Well, after 15,000 km (mas or menos) it was about time that Blondy took a nap. Unfortunately she decided to take a tumble in front of cars, bikes and toll booth officials. More on this later...
Uli and I struck out from Cali, me with my new tire, a new Metzler Tourance. Apparently they are good in the rain, and I think that I have ridden them before, although I am having Heideneau withdrawal, and when I am able to, I will go back to that tire for Blondy's behind. When I changed over in Cali, I still had 2 or 3 thousand kilometers on that tire, and it was ridden all the way from Vancouver with over 2500 km. on it to begin with.
The ride out of Cali was considerably less stressful than the ride out of Bogata. It seems that Mr. Garmin cooperated a bit more, and we made good time down through the central corridor and warmer weather east of Cali. We were heading for Popyan and points eastward...
These Spyder shots are for my sister. She has a nice new red one, and when I saw the dealership in southern Colombia, I thought that she would get a kick out of it. I have seen one of these on the road in South America.
It is not uncommon for jugglers, acrobats and the like to entertain people at stop lights, trying to hustle a few coins. These guys strung a rope up, and were doing flips on the rope during red lights..
I am thinking my Sis could trade her ride in to match Blondy, what do you think?
I have to mention the shop Asturias, where I got my new tire. They were very efficient and helpful, and I was in and out of there in short order. I also had a good conversation with one of the resident bikers hanging out there, and he gave us some good tips on riding south...
This was the watch cat at the hostel where we stayed. I wonder if he knows about racoons...
I had been trying to get a jug of lemonade for the last three days, and finally succeeded.
No BULL...Between a copy cat western themed restraurant, and an attempt to mimic Studio 54 (wasnt that sometime in the seventies) our area of Cali was pretty tame...
These guys were juggling in the rain for coins...
There is no doubt that the rains create some of the most spectacular scenery on this planet. The green foliage is beyond green, and when the sun hits it, it is hard to look at...truly spectacular.
Don't believe the sign: Uli doubles the numbers as a matter of principle..
We stopped in a little town beyond Popyan, I think it was called Borga...
Very pretty female police officers...
Some of the kids in town were collecting money for a year end blast. Masks and dressed up as old men to end the year...
We met this young fellow from Mexico. He had graduated with a business degree from the University of Alberta, and had been on the road for a year on a push bike. Very interesting fellow and full of ideas about the world. An excellent example of the next generation to reshape the world..Check out his website and give him a weather report from Edmonton.. (www.vapalsur.com)
The bread (pan) shop on the Panamerican highway...
A modern church...
I thought I had left those damned chicken buses behind in Central America...
Uli's signal posts needed some repair..good old duct tape..
As I said we were travelling down one of the central valleys, and the mountains, for the moment are in the distance...
Mining gravel??
These trucks, which are called mules locally, tend to create lineups in traffic and frustration for moto drivers...
For the most part, we give the Army guys a thumbs up, and drive on by. These guys were stationed near a gas stop, so I talked the young kid into sitting on the bike for a picture. It seems that the army doesn't trust these guys with real ammunition, as all of the breeches on the automatic weapons have yellow blockers, which I assume are safety measures...most of these guys are in their teens and their officers aren't any older than my sons...
Starting to climb, and climb...
The farms are everywhere, and plots of produce are cultivated on hillsides which are almost vertical.
We came across a few tunnels on the ride through the mountains...
I turned on the camera to capture a sense of the ride in the mountains of Colombia. It is available to view here..
Colombia Ride 2
We rolled into a small community and found the town square, which is the best way to orient ourselves..
Another town with murals. The artwork, particularly the street art is very good, and graffitti, per se, is not common..
We spent the night in Ipales, just before the Colombian/Ecuadorian border. In the morning we visited this church, set at the very bottom of a very deep canyon. This church is famous, and has been there for a long time...
Testaments from many of the faithful..
I was fine walking down, but bagged trying to get back up from the bottom.
I was tired as this old dog...
We managed to clear Colombia in short order, and the Edcuadorian border was as seemless as I have seen. I wonder if Canada and the Americans could take a lesson in border diplomacy and public relations...this nino figures he could ride Uli's Tiger...
Down the road, we stopped for lunch. Our reasonable Spanish skills failed us, and we ended up with chicken feet soup... which was very good...
I had to stop and get a picture of this church for my churchy friends....
Soup is soup...and Chicken is Chicken...
We opted for a short ride after this, and ended up in a wonderful little town: Otavalo. It has huge central market, and the weavings and fabrics from the local Indians is absolutely out of this world...more street murals..
This fellow is selling a pan flute to the ladies...
Well,to make a long story shorter, about Blondy and her fall from grace. We were manoeuvring through one of the last toll-free areas in Colombia, when the left pannier caught a concrete retaining wall, and Blondy promptly went sideways, throwing off the pannier and putting us down in a narrow throughway. I managed to get her stopped, and Uli was quick to help me lift the heavy bitch back onto her feet. I fumbled my way out of the throughway, and we managed to get the panniers back on with out too much trouble. I was mad at myself, because I had spotted the narrowing, and misjudged how wide I needed to go. Unlike the 45 gallon barrels, the concrete wall did not budge. This was the first time that Blondy had been napping without my consent since my crash on the Highline this summer, so I am not too frustrated. We recovered and enjoyed the next 100 kilometers of winding road...
More of the Otavalo Market....The indigenious people from this area are very successful in their marketing or their products, particularly their weaving. Some of them travel world wide with their product. It is very interesting to be in a town where the locals are very proud of their native heritage, and have also grasped the entrepreneurial theme very strongly, and clearly are successful.
From what I could see, all of the blouses are hand embroidered...
The kids are extremely cute and street wise...
This one is for my sister Joey. I would buy it for you Sis, but Blondy is complaining already, and I see some dirt and mud in my future travels....
All hand sewn....
Otavalo is a great visit....and this is how we got there:
