September 1
Back to Ernesto y Tara! We had a nice ~175 km day from Cartagena to Sincelejo.
Getting out of Cartagena was a hoot - moto after moto buzzing around like flies. We stopped for gas and a hopping rodent made its way across the parking lot (not a lagomorph… LD are their kangaroo rat type animals here?). Three men start to chase it, and it doesn’t take long to realize that if they catch it, the scene will not end well. Luckily the little buddy escaped into the brush.
It was hot in Baja, Mexico, but it's even hotter here. That stuff about UV and the equator? Totally true. Ernie and I both got sunburnt on our faces through our helmets today (and we have visors like ballcaps on our helmets). So we were ready for a break after only 75 km or so. We found a little town with a little tienda that sold cold Coke’s and Gatorades and a diablo flavored snack mix hat included plantains (rad). Despite how close or how far to a town we are, we continue to not blend in.
After we got to Sincelejo we found our hotel easy enough. Parking was another issue… a.k.a., Tara bit it hard coming around a corner. Ouch. But two men on a little moto came to my rescue immediately. Chivalry is alive and well on the corner of Calle 14 and Carretera 28 in Sincelejo. After lugging all our cases around the block and up the stairs (ugh) we went on a very little walkabout to a “mercado”. At the start of this trip we got all excited for “mercados” that we found on the map as we thought they were going to be authentic food and shopping squares. But as it turns out, Google Maps says any store that sells Doritos as a “mercado”, so since Northern Mexico all our “mercados” have basically been mini-marts. But this one was a true mercado! It was closing time, so we missed the excitement of bartering and fast talkin to sell eggs, fruit, meats, etc. We did manage to get there before the “restaurant section” went to siesta, so we sat down at a place with old school leather chairs and bright red tablecloths. We asked what the food of the day was, and I only understood about half of it (I’m having lots of trouble with SAmerican spanish compared to Mexican and CAmerican spanish). We only ordered one order in case it was gross, but it was good enough. The entertainment was the giant buzzards IN the square. Up until now they have been along roadsides or up in the trees at a distance. But here they are urban, hopping around the sidewalks and steps like crows. Ernie says, “I never thought of them to be agile. I always thought of them as gangly”. Cena, buzzards, and four Fanta’s later, we pay the equivalent of $6 USD and head to a grocery store for some road supplies, some ice for my foot, and some more standing out in a few crowds. Bueno.
September 2
~175 km ride to Caucasia. Dos gringos in Caucasia, Colombia, HA! Other than that joke that made me laugh disproportionately hard, it was an easy and tranquilo day. The scenery was lovely; rolling hills speckled with trees that were perfectly spaced apart. Ernie and I even joked at one point that if there were a rich golf course in this part of the world, some developer would have paid millions for the grounds to look like this. We saw some great signs telling us to be aware of critters crossing the road, including monkeys, iguanas, anteaters, and some sort of quadrupedal gorilla like animal that I’ms till unsure of. We saw none of these animals, but we did see some wildlife bridges. We think they were for monkeys (cool!). I think the most impressive thing about the landscape here is the trees. From a distance one might just see them as trees, but even the dumbest of dumb would look twice and be impressed with their size and proportions. Giant trunks and giant canopies - a herd of a dozen giant sloths could forage or lounge comfortably underneath many of them (which remember, were bigger than mammoths). And even if the green, rolling hills remind you of somewhere in the north, the trees are so different looking… the size and shapes of their leaves, branches, and trunks.
Fun fact: motos get to go around the tolls. Totally legit. There is a sign that says “Motos a la Derecha” (motos to the right), and they (we) don’t have to pay any toll. We have been through a dozen and it still makes me feel like I’m doing something wild and crazy!
September 3
Happy Birthday Darcel! We hope you got a grand fancy dessert from Papa Hayden or some chicken skin from Nong’s. Or something else fun :)
Today was one of those days that was tough to do, but very rewarding once we finished. We did ~300 km from Caucasia to Medellin and experienced many differnt kinds of weather and road conditions. We were on the road by 8:30 am in full rain gear. It wasn’t raining as hard as that awful day in Costa Rica, but it was a steady hour or two of rain. Luckily the roads/puddles on the roads were manageable, and it is Sunday so the traffic/trucks splashing us from the other side of the road was minimal. We even had four lanes for a while (luxury). Then after about 100 km of that we left the river we were following and headed up. Up and up and up…. the cliffs off the left of us got higher and foggier, the roads got a bit worse by a bit worse… At several places the road was washed out completely on the cliff side that there were locals directing the one way traffic (with their hats out for a propina of course). At several spots I was in awe as how to the right of me was still vertical and how the wee bit of road to the left of me of road was still horizontal. Up and up and up… about 100 km of uphill. Visibility went from a few hundred meters to less than a hundred, then at the very top I couldn’t see Ernie 10m away. The fog was so thick, and it was so cold! Tara had her hand warmers on (ok, for the past hour or two at least). Then a slow poof to some slow clearing of the fog, and we arrive in the clear and partly cloudy town of Yarumal. Which was unexpectedly stunning. Brick red buildings piled high and close. A giant church in the town’s center. The church and its associated buildings have gabled roofs adorned with apses that look like silver (I knew that word would come in handy someday). We weren’t able to pull over and take any pictures (too steep), but I found some on Google Image and posted them on Google maps. After Yarumal the 100 km downhill begins... And none of this 2-4% grade like the roads in USAmerica. Both up and down were majority 5-10% grade. Through jungle, cliffs, pines, flowers… I saw every color flower but blue. And parrots, lots of parrots. And green grass so thick it looked like a blanket. A giant blanket. It was truly a ride. Not just a “motorcycle ride”, but an up, down, thrills, and chills kind of ride.
(Pause)
We were very happy to navigate Medellin on a Sunday afternoon, as this city is enormous. The stretch of high rises that nestle in the cliffs to the east stretch for at least five if not eight or ten kilometers. We only made one wrong turn getting to our hotel, and the parking is super secure so all we had to lug up to the hotel room was ourselves and a single side case with our clothes and toiletries. We took a stroll down Calle 52 and found a restaurant with enough people sitting in it that we would at least be the gringos in a crowd, not the only gringos in a restaurant. The soup was delicious - flavorful and full of four different kinds of tubers. We weren’t sure what we ordered, other than one with pollo and one with res. The res was better than the pollo. Ernie said the pollo was probably one of those gorgeous roosters we saw on the drive into town. On our way home we passed by “Brosty”, which in of itself wasn’t interesting, but the man on top tending to his third floor jardin… priceless.
Right, the res. Colombia as the land of coffee, yes. There has been a lot of coffee and it has been the most common crop for our past 600km. However, way more common than coffee around here is cows. All kinds. Dairy, beef. Even some sad veal I saw tied in bags on the side of the road… Ernie says, “there are at least as many cows as people in Colombia. And they seem to be very happy cows. They have plenty of space, plenty of lush food to eat, and wet grass to lay around in.”
Our snack break today was at Santa Rosa. Ernie noticed immediately how well dressed everyone was. Sexy or cowboy. Stylish people abound. Ernie sees a good, safe, flat place to take a break in front of a church. As we are enjoying our snacks we notice the bus stop across the way. It is covered and houses an old truck cab (see pics). Joseph is driving, Mary is passenger, and Baby Jesus is nestled between them (because I can’t say that Jesus is “sitting bitch”). We didn’t feel good about taking pictures, but we realized that the local people created this to be admired. In Santa Rosa, Colombia this tribute is lovely and sincere, but in our world it is strange and a bit excessive.
We have started a new list of things we have seen regarding our man Francis:
Pope in a box
Pope on a t-shirt
Pope on inappropriate mannequin
Pope on billboard
Pope on a poncho
Stay tuned for future Pope developments
Quick note about the Biebs. “One less lonely girl” has likely taken on a complete life of its own. The lyrics and tune are likely completely out of whack. The song now goes something like “One less lonely girl, one less lonely boy, I’m so tired of packing my bags as a thirteen year old so I’m ready for you to buy my love with puppies and chocolate”, which I believe is some sort of combo of the song and video based on what we saw that horrible day in Tapachula. And then Ernie goes "One less lonely boy gonna make you stop packin' your bags", and it all sounds silly and repetitive. The tune is likely so off it's original version it probably isn’t even a Justin Bieber song that could be recognized by law anymore. I look forward to listening to the song when we get back to the states, whenever we get back to the states...
Back to Ernesto y Tara! We had a nice ~175 km day from Cartagena to Sincelejo.
Getting out of Cartagena was a hoot - moto after moto buzzing around like flies. We stopped for gas and a hopping rodent made its way across the parking lot (not a lagomorph… LD are their kangaroo rat type animals here?). Three men start to chase it, and it doesn’t take long to realize that if they catch it, the scene will not end well. Luckily the little buddy escaped into the brush.
It was hot in Baja, Mexico, but it's even hotter here. That stuff about UV and the equator? Totally true. Ernie and I both got sunburnt on our faces through our helmets today (and we have visors like ballcaps on our helmets). So we were ready for a break after only 75 km or so. We found a little town with a little tienda that sold cold Coke’s and Gatorades and a diablo flavored snack mix hat included plantains (rad). Despite how close or how far to a town we are, we continue to not blend in.
After we got to Sincelejo we found our hotel easy enough. Parking was another issue… a.k.a., Tara bit it hard coming around a corner. Ouch. But two men on a little moto came to my rescue immediately. Chivalry is alive and well on the corner of Calle 14 and Carretera 28 in Sincelejo. After lugging all our cases around the block and up the stairs (ugh) we went on a very little walkabout to a “mercado”. At the start of this trip we got all excited for “mercados” that we found on the map as we thought they were going to be authentic food and shopping squares. But as it turns out, Google Maps says any store that sells Doritos as a “mercado”, so since Northern Mexico all our “mercados” have basically been mini-marts. But this one was a true mercado! It was closing time, so we missed the excitement of bartering and fast talkin to sell eggs, fruit, meats, etc. We did manage to get there before the “restaurant section” went to siesta, so we sat down at a place with old school leather chairs and bright red tablecloths. We asked what the food of the day was, and I only understood about half of it (I’m having lots of trouble with SAmerican spanish compared to Mexican and CAmerican spanish). We only ordered one order in case it was gross, but it was good enough. The entertainment was the giant buzzards IN the square. Up until now they have been along roadsides or up in the trees at a distance. But here they are urban, hopping around the sidewalks and steps like crows. Ernie says, “I never thought of them to be agile. I always thought of them as gangly”. Cena, buzzards, and four Fanta’s later, we pay the equivalent of $6 USD and head to a grocery store for some road supplies, some ice for my foot, and some more standing out in a few crowds. Bueno.
September 2
~175 km ride to Caucasia. Dos gringos in Caucasia, Colombia, HA! Other than that joke that made me laugh disproportionately hard, it was an easy and tranquilo day. The scenery was lovely; rolling hills speckled with trees that were perfectly spaced apart. Ernie and I even joked at one point that if there were a rich golf course in this part of the world, some developer would have paid millions for the grounds to look like this. We saw some great signs telling us to be aware of critters crossing the road, including monkeys, iguanas, anteaters, and some sort of quadrupedal gorilla like animal that I’ms till unsure of. We saw none of these animals, but we did see some wildlife bridges. We think they were for monkeys (cool!). I think the most impressive thing about the landscape here is the trees. From a distance one might just see them as trees, but even the dumbest of dumb would look twice and be impressed with their size and proportions. Giant trunks and giant canopies - a herd of a dozen giant sloths could forage or lounge comfortably underneath many of them (which remember, were bigger than mammoths). And even if the green, rolling hills remind you of somewhere in the north, the trees are so different looking… the size and shapes of their leaves, branches, and trunks.
Fun fact: motos get to go around the tolls. Totally legit. There is a sign that says “Motos a la Derecha” (motos to the right), and they (we) don’t have to pay any toll. We have been through a dozen and it still makes me feel like I’m doing something wild and crazy!
September 3
Happy Birthday Darcel! We hope you got a grand fancy dessert from Papa Hayden or some chicken skin from Nong’s. Or something else fun :)
Today was one of those days that was tough to do, but very rewarding once we finished. We did ~300 km from Caucasia to Medellin and experienced many differnt kinds of weather and road conditions. We were on the road by 8:30 am in full rain gear. It wasn’t raining as hard as that awful day in Costa Rica, but it was a steady hour or two of rain. Luckily the roads/puddles on the roads were manageable, and it is Sunday so the traffic/trucks splashing us from the other side of the road was minimal. We even had four lanes for a while (luxury). Then after about 100 km of that we left the river we were following and headed up. Up and up and up…. the cliffs off the left of us got higher and foggier, the roads got a bit worse by a bit worse… At several places the road was washed out completely on the cliff side that there were locals directing the one way traffic (with their hats out for a propina of course). At several spots I was in awe as how to the right of me was still vertical and how the wee bit of road to the left of me of road was still horizontal. Up and up and up… about 100 km of uphill. Visibility went from a few hundred meters to less than a hundred, then at the very top I couldn’t see Ernie 10m away. The fog was so thick, and it was so cold! Tara had her hand warmers on (ok, for the past hour or two at least). Then a slow poof to some slow clearing of the fog, and we arrive in the clear and partly cloudy town of Yarumal. Which was unexpectedly stunning. Brick red buildings piled high and close. A giant church in the town’s center. The church and its associated buildings have gabled roofs adorned with apses that look like silver (I knew that word would come in handy someday). We weren’t able to pull over and take any pictures (too steep), but I found some on Google Image and posted them on Google maps. After Yarumal the 100 km downhill begins... And none of this 2-4% grade like the roads in USAmerica. Both up and down were majority 5-10% grade. Through jungle, cliffs, pines, flowers… I saw every color flower but blue. And parrots, lots of parrots. And green grass so thick it looked like a blanket. A giant blanket. It was truly a ride. Not just a “motorcycle ride”, but an up, down, thrills, and chills kind of ride.
(Pause)
We were very happy to navigate Medellin on a Sunday afternoon, as this city is enormous. The stretch of high rises that nestle in the cliffs to the east stretch for at least five if not eight or ten kilometers. We only made one wrong turn getting to our hotel, and the parking is super secure so all we had to lug up to the hotel room was ourselves and a single side case with our clothes and toiletries. We took a stroll down Calle 52 and found a restaurant with enough people sitting in it that we would at least be the gringos in a crowd, not the only gringos in a restaurant. The soup was delicious - flavorful and full of four different kinds of tubers. We weren’t sure what we ordered, other than one with pollo and one with res. The res was better than the pollo. Ernie said the pollo was probably one of those gorgeous roosters we saw on the drive into town. On our way home we passed by “Brosty”, which in of itself wasn’t interesting, but the man on top tending to his third floor jardin… priceless.
Right, the res. Colombia as the land of coffee, yes. There has been a lot of coffee and it has been the most common crop for our past 600km. However, way more common than coffee around here is cows. All kinds. Dairy, beef. Even some sad veal I saw tied in bags on the side of the road… Ernie says, “there are at least as many cows as people in Colombia. And they seem to be very happy cows. They have plenty of space, plenty of lush food to eat, and wet grass to lay around in.”
Our snack break today was at Santa Rosa. Ernie noticed immediately how well dressed everyone was. Sexy or cowboy. Stylish people abound. Ernie sees a good, safe, flat place to take a break in front of a church. As we are enjoying our snacks we notice the bus stop across the way. It is covered and houses an old truck cab (see pics). Joseph is driving, Mary is passenger, and Baby Jesus is nestled between them (because I can’t say that Jesus is “sitting bitch”). We didn’t feel good about taking pictures, but we realized that the local people created this to be admired. In Santa Rosa, Colombia this tribute is lovely and sincere, but in our world it is strange and a bit excessive.
We have started a new list of things we have seen regarding our man Francis:
Pope in a box
Pope on a t-shirt
Pope on inappropriate mannequin
Pope on billboard
Pope on a poncho
Stay tuned for future Pope developments
Quick note about the Biebs. “One less lonely girl” has likely taken on a complete life of its own. The lyrics and tune are likely completely out of whack. The song now goes something like “One less lonely girl, one less lonely boy, I’m so tired of packing my bags as a thirteen year old so I’m ready for you to buy my love with puppies and chocolate”, which I believe is some sort of combo of the song and video based on what we saw that horrible day in Tapachula. And then Ernie goes "One less lonely boy gonna make you stop packin' your bags", and it all sounds silly and repetitive. The tune is likely so off it's original version it probably isn’t even a Justin Bieber song that could be recognized by law anymore. I look forward to listening to the song when we get back to the states, whenever we get back to the states...