[YEAR 7!] Quit our jobs, sold our home, gone riding...
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- Start date
lightcycle
Nomad
If any of you guys are on Instagram, Neda is now the CIO (Chief Instagram Officer) of RideDOT.com. She'll be posting new pictures, as well as some blasts from the past. You can check out her selections by looking for us @ride_dot or here: http://www.instagram.com/ride_dot
lightcycle
Nomad
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/134.html on February 8th, 2014
I'm walking on eggshells today.
Ever since we entered Mexico and Latin America over a year ago, Neda's done the bulk of the work organizing, communicating and leading the ride. I think she needed the break in Medellin a lot more than I did. So today, as we are packing our lives back into 120L of panniers and topcases, I'm acutely aware that this departure is my idea. We're leaving earlier than she wants because *I* want to travel.
So I try to do everything to make sure this day goes as smoothly as possible for Neda. I tell her that I'll organize everything and take the lead for the next little while.
Things don't go as planned.
This *was* the plan for today...
In our parking lot, with all our bags all strapped down and ready to leave, I thumb the starter: <click> <click> <click>
Nothing... My battery is dead.
The bike has only been sitting idle for maybe a week, this shouldn't happen. It's a brand new battery - I just picked it up in Guatemala in September. I suspect there's something wrong with the electricals, perhaps a short somewhere in all the gadgets I've got hooked up to the battery under my seat. Ruefully, I unpack the bike, lift the seat and stare at the spaghetti wiring around the terminals.
I don't have time to diagnose this. I just need a jump-start.
While I'm tearing apart the bike, I ask Neda to ask around the building to see if anyone has jumper cables. To my surprise, she returns half-an-hour later, telling me that 1) nobody in the building has cables, 2) the super said there was a car rental place beside us, so she went over and asked, no luck, 3) the car rental guys says there was a bike shop 2 blocks down the street so she went over and asked, 4) the bike shop guys said they had a cable, but they didn't want to sell or lend it to us, can we push the bike over?
Neda is visibly upset. The stress-free day I promised is slowly cracking like the eggshells I'm walking on...
Neda: "He told me this would be a stress-free day, so now I'm the one running around trying to jump start his battery..."
Mechanic: "What a dope."
We pushed my half-laden bike through traffic to the bike shop, got a boost and we started off on our journey. However, my confidence in the electricals is shaken and I don't feel safe leaving the big city without jumper cables. I didn't have them in El Salvador with my EWS problems, and now with this, I really felt I needed the safety net.
Neda disagreed. We were burning daylight and she was anxious to get out of the city.
Neda: "I told him we have to leave now so he decides he wants to look for motorcycle-specific jumper cables..."
Storekeeper: "What a dope."
There are a million automotive stores in Medellin. They all sell jumper cables, but only the really heavy-duty kind: 20-gauge, 400A clamps, 50-feet-long cables, 20lbs heavy. The kind you use to jump-start a Panzer tank with...
Because her Spanish is better, I ask Neda to ask around to see if there are lighter gauge motorcycle-specific cables.
She grumbled something dark and venomous and set out around the block. Another 45 minutes later she returns and tells me that she's visited 20 different stores and none of them sell lighter gauge cables. Do I want to buy the f*&^%ing tank cables or not?
I've screwed up her day. I know it. So we buy the Panzer tank cables.
My motorcycle's suspension sags under the additional weight. Kinda like my morale...
Change-up from the big city - our hostel in Guatape
The town of Guatape is only 85kms east of Medellin, but it takes us over an hour to just get past the city limits because of the terrible traffic. The entire way I keep the communicator open, ready to receive my wife's rage and wrath. All I get is the cold crackle of Silent Treatment as we negotiate our way past buses, filtering between stopped cars in gridlock, and dodging pedestrians dashing out in front of us.
Only until we're riding the uncongested and curvy roads leading out of Medellin does normal conversation resume. I know my wife well and all it takes is leaning into a few twisty roads to lighten her mood. Perhaps this day is salvageable after all and I won't wind up hanging from the rafters tonight with a 20-gauge noose wrapped around my neck...
Our motorcycles get a nice view for the evening
We've found a great little hostel just 5 minutes walk outside the lake-side town of Guatape. The actual lake is a man-made reservoir for a huge hydro-electric dam, and the mountains of Antioquia rise up all around us. It's a very tranquil setting and it makes up for our hectic ride out of Medellin.
Nice view for us as well too
Mickey & Luna, the owners of the hostel. After the day we've had, they're giving me some really good ideas
The weather up here in the mountains is markedly colder than the big city. At night, we shiver under heavy blankets and listen to the heavy rains fall outside. We're told it rains nightly here. Now that we're on the move again, we have to get used to brand new precipitation patterns and plan accordingly.
The late morning sun slowly burns off the chill and dampness of the previous night and we walk down the hill into the town of Guatape to do a little bit of exploring. I'm sensing Neda is in a better mood given the nice weather and peaceful surroundings. *This* is what I had planned for us, not the nightmare rush out of town yesterday.
Walking through the Crayola-coloured streets of Guatape
Although there are a few foreigners wandering the streets, it seems that the majority of tourists are from Medellin. Because of its proximity to the big city, Guatape is a popular weekend getaway for Paisas.
What is this towel for?
All over Latin America we've seen older men with a towel draped over one shoulder. We have not been able to figure out what its purpose is. Is it functional or just fashionable? Maybe the next time we see this, we'll ask.
Cobblestone chat on horseback
World Cup Dreams in Technicolour
What I love is that almost all the buildings in town have taken up the Crayola-theme
Even the tuk-tuks get in on the action
No towel, can't ask.
Returning from the grocery store with some dinner supplies for a night in at the hostel
Our favorite Colombian beer to toast our getting back on the road
In the distance, a huge rock rises from the ground. We'll explore tomorrow!
I'm walking on eggshells today.
Ever since we entered Mexico and Latin America over a year ago, Neda's done the bulk of the work organizing, communicating and leading the ride. I think she needed the break in Medellin a lot more than I did. So today, as we are packing our lives back into 120L of panniers and topcases, I'm acutely aware that this departure is my idea. We're leaving earlier than she wants because *I* want to travel.
So I try to do everything to make sure this day goes as smoothly as possible for Neda. I tell her that I'll organize everything and take the lead for the next little while.
Things don't go as planned.
This *was* the plan for today...
In our parking lot, with all our bags all strapped down and ready to leave, I thumb the starter: <click> <click> <click>
Nothing... My battery is dead.
The bike has only been sitting idle for maybe a week, this shouldn't happen. It's a brand new battery - I just picked it up in Guatemala in September. I suspect there's something wrong with the electricals, perhaps a short somewhere in all the gadgets I've got hooked up to the battery under my seat. Ruefully, I unpack the bike, lift the seat and stare at the spaghetti wiring around the terminals.
I don't have time to diagnose this. I just need a jump-start.
While I'm tearing apart the bike, I ask Neda to ask around the building to see if anyone has jumper cables. To my surprise, she returns half-an-hour later, telling me that 1) nobody in the building has cables, 2) the super said there was a car rental place beside us, so she went over and asked, no luck, 3) the car rental guys says there was a bike shop 2 blocks down the street so she went over and asked, 4) the bike shop guys said they had a cable, but they didn't want to sell or lend it to us, can we push the bike over?
Neda is visibly upset. The stress-free day I promised is slowly cracking like the eggshells I'm walking on...
Neda: "He told me this would be a stress-free day, so now I'm the one running around trying to jump start his battery..."
Mechanic: "What a dope."
We pushed my half-laden bike through traffic to the bike shop, got a boost and we started off on our journey. However, my confidence in the electricals is shaken and I don't feel safe leaving the big city without jumper cables. I didn't have them in El Salvador with my EWS problems, and now with this, I really felt I needed the safety net.
Neda disagreed. We were burning daylight and she was anxious to get out of the city.
Neda: "I told him we have to leave now so he decides he wants to look for motorcycle-specific jumper cables..."
Storekeeper: "What a dope."
There are a million automotive stores in Medellin. They all sell jumper cables, but only the really heavy-duty kind: 20-gauge, 400A clamps, 50-feet-long cables, 20lbs heavy. The kind you use to jump-start a Panzer tank with...
Because her Spanish is better, I ask Neda to ask around to see if there are lighter gauge motorcycle-specific cables.
She grumbled something dark and venomous and set out around the block. Another 45 minutes later she returns and tells me that she's visited 20 different stores and none of them sell lighter gauge cables. Do I want to buy the f*&^%ing tank cables or not?
I've screwed up her day. I know it. So we buy the Panzer tank cables.
My motorcycle's suspension sags under the additional weight. Kinda like my morale...
Change-up from the big city - our hostel in Guatape
The town of Guatape is only 85kms east of Medellin, but it takes us over an hour to just get past the city limits because of the terrible traffic. The entire way I keep the communicator open, ready to receive my wife's rage and wrath. All I get is the cold crackle of Silent Treatment as we negotiate our way past buses, filtering between stopped cars in gridlock, and dodging pedestrians dashing out in front of us.
Only until we're riding the uncongested and curvy roads leading out of Medellin does normal conversation resume. I know my wife well and all it takes is leaning into a few twisty roads to lighten her mood. Perhaps this day is salvageable after all and I won't wind up hanging from the rafters tonight with a 20-gauge noose wrapped around my neck...
Our motorcycles get a nice view for the evening
We've found a great little hostel just 5 minutes walk outside the lake-side town of Guatape. The actual lake is a man-made reservoir for a huge hydro-electric dam, and the mountains of Antioquia rise up all around us. It's a very tranquil setting and it makes up for our hectic ride out of Medellin.
Nice view for us as well too
Mickey & Luna, the owners of the hostel. After the day we've had, they're giving me some really good ideas
The weather up here in the mountains is markedly colder than the big city. At night, we shiver under heavy blankets and listen to the heavy rains fall outside. We're told it rains nightly here. Now that we're on the move again, we have to get used to brand new precipitation patterns and plan accordingly.
The late morning sun slowly burns off the chill and dampness of the previous night and we walk down the hill into the town of Guatape to do a little bit of exploring. I'm sensing Neda is in a better mood given the nice weather and peaceful surroundings. *This* is what I had planned for us, not the nightmare rush out of town yesterday.
Walking through the Crayola-coloured streets of Guatape
Although there are a few foreigners wandering the streets, it seems that the majority of tourists are from Medellin. Because of its proximity to the big city, Guatape is a popular weekend getaway for Paisas.
What is this towel for?
All over Latin America we've seen older men with a towel draped over one shoulder. We have not been able to figure out what its purpose is. Is it functional or just fashionable? Maybe the next time we see this, we'll ask.
Cobblestone chat on horseback
World Cup Dreams in Technicolour
What I love is that almost all the buildings in town have taken up the Crayola-theme
Even the tuk-tuks get in on the action
No towel, can't ask.
Returning from the grocery store with some dinner supplies for a night in at the hostel
Our favorite Colombian beer to toast our getting back on the road
In the distance, a huge rock rises from the ground. We'll explore tomorrow!
profdlp
Adventurer
Oh, my! Talk about poetic justice - strung up with your own jumper cables! :Wow1: :bike_rider:
Herbie
Rendezvous Conspirator
A towel, [The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy] says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-boggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
joeyabisa
Adventurer
Man! That was some serious tension Gene. You had ME feeling like I was walking on eggshells. Glad you ended up in a pretty city and the next day turned out well.
lightcycle
Nomad
Hell hath no fury...
Thanks, Guatape really delivered me from evil.
LOL! A Babelfish would have been really useful the last year and a half...
I've written the next few entries in poem-format, however it's mostly in Vogon, would you like to hear it? I think it's pretty cool and froody.
lightcycle
Nomad
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/135.html on February 10th, 2014
Today, we're going to investigate that huge rock in the distance. The owners of our hostel say it's only a couple of kms away if we ride through Guatape. Or... we could take a 10km dirt road that travels all the way around the valley, cutting through lush farmland and the scenic coniferous forest... So we opt to take the Long Way R[rest of comment deleted pending either trademark lawsuit or gross overuse by the motorcycle travel community]
Very pretty-looking farms along the way
As we make our way around the bend, La Piedra looms up ahead
La Piedra del Penol y Guatape (The Stone of Penol and Guatape) is this lone monolithic rock that rises 220m (650ft) from the ground. It's a landmark that can be seen from miles away in all directions because it's the only object of that size and shape in the area. This has led to speculation and legends from locals that La Piedra is a huge meteorite that fell to earth. The scientist in me looks at how intact the rock is as well as the lack of a surrounding crater, and I've come to the conclusion that it is indeed a meteorite... especially when I can tell friends and family back home about the time we climbed a huge rock from outer space that landed in the middle of Colombia...
Cue the 5-note theme from Close Encounters
In our hikes around the area, we've seen La Piedra from all angles. Behind this view, there's a giant "GI" painted on the back. Strangely enough, I don't have a picture of the "GI". (Edit: Neda says, "But you take pictures of EVERYTHING!” The "GI" was a remnant of the time the town of Guatape tried to paint its name on the side of La Piedra and but were stopped half-way through the "U" when the neighbouring town, El Penol, claimed that La Piedra belonged to their town.
You'd think they'd have washed it off by now... but then again, you'd lose a pretty funny story!
There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold...
About half-way up, they've put a Virgin Mary up here so people can pray for strength...
to make it up the rest of the way...
Along the way, you can catch both your breath and a nice view at the same time
There are 659 steps on the way up La Piedra. They are labeled in increments of 25,
should you want to keep track of your progress or measure just how out of shape you are...
When I was a kid I used to listen to radio programs late at night in my bed under the covers while my parents thought I was sleeping. I used to listen to shows like "The Shadow" and a Twilight Zone-like program, can't recall the name. On one of the shows, the hero was climbing up a spiral staircase in a tall, dark tower. He was claustrophobic, so to calm his anxiety he counted the number of stairs till he reached the top. As he made his way down, he counted the stairs again and was horrified when the number exceeded the count on the way up...
I think I've told this story before, but everytime I climb stairs, I always think of that radio program. Those numbers written on La Piedra's stairs made it even more vivid! I also have a Buried Alive Like a Mummy story, but that'll have to wait for another more appropriate blog entry...
"Ok, let's see what all the fuss was about..."
Oooh, nice. I like how La Piedra casts such a huge shadow over the land
If you look closely at all the little islands, you'll see that the greenery doesn't reach all the way to the shoreline. We found out that the artificial lake around Guatape and La Piedra has been lowered by about 7m (21 feet) recently because of the hydro-electric dam. This has exposed the brown soil previously underwater, and it looks quite picturesque when viewed from this high, but up close it's not really that pretty.
I am very impressed by how large this reservoir is, it reaches as far as the eye can see in most directions!
Front row seats to the best show in town
The Andean Condor is the national animal of Colombia
We recently saw a three-dimensional version of the Colombian coat-of-arms and wondered why they chose a vulture to sit on top of their crested shield. We later learned that it was actually a condor, but for the longest time we thought it was a turkey vulture and we snickered. Kinda absurd, like having a beaver as your national animal...
Edit: I just found out condors are vultures. Back to making fun of their national animal again! HAH-HAH!
The stairs on the way down were haphazard and made no sense at all.
They reminded me of an Escher drawing...
Today, we're going to investigate that huge rock in the distance. The owners of our hostel say it's only a couple of kms away if we ride through Guatape. Or... we could take a 10km dirt road that travels all the way around the valley, cutting through lush farmland and the scenic coniferous forest... So we opt to take the Long Way R[rest of comment deleted pending either trademark lawsuit or gross overuse by the motorcycle travel community]
Very pretty-looking farms along the way
As we make our way around the bend, La Piedra looms up ahead
La Piedra del Penol y Guatape (The Stone of Penol and Guatape) is this lone monolithic rock that rises 220m (650ft) from the ground. It's a landmark that can be seen from miles away in all directions because it's the only object of that size and shape in the area. This has led to speculation and legends from locals that La Piedra is a huge meteorite that fell to earth. The scientist in me looks at how intact the rock is as well as the lack of a surrounding crater, and I've come to the conclusion that it is indeed a meteorite... especially when I can tell friends and family back home about the time we climbed a huge rock from outer space that landed in the middle of Colombia...
Cue the 5-note theme from Close Encounters
In our hikes around the area, we've seen La Piedra from all angles. Behind this view, there's a giant "GI" painted on the back. Strangely enough, I don't have a picture of the "GI". (Edit: Neda says, "But you take pictures of EVERYTHING!”
The "GI" was a remnant of the time the town of Guatape tried to paint its name on the side of La Piedra and but were stopped half-way through the "U" when the neighbouring town, El Penol, claimed that La Piedra belonged to their town.You'd think they'd have washed it off by now... but then again, you'd lose a pretty funny story!
There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold...
About half-way up, they've put a Virgin Mary up here so people can pray for strength...
to make it up the rest of the way...
Along the way, you can catch both your breath and a nice view at the same time
There are 659 steps on the way up La Piedra. They are labeled in increments of 25,
should you want to keep track of your progress or measure just how out of shape you are...
When I was a kid I used to listen to radio programs late at night in my bed under the covers while my parents thought I was sleeping. I used to listen to shows like "The Shadow" and a Twilight Zone-like program, can't recall the name. On one of the shows, the hero was climbing up a spiral staircase in a tall, dark tower. He was claustrophobic, so to calm his anxiety he counted the number of stairs till he reached the top. As he made his way down, he counted the stairs again and was horrified when the number exceeded the count on the way up...
I think I've told this story before, but everytime I climb stairs, I always think of that radio program. Those numbers written on La Piedra's stairs made it even more vivid! I also have a Buried Alive Like a Mummy story, but that'll have to wait for another more appropriate blog entry...
"Ok, let's see what all the fuss was about..."
Oooh, nice. I like how La Piedra casts such a huge shadow over the land
If you look closely at all the little islands, you'll see that the greenery doesn't reach all the way to the shoreline. We found out that the artificial lake around Guatape and La Piedra has been lowered by about 7m (21 feet) recently because of the hydro-electric dam. This has exposed the brown soil previously underwater, and it looks quite picturesque when viewed from this high, but up close it's not really that pretty.
I am very impressed by how large this reservoir is, it reaches as far as the eye can see in most directions!
Front row seats to the best show in town
The Andean Condor is the national animal of Colombia
We recently saw a three-dimensional version of the Colombian coat-of-arms and wondered why they chose a vulture to sit on top of their crested shield. We later learned that it was actually a condor, but for the longest time we thought it was a turkey vulture and we snickered. Kinda absurd, like having a beaver as your national animal...
Edit: I just found out condors are vultures. Back to making fun of their national animal again! HAH-HAH!
The stairs on the way down were haphazard and made no sense at all.
They reminded me of an Escher drawing...
lightcycle
Nomad
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/136.html on February 12, 2014
We're on the move again.
It's only been a few days since we left Medellin and after 6 motionless weeks, we've anticipated that it might be difficult to click into the cadence of travel.
The mountain roads of Antioquia - a sinuous distraction
Bye bye kitchen - back to road-side stops for meals
I've done really well with my diet during our rest periods in Colombia. I've eaten very healthy thanks to Neda's cooking and lost a whole bunch of weight. I kinda dread having meals on the road again because I have no willpower. Those greasy, carby dishes just seem to glow and pop-out from all the road-side diner menus: "Con papas francesas?" "Por supuesto, Senor!" (Google translation)
Construction on the bridge across the Rio Magdalena has traffic backed up for kms
We're descending quite rapidly from the lofty heights of Medellin and the temperature begins to soar into the low 30s. A traffic jam builds up because of construction on a bridge up ahead and our motorcycles follow the path of least resistance, flowing out of the lane and onto the centreline, our panniers brushing up against oncoming trucks. One 18-wheeler stops short of pushing Neda completely over as it attempts to squeeze by her invading bike...
After this, we take to the opposite sidewalk. It's much safer knocking down pedestrians than it is being knocked over by a truck. At least there, we have the Right-of-Weight!
Bustin' out! Hundreds of bikes let loose before the cars and trucks over the Rio Magdalena
Asking for directions to a hotel in Honda
We're stopping in the town of Honda for the evening. The town is bisected by a river and is known as the city of bridges because there are at least four vehicle-bridges and a couple of pedestrian walkways over the river. We get a bit lost because half of these bridges are under construction making navigation through the one-way streets a nightmare.
Even when standing still, Neda's bike still wants to lean
The next day we do a short walking tour of Honda in the morning before we leave. It's not a very large town and since it's a weekday, all the streets are deserted while everyone's at work.
At least the mornings are a bit cooler and pleasant to walk around in
Surprisingly not a lot of Honda vehicles in the town of Honda...
Patriotic Alleyway Art
The only place that was bustling in Honda was the marketplace where we stocked up on supplies for the road
On-The-Road Selfie! I forgot to do Duck Lips...
For the last few days, we've been debating whether to ride into Bogota or not. I didn't really care whether we go or not, there's nothing there that I am interested in seeing, plus I've heard the traffic is brutal! The city's population is a densely-packed 8 million people - 4 times larger than Medellin, and we weren't too happy about that traffic.
However Neda heard that the old city was very pretty, so as always, on a last minute decision just as we are leaving Honda, we decided to dive headfirst into MegaBogopolitan traffic.
Just wanted to Shoei you what we had for lunch
Change-up in chain maintenance
Neda is changing up her chain maintenance routine. She finds it tough to lube the chain at the end of the riding day, since we're both tired and just want to either eat or relax. So she's started to do her chain maintenance either during lunchtime while we're waiting for food or at our fueling stops. It's working out too well, I can't hear her chain rattling when she's riding now and have to check my mirrors to make sure she's still behind me...
The weather is changing once again. As we climb from Honda's relatively low elevation of 750 feet all the way to Bogota at 8600 feet, the temperature goes from scorching to chilly in just a few short hours. Neda tells me we're at 15C, almost a 20 degree difference! The air is misty because we are now riding into the clouds clinging to the mountains around Bogota.
As if it wasn't cold enough, it starts to rain cats and dogs on us. It takes us an hour to traverse the heavily congested 25kms from the outer ring of Bogota's residential suburbs, through the very modern downtown city core, all the way to the historical centre of La Candelaria, where Neda wants to stay. The moment we arrive, the rain stops. Of course.
We heard Bogota was a dangerous place. So while Neda looks for a hostel, I guard the bikes against... um, curious schoolchildren...
Hiding out from the cold afternoon showers in Bogota in our new hostel
RideDOT.com Trivia: Neda has read nearly 50 books on this trip. It's her favorite downtime activity
After lights-out, the girl in the upper bunk to the left of Neda started sleep-talking up a storm.
I wished I spoke Swedish, it sounded very important...
When we stay at hostels, we usually get a private room because it's more economical for two people. However, the private rooms were all booked up so we had to sleep in Gen Pop. Because we were the last to check in, we were left the worst beds in the dorm - upper bunk.
In a kind of reverse-H.G.-Wells, UpperBunkers are basically the Morlocks of the dorm, treated with disdain by the Eloi who live beneath. You end up disturbing everyone while gracelessly trying to get into bed, you shake the whole bunk when you toss and turn and heaven forbid you need to get down to go the washroom in the middle of the night! And all the while, everyone is tut-tutting away in the dark with over-exaggerated annoyance...
I'll see you for breakfast tomorrow, my tasty little Elois...
We're on the move again.
It's only been a few days since we left Medellin and after 6 motionless weeks, we've anticipated that it might be difficult to click into the cadence of travel.
The mountain roads of Antioquia - a sinuous distraction
Bye bye kitchen - back to road-side stops for meals
I've done really well with my diet during our rest periods in Colombia. I've eaten very healthy thanks to Neda's cooking and lost a whole bunch of weight. I kinda dread having meals on the road again because I have no willpower. Those greasy, carby dishes just seem to glow and pop-out from all the road-side diner menus: "Con papas francesas?" "Por supuesto, Senor!" (Google translation)
Construction on the bridge across the Rio Magdalena has traffic backed up for kms
We're descending quite rapidly from the lofty heights of Medellin and the temperature begins to soar into the low 30s. A traffic jam builds up because of construction on a bridge up ahead and our motorcycles follow the path of least resistance, flowing out of the lane and onto the centreline, our panniers brushing up against oncoming trucks. One 18-wheeler stops short of pushing Neda completely over as it attempts to squeeze by her invading bike...
After this, we take to the opposite sidewalk. It's much safer knocking down pedestrians than it is being knocked over by a truck. At least there, we have the Right-of-Weight!
Bustin' out! Hundreds of bikes let loose before the cars and trucks over the Rio Magdalena
Asking for directions to a hotel in Honda
We're stopping in the town of Honda for the evening. The town is bisected by a river and is known as the city of bridges because there are at least four vehicle-bridges and a couple of pedestrian walkways over the river. We get a bit lost because half of these bridges are under construction making navigation through the one-way streets a nightmare.
Even when standing still, Neda's bike still wants to lean
The next day we do a short walking tour of Honda in the morning before we leave. It's not a very large town and since it's a weekday, all the streets are deserted while everyone's at work.
At least the mornings are a bit cooler and pleasant to walk around in
Surprisingly not a lot of Honda vehicles in the town of Honda...
Patriotic Alleyway Art
The only place that was bustling in Honda was the marketplace where we stocked up on supplies for the road
On-The-Road Selfie! I forgot to do Duck Lips...
For the last few days, we've been debating whether to ride into Bogota or not. I didn't really care whether we go or not, there's nothing there that I am interested in seeing, plus I've heard the traffic is brutal! The city's population is a densely-packed 8 million people - 4 times larger than Medellin, and we weren't too happy about that traffic.
However Neda heard that the old city was very pretty, so as always, on a last minute decision just as we are leaving Honda, we decided to dive headfirst into MegaBogopolitan traffic.
Just wanted to Shoei you what we had for lunch
Change-up in chain maintenance
Neda is changing up her chain maintenance routine. She finds it tough to lube the chain at the end of the riding day, since we're both tired and just want to either eat or relax. So she's started to do her chain maintenance either during lunchtime while we're waiting for food or at our fueling stops. It's working out too well, I can't hear her chain rattling when she's riding now and have to check my mirrors to make sure she's still behind me...
The weather is changing once again. As we climb from Honda's relatively low elevation of 750 feet all the way to Bogota at 8600 feet, the temperature goes from scorching to chilly in just a few short hours. Neda tells me we're at 15C, almost a 20 degree difference! The air is misty because we are now riding into the clouds clinging to the mountains around Bogota.
As if it wasn't cold enough, it starts to rain cats and dogs on us. It takes us an hour to traverse the heavily congested 25kms from the outer ring of Bogota's residential suburbs, through the very modern downtown city core, all the way to the historical centre of La Candelaria, where Neda wants to stay. The moment we arrive, the rain stops. Of course.
We heard Bogota was a dangerous place. So while Neda looks for a hostel, I guard the bikes against... um, curious schoolchildren...
Hiding out from the cold afternoon showers in Bogota in our new hostel
RideDOT.com Trivia: Neda has read nearly 50 books on this trip. It's her favorite downtime activity
After lights-out, the girl in the upper bunk to the left of Neda started sleep-talking up a storm.
I wished I spoke Swedish, it sounded very important...
When we stay at hostels, we usually get a private room because it's more economical for two people. However, the private rooms were all booked up so we had to sleep in Gen Pop. Because we were the last to check in, we were left the worst beds in the dorm - upper bunk.
In a kind of reverse-H.G.-Wells, UpperBunkers are basically the Morlocks of the dorm, treated with disdain by the Eloi who live beneath. You end up disturbing everyone while gracelessly trying to get into bed, you shake the whole bunk when you toss and turn and heaven forbid you need to get down to go the washroom in the middle of the night! And all the while, everyone is tut-tutting away in the dark with over-exaggerated annoyance...
I'll see you for breakfast tomorrow, my tasty little Elois...
lightcycle
Nomad
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/137.html on February 13th, 2014
Getting out of our warm bunk beds to the chill of the Bogota morning was very difficult. We spent the morning talking to the other backpackers in the hostel over breakfast while waiting for the weather to warm up to do some sightseeing.
NedaTV: All Neda, All the time. Security cam on our hostel.
Across the street from our hostel
We had heard a lot about Bogota, mainly warnings about how bad the crime is in the city. The traffic certainly lived up to its reputation, so we had certain expectations about the rest. Bogota surprised us. It was not the dirty, slummy place we had envisioned, but instead was quite modern - at least the touristy places that we went to, within walkng distance of our hostel.
La Candelaria
Morning ruminations
Our hostel is located in the heart of La Candelaria, the city's historic centre. It was very pretty with its charming colonial architecture. We walked by the Military Museum of Bogota and peered over the fence into the courtyard at some tanks and airplanes. A guard in a military uniform saw us taking pictures over the fence and strode over to us. We thought we were in trouble but instead he invited us into the museum, telling us it was free to the public.
Free is good. Not getting arrested is even better!
Close-up of the inscription on one of the old wartime cannons
The detail on one of the miniature ships was astounding
More cannons. Not phallic at all...
Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception
The Metropolitan Cathedral also called the Primada Catedral, dominates the city plaza. It's been rebuilt several times since the 1500s due to earthquakes and the odd revolution. Nowadays, the only mobs that overrun the square are flocks of pigeons that greedily peck at the corn that vendors sell to tourists so they can get a picture with the birds.
I think this little guy wants his money back...
A different kind of mob hangs out in the city plaza, also waiting for tourist dollars
Walking the city streets
Further past the Catedral we walk into a more modern Bogota. Older buildings give way to storefronts and office buildings. Rolos, which is what the people from Bogota call themselves, stride purposefully through a pedestrian-only street. They've got the eyes-forward attitude that we're so familiar with from all our time living in a large city.
In addition to a pedestrian street, there's also a bicycle-only lane
There are some beggars on the street, but not as many as we have seen in other cities. This was a rare sight above.
I think this is called a Cherimoya, also called a custard apple in other countries
"We'll take four!" The custard apple has a very sweet creamy inside and tastes like... custard. Also very messy to eat.
Other side of the sign says, "The End of the World is Near! When?"
The guy above is selling cell-phone time. For 150 pesos (about 8 cents) a minute, you can use one of his cellphones to call another cellphone. This is a particular Colombian peculiarity that you see in every town and city, because of the fact that the landlines and cellphone networks in Colombia are not connected. You can't call a landline from a cellphone and vice versa. So strange. So people without cellphones just "rent" one for a couple of minutes to call their buddy to let them know they'll be running late.
Historic and Modern Bogota architecture meet in the city streets
Jazzy buskers entertain passerbys
La Candelaria was nice, but we're both getting a bit fatigued of sightseeing in large cities, especially after spending so much time in Medellin. I know there are many other things to see in Bogota, but we're craving a change of scenery.
Getting out of our warm bunk beds to the chill of the Bogota morning was very difficult. We spent the morning talking to the other backpackers in the hostel over breakfast while waiting for the weather to warm up to do some sightseeing.
NedaTV: All Neda, All the time. Security cam on our hostel.
Across the street from our hostel
We had heard a lot about Bogota, mainly warnings about how bad the crime is in the city. The traffic certainly lived up to its reputation, so we had certain expectations about the rest. Bogota surprised us. It was not the dirty, slummy place we had envisioned, but instead was quite modern - at least the touristy places that we went to, within walkng distance of our hostel.
La Candelaria
Morning ruminations
Our hostel is located in the heart of La Candelaria, the city's historic centre. It was very pretty with its charming colonial architecture. We walked by the Military Museum of Bogota and peered over the fence into the courtyard at some tanks and airplanes. A guard in a military uniform saw us taking pictures over the fence and strode over to us. We thought we were in trouble but instead he invited us into the museum, telling us it was free to the public.
Free is good. Not getting arrested is even better!
Close-up of the inscription on one of the old wartime cannons
The detail on one of the miniature ships was astounding
More cannons. Not phallic at all...
Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception
The Metropolitan Cathedral also called the Primada Catedral, dominates the city plaza. It's been rebuilt several times since the 1500s due to earthquakes and the odd revolution. Nowadays, the only mobs that overrun the square are flocks of pigeons that greedily peck at the corn that vendors sell to tourists so they can get a picture with the birds.
I think this little guy wants his money back...
A different kind of mob hangs out in the city plaza, also waiting for tourist dollars
Walking the city streets
Further past the Catedral we walk into a more modern Bogota. Older buildings give way to storefronts and office buildings. Rolos, which is what the people from Bogota call themselves, stride purposefully through a pedestrian-only street. They've got the eyes-forward attitude that we're so familiar with from all our time living in a large city.
In addition to a pedestrian street, there's also a bicycle-only lane
There are some beggars on the street, but not as many as we have seen in other cities. This was a rare sight above.
I think this is called a Cherimoya, also called a custard apple in other countries
"We'll take four!" The custard apple has a very sweet creamy inside and tastes like... custard. Also very messy to eat.
Other side of the sign says, "The End of the World is Near! When?"
The guy above is selling cell-phone time. For 150 pesos (about 8 cents) a minute, you can use one of his cellphones to call another cellphone. This is a particular Colombian peculiarity that you see in every town and city, because of the fact that the landlines and cellphone networks in Colombia are not connected. You can't call a landline from a cellphone and vice versa. So strange. So people without cellphones just "rent" one for a couple of minutes to call their buddy to let them know they'll be running late.
Historic and Modern Bogota architecture meet in the city streets
Jazzy buskers entertain passerbys
La Candelaria was nice, but we're both getting a bit fatigued of sightseeing in large cities, especially after spending so much time in Medellin. I know there are many other things to see in Bogota, but we're craving a change of scenery.
lightcycle
Nomad
Hi Aubrey,
We don't use any water purification tablets. We are always within riding distance of a store to pick up bottled water.
Neda carries a rudimentary first aid kit in one of her panniers. I think it contains the usual: gauze, bandaids, antiseptic, sting/bite kit, scissors, forceps, aspirin, etc.
We don't use any water purification tablets. We are always within riding distance of a store to pick up bottled water.
Neda carries a rudimentary first aid kit in one of her panniers. I think it contains the usual: gauze, bandaids, antiseptic, sting/bite kit, scissors, forceps, aspirin, etc.
lightcycle
Nomad
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/138.html on February 14th, 2014
Zipaquira is about an hour's ride north of Bogota. It's a tiny town whose primary claim to fame is being close to a cathedral made of salt. Actually, it's a cathedral that's built inside of a defunct salt mine, and the hostel owner in Bogota warned us that it was a cheesy tourist trap. Since we're all about el queso, we decided to fight the big city traffic and make our way up there.
The entrance to the salt mine
The salt deposits in the area have been mined by indigenous people since the 5th century, all the way to pre-hispanic cultures and then to the Spanish in later times. In the 1930s, miners carved a small sanctuary where they could say their daily prayers for protection before starting work. This small altar would later be expanded as part of a huge construction project in 1995, creating a gigantic "Salt Cathedral" inside the mine itself, showcasing the country's prowess in modern architecture.
The Disco-fication of Salt
Everything inside the mine is illuminated with multi-coloured lights. They've really put a lot of effort into making salt look sexy! All it did was make me hella thirsty for grape soda...
We put on some Minion hardhats and explored the darkness of the salt mine
Inside, you can opt to take a guided tour of the salt mine itself. We were led through the darkness of some of the existing tunnels and learned how workers used tools like pickaxes, explosives and railway carts to extract and transport salt out of the mines.
Cool striations and banding on the walls of the mine. Needs a mirror ball hanging from the ceiling...
Neda hard at work mining salt deposits while we all sang, "Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to work we go" with a funky back beat
At the end of the tour, we all got paid in salt - just like the old miners did.
Since Neda did all the work, she got a huge chunk of rock salt. Because I just stood around and took pictures, this was my pay...
We walked around the tunnels leading up to the main hall of the Cathedral. When I say tunnels, they are actually huge hallways, perhaps 5m (16ft) tall and wide enough for two tractor trailers to drive past each other! The scale of the place was enormous!
This piece of art is carved right out of the rock and features intricately cut leaves
Every 50 meters or so there would be a tableau called a "Station of the Cross" abstractly representing a scene out of ************************'s life (ie. Crucifixion, Ressurection, Meeting the Apostles, etc). Central to these tableaus would be a giant cross cut out of the rock salt and lit up with colourful lights. There are 14 "Stations of the Crosses" within the tunnels of the Salt Cathedral. These are just a few of them:
Praying at the S-altar...
Crucifix rises up out of the rock
One of the smaller "chapels" in the Cathedral
We walk past the main hall and it's now purple in colour
Just to give you an idea of scale, those are people gathered at the foot of the salt fountain in the distance...
The main hall of the Cathedral is stunning in its sheer immensity!
Guy in a hardhat at the bottom of the picture for scale.
Walking around all the large tableaus was quite remarkable. It seemed like the oversized tunnels stretched for a couple of kms inside the mountain that it was carved into. However, it was only when entering the main cathedral hall that we were bowled over by how large the inside of this place was. In the picture above, this section is 75m (246ft) long and 25m (82ft) high! The cross in the background is 16m (52ft) in height.
The whole cathedral is large enough to hold over 8,000 people. On Sundays, up to 3,000 people visit the Cathedral, despite the fact that it has no bishop and it's not officially recognized by the Catholic Church.
Balcony from where you can view the main hall from above
Like most of the crosses in the tableaus, it's actually not a solid piece of rock but a cutout to show the wall behind it, which is illuminated a different colour. Like one of them octopus illusions...
I'm positive this is what these kneeling blocks were made for...
Cross cut out of a curved wall
We walked past the main hall again and noticed it had changed colours! Groovy!
As we left the Salt Cathedral, we both remarked how it was one of the coolest things we've seen in Colombia. Especially since it seems that all we've been doing is hanging out in cities and towns lately... So glad we didn't heed the Bogota hostel owner's warnings about this place. I could see how it could be seen as cheesy to a local, but they did a really good job glamming up the whole experience.
Doing the Disco Rainsuit Dance
Spending all that time underground is like being inside a casino. You're completely cut off from what's happening outside with regards to time and weather, etc. We walked outside to see the late afternoon clouds working up to its daily showers. We rode for awhile out of Zipaquira before the inevitable rains forced us to do our side-of-the-road boogie besides our bikes.
We're probably not going to get very far this evening...
Zipaquira is about an hour's ride north of Bogota. It's a tiny town whose primary claim to fame is being close to a cathedral made of salt. Actually, it's a cathedral that's built inside of a defunct salt mine, and the hostel owner in Bogota warned us that it was a cheesy tourist trap. Since we're all about el queso, we decided to fight the big city traffic and make our way up there.
The entrance to the salt mine
The salt deposits in the area have been mined by indigenous people since the 5th century, all the way to pre-hispanic cultures and then to the Spanish in later times. In the 1930s, miners carved a small sanctuary where they could say their daily prayers for protection before starting work. This small altar would later be expanded as part of a huge construction project in 1995, creating a gigantic "Salt Cathedral" inside the mine itself, showcasing the country's prowess in modern architecture.
The Disco-fication of Salt
Everything inside the mine is illuminated with multi-coloured lights. They've really put a lot of effort into making salt look sexy! All it did was make me hella thirsty for grape soda...
We put on some Minion hardhats and explored the darkness of the salt mine
Inside, you can opt to take a guided tour of the salt mine itself. We were led through the darkness of some of the existing tunnels and learned how workers used tools like pickaxes, explosives and railway carts to extract and transport salt out of the mines.
Cool striations and banding on the walls of the mine. Needs a mirror ball hanging from the ceiling...
Neda hard at work mining salt deposits while we all sang, "Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to work we go" with a funky back beat
At the end of the tour, we all got paid in salt - just like the old miners did.
Since Neda did all the work, she got a huge chunk of rock salt. Because I just stood around and took pictures, this was my pay...
We walked around the tunnels leading up to the main hall of the Cathedral. When I say tunnels, they are actually huge hallways, perhaps 5m (16ft) tall and wide enough for two tractor trailers to drive past each other! The scale of the place was enormous!
This piece of art is carved right out of the rock and features intricately cut leaves
Every 50 meters or so there would be a tableau called a "Station of the Cross" abstractly representing a scene out of ************************'s life (ie. Crucifixion, Ressurection, Meeting the Apostles, etc). Central to these tableaus would be a giant cross cut out of the rock salt and lit up with colourful lights. There are 14 "Stations of the Crosses" within the tunnels of the Salt Cathedral. These are just a few of them:
Praying at the S-altar...
Crucifix rises up out of the rock
One of the smaller "chapels" in the Cathedral
We walk past the main hall and it's now purple in colour
Just to give you an idea of scale, those are people gathered at the foot of the salt fountain in the distance...
The main hall of the Cathedral is stunning in its sheer immensity!
Guy in a hardhat at the bottom of the picture for scale.
Walking around all the large tableaus was quite remarkable. It seemed like the oversized tunnels stretched for a couple of kms inside the mountain that it was carved into. However, it was only when entering the main cathedral hall that we were bowled over by how large the inside of this place was. In the picture above, this section is 75m (246ft) long and 25m (82ft) high! The cross in the background is 16m (52ft) in height.
The whole cathedral is large enough to hold over 8,000 people. On Sundays, up to 3,000 people visit the Cathedral, despite the fact that it has no bishop and it's not officially recognized by the Catholic Church.
Balcony from where you can view the main hall from above
Like most of the crosses in the tableaus, it's actually not a solid piece of rock but a cutout to show the wall behind it, which is illuminated a different colour. Like one of them octopus illusions...
I'm positive this is what these kneeling blocks were made for...
Cross cut out of a curved wall
We walked past the main hall again and noticed it had changed colours! Groovy!
As we left the Salt Cathedral, we both remarked how it was one of the coolest things we've seen in Colombia. Especially since it seems that all we've been doing is hanging out in cities and towns lately... So glad we didn't heed the Bogota hostel owner's warnings about this place. I could see how it could be seen as cheesy to a local, but they did a really good job glamming up the whole experience.
Doing the Disco Rainsuit Dance
Spending all that time underground is like being inside a casino. You're completely cut off from what's happening outside with regards to time and weather, etc. We walked outside to see the late afternoon clouds working up to its daily showers. We rode for awhile out of Zipaquira before the inevitable rains forced us to do our side-of-the-road boogie besides our bikes.
We're probably not going to get very far this evening...
Katabolism
New member
Loving the trip report, the Cathedral looks amazing
In the last pic, of the disco rain suit dance, I thought it was a crow of something attacking you
In the last pic, of the disco rain suit dance, I thought it was a crow of something attacking you