Boquete, Panama; 23rd April 2007.

 Today we crossed another border and are now in Panama. It was a really easy crossing with us going through in an hour with no problems.

On the way to the crossing we had to cross a really scary bridge made up with planks of wood to ride on and the river raging below, it did focus the concentration somewhat!

We are now in the cool Panama Mountains at Boquete where we have found to our pleasant surprise that things are cheaper than in Costa Rica, a bottle of beer for 30 pence! We are going to have a few days in the mountains here, then some time on the beach before we head into Panama City and start sorting the bike freighting to Columbia.

 

Panama City, 30th April 2007

 Here we are at the end of our Central American leg; we are waiting to ship the bike and ourselves to Bogotá, Columbia; but before we expand on that, I will report on the crossing from Costa Rica into Panama.

We both really enjoyed Costa Rica, but as they say, all good things come to an end and it was time to move on.

Leaving Cahuita, on the Caribbean coast, we followed the generally good road to the border town of Sixaola, only 50kms away. This is a small crossing point so we were not surprised to see a single track road and a small barrier with a couple of offices nearby and an old rusty railway bridge to cross.

As we were parking the bike just off the road on the approach to the barrier, we were approached by the usual helpers. This time, with the help from our friend Tom, who'd crossed here a few weeks ago, we new exactly what to do!

 “No help required, thanks”, spoken in Spanish of course. That didn’t work, and we were shadowed by a man determined to show us where to go.

We headed to the last office on the right and handed in my bike’s temporary import certificate, and in the office next door we got our passports stamped for our exit. That was it - all done.

I gave a couple of dollars to our helper and over the bridge we rode.

It was an old railway bridge with the rails still in situ, only a couple of planks either side of the rails to ride on. These have come loose in places and you ride from one plank to another pulling it down like some fairground ride while you grab the occasional glimpse of the raging torrent of a river 20ft below through the sleepers, some which are missing. To add to the excitement, the guardrail at the side is missing as well. This went on for only 100yds; it certainly focused my attention!

We made it; we are now on the other side and in Panama.

Next we stopped at the fumigation control who just waved us through, strange as they usually squeeze a few dollars out of us, but not this time.

We parked up by the offices on our left and have just enough room as Lorries coming the other way pass with only inches to spare. We're still on a single track road/track and this is still a border crossing from Costa Rica to Panama!

We then head to the immigration office where, after a couple of questions, our passports were stamped for 90 days - no charge again, this is great.

Next we head to the customs office where we hand over our passports and registration document for the bike, plus copies and wait while they type out a temporary importation form. We get the completed form after a couple of questions but on closer examination we find we're written down as being from Brazil??? Well its close - Britain/Brazil. So back we go and point out the error, no problem, Tipp-Ex and re-type! No charge once again, it must be a freebie day to bikers? All done, paperwork and a scary bridge ride completed in just over an hour!

This time there was no insurance thrown in and no one knows where we get some; throwing caution to the wind we ride on into Panama.

Riding through the town of Guabito, on the Panama side is a bit of a nightmare as there are no signs, so stopping and asking is the order of the day. At one point we're stopped at a junction when an old man on a push bike calls over and points to the road we need, he must have seen it loads of times before.

A few miles further on and another old railway bridge to cross which was much the same as the first one - riding the plank. We kept several yards behind the car in front until, just before we get to the end of the bridge, it stops. All of a sudden I have to find somewhere to put a foot down without going through the floor. I sounded my horn in disapproval, well everyone else does! We make it, and Les has aged another couple of years! That reminds me, it’s her birthday tomorrow, the 1st May and the shops are shut, what am I to do???

One thing we notice is the presence of soldiers again as we pass through some road checks. Costa Rica hasn’t got an army so it’s something we've missed for a while.

The roads across Panama are racetrack smooth with sweeping curves climbing through jungles and through small villages with houses on wooden stilts. Our route from one side of Panama to the other takes us through, Almirante, Chiriqui Grande, Gualaca, Caldera and eventually to Boquete, a small town in the highlands of Panama.

In Boquete we stayed at the Hostel Boquete and cooled off at altitude which was a welcome break from the warm coast. This place seems to have been taken over by Americans. In most of the bars and restaurants you'll find them coming down from their expensive houses in the mountains for supplies. While here I make a few enquiries and find out that insurance isn’t compulsory! And this is confirmed on the Foreign and Commonwealth website - just have to be doubly careful.

We have a couple of ride-outs and explore the lanes. It’s all beautiful and I can understand why a lot of people would want to retire here.

After a couple of days we move on to the other side of Panama's only volcano - Baru. Here we stay at the Los Quetzales Lodge and spa in the small mountain village of Cerro Punta, check it out at www.losquetzales.com . We sign in for a dorm bed as they were the cheapest but as we were about to unload the bike, Carlos, the owner catches up with us and offers us an upgrade to a private room. Carlos went on to tell us that he'd toured England and Europe on a Triumph Bonneville in the 60's and seeing Hendrix play on the Isle of White.

Also staying here were Steve and his wife Karen. Steve is a retired American police sheriff and they both now live in Panama.

So a pleasant evening was spent chatting with our new-found friends. Later we were joined by Carlos's girlfriend Anna-Maria from Columbia, so it’s not long before the maps are out on the table and we get a route through Columbia, seeing the best sights and keeping out of danger. Our chat with Anna-Maria reinforces our decision to visit this country and reduced worries even further.

The following morning we are on the road again, back down off the mountains and back into the heat. At Concepcion we pick up the Pan American, south east. We rode through several pot holed sections of road and through several road works and torrential rain, we rode on as far as we could until we stopped, soaked, at Santiago where we found a roadside hotel.

Saturday 28th we left Santiago and followed the Pan American for a short way, then turned south to Chupampa and onto the Peninsula Azuero, the most southerly area of Panama. We were on small 'B' roads winding through lush green cattle country with lots of working horses and cowboys. Ocu, Macard, Tonosi and into hill country, then it rained again forcing us to take shelter under a tree for a few minutes. We got a few miles further on when it threw it down again, this time we were close to a supermarket so, much to the amusement of the locals, we bought some food and drink and stood under their shelter watching geese swimming in a puddle.

Following the lanes further east we eventually got out of the rain belt and into the dry lands where everything was brown and scorched. We stopped the night in the Hotel Residence Padasi where we had a comfortable room for the night.

From Pedasi we rode up the east coast of the peninsula on a scorching hot day. Even though it a couple of great beaches we decided to push on up to the Pan American and get a few miles closer to Panama City. We stopped at Panonome for the night and then completing the last few miles into Panama City the following day. We crossed over the Panama Canal, I couldn’t believe it, I had read about it at school, seen the documentaries about it and now we were riding over one of the greatest man-made constructions in the world; we plan to visit one of the giant locks during our stay in the city.

At one of the hostels we'd stayed at we picked up a flyer for the Hostel Balboa Bay. Miraculously we found our way straight there, well, we'd stopped to take our leggings off after some more rain, it is the start of the rainy season!

So here we are, Panama City, I've phoned the air freight company at the airport and the earliest we can fly the bike out is Thursday, but I think we'll chill here for this week, do a bit of shopping for the birthday girl, sip a few cocktails and read up some more on South America and in particular – Columbia, the next destination for the pooleglobaltrekers.

We've now covered 33,000 miles; the bike is running smoothly and we are still having a ball.

Nick.

​

From Les

Panama City, Panama; 2nd May 2007.

Firstly, Congratulations to Zoe and Jamie who celebrated our departure and are now proud parents of a daughter, Maddy, (Madeleine) born 27/4!! Our love and best wishes to them all.

On our last day in Costa Rica we took a walk through the national park, looking up into the trees to see sloths, monkeys and birds. Unfortunately I wasn’t paying much attention to the path and ended up stubbing my toe on a root and think I may have done a bit of damage. I can still get my trusty boots on so not a problem really, it’s just the squelchy feeling and pain underfoot that’s a bit off - putting!

Travellers who only use the Pan American highway end up missing quite a lot of unusual sights and experiences, the bridge into Panama at Sixola is definitely one to remember. I had seen photos of it in the past and declared that I would walk over it, but when I came face to face with it I decided that if we are going to "go" then we may as well "do it together"! I even took a couple of photos; it’s amazing what adrenalin does to you. Once into Panama all was well till the next, equally dangerous bridge! The road signs were non-existent but the locals seemed to know where we needed to be. It was great to see the villages of the indigenous people and it was quite obvious that they don’t have too many travellers passing through. Their houses were totally unique with their domed thatch roofs and stilts and the women dress in long, full, brightly coloured, plain dresses. I’m glad we went that way.

We headed south and it soon became green and lush again. The roads had been quite smooth and twisty and we crossed a couple of dams on the route. We headed to Boquete, the cooler hills and a nearby volcano. The town wasn’t very inspiring but the women and children in their traditional clothing brightened the place up. We rode out into the countryside in the coffee plantations and enjoyed the fresh and floral air. This seems to have been taken over by retiring folks from the US and sadly the prices have risen so that the indigenous folk cannot afford to live in the area. There are lots of large houses and condominiums being built in the area and we were glad to move onto the other side of the Volcan Baru to Guadalupe. From Volcan to Guadalupe the whole area was covered with fertile soil. It is an area for horse breeding and dairy herds but there were endless fields of vegetables and gangs of workers. Small trucks and large Lorries trundle up into the hills and back again, weighed down with wonderful fresh produce to feed the inhabitants of Panama.

We stayed in the Los Quetzal spa and lodge owned by Carlos Alfaro. He took pity on us travellers and let us stay in one of his wonderful rooms in the lodge. The hotel is a wonderful relaxing place with vast comfortable sitting areas and a real wood fire. It was here we met Steve and Karen, who now live in Panama City and they fed us smoked salmon and crackers, a very enjoyable evening. Carlos’s partner Ana Maria is from Bogotá so we spent time pouring over maps and making notes of all the places in Colombia that we should visit. I don’t think we will have time to fit them all in....And now we just want to get there and soon!

We decided that we should also take a ride around the Peninsula de Azuero and I am so glad we did. There is a vast difference from the north to south of the country, the north being green and lush and the south much drier. The peninsula is horse and dairy land. Young and old males ride horses bareback along the roads and hillsides and large floppy eared cows graze on the parched grass. At regular intervals along the roadside were groups of shiny milk churns, (I haven’t seen any since I was a child). We also saw our very first "Panama hats" worn in this area by older men. They are surprisingly small with the rims all turned up rather like a sailor hat or "Buster Keaton" style. The locals once again have been very friendly, tooting horns, whistling, shouting or just smiling and waving at us. When we hit another storm we were welcomed under the shelter of the local supermarket till the rain stopped. There seems to be a very strong community here. There are large covered buildings with open sides in most villages and they are used as meeting places and dance halls or just a dry place for the children to play.

We stopped in Pedasi for a noisy night! A local party kept us entertained with music and fire crackers. The music got worse as the evening progressed, (assisted by Rom - the local brew) and by 7am the last of the firecrackers had been used...thank goodness. On the beach, we were joined by more bikers including Carlos, a local Doctor and his friend Bruce from New Zealand - we now have a contact in Auckland in 2008.

Yes, it is now the beginning of the rainy season, so for 5 consecutive days we have had a constant soaking. At least it’s warm rain and plenty of it! We arrived in Panama City in the rain and found a hostel quite easily, only a block from the sea-front and close to the commercial high rise blocks and expensive condominiums. Panama is beginning to "Boom" and it seems as though they are encouraging people to start businesses or retire here. There are so many incentives such as Tax concessions, easy Visa’s, retired person’s discounts on virtually everything and many more. Construction is everywhere, high risers and bungalow estates and of course - those luxury villas.

Yesterday I celebrated my 50th birthday, (Yes, I know It’s hard to believe). We walked along the sea front to the shopping plaza where I purchased 3 T-shirts for a fiver! Then the rain came so we decided to go to the cinema. We saw "Wild Hogs", an excellent film about four men on a bike trip. I won’t tell you any more ... just go see it! Then I was treated to a meal at Panama’s Hard Rock Cafe. All in all it was a very nice birthday!

This morning, (the 2nd May) we went to the airport and arranged to fly the bike to Bogotá on Monday, when we are sure it has gone we will follow later in the day. It should cost about £300 pounds. Talking money.... The further south we travel the cheaper things become. We are spending about 50% less a month than we did in the first few months in Canada and USA - A real bonus!!

Eddie, the webmaster, is now off on a 2 week bike tour in Europe so we will be in Colombia for the next update on the 24th of May. So till then.... Regards

Lesley, (older, but not necessarily wiser)

P.S. The toe is improving thank you!

 

From Les

Monday the 7th May. Having cleaned bike and boxes the day before, we had a dry ride to the airport, arriving at 8am as directed. We had decided to save ourselves some money by doing our own ‘paper trail’. Forms were collected and had to be signed at various offices and then suddenly we were on our way to the passenger terminal for the next available flight to Bogotá, Colombia. We had a 7-hr wait but it wasn't too bad, I think we have become far more patient during our travels as things cannot be rushed.

We arrived in Bogotá in the pouring rain with luggage intact around 10pm after a smooth 1½ hr flight. We took one of the many yellow cabs and directed it to Hostel Platypus. It wasn’t an entirely uneventful ride as we came across an accident and our driver wanted to "sticky beak" and locked us in his cab, presumably for our safety. The hostel had 2 beds left so we took them and later realised how fortunate we were as, during our four-night stay, they were turning people away day and night. Hermann, the host, was a mine of information and we met some of the nicest travellers on the trip so far. I think the travellers in the south are a different type to those in Central America, they seem more mature and worldly wise.

On Tuesday we took a cab back to the airport to collect the bike. Once again there is a bit of toing and froing but eventually everything was completed and Nick burst through the reception doors and bounced the bike down the flight of steps with a manic grin on his face. He had an audience of about 20 people, some were hoping that they would help and earn them selves a few pesos. Yes, we have new currency again, 4144 pesos to the £ pound! The calculator and my little lists have come out again just to make sure we aren't being stung. Our beds in a dorm cost 30,000p a night, about £7 pounds...I am not complaining!

Bogotá is like any other city in the world I guess. It has its historic old town area, commercial and banking area, museums, parks, shopping centres, universities, residential areas and suburbs. Like anywhere else I suppose, there are places that you would rather not visit at night or on your own. We have had no problems at all even when we spent 2-hrs on the bike in the pouring rain trying to find our way back to the hostel. We ended up in warehouse areas and back streets with water-filled craters in the roads but everyone we asked for directions were very helpful even if they didn’t know the answers.

We could have stayed longer in Bogotá but the need to go and check out the real Colombia was with us again. We have visited the Gold and Police Museums and Botero Art Gallery and taken the funicular to Monsaratte at 3152mts overlooking the City and walked miles, now its back on the bike.

Our first stop was at Zipaquira and its salt mines. Most miners where very religious and built a series of small churches in the tunnels and a huge cathedral with its alter and font carved out of salt. It was so simple and beautiful with no frills like most of the cathedrals we have visited. The surrounding area was a mixture of farming, salt or coal mining and brick making; everyone seemed very busy.

We had been warned that we must be prepared for many security checks by military and police and sure enough on our 1st day on the road we were stopped in a small village by two policemen. They really didn’t have a clue about passports or importation papers so it was a bit like a comedy farce with the crowd increasing as the minutes ticked by. Eventually we were allowed to pass by, no bribes were paid or asked for and everyone was smiling and waving......you can guess what the topic of conversation in the bar will be for the next week or so!

We are heading north towards Santa Marta and passing through some wonderful mountain ranges with their snaking roads. The houses tend to be bungalows made of red brick with terracotta tiled roofs and initially looking well kept. In the Tunja area it was pretty chilly with the altitude and the locals wore shawls or ponchos to keep out the wind. Herds of cows are milked daily by hand in the fields and large churns stand in groups awaiting collection from the side of the road, all very labour intensive and it appears the trilby hat is de rigueur in keeping your head warm!

We stayed in San Gil for a couple of nights and spent the day wandering around the steep streets and the local park by the river. The trees in the park are covered with the Spanish moss which we last saw in Savannah, USA. Just outside San Gil is the small white village of Barichara which is a step back in time. Huge slabs for roads and low white bungalows with green doors and the terracotta tiles again, a lovely place to wander around.

Sometimes we have stumbled across the ideal place such as Giron where we found an hotel overlooking a central park. They were happy for the bike to live in the dining room, it was both affordable and comfortable ...until the Church bells rung from 5am till 7am and the whole town is in full swing at 5.30am!

We are now in Catagena on the Northwest coast visiting the colonial walled city and it’s unbearably hot so we will only stay a day. We enjoyed the cool green mountainous route from Bogotá but the past few days we stayed in Tagaga. It was here we had our bag containing our jacket liners, fleeces, gloves, old maps stolen off the bike. We then stayed one night in Santa Marta.

Between Santa Marta and Cartagena the main road is on a causeway; sea on the right and lake and swampy marsh on the left. The houses in this area are shanty town wooden shacks, some standing in the water; the people here were definitely not as affluent as some town dwellers.

So, apart from the thieving little git, who will have no use for the contents of the bag, we have met really friendly people here. The 125cc bike rules over here, people often stand open-mouthed as we ride by on the big bike; they probably have never seen anything quite so big and ugly before...and I don’t mean Nick! Every stop we have made for a drink has been far longer than planned as the locals just want to chat and ask questions and not once have we felt threatened in any way.

I have recently had a few days of homesickness or lack of motivation, which is a bit of a surprise after all this time. Maybe it’s the coming of age thing and my baby boy just turned 21.....or it could just be a menopausal hiccup? I will be okay tomorrow, I am sure!

Hope alls well with you all, Regards Lesley

​

 

Medellin, Columbia; 23rd May 2007

 We had a great time in Panama City where we were shown around by Steve and Karen, whom we met up in the mountains north of the country. We had a great time and dined in some nice restaurants and saw the Panama Canal. We watched a massive ship slowly make its way up the lock system, being gently pulled by small trains alongside; it truly is an amazing construction.

We spent Les's birthday and our 28th Anniversary here, watching a movie followed by dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.

On Mon the 7th May 07 it was time to move on. We left the Balboa Hostel and Michele, the beautiful receptionist, and rode the short distance to Tucument International Airport cargo section, having carried out a recce earlier in the week. Using helpful information passed on by Kevin and Julia Sanders of 'Globebusters' and our Canadian friend, Tom, who had passed this way a month earlier, I now knew where the 'Garig' air freight office was. We had the bike booked in and with a fist full of papers, I took it to the holding hanger, got the bike weighed in at 304kgs, that’s with the panniers and top box on and loaded. We had some more stamps on more forms, parted with $550 dollars then walked away hoping we would meet her again in Bogotá, Columbia!

I then had to book the bike out of Panama with customs at their office on the way out of the cargo terminal. Had some more stamps and that was it, relatively easy, even for me! And what’s more, we saved ourselves $300 by doing the paperwork ourselves and not hiring an agent. Next we got a lift to the passenger terminal on the other side of the airfield by a friendly 'Girag' member of staff. Here we bought a couple of tickets on the next available flight to Bogotá. This happened to be with Aeero Republica, a Colombian airline. We then had ourselves booked out of Panama with immigration and that was it, all done.

After a 7-hour wait in Panama's plush new airport we were airborne on the night flight. One and a half ours later we were in Bogotá airport and our first taste of Columbian officialdom at immigration, “How long would you like to stay?” and “Welcome to Colombia”, it was all so easy and friendly and we even got a 60 day visa stamped in the passport.

We then reclaimed our bags and took a taxi into the city center. It was dark, raining and cool as we passed the remains of a pedestrian in the road, having been knocked down by a car; our taxi driver got out to have a good look. We then drove through a particular neighbourhood of the city in which he locked all the doors, presumably for our own safety?

A short time later we arrived at the Platypus Hostel! There weren’t any double rooms available so we were lodged in a four-bed dorm. At under £4 pounds a night and endless quality Columbian coffee, we couldn’t really complain! The hostel is owned and run by Herman, a very helpful individual and a mine of local information, we now had a list of things to see and do in Bogotá.

The following morning we jumped into a taxi back to the airport to collect the bike, finding the 'Girag Airfreight office’ wasn’t really a problem. Using the notes sent to us by our friend Tom, the whole procedure went smoothly after some more paperwork. I was very glad of the help we received from Marlio, who spoke good English and who sorted out the forms I needed from 'Girag'. I then jumped through a few hoops for the Columbian Customs; once again, it was all relatively easy. I then had a few trips between the 'Girag' office and the customs office 500yds away, where only a stamp, signature or the odd copy was needed. Eventually we were done and could have the bike. We got 60 days on the temporary import document; for once, matching what we had on our passports.

I checked the old girl over, no, not Les, the bike! Other than the mirrors being turned in for transportation, the bike didn’t have a mark on it; the boys at 'Girag' had performed a perfect job … well done.

Now we had one small problem! There were a number of steps outside the cargo terminal where several men were ready to lift the bike down. “Oh no,” I said, “I can ride that,” and so I did; down the steps and onto the car park to the rapturous applause of the gathered workers.

Our high spirits were now being somewhat dampened as it started to rain as we made our way into Bogotá City centre where we promptly got lost. I was now regretting not having used my trusty Garmin Etrex hand-held GPS!

Soaked through, we eventually found the hostel again where we locked the bike away and quietly dripped our way to our room!

So here we are in Bogotá, Columbia and the start of the South America leg of our World Tour. We were both somewhat excited and quietly nervous about this country, especially after all the advice and warnings we’d been given, including some definite, “DON’T GO”, advice.

On our way south through Central America we'd met so many people coming north who told us if we didn’t go to Colombia then we would live to regret it.

So here we are, ready to explore the country and not just head south on the ‘chicken run’ to Ecuador and out of Colombia ASAP. We've been here just over two weeks now and what a great country it is.

We had a great four day stay in Bogotá; we wandered around the city center which was only a few blocks from our hostel, visit their site at - www.platypusbogota.com

It is a very grey city with concrete buildings which were grubby and tired looking in places but tree lined avenues made up for that. There are also several squares surrounded by grand buildings.

There were police on nearly every street corner, if not police it would be military or private security firms, all armed, who would dare do anything? Except of course - students! A crowd of which were chanting at some riot police dressed like Robo Cops who also had a water canon hidden around the corner, “Best of luck” I said, being a university city I guess they're used to it?

Around the city we often saw street cleaners; it was hard to find a piece of litter anywhere.

We visited a couple of museums and the National Police Museum where I found on display, a Great Yarmouth police helmet badge, Norfolk’s known over here!

We took a ride to the top of a nearby hill overlooking the city which afforded us some spectacular views. We both felt vary safe here, I couldn’t understand what the taxi driver’s problem was the other evening when he locked us in. Just taking the normal precautions when in a big city seemed to be the order of the day.

In Columbia, all motorcyclists have to wear fluorescent bibs with the index number of the bike you're riding printed on it - another security measure, so we had one made in a motorcycle shopping mall. Catering for the thousands of small bikes, it had everything. In the basement there were the mechanics with bits of bike everywhere and the smell of oil and petrol wafting up to the next floor. The next floor had accessories, helmets, clothing and the bibs we needed. Then there's the food area, bikers sitting around drinking coffee and talking about the last near miss no doubt? It was here we met Luis at his stall, and speaking perfect English, a great help, we got our bib and some new leggings as the old ones were no longer waterproof.

We found a great little restaurant close to the hostel where we got a two course dinner for 9000 pes, about £2 pounds for both of us!

The hostel was great, we met some nice people from all over the world, but it was time to explore Colombia so we settled our bill at the 'Platypus'.  Four nights and our beer tab came to 125,600pes - £30 pounds, I love this place. Les and I don't think we can afford to come home with prices like this!

We left Bogotá on Fri 11th May and rode north to Cajica and Zipaquira. Here we visited the 'Cathedral de Sal', an amazing cathedral dug out underground in a salt mine. We carried on through rolling green countryside to Tausa and Ubate, stopping for a sandwich on the way. From here the scenery was so familiar; we could so easily have been riding through Derbyshire as we made our way to Chiquinquira and into our first police stop of our visit. We found ourselves surrounded by five, curious, gun toting, cops looking through our documents. It was obvious they hadn’t seen these types of documents before but they were all very friendly as I went into my well-practiced explanation of our trip so far. After several friendly questions about the bike we were off on the road again.

We rode into Tunja where we found the ‘Hotel Conquistador De America’ beside the town square. There was no room for the bike here but a few yards down the street there was a secure car park where for 3,000pes - under £1, I parked the bike for the night.

The following day we left Tunja and climbed up into the mountains and some fantastic alpine scenery and our first cycle race in Colombia - a time trial. We stopped and cheered on some of the competitors giving the event a European flavour, much to the delight of the organisers.

We pushed on through the mountains via Arcabuco, Moniquira and Socorro to San Gill, a small town and a popular Colombian tourist site with a raging river running through it and popular with white-water rafters. We stayed a couple of nights here, walked around the pretty town and visited their town park with trees covered with Spanish moss.

When we left we rode further up into the mountains to a small village called Barichara, a pretty village of whitewashed walls and narrow cobbled streets. Next day we returned to San Gill and on to Aratoca, Los Curos, Floridablanca then west to Giron on the outskirts of Bucaramanga, where we found the Hotel Las Nieves. This hotel was more upmarket than the hotels/hostels we were used to, this pushed the budget somewhat. A room with en-suite and balcony overlooking the square cost 46,000pes - £12.50 pounds; they even allowed me to park the bike in the dinning room, see the picture!

We had no problems at all on Colombian roads; we had no hint of any trouble other than several police/military check points, all of whom wave back to us as we slowly rode through. The roads have been brilliant with good tarmac and well maintained with frequent teams of verge trimmers tidying things up.

We left Giron heading north towards the Caribbean Coast. Suddenly we were out of the mountains and in the flatlands, and with this, the temperature went up, we were now back in the 'very hot' zone at sea level once again. We rode Highway 45A through Rionegro, La Esperanza then stopping the night at the hotel Los Cactques in the small town of Curumani. Unfortunately with the heat came the mozzies again, and the regular bites!

After another flat, relatively uninteresting ride along the 45 north we arrived into the town of Santa Marta and from there to the small fishing village of Taganga, where we found Moranar hostel. It was so hot here, I didn’t enjoy it so much and my body’s thermostat was struggling. Everything slowed down; we couldn’t rush anywhere and kept on the shady side of the street. The best bit of this village for me was the internet cafe, it had air conditioning - what a sad puppy, I know!

On a sadder note, someone stole our bag containing our winter riding gear off the back of the bike overnight, the contents of which would be of no use to these people. The thing I valued the most were the maps of Costa Rica and Panama, on which I'd marked our route. I was quite surprised as the bike had been parked behind a tall fence with a barbed and broken glass top. I didn’t think anyone would get over and at the bike, the owner was also pretty sure it would be safe here. I had a good look around just in case the bag had been dumped, but no luck. It was a shame it had to happen here in Colombia, the country everyone feared but the one, up until now, was one of my favourites. By way of adding insult to injury, I was bitten again a few more times by the dreaded mozzies as we moved to the big town of Santa Marta, and the Hotel Bahia, where our room had air con, bliss.

Next day we rode around the coast to Cartagena, via Barranquilla. It was a relatively short ride hugging the coastline with the sea one side and lakes on the other.

Cartagena is one of those ‘must see’ places in Colombia, resplendent as it is with pretty 16/17th century Spanish architecture. It is a walled city, fortified because those wicked British pirates attacked it regularly for its wealth of Peruvian treasure stored here!

The old town where we stayed, at the Marlin hotel, was very beautiful and, as a result, was also very touristy and expensive. The street we stayed on was also very interesting with prostitutes and druggies. Yes, it was full of characters, who on the face of it, were all harmless, but “don’t go out after dark” was the general advice. We had a day wandering around its streets and that was enough, it was time to move on again as the cool mountains were beckoning. Did I mention it was HOT? So hot that my breakfast could have been cooked on the pavement!

We left Cartagena on HW25 south east, riding through rolling country side, through the inevitable military check points, and gently climbed into the hills and cool air.

We had only stopped for a coke and were soon surrounded by friendly locals asking the usual questions, “What size engine”, “how much” and “how fast”, we all got together for a photo.

At Sincelejo we asked some helpful bikers where the economy hotels were and after a discussion amongst themselves we were led to a nice place on the edge of town. In fact there were two hotels side by side, we were in one and the bike locked up next door, the customers in the hotel next door paid by the hour!!!!

We left the next day by heading south on the 25 through green rolling country side full of Friesian cattle. I even detected the smell of milk as we passed cows being milked by hand! We rode on through the towns of Sampues, Sahagon and Planet Rica where we saw many flooded areas with small shanty towns under water, mud covered roads and people sweeping mud and water out of their living rooms. Once we crossed over the river Cauca, we climbed up once again into the mountains and through the towns of Caucacia, Taraza, Valdivia and into Yarumal.

It was while asking a local taxi driver in Yarumal for directions to a hotel when a guy in wellington boots beckoned us to follow him as he ran off up a steep hill. A few hundred yards later we were in the town center and had a choice of hotels. The wellie man helped us to the hotel of our choice then showed me the way to the bike lock up then off he ran again, occasionally looking back to see if I could keep up with him, surly he was an Olympic contender? I paid him for his help and walked back to the ‘Hotel Plaza’ which overlooked the town square. It was a very pretty hotel and, as we were the only foreigners, we got more than our fair share of stares which by now was no problem as we are now used to it. For such a small town, Yarumal on this day had a high military presence. That night Les heard some sirens and gun shots but in the morning everything was back to normal.

Following the 25 south across the mountains towards Medellin, we saw more evidence of the recent heavy rains the country has just had with several landslides and teams of road workers clearing the roads.

On the outskirts of Medellin we stopped and switched the Garmin GPS on and followed the co-ordinates to the Hostel Casa Kiwi, which 'Smellybiker' Bob had given us. Medellin was a busy city, Colombia's second largest and once the center for the drug trade, but not any more, so we're told. There were road works everywhere and the usual one-way system tied us in knots. We eventually found the Hostel Casa Kiwi www.casakiwi.net  in the Zona Rosa district and the very friendly American/New Zealand owner, Paul, who sorted us out with a double room and comfortable bed. The neighbourhood is safe and very trendy with bars and clubs around a pretty green square. So here we'll stay for a few days and check up on our injured friend Tom and replace some of our winter riding gear before we head off into the mountains once again.

At this stage in the trek there only a few things I regret.

1. Not having learnt more Latin Spanish before we left home.

2. Knowing the workings of the bike better and being able to work on it confidently. Because it was under warranty back home, the dealers had done everything and this was a big mistake. The more people we've spoken to the more I realise that the BMW GS is not bomb proof and I should be prepared for the next breakdown!

3. It would also have been great if we had our own Lap top for these reports.

Thanks for all the guestbook entries with your great comments, they are very inspirational and we both thank you. Just get some money together and just do it until it runs out. The world is a big place and there's a lot to see. You can make it as safe or dangerous as you want, a lot of it is just common sense. If we can do it, anyone can!

Oh yes, by the way - we've been away from home 11 months now and all's well.

Hasta Luago. Nick.

​

From Les

Medellin, Colombia; 25th May 07,  ( 11 months away from Home! )

Suddenly we have developed some kind of celebrity status here in Colombia; everywhere we have stopped we have drawn a crowd from nowhere!

After leaving Bogotá City we headed north and had our first Police check in a sleepy village. The two officers who stopped us in the main street asked for passports and the bike’s papers but it was obvious they had no idea what they were looking at! Three more officers joined them along with half the town, who all turned out to watch the operation. Young and old, they all examined the bike and our gear and asked endless questions which we didn't really understand. The main questions tended to be "What CC is the bike?" and "How much does it cost?” We have almost a set script now so we can explain where we are from, our route, how long we have been on the road and where we are heading to; it seems to satisfy them.

Having spoken to many travellers heading north we decided that we mustn't miss Colombia and I’m so glad we are here. The Colombians welcome visitors with such kindness and open friendliness; they appear to be actively encouraging people to visit. It’s been well worth the effort and the scenery in wonderful. In any country or city there are certain ‘no –go’ zones and it obviously applies here, but by staying in the safer areas, there appears to be no problems at all … touch wood!

In every town and all along the roads there are numerous road checks with an obvious police and military presence but generally we have ridden through with waves, thumbs up and whistles from the uniformed lads, many look as though they should be in school.

At the moment, rain has caused many problems to areas near rivers, many of which have burst their banks. We have ridden some of the mountain roads that have had recent rock falls and landslides but the road workers are doing a wonderful job in clearing the roads with huge diggers and trucks, everyone seems very busy.

Small motorcycles are used in the towns as taxi's which are much cheaper than the yellow taxi cars. It's not unusual to see smartly dressed women on their way to the office doing their hair or applying lipstick on the back of one of these bikes; helmet? What helmet?

We are now in Medillin, a large city surrounded by mountains so the temperature is much kinder. We have to shop to replace our "stolen" fleeces and visit Tom, the Canadian we met in Mexico who is recovering from surgery on his ankle after a bike accident. The washing has all been done, even our jackets! After 10months they were becoming a bit anti-social! So it’s chill time now as we relax for a few days....then South!!

Regards to all, Lesley X