Lost in time

Dear future me,

I’m still in Colombia, I just can’t seem to shake it off yet. So far, my non existing plan to flow with the weather doesn’t really work, because I’m too occupied living in the here and now. And there is so much to see and explore, that I probably end up following the rain season all over South America. The funny thing is that as a Dutchie, I’m actually used to riding in the rain. It doesn’t bother me as long as it stops when I need to do some heavy trails. Because number one on my list of things to avoid: mud. I hate it. Stones, water, sand, gravel, pavement, I love it all, meaning as long as I don’t get too much of it, I’m fine. Since I’ve complained to the weather gods upstairs, they gave me some slack. It took me a long detour to finally end up in Gautapé after all (see road vanishing stuff in my last blog), but all my lucky charms that I carry finally paid off.

I’ve been in a complete bliss of happiness in the last two weeks. First of all, I’m really happy that I didn’t go straight to Medellín, but made the detour. I carried it a bit too far when I took a short cut without investigating the road first. I ended up a road with too many stones to ride on. In fact, I felt I was riding in a riverbed up and down the mountains, but….my entrance to Guatapé was spectacular. And just at sunset, so I had the best view ever. I loved this town. Besides the beautiful painted walls in this small town at lakeside, they also planted a big black rock nearby. Swarms of people climb this rock and go out of their minds when they reach the top. The 708 steps to take are equal to a marathon for most people I’ve met on the stairs and so the upper platform turns into a party zone. And as a bonus, you get this breathtaking view on the lake and the islands. My reward was that the sun was high in the sky and I could relax for a day before getting into the big city.

Many people love Medellin. It has made an impressive comeback since the rule of Pablo Escobar and the guerrillas plus militias that turned daily life into a nightmare for the town’s civilians. A perfect city walk and a tour up Comuna 13 really told the story and you can tell why this colorful ‘Wynwood’ of Colombia heals itself by radiant graffiti. As impressive is the Metro line and (from a biker’s view) the labyrinth of multidimensional and often very steep roads. But I was glad to leave this city behind, because it is still very confronting to see the poverty and prostitution right in your face. Something that completely gets to the background if you’re in the more rural areas with its lovely pueblos. So, I happily transformed my city life back to the romantic main squares and streets in Jardin and Salento. Back to nature, but also more ancient history than La Violencia, the drug wars and the Guerra Urbana in Medellín.

They still didn’t tilt their bathtubs full of water in the heavenly skies, so I could enjoy a beautiful walk up Valle de Cocora without a drop of rain. This native wax palm invested valley is not only awesome to see, but if you spend it with two Canadians and one Taiwanese, you get a treat. Not only did they keep me company up and down the mountain, they also threw in some entertainment (slippery sandals, broken walking sticks, wobbly bridges and colorful hummingbirds). And they fostered my biggest talent: making decisions. So yes, to the birds, no to another waterfall while we were already walking in many waterfalls ourselves. The next morning, the rain still kept at bay, so I could do the Salento -Toche backroad ride. It’s offroad and takes you further up the mountain to see the wax palms from above. In comparison to the hard time Itchy Boots had on this trail, mine was easy as there was no mud. To enhance the level of difficulty I threw in a flat tire on my way down the steep mountain. Somehow my valve came loose, although I didn’t know that. In sight of a town, I just pumped my tire back up and hoped for the best. A super nice man (a torta deliver guy) helped me to find a garage and gave me…. a torta. He also showed me where I could find a good hotel and checked with me in the morning if everything was fine. That is the true spirit of the Columbians I’ve met so far!

From the mountains to the desert. Yes, Colombia has its own copy of Drumheller (Canada) meets the temperature of Death Valley (USA). Well, at least to me, because after all this time I still can’t cope with high temperatures. Coming in to the little village Villavieja, I already tackled a part of the desierto while fully mounted with my cases and backpacks. Yes, I travel heavy and still manage to get my bike safely to the next destination. But on my day off, I decided to take it very easy and just spend some time getting lost in the Cusco labyrinth of red sloping rocks. I also got my bike cleaned and discovered that the colors are actually yellow/black and not orange/grey. Feeling refreshed my bike took me to the south to visit San Agustín. Famous for its gravestone sculptures from 2000 years ago which were found all over the place in this mountainous region where rivers get born. Although my parents took me to many archeological sites in my younger years, I didn’t get to dislike it. In fact, I love to visit these ancient places with their own stories. At last, sitting here on the veranda of a Finca (my sleeping place for tonight), enjoying a fresh Corona beer, I am marveled of this beautiful country. Will I ever leave it after spending 7 weeks touring Colombia? Or will I just get lost in time?

Once thing that is definitely lost in time are my skills to keep up with my photo editing. So just imagine the places I’ve been. You will see the actual photos when my next blog appears.

See ya later,

Annemieke