Columbia - Wake up and smell the coffee!

What I did forget to mention on the last entry was that the night before we left for Columbia we stayed at the only hotel next to the airport, as I was walking through reception to use the internet I bumped into Helmar again. We had originally met Helmar and Oisin in Chichen Itza in Mexico and from then on our paths frequently crossed as far as Guatemala, it turns out the two had gone their separate ways, Oisin heading South and Helmar went back to L.A. to catch up on some work issues. He was now resuming his trip to Tierra Del Fuego and was flying his bike out in a couple of days, we compared travel stories over a beer and as usual said we'd see him somewhere down the road.

Next day at the airport we bit the bullet and bought a new camera (major expense number 8!) the old one which got waterlogged in Costa Rica will get stored on the bike in the hope of repairing it when we get back.

We arrived in Bogota unscathed after a short flight and managed to convince one of the tourist touts to take us to a the hotel I had found on the internet rather than the one he was recommending....well it saves on taxi fares. Bogota is a sprawling city of 10,000,000 or so people and is like any other major city when it comes to traffic and congestion but it has it's attractions. Once we had settled in we visited the Gold Museum which contains the largest collection of Pre Hispanic gold artifacts anywhere in the world and then had a wander round trying to get our bearings for the next few days.

The bikes arrived the next day but wouldn't be available for collection until 2 o'clock so we decided to have a walk round the city and see a few sights.

Bogota's main square.

Cathedral De San Francisco.

Nowadays a mobile phone line to the heavenly father cuts out the business of praying.

Columbian State Buildings and toy soldiers.

Whad'ya mean it's not a fancy dress party?

Everywhere you go in the city there is a heavy Police and Military presence, kidnapping and murder of high ranking officials and businessmen is still a concern for the country and traffic is often brought to a standstill by motorcycle police escorting some bigwig.

Who you looking at?

Joe trying to sneak through Checkpoint Charlie.

She's not properly dressed without the white patent leather holster!

Here's a novelty South of the United States, a street cleaner.

The church of the bored achitect!

When we arrived at the hotel we were made aware of which areas of the city were safe and the time after which it was best to be off the streets, the hotel was based in the old part of Bogota called La Candelaria and as it's popular with tourists it's also popular with pickpockets.

This is actually a warning sign for a school but it could just as well double as a warning for pickpockets!

About five minutes before I took this photo we had been walking through the old city and probably got a bit off the beaten track, It didn't look a dodgy area apart from locals casting odd glances our way and the absence of Police. As we walked back to the hotel suddenly this young scumbag ran up from behind and grabbed at Joe's camera, fortunately Joe had a good grip and all the kid got was the strap attached to the camera. It all happened in a fraction of a second and by the time we realised what was happening he was off down the street, like the true hero I set off in pursuit and within five seconds realised there was more chance of me winning an Olympic medal in the 100 meters than catching this kid. I was a slightly sedate 'fifty something' and the only excess weight this pillock was carrying was the fat lip he was now using to hurl abuse at me!, some woman who had seen all this pointed to another youth who she signalled was his partner in crime but when I confronted him I realised my lack of Spanish was a stumbling block in the interrogation process. I couldn't even swear at him in Spanish....Shit!

Another lesson learnt and a warning to be on your guard even when things seem normal. If the kid had snatched the camera he could have got the equivalent of a months wages for a few seconds work., to say life is cheap in South America is an understatement, for example the guy who works as a concierge at our hotel works six days a week, twelve hours a day and gets paid a dollar an hour!

We later saw the military rounding up these youths and bundling them into the back of this truck, we can only assume they are known vagabonds and miscreants (excuse the Dickensian description)

This guy was asleep on the central reservation of the main thoroughfare during afternoon rush hour, I have the feeling with all those fumes and noise he was heavily sedated. (at least I think he was asleep?)

Now this is proper graffiti, not like yer Mexican scrawl.

"Hey Mister does your dog bite"?......"Only when I take his muzzle off"

In Columbia motorcyclists and passengers are required by law to wear a reflective vest with the bike registration and also the same marking on helmets, although not required for tourists Joe decided to get a couple as souvenirs so we visited the Moto Barrio area in Bogota before heading back. Four blocks of motorcycle shops...nothing else! you can buy everything possible for two wheel transportation, if you need an oil change they do it there and then on the pavement. Hordes of guys in grubby oil stained overalls or denims sit on the kerb with a hand full of tools waiting for the next customer, BOB's not coming anywhere near here!

Moto Barrio Bogota

Back at the hotel we secured the services of Carlos the taxi driver to take us to the cargo terminal to get the bikes,  Joe and I figured if we hired him for the afternoon not only would he run us back and forth but we could also use him as an interpretor. It sort of worked....5 hours later we had BOB and 'Zuki' out of storage and back at the hotel.

Carlos "Muchas Gracias Amigo"

Clearing the bikes through Customs

The Girag warehouse was only set up to load freight into trucks from the loading bay using fork lifts, so we had to ride through reception and down the steps.

The next day we met up again with Helmar (who had arrived to pick up his bike booked into our hotel) and decided to visit the Cerro de Monserrat peak which overlooks Bogota. At 3030 meters the hill affords spectacular views of Bogota and the monastery on top is the most popular attraction for visitors, what also makes it worthwhile is the trip to the top by either cablecar or funicular railway. We chose the railway as the cablecar was out of comission, you can also walk up but there have been reports of muggings on the trail so you know where you can poke that idea!

Photos from the Cerro De Monserrat

What a smile!

Me and Helmar (a couple of bums hanging out)

Here's another 'bum' hanging out! Just in case you're wondering I didn't take this shot but I reckon that left hand is well and truly trapped!

Bloody Tourists!

These are supposed to be hallucinogenic, they weren't, but the green rabbit on the bicycle told me not to eat any more!

All lit up for Xmas

Bogota Panorama

We had one day left and decided to visit the Salt Cathedral 40 miles North in Zipaquira, again we took advantage of Carlos which saved us riding there. On the way we passed through the flower growing region of Columbia, cut flowers of every variety are grown mainly for export. We were told that the majority of official bouquets and wreaths for Princess Diana's funeral were imported from this region (interesting Eh!)
Zipaquira is a picturesque town but the main attraction is the Salt Cathedral, built in an underground rock salt mine where salt is still being extracted, there are what appear to be miles of tunnels from where the salt has been extracted. The grayish hue of the salt is accented by soft blue lights and stunning carvings. The 14 stages of the cross are lined up en route to the deeper sections, each created by a different artist. In one area a cathedral was built into a cave like area in the mine in 1954, however due to deterioration it was closed. A new cathedral opened in late 1995, 180 meters below the surface, and is quite impressive. The cathedral itself is quite austere with very high ceilings, carved pillars, and stunning acoustics. Mass is held there each Sunday, as is the occasional concert. If you are at all religious then it probably strikes a chord more so than it did for this heathen.

Photos from the Salt Cathedral, Zipaquira.

Zipaquira

Look at the size of the tool on this guy! (more childish humour)

That night when we went for dinner, the streets in the centre of Bogota were closed off for a procession by groups of the indigenous people celebrating something or other. There was the usual mayhem of music and carnival and everyone looked to be having a good time, as we were set for an early start in the morning it was a quick meal and time to dig out the earplugs!

Joe was still having problems with his hip so he and Lynn decided to spend a couple of more days in Bogota whilst Sue and I would ride North to see a bit more of the country before meeting up further South in Cali. We left early and again used Carlos to guide us out of the city and onto the road North, on the freeway we were in a tailback of traffic and some twat had stolen a manhole cover in the middle of the road!  Cars were driving over it but because we following closely I never even saw it until the front wheel dropped into it, luckily we avoided going down and the momentum of the bike managed to get the front wheel out only for the back one to drop back in. We couldn't stop to assess the damage so had to keep riding, I had jarred my wrists keeping the bike upright and we later discovered that the front wheel was buckled but neither problem was bad enough to stop us continuing. The idea was to ride North West to Medellin to try and sort out a problem with the leaking oil level sight glass on BOB, the BMW garage there has a good reputation and I wanted to sort it out before it got any worse.  

The Columbian toll roads are free for motorcycles, you just have to negotiate the outside lane at the toll booths.

First Police checkpoint of the day, throughout Columbia we found the Police and Military to be courteous and helpful (and very photogenic!)

This area looked like parts of the Yorkshire Dales back home.

Makes a change from cattle.

We were going along quite nicely until the all too familiar fork in the road as usual we took the wrong one and the GPS was happy to let us wander into bandit country. This part of Columbia is close to the Venezuelan border and has areas under control of the Revolutionary Force of Columbia (FARC) and within 60 miles we started to see heavily armed foot patrols of the regular Columbian Army. We eventually ran out of road and the local Police informed us the only safe way to San Gill was to return the way we came...Bugger! another 150 mile detour. We eventually rolled into San Gill as the light was fading and decided to skip the planned day  of activities in the area and head straight to Medellin the next day.

Our Hacienda for the night in San Gill.

The road from San Gill to Medellin took us through some of the best scenery so far, lots of high altitude passes and twisty mountain roads. It's tempting to stop at every opportunity to take photos but there is no guarantee that the road conditions won't deteriorate and turn a leisurely ride into a day long slog.

This truck was soooo close to going over the edge and to make matters worse he left a trail of diesel all over a blind bend (not good on two wheels).

Here's a novel way of getting to the top without peddling.

This is the Pan-American Highway the main route through the Americas and the hole in front of the bike was around two feet deep and filled with sand (not the best thing to hit doing 70mph).

True to form the roads did get worse and in some places the tarmac disappeared altogether so by the time we reached Medellin we were ready for a good night's rest. I had booked our accommodation over the internet the night before but when we arrived we were told there was no parking so we then had to ride around Medellin trying to find somewhere. Riding around cities in the dark is never a good idea but it's even worse when you don't have anywhere to stay, after about half an hour of looking we still couldn't find anywhere and were stopped at some traffic lights when a voice from the car next to us shouted "is that a UK plate" it was a guy called Paul from Essex in England who lived in Medellin but more importantly knew a good hotel...see things turn out OK in the end.

Ruta 40 BMW is a superb set up, not only are they a top notch service centre but the owner has done the Alaska to Argentina thing and is full of information. As with most of the BMW dealers we have used they tend to give priority treatment to travellers if possible and within a day had replaced the sight glass and also managed to straighten the front wheel which was buckled after the manhole incident. The total cost for the work including parts and a complete valet came to just over 100 dollars!

Ruta 40 BMW

BOB in bits once again.

Whilst I was waiting for the repairs at Ruta 40 I met three travelers heading South, Phillipe from Quebec, Ingo from Germany and Obi from New York. They proceeded to tell me how they had taken the boat from Panama to Cartagena and were raving about how good it was, I of course was thoroughly pissed off at not being able to do the same and tried to change the subject at the earliest opportunity. We did the usual trading of stories and exchange of information and agreed we'd meet up somewhere on the road.

Sue 'chillin' at the Barking Spider pub. (for 'chillin' read pissed!)

Before we left Medellin we got the sad news that Joe and Lynn had decided to call it a day, the health problems that Joe had been having were not getting any better and the South America part of the trip would be the most stressful mentally and physically so they decided to fly the bike back to Miami and ride home from there. We will miss their company and the comfort that comes with not riding alone, Sue and I have managed the best part of twenty thousand miles together without tearing at each other's throats (honest!) but it was fun riding with a like minded couple like Joe and Lynn. I'm sure they will complete the last leg of the Americas sometime in the future but in the meantime we will sicken them off with reports and photos to let them know what they're missing!

Joe and Lynn, thanks for the ride and stay safe!

Columbia is famous for two crops, one brown, one white. The first one is considerably cheaper than the second and is found everywhere along the routa del cafe, a part of the Pan Am that runs through the central highlands of Columbia. We left Medellin and headed South for Cali where we had originally intended to meet up with Joe and Lynn, Carlos at Ruta 40 suggested we stop overnight in Salento in the heart of coffee country and if possible take a tour of one of the fincas to see coffee production first hand.


But.....before you do that, get yourself bloody lost in the foothills of the Andes!!!!!


It was another of those GPS moments, we arrived at a village with the usual poxy one way system and by the time we exited the place I had no choice but to follow the directions on the GPS. At first everything seemed OK, the track on the Garmin clearly showed a road leading away from the village in the direction we wanted but as we progressed further the road got narrower and rougher.

This pig had more idea where we were going than we did.

Yeah, so a bit of gravel's OK

Right about now Sue is suggesting we turn round and try another road, I of course am a bloke and my inbuilt navigational skills tell me otherwise. 

At this point I am starting to question my inbuilt navigation skills!

An hour later we were back on the right road, the photos of how we got there don't exist, Sue could not use the camera and hang on to the bike at the same time!. Needless to say it was a severe blow to the GPS and blokes in general, I still reckon we would have got back to the main road even if the guy on the tractor said otherwise!

This would have been a better way to travel.

Sue was convinced that this was a warning sign for your car getting shot at! (the barriers are at security checkpoints)

This green and pleasant land.

Coffee plantation

Salento is a quiet place popular with hikers and walkers and as you would expect full of coffee shops. With it's carefully restored colourful wooden buildings the main square looks like something out of a spaghetti western. The town council gives shopkeepers paint, every colour under the sun to keep their premises bright and cheerful. Salento was founded in 1850 in a lull between the civil wars that plagued the newly independent Columbia. until recently this was unsafe territory.

They say it's a small world and that's certainly true of motorcycle travel, we have travelled thousands of miles and bumped into the same people. The fact that most of us are following roughly the same route is  coincidental, we had just pulled into the main square when we met Phillipe, Ingo and Obi, who I'd met in Medellin they were also staying overnight in town so we arranged to meet later for a beer. It took awhile to find somewhere with secure parking but eventually settled on a brightly painted hostel overlooking the hills to the East.

Camino Real Hostel

The view from the balcony.

Salento church.

Cafes and shops in the main square.

These immaculately maintained 4x4's are the local taxis and are also available for hire if you want a tour of the local countryside.

That night we went to a local restaurant in the square and sampled the local specialty, trout and patacones (flattened fried plantains) it's not unusual to see ten different trout dishes on the menu. 

The square at night.

We met up with the guys again and spent the night and more than a few local rum and cokes, trading stories and though we are all headed for the same destination (Ushuaia) each of us have a wealth of different  experiences to talk about. At some point in the evening Ingo and I ended up playing football in the square with the local kids, but too much rum dampened my natural footballing flair. We miss-kicked the ball so often the locals got tired of our antics but had a great time taking the piss out of us! (that's international relations for you).  

Sue, Phillipe, Ingo and Obi...Cheers!

Another great bug moment! I'm sat next to Sue busily chatting away when something catches my eye. This thing was climbing up Sue's back, and by the time I got the camera it was playing with her hair! 
Look... it's not cruel, honest, it's only a harmless grasshopper type bug ( I think) and Sue's smiling (sort of!)

For some unknown reason I can't remember how the evening ended but the next day we were up early and had breakfast in a local cafe. Whilst we were sat having coffee a couple of blokes were eying the bike up, it turned out they were also riding South. Olly from the UK and Adrian from Switzerland started telling us how they also had a great time on  the boat to Cartagena and as usual I was getting fed up listening until Olly described how his bike had fallen off the jetty into the sea when it was being unloaded. See I knew there was a reason to fly the bike.    

The countryside in Columbia is truly spectacular, the camera can't do justice to the beauty of the Andean foothills.

Now what's the point in this? seems people on bikes in Columbia can't bothered to peddle!

Cali is famous for being the Salsa capital of the world and also famous among motorcycle travellers for the Casablanca Hostel. Almost everyone heading North or South on the Pan Am stays at Mike's place, It's not the Ritz but it does have a great atmosphere and is located in a popular part of the city. We stayed a couple of nights which gave us time to plan the run to the border and catch up on the routine stuff, washing, blog, etc.

Mike, the owner of Casablanca Hostel.

Bloody tourists!

The border was another couple of day's ride and contained more of the same stunning scenery, we never tire of riding through countryside like this so I make no apologies for the number of photos posted. If you feel I'm overdoing it with the landscape shots please feel free to write in and complain, I won't do anything about it but you'll probably feel better!

Rock slides are so commonplace, the day wouldn't be complete without weaving in and out of boulders.

An overnight stop in Pasto, we arrived around 4:30 and sensibly paid a taxi driver to take us to the hotel I had found on the internet the night before. The owner Patrice is a French ex-pat who now spends most of his time helping foreigners adopt Columbian babies (all legal of course).

It's those two again.

There was one last place we wanted to visit before we left Columbia, The Sanctuary at Las Lajas. The Gothic revival Cathedral is built inside the canyon of the Guaitara river and whilst it looks hundreds of years old it was actually built between 1916 and 1949. 

Zoom in, take the photo, get on the bike and go!

The journey down to the Cathedral and back takes approximately an hour plus any time spent looking round, but as our need to get across the border was greater, we decided to give it a miss (we have seen the inside of more than a few churches on our trip).
The border crossing from Columbia into Ecuador was a breeze, no hassle from money changers or helpers and the border officials on the Columbian side even had a stab at English to help us along. It's amazing how the process differs from country to country especially the bureaucratic nightmares we experienced in Central America, why there can't be a standardised international process is beyond me.

Leaving the Immigration office office at the border, 2 forms to fill, passport stamped, 20 minutes and we're into Ecuador. 

This is Carlos, the only guy working in the Aduana on the Ecuador side. He had the bike paperwork sorted in less than an hour and even tolerated my crap Spanish (give this guy a medal).

Ecuador will be one of the highlights of the trip (hopefully), we have planned to visit the Galapagos Islands for a few days and will need to organise things as soon as we get to Quito.

Over and Out, for now.........