The day started with some coffee and fruit in the hotel’s garden restaurant, and I met a retired Canadian couple (because Canadians are EVERYWHERE) who had already been to Bogota and were on their way to Cali.  They travel.  A lot.

Yea, that’s a top nub. Perhaps not the greatest look, but it makes up for it in effectiveness…

I picked up the bike at Motolombia, and all seemed well (except that they didn’t have a top box for me, no big deal, so they gave me a waterproof bag that proved to not be waterproof later in the day, not cool).  All seemed well until I drove away and realized that my gargantuan left boot would not fit under the shifter.  Like at all – I had to sort of scrape the side of my foot against the end of it to pull the lever up.  This would not work.  Realized I needed to turn around and get it adjusted.  That sounds WAY easier than it actually is.  Apparently, there are no left turns in the city of Cali and ALL streets are one way heading away from where you need to go.

So I was like 100 feet from Motolombia, but it was on one of those boulevards with feeder roads on either side that are indecipherable by anyone but locals.  I ended up having to go about a mile in the wrong direction, make an illegal u-turn through a ridiculously steep median that stalled my bike twice and then go past Motolombia by another half mile in the other direction before coming back at it and almost took a wrong turn that would have lost me permanently.  On top of that, I hadn’t put in headphones, so I couldn’t listen to Google maps, so I was doing all this by guessing!  And stuck in sweaty traffic.  Super smooth start.

Finally, finally, mercifully I somehow found it again, and they adjusted for me.  But, it was a great trip back because I ended up meeting a British couple who had been on the road on two BMW motorcycles for 5 months on their way from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska.  Sweet!  Had a great chat with them and talked about the big poster of Ted Simon up on the wall.  He wrote Jupiter’s Travels, who my (and Molly’s) dog is named after. I met him once in Arizona at an overland convention, and it was interesting to talk about the book with the British guy.  We’d both had the same reaction to the first and second book.

So hopeful. So optimistic. Little did I know, I’d be back in 20 minutes looking way more disheveled.

Anyway, big cities have a way of turning to quick sand and sucking you in (like La Paz in Baja and Billings, Montana – Brads remembers that), and Cali did that to me, but soon enough, I was on the roads and finding my way north towards the coffee zone.

Ok, riding a bike in Colombia has got to be great practice for India.  I have not been to India, and I understand that India is almost unimaginable, but this is intense.  In the US, we all have our space, and we all keep our distance and expect that of others and react with some form of road rage if this space and order is not delivered.  Not so here.

It’s kind of hard to describe, but you cannot be a spectator here.  It’s not about being overly aggressive, but it’s way better to keep pace and fit in – if you don’t, there are thousands of smaller motorcycles zipping by you on both sides with zero concern for lanes or any kind of order.  You’d think this would be mayhem with fights breaking out, but it’s actually really cooperative.  Kinda beautiful in its way.  But also crazy.

Once out of Cali, the roads opened up, and I spent maybe half the time with no one around me and the other half passing through small towns and dodging truck traffic.  I stopped for lunch at a little family stop and even got to hold the tiniest little puppy you’ve ever seen.

My lunch spot. Don’t get the carne. Just, trust me.

I finally made it to Armenia and had lunch with a friend of Sean and Luciea Phelan, Sonia, who is from Colombia, but unbeknownst to me lives in Milwaukee!  Ha.  Had no idea.  It was good to get some local knowledge and see a welcoming face. Thanks Sonia!  After lunch, I only had about 12 k to go to Salento.  What could go wrong?

The skies UNLEASHED.  I have only ridden through rain like that once.  Luckily, I was able to pull over with a bunch of other riders at a gas station for half an hour.  Insane.  It’s kinda hard to see from the photo, but that road is a river, and when I road it 30 minutes later, there was a ton of debris that had floated down the road river.

Biblical rain.

The road up  to Salento was super twisty, and I was rewarded with a nice little hotel / hostel with a balcony and a great view for less than $35.  Strolled through town for a while and stopped at a restaurant and had a mango juice. Yum.  I’m sorta beat today after some hard riding – both mentally and physically especially without gps.  I really blew that one.  Long boring story.  Plus, I’m not used to this smaller rubberized seat, and my baby’s bottom was en fuego today.  Gio is bringing my sheepskin on Tuesday for my dainty little bum.

The view from my balcony.  For $33 US.

Ok, that’s it for today.  Gonna start early tomorrow, so I’ll keep you posted.