Ive been quiet for a few days here :)
Well, I had been riding quickly North through the Peruvian deserts for a reason... I was going to Quito Ecuador in order to meet a friend.
My friend I-Fan had decided to take a couple of weeks vacation and come see Colombia. So, the plan was for us to meet in Quito, and then ride North through Colombia for about a week to Cartegena. Then from there to either ride back to Bogota or for I-Fan to fly there and catch a flight back to North America...
So, thats what Ive been doing.
We are now resting up in Cartagena after about five days of riding... quite hard riding.
Ive never ridden long distances with a passenger on the bike before, and its not that bad for normal riding, but in the really windy mountain roads of Colombia (Id forgotten how windy they really are) it is quite tiring. Its honestly all I you can do to cover 500Km of highway in a full day of nine or ten hours on the road! (Yep thats averaging about 50Kmh!!!). And I have to say that its quite hard on the bike ... particularly the suspension and the brakes... And Im trying to go easy on the brakes cos they have to make it back to Canada and they are getting very tired these days :))
But, we did OK and weve made it all the way to the North coast of Colombia without any issues :)
Along the way we´ve had the full range of driving and touristing experiences...
Riding in mountains and plains; through cities and small villages; through rain and blazing sun; through desert, jungle and farm land. Stayimg in hotels and hostels ranging from very nice to really dingy... Weve seen traffic accidents with literally miles of backed up trucks (which we just scoot by on the motorbike and then sqeeeeze past the obstruction and continue on our way).
And weve had plenty of "exciting moments" with the "all inclusive" traffic that they have here... But, Id have to say though, that if you were a cautious driver and just stayed in your lane and kept your distance from the car in front then you'd probably have no problems here... Itd take you twice as long to get anywhere but I think youd probably be pretty safe. So, the "close calls" are pretty much all "self created" in that I prefer not to wait around that much and I feel comfortable with less "safety distance" and paying more close attention to "everything"... And it seems to be a compromise that works OK so far :)
We've also been through numerous military check points with no issues other than having to spend fifteen minutes or so chatting with the boys in their fatigues about where weve been and where we are going, and how very nice their country is etc :)... Oh, and in one town, we did get hauled into the military office and "talked at" for a while cos one of the soldiers on the street saw I-Fan´s big SLR camera pointed in his direction...They are VERY sensitive about that stuff, and I dont really blame them, so we had some explaining to do but it all worked out OK.
What else? Well, I finally lost one of my runners that wasnt tied on well enough (they were old smelly and broken anyway so no great loss), so I now only have my boots and some Teva sandals... And I managed to leave a fleece and my toothbrush somewhere along the way too, so my "normal" self-check systems are clearly being "messed with" by traveling with another person after so long traveling alone... But the company has been very nice :))
So, I think weve had enough long days on the bike for the time being so we will stay put here in Cartegena for a couple more days.
Then when I-Fan flys back to the western world, Ill ride back South to Ecuador... I left a bunch of stuff there to make room on the bike (spare tires, tent, sleeping bag etc). And I think Ill go down to the Amazonian jungle for a few days while Im there to "see what there is to see"... And then Ill ride back North again :)
So thats the plan for now :)))
