	Towards Aguadas
Towards Aguadas	Towards Aguadas	Towards Aguadas	Towards Aguadas
Towards Aguadas	Towards Aguadas	Towards Aguadas	Towards Aguadas
Towards Aguadas	Aguadas, Colombia	Aguadas, Colombia	Towards La Pintada, Colombia
Towards La Pintada, Colombia	Waiting out the rain towards Manizales, Colombia

Medellin to Manizales, Colombia

Gun Amnesty, Medellin

As my muffler had cracked and melted my seat (making for an uncomfortably warm ride) and my tire had become warn enough to make driving in the rain dangerous, I decided to go to the same mechanic (Mr. Bike) as Torben.   While driving there with Torben on the back the bike started slipping – as if the chain were jumping on the sprocket.  The next morning I looked at the sprocket and all the teeth had been shorn off by the chain.   So with the Mexican mechanics admonition to check the cam chain (he said it was loose) I took the bike in again and today learned that my cam chain was so loose that the mechanic wouldn’t let me drive the bike away.  I count myself very lucky as all these problems have occurred  just in time as I’m in Medellín which by most accounts is the last good place to get bike work done until Chile or Argentina  – which are more expensive.

Botero, Medellin

Torben, Micha, and I went out for a pub crawl in Medellín in the fresa/trendy/yuppie Parque Lleras area near the Casa Kiwi Hostel where we are staying.   It took us through the trendy young bars around the park until we decided to go a little lower to the more real neighbourhood bars surrounding Parque Poblado.   After a few more bars we ended up in a pitch black disco where Torben helpfully suggested to a girl that was dancing with him that I might like the company of some of his friends.  For the next hour I had a short and plump 20 year old grinding against me – as is the fashion in casual dancing with strangers in Colombia.   Most of this seems like a direct prelude to having sex – although that part was left mercifully unclear last night.

Mirador, Medellin

While walking in the center, Torben and I ran into an old short man who spoke US-style English who regaled us with tales of how the quality of the cocaine has gone so downhill and if someone offered him the same as it was before he didn’t care and would do it in front of all these people (we were standing on the main downtown pedestrian street crowded with people) and I believed he would.   He also said he loved Medellín and had been to lots of places as a drummer in a rock band around the world but even with guerillas, plastic bombs in public squares, and gun fights (now over) Medellín was still one of the best places in the world.

Botero, Medellin

Silicone.  An inordinate number of women in Medellín are artificially enhanced. Usually they have extraordinarily large and perfectly formed breasts that they display prominently. In other cases they have bum implants that when combined with breast implants and extravagantly false eyelashes make them look almost caricaturish.    When I went to buy earplugs (to dampen the all night parties at the hostel) I was offered the usual options along with a small medicinal pack of four silicone chips.  Though the turned out to not tend to stay in my ears they have been compensatingly amusing.

Money and skin colour. The white skin distortion field is scarcely intact in Colombia. In Mexico having white skin offers a number of advantages.  You are generally accorded more (undeserved) respect, access to people, events, and offers of various descriptions that aren’t given to those with darker skin. In Colombia, without a ton of tourists, and seemingly a better general level education having white skin just largely makes you a curiosity.

Changing Fuses in La Vega, Colombia	Villeta, Colombia	Villeta, Colombia	Rock Above Magdalena River Valley, Colombia
Rock Above Magdalena River Valley, Colombia	Rock Above Magdalena River Valley, Colombia	Rock Above Magdalena River Valley, Colombia	Rock Above Magdalena River Valley, Colombia
Rock Above Magdalena River Valley, Colombia	Rock Above Magdalena River Valley, Colombia	Medellin Side of Central Valley, Colombia	Medellin Side of Central Valley, Colombia
Medellin Side of Central Valley, Colombia	Medellin Side of Central Valley, Colombia	Medellin Side of Central Valley, Colombia	Medellin Side of Central Valley, Colombia
Medellin Side of Central Valley, Colombia	Identifying fruits of Colombia	Medellin, Colombia	Medellin, Colombia
Medellin, ColombiaMedellin, Colombia	Coffee Equipment Shop, Medellin, Colombia	Coffee Equipment Shop, Medellin, Colombia	Coffee Equipment Shop, Medellin, Colombia
Torben, Coffee Equipment Shop, Medellin, Colombia	Street Corner, Medellin, Colombia	Parque Expositions, Medellin, Colombia	Parque Expositions, Medellin, Colombia
Botero, Central Medellin, Colombia	Botero, Central Medellin, Colombia	Medellin, Colombia	Medellin, Colombia
Medellin, Colombia	Medellin, Colombia	Micha near central Medellín slums.	Central River in Medellín
Central River, Medellín	Parque Botanico Clouds, Medellín	Botero, Medellín	Botero, Medellín
Botero, Medellín	Botero, Medellín	Arms amnesty, Medellín	Rain Medellín
Rain Medellin	Esteban, San Antonio de Pereira	Esteban, Sonny, Justin, and Sam's Bike Dripping Oil, Medellín Mirador	Medellín From Above
Justin, Medellín

Bogota to Medellin, Colombia

My time has mostly been spent with a mix of Paisas (residents of Medellin) and foreigners from the Casa Kiwi hostal.   Located in the upmarket Parque Lleras, I can’t say it’s been very representative of the city but visits to bars, clubs, the Botanical Garden, and the crowded center have all been pleasant.   Again I’m struck by how a country with a GDP per capita of under $3000 USD can be so clean, ordered, and with such well behaved and polite people. I’ll update more when I manage to pick up my bike and leave town sometime this weekend.

The bike repairs have expanded as I arrived in town, the current list is:

• solder the exhaust which has cracked
• replace the chain and rear sprocket (teeth sheared off while driving to the mechanic)
• solder reinforcements on the luggage rack
• replace sparkplug with an iridium one (30,000 km lifetime)
• new cam chain
• new Pirelli – MT90
• fix rear brake light switch

It was to take about three days. It’s been 1.5 weeks.  Torben’s bike is also in limbo, with parts in a plane in Miami which won’t depart for Colombia until the flowers that it’s to pick up in Colombia are ready…

Medellin, Colombia

Identifying fruits of Colombia (Chris?)

Botero, Central Medellin, Colombia

En Route San Gil To Bogota, Colombia

Kai and I arrived in Bogotá after a great mountainous ride from San Gil. As we approached the city the traffic became much more aggressive and I matched it by driving like a maniac along the 7 avenue as we made our way to the old center – La Candeleria.

Arriving in the neighbourhood there were, as expected from blog posts various insalubrious characters hanging about certain streets and the park.  Mostly there were harmless beggars though as I got out of the taxi after going to the airport with Kai I was threatened by a beggar demanding money aggressively.   Mostly La Candeleria was quite charming with old multi-hued colonial buildings with a decent mix of cafe’s (particularly the Andante cafe – Carrera 5 No. 26-57 which makes good espresso and fresh food) and shops.

After a late Saturday night out on the town Kai and I spent Sunday walking endlessly through the richer neighbourhood of Chapinero until finally ending up a the trendy Parque 93.  It was a mix of mediocre seeming restaurants and international chains (TGI Fridays, McDonalds, etc.) surrounding a small and not so impressive park.

Bogotá City View From Cerro de Monserrate

Cerro de Monserrate – a church and gardens set on the peak of a mountain overlooking central Bogota was also worth visiting for the views of the city and the gardens on the opposite side that look over undeveloped mountains to the north.

Old Central Bogota (before La Candeleria), Colombia

Near Barbosa, Colombia	Mountain Pass Town near Bogota, Colombia	Dog, Colombia	Mountain Pass Town near Bogota, Colombia
Mountain Pass Town near Bogota, Colombia	Mountain Pass Town near Bogota, Colombia	Mountain Pass Town near Bogota, Colombia	Mountain Pass Town near Bogota, Colombia
Mountain Pass Town near Bogota, Colombia	En Route San Gil To Bogota, Colombia	En Route San Gil To Bogota, Colombia	En Route San Gil To Bogota, Colombia
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En Route San Gil To Bogota, Colombia	La Candaleria Neighbourhood, Bogota, Colombia	Parking in La Candaleria Neighbourhood, Bogota, Colombia	La Candaleria Neighbourhood, Bogota, Colombia
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Bogotá City View From Cerro de Monserrate

San Gil to Bogota, Colombia GPX Tracks

San Gil Cathedral

We drove through the deforested humid and hot coastal valley towards the mountains on highway 45

Juan Juri Waterfall, San Gil, Colombia

leading to Bogota.  We arrived in Aguachica and spent the night as neither of us could stand being on the bike any longer and the ferocious storm showers, lightening, and broken branches on the road made it inadvisable anyway.

The following day we determinedly set out at 8am for San Gil, both anxious to get into the mountains for fresher cooler air.  On the way we drove down into the dry canyon near the PARQUE NACIONAL DEL CHICAMOCHA SANTANDER, but perhaps given our last park experience neither of us seemed interested in getting off the motorbike and seeing it.  As we wound out of the mountains and stopped in

San Gil Hostal

San Gil to get our bearings I was approached by a suspension mechanic and while going to his shop I found a new helmet (I’ve been riding with a duct-taped on visor and then after losing that, just sunglasses) that has European (ECE) certification – for reasonable price and the unfortunate name of Shaft.  We checked into the Macondo Guest House which, although a bit shabby and has no parking for the motorbike, has a good atmosphere and helpful friendly staff.

Day two in San Gil saw us hiking the old colonial trail – Camino Real a Guane (Lenguake trail) – from Barichara

to Guane. Both are very sleepy and pretty colonial towns that feel quite unaffected development – other than the government paying to have the cobbles nicely arranged and the white paint freshly applied to the houses.  After a bus back to my dear KLR650 we drove towards the Juan Curi 180m waterfall on the road to Charala, which after a 20 minute hike and a 5,000 peso ($2.50) entrance fee, we had to ourselves.

Breakfast En Route, San Gil, Colombia	Chicamocha, Colombia	Chicamocha, Colombia	Chicamocha, Colombia
Chicamocha, Colombia	San Gil River, Colombia	San Gil, Santander, Colombia	San Gil, Santander, Colombia
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Barichara Cathedral, Barichara, Santander, Colombia	Barichara, Santander, Colombia	Barichara, Santander, Colombia	Barichara, Santander, Colombia
Outside Barichara, Santander, Colombia	Guane, Santander, Colombia	Guane, Santander, Colombia	Juan Juri Waterfall, San Gil, Colombia
San Gil, Santander, Colombia			Juan Juri Waterfall, San Gil, Colombia
Juan Juri Waterfall, San Gil, Colombia	Juan Juri Waterfall, San Gil, Colombia	Juan Juri Waterfall, San Gil, Colombia	Juan Juri Waterfall, San Gil, Colombia
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Santa Marta to San Gil, Colombia