Try again. The photos are there one time and gone the next. Must be a problem with the server where they are stored. It is a Microsoft site and you know how they get flakey from time to time. Try refresh or just keep it open and go back and forth to something else. I'll see what I can do to resolve the problem.
Cisco_k. Just got to catch up and see your tracks, pics and blogs today. I hope I'm posting on your blog correctly as this is my first try. Great to hear you guys got off to a good start and I really enjoyed your posts and the pics. I have a friend of mine working here in Congo that is married to a Colombian lady and he has a few recommendations. Not sure where your route plans are from your current location but he said in the south of Colombia in the mountains and coffee country will be great riding. He recommnded these stops: San Andres and Medelin are good stops but it starts getting better from there. He recommended Manizales Armenia & Salento. Says a great ride between Armenia & Salento. Also, Salento is a great place for the weekend as many European tourist travel there. Also Girardo is a nice spot also, especially on weekends as the Colombians go there for the weekens as their weekend escape. Also recommended Bogota for the sights and especially recommended to see Cathedral del Sal. Going back down to the south, he also recommended Buga & Cali as good stops. I have another buddy here that spent quite a bit of time in Equador so I will try to send you some info on that. Also, our camp boss here is from Uruguay and have another guy familiar with Panama and another that has been living in Mexico for 20 years. So I will send you some info on all that also. i'm still waiting on Guadalupe to give me info on other stuff in Brasil but you have lots of time before you get there. Good luck and I'll be keeping track.
Pics are working well now, thanks. FYI your SPOT stopped about an hour before Medellin Were following along, ride safe. Jeff :jose
Your post worked. I'm getting ready to update my ride. It will take a little while today because I have about a week to take care of.
Puerto Colombia to Santa Marta 9/25<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o> As we prepared to leave Puerto Colombia for Santa Marta, the weather was exactly as we have learned to expect. It was very hot and humid and we were soaked by the time we got loaded and left. The weather makes one want to ride without the riding jacket and riding pants, but we do believe in all ATGATT (All the gear all the time) so we deal with it until we can get moving fast enough for some air. And, it actually started to rain lightly as we left so we cooled down pretty quickly. We were riding the coastal road until the pavement suddenly stopped and turned into mud for as far as we could see. We rerouted inland and things went well until we hit a detour in a little village that I think was led Pies Descalzos where it was raining hard and we were sent through some narrow neighborhood streets that were in pretty rough shape with broken pavement, ruts, holes and water running down them. Joe picked a new ‘short cut’ to get around the detour and we ended up going down what was more an alley full of rubble for a surface. It was interesting to say the least. After reconnecting to the main road it was uneventful until we arrived at Barranquilla where it started raining cats and dogs. It was several miles through the city and not only was traffic bad but the streets were mostly flooded. I got the impression that there are no storm sewers but that the street is the natural drainage outlet. It was at least four to six inches in most places and in some it was probably a foot deep. Cars were stalled and movement was slow. At many cross streets there were rivers of trash and who knows what else flowing across our path. One memorable place had a standing wave at least two feet high that we had to ride behind where the fast water was only about a foot deep. That spot did push the bike a bit sideways and I was glad to have plenty of clearance and a heavy bike. After clearing the city, the rain stopped and the rest of the way into Santa Marta was uneventful both scenic and riding wise. <o></o> Santa Marta 9/26 9/27<o></o> As we arrived in Santa Marta the sun was out and it was once again hot. Our routing took us a roundabout way to The Dreamer Hostel where we were going to stay. It is on a side street and we passed it a couple of times before the owners girlfriend spotted us and came into the street and stopped us. We had failed to spot a gate with a small green Ho La sign with a white hand on it that is the symbol for Hostels Latino America. Esther was very friendly and welcomed us. We checked on rooms and found that they had no private ones available but had a four person one with air conditioning and a private bath. We booked that one, moved our bikes into a small area past the walk way gate and went to our room. Upon arrival at the room we found that it was also occupied by two women who had taken the bottom bunks. I’m not sure if they wanted to have two old farts sharing their room instead of some young stud, but that’s the breaks in a hostel. This was Joe and my first time staying in a hostel and my first time sharing a room with women I didn’t know. It took a day to really meet them because they came in after we had gone to bed and they got up later than we did. They and a couple of guys they were traveling with were interesting when we did get a chance to talk. The biggest problem was that Joe and I got in the room earlier at night and turned on the A/C and fan and when they came in, they froze and had to wear jackets to bed.<o></o> We didn’t do a whole lot in Santa Marta except take a break and spend an extra day to sort out all our traveling things and arrange them so that we could find something without emptying our cases every time we needed something. We needed to learn to pack and we finally have done it and don’t spend the better part of the day looking for something that we know we have if we can just find it. The hostel was clean and well run. It had a restaurant where we ate our meals as well as a bar to get some drinks. The prices were very reasonable and I would recommend it to anyone. Everyone was very friendly and English was spoken by several of the workers. The guests pretty much stayed to themselves and noise was never a problem as I have heard it is at some hostels. Here was the secure parking at the hostel And a nice pool area too. Our room. Joe had 1 and I had 3. Maria from Australia and Regula from Switzerland <o></o> Sincelejo 9/28<o></o> The ride to Sincelejo was a nice ride. The country side started out with banana plantations and progressed into coconut palm plantations. There were many cattle ranches with varied types of cattle. I even saw one place that I would swear had a heard of cape buffalo grazing and lounging in the field. One thing that we began to encounter was a growing number of villages that don’t seem to extend past the edge of the road. They will go on for as much as a mile and in each one of them are speed bumps to slow the traffic. Lots and lots of trucks were on the highway and in the villages they would slow to a craws to cross the speed bumps and traffic was at a crawl. We had a hard time averaging 40 or 45 mph because of all the trucks villages. In the villages one passes many fruit stands, small open restaurants and markets. It was interesting to see the varied people, colors and goods. It was in one of these villages that we took the plunge and ate at our first roadside eatery. They were friendly and seemed to appreciate our business and we felt no ill effects. We are now ready to eat off the streets.<o></o> We arrived in Sincelejo and proceeded to find a hotel. The internet didn’t list hotels but we figured a city as large as this one had to have hotels. As we drove down the main street in the city center, we spotted a large one and checked on availability. They had one room with a regular bed and one twin bed. I said it would be fine (well I said in my best limited Spanish and they did have someone that spoke some English). We were probably pretty lucky to get the room because there was some kind of bike race in town and one of the teams and their support staff was also staying at our hotel. The hotel had secure parking, which is a must for us, and after checking in we went across the street to find something to eat and also to find some cold cerveza. To our disappointment, not only were there no restaurants in the area (we settled on fried chicken at a food court in a downtown mall) but because it was time for some kind of national election in Colombia, no alcohol was to be sold for the day. We also found out that, as was the case in our hotels in Puerto Colombia and Santa Marta, there was also no hot water for the shower or sink. Hot water in warm climates seems to be a luxury item that we in the states assume is standard. <o></o> Medellin 9/30<o></o> The hotel restaurant didn’t open until 8:00 so we couldn’t get too early of a start so we had a leisurely morning and when we went to breakfast we found most of the place filled by the bike team. It took a while to eat and pack as well as look for a hotel in Medellin. It was around 10:00 when we left and we figured we had plenty of time to make it before dark. Well, plenty of time was a fleeting expectation. Riding to Medellin was a beautiful ride but at times it was excruciatingly slow because of truck traffic in the mountains. We had been traveling at less than 500 feet of elevation. Just to get over the pass and up to the higher elevation where Medellin is located, we ascended to an elevation of over 9,600 feet. The road up the mountain and back down the other side almost makes the “Tail of the Dragon” look straight. The grade was extremely steep and the corners blind. We literally rode up the mountain and into the clouds. At the upper elevation we were in fog so thick that I could only see Joe’s tail light if I stayed within 25 feet and he had to stay that close to a truck in front of him. The speed was so slow that one had to use the clutch in first gear to keep from stalling the engine. Even when there was no fog, if a truck was in front it could hardly move and passing openings were limited. It was very nice to have all the extra horses that the KTM 990’s have available when we get an opening. As with the lower elevations there were many villages clinging to the roadside with the uphill buildings dug into the mountain side and the downhill buildings on stilts. The vegetation was lush and green and the weather was getting cooler too. Other than the trucks, and we would often get open road to ride upon, it was excellent riding with amazing vistas of valleys and hills below. <o></o> Our decent of the last of the passes and entry into Medellin was in the dark because of the slow driving conditions. Our ground rule for this trip is to not ride after dark. Well, we will learn from this experience to not expect to make anything like the estimated drive times that Garmin gives to us. It was only about an hour of real darkness and most of it was on the roads with the trucks and we were two of many inching down the back side with the trucks that were being careful not to overheat their brakes.<o></o> After our long ride we were looking forward to a good meal and cold cerveza that we had missed the day before. We were staying in a downtown area and being Sunday, not too much was open and we settled to a “Hard Rock Café” that was a couple of blocks away. But, guess what, still Election Day rules applied so the cold beer had to wait. Well, kind of wait because I drank three non-alcoholic beers (Joe only had two but I’m such a lush) just to quench my thirst. Stop for a roadside mean on the way to Medellin What I had. Beef (thin and tasty too), rice, beans and some mashed/deep-fried plantains called "patacon" (Thanks SS in VZLA for letting me know what they are.) Medellin from hotel. <o></o> Manizales 10/1<o></o> After spending a night in Medellin and realizing that it was just another big city with high prices, we decided to head south to the coffee region. I guess the good thing about Medellin was that the hotel had hot water. The ride south was one of the prettier rides with mountains and river valleys and farm lands. All the country side is green and lush as there is plenty of rain in the area and the temperatures are not extreme. We probably rode in mid 70’s to low 80’s most of the day. One puzzling thing that we saw, which was also on the road to Medellin, was that when we were by a river and there was a steep mountain or hill side on the other side of the road, there would be pipes with water spraying into the air or onto the ground. It would go on for sometimes miles. At several places either truckers or locals were washing trucks, cars or motorcycles. I’m wondering if the water is not from streams far above and is pressurized by the elevation of the pipe inlet and there is no reason to turn it off because it would be lost anyway as the stream flows into the river. <o></o> Probably the best of the roads was one that was not on the map for our Garmin’s, but one that Joe had found on Google. It was almost a U turn from a highway intersection and I was reluctant to go that way because it looked like something that a friend “Rob” had taken us down several times in Mississippi only to have to turn around and go back. A local was riding past on his motorcycle and Joe asked, in broken Spanish if it was the road to La Cabana. He said si and to follow him. It was an amazing, although narrow and winding road, that went around and over some beautiful areas and hillsides where our first sighting of coffee growing was to be seen. Houses were perched at the side of the road with long bamboo supports holding the back side of the house from falling down the steep hillside. It was truly amazing how the people were clinging to every scrap of ground. Our speed was slow and there were no trucks that I was afraid would pass us so I was able to relax, stop and take some photos. We then rode on to an amazing local hotel, ECO Hotel La Juanita, that is outside of town and sitting on the top and side of a hill overlooking the surrounding mountains and valleys. The hotel is far from plush but is exactly the kind of place that I wanted to stay and experience the local lifestyle. The owner Ricardo and his wife Rosaria run the place and it is built with a main house and some separate cottages if you can call them that. They are small and rustic but clean and freshly painted. Breakfast, a huge one at that, was cooked for us and we are enjoying a day of blogging, catching up and doing some bike maintenance. The prices are so low ($27 US, which includes breakfast) that we got separate rooms, which is good because they are small and all our traveling stuff takes up room. There is hot water too. For dinner last night we went into the city to a roadside restaurant, a real restaurant with waiters too, and had a good meal. We also went to the local market and picked up some cerveza to bring back to the hotel (the elections are finally over). Tomorrow we will look into coffee tours and a zip line.<o></o> Just one of many water sprays. Also see a pipe pouring out water past spray. Joe is waiting in the distance. Some of the lush country Coffee growing on the hillside. Look close and the building past the coffee is on bamboo poles. This is the little back road that was so nice. Just large enough for one at a time in many places. My room. Notice the bamboo theme.
Great report so far. Thanks for posting. You are correct on your theory for the water hoses along the road. Regarding the food pic, those are not corn breads, those are mashed/deep-fried plantains called "patacon", you'll be seeing them frequently on roadside meals in Colombia, Ecuador and some Central American countries. Buen viaje
This has the beginning of a splendid adventure ... watch out for an Indian Summer; we've been having a hotter than usual season. Carry on gents, and best wishes ..........
Thank you! We are finding that we probably need remedial pronunciation training because we asked several times what these "patacons" where and only got the RCA Dog response! Sometimes, it feels like we are in Quebec again speaking to those who understand but refuse acknowledge.
Reflections on riding my motorcycle in Colombia :eek1 <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o> I, like most if not all people I’ve spoken to at home, felt that the driving in South America would be pretty wild. Many of my impressions have come from riding in taxies or buses in foreign countries where the drivers usually acted as though they were competing in NASCAR. Actually on a recent occasion, when my wife and I traveled to New York City, our van driver acted as though the brake and gas pedal were a switch that was either on or off with nothing in between. A wild ride from the airport was had by all. Crowded cities and streets where one doesn’t know their way around or know the local “street customs” can be intimidating wherever they are driving or riding. That said there are still distinct differences between the way people drive in the States and how they drive here. <o></o> To the newly arrived casual observer the driving situation looks like sheer chaos. There are cars, trucks, motorcycles and bicycles zipping about in every direction and added to that, there are pedestrians walking, crossing and selling things along and in the streets. It appears that there are no traffic rules being followed. In fact I have begun to wonder if the government actually sits down and devises laws and posts them with the idea that someone will follow them. The posted speed limits mean nothing. They seem to be set exceptionally low, like 30 kph (19 mph) on most city streets and 40 to 50 (25 to 31 mph) on most secondary roads. Out on the highway there are very few passing zones and the speed limits on all but divided roadways are 60 to 80 kph (38 to 50 mph). I have never observed anyone doing the speed limit, although people don’t appear to be driving at unsafe speeds. Passing is done whenever one feels like they can make it without crashing into an oncoming vehicle. At traffic signals all the motorcycles go around the stopped cars and buses so that when the light turns green, they can be the first to go. Passing is done on the left, right and anytime someone slows a bit like at one of the numerous speed bumps where the highway passes through small villages. At times the motorcycles look like ants as they swarm around vehicles in an attempt to get an inch more ahead. <o></o> But, and this is a big but, I am beginning to arrive at the conclusion that the drivers are much safer because they have a much greater situational awareness. There isn’t the attitude that is found in the states that one owns their lane and space and that no one better interfere with them as they ride along in their cocoon insulated from the world and texting or talking on their cell phones. The drivers really seem to look out for each other and know the moves to expect from the other drivers. For instance it is no problem for a motorcycle to pass another car with an oncoming motorcycle in the opposing lane. The two motorcycles treat the opposing lane as though it is two lane and they pass in opposite directions without even a flinch. When going the same direction, the slower of two motorcycles rides to the right side of the lane so they can be passed by a second motorcycle. Or, when the lane is wide enough, a car will pass a motorcycle while another car or motorcycle approaches from the opposite direction. It’s all done without a whole lot of regard to the center stripe. Because everyone does it and because everyone is aware of what’s going on there is no problem and traffic flows better with the limited road space. In heavy traffic, cars and trucks will allow someone to cut in and the only times they seem to blow the horns is to signal that they are there as a means of being seen. Trucks will signal when it is safe to pass when in hilly or curvy country and will also pull over to block and prevent a pass when they see that it would not be safe. As a final bit of evidence, very few of the cars are beat up. It would seem at first glance that there wouldn’t be a straight fender or door on the cars but one sees very little damage. Drivers do appear to do their best to avoid collisions. However, all the above said and understood, I’ll still keep a watchful eye out for the crazy drivers that are surely lurking out there somewhere. <o></o>
Once you get used to the traffic flow in Colombia, you find that it flows pretty well given the heavy traffic in the cities and on some of the inter-city roads. The drivers themselves police and regulate themselves, and do a good job of it at that, as opposed to in the USA, which is way over-regulated not just on the roads but almost in all aspects of life. In Colombia, as in much of Latin America, I feel like I have been given back more freedom in exchange for personal responsibility, which sadly, almost doesn't exist anymore in the USA. (Just look at all the ridiculous lawsuits--some idiot gets hurt doing something stupid and then sues--and prevails--against the owner of the property he or she was on when they got hurt.) Does passing a truck over double yellow lines when there is no oncoming traffic really endanger anyone? Or going faster than the speed limit when the road is empty? No. But in the USA, if I do that and a police officer sees me, I'll be stopped and treated like I am a reckless menace to society, and I'll pay a huge fine. I have passed slow-moving police vehicles in Colombia many times over double yellows and the officers don't so much as look at me when I pass. This feeling of freedom, along with the increased importance of personal responsibility, can be felt in many more aspects of life than just in driving in Latin America, and is a refreshing change.
Pretty interesting to see your point of view regarding this. It is exactly the same as I. a local in Latin America used to the way traffic "moves" here, see it. Besides, after a while of riding/driving in those seemingly lawless conditions, you start to develop some kind of a sixth sense about what you can and cannot do safely and you are more aware of your riding surroundings. I've ridden all over South America and have never felt so vulnerable riding a bike that through downtown San Francisco (yeah, the one in CA ) where cagers behaved exactly as you describe with no awareness of the bike next to them... It's like a lot of drivers in America don't understand that if you hit a bike with your car, the outcome will probably be ugly. People say that riding in Latin America is more dangerous than in the US. I'd say it is not... It is US the riders that make it more dangerous by doing stupid things because laws are not harshly enforced.... But it sure is fun I'm really enjoying your comments and particular point of view of the new places you are riding through. Thanks for taking the time to post!
I'm in Quito, Ecuador tonight and I've been on the move too much to post lately and I leave for the Galagapos Islands early tomorrow and will not be back to a computer until next Thursday when I will try and post updates.
Great report, Chuck! Glad to know you guys are still alive and doing well, and we are all enjoying reading about your adventures. Your names are mentioned at each of our Wednesday night, bike nights, and sometimes even pertaining to your trip I'm with the other fellers that posted ahead of me: driving in third-world countries (Jamaican, originally) makes you a better driver/rider by far. You have to be much more aware of what is happening around you, and the sense of freedom tempered with responsibility is refreshing. Who knew we could actually take care of own ourselves, eh? Keep it coming, and be safe.
Today is Chuck's 66th birthday. Ihope the iguanas in the Galapagos Islands thre him a big party! Darwin never had it so good!
Looks awesome guys. Hope y'all make the deadline and looking forward to more pics n stories. ~Chuck The Younger
chuck. I hope this post isn't too late before you leave Quito but a couple of suggestions from my buddy here that used to work in Quito. About 20 min south of Quito is Mitad de mundo which is where the equator passes thru and there is a spot where you can have 1 foot in the Northern hemisphere and one in the southern hemispher .. a unique pot for a photo. He also recommends visiting volcano cotopaxi .. and the town of Banos which is in a valley close to one of the active volcanos .. other sites are Quilotoa which is a 10,000 ft elev. volcano lake and vwry beautiful. Also a town called Otavalo(which is the leather town). There are many many hand made items here very cheap and maybe can even pick up som riding gear .. like jackets ... one other town recommended was Cuenca but I can't remember the attraction there. Happy 66th and hope I as good a shape as you when I get that old ... LOL ... see you guys in Feb ... Marc
Before moving on with my ride report, I would like to add a little political commentary to go along with what some of you have said in reaction to my reflections upon riding in Colombia. You are right that the USA has turned into a nation of restrictions and lack of personal responsibility. Too many people feel as though their life can be lived shielded from harm or risk if the government is just allowed to exercise enough power and put in place enough regulations to protect everyone. Every time something bad happens, the government passes a new set of regulations which in effect take away individual liberties but do little if anything to protect the public. The feelings of many is that if they have a disaster, it is not their fault or even natures fault but is the result of the government not sheltering the individual. Too many of our youth have grown up so sheltered that they are willing to give up most of their liberties so long as they think the government has the answers to protect them from harm or hardship. They are naive but then they have never had to live in a world where they must produce for themselves and live off of what they produce as individuals and accept and overcome difficulties through their own individual efforts. Ok, now back to riding so this doesn't turn into a political sounding board.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
I wish there was a "LIKE" button on here, this would certainly get my like! Now, PLEASE, on with the RR!!!!!