I drive for miles along streets with mad drivers coming at me from all directions with 3 lanes of traffic and every one keeps changing lane. I am heading for El Centro and it is no good leaving a cars length in front of me as its imediately filled by another wally ( normally a yellow taxi). I find an ATM but it will not accept my card, I drive on and at a set of lights a 125cc bike rider asks me where I am from in English. England I say and ask is this correct way for El Centro Yes he say and at next lights he says follow him as he works in centre at the bank.
I follow him and a Taxi for miles and the road is full of concrete manholes, then suddenly the taxi in front of me drives over a manhole and I nearly go into a manhole with no cover. Of course the taxi wheels go each side but I miss the hole with a few mm to spare. Apparently the cast iron is worth steeling for scrap which is why most are concrete now. I find another ATM and draw 100,000 Pesos. I discover in the end that the correct excahnge rate is about 1950 Pesos to 1 US$. I find a hotel and book in and pay 90,000 pesos. The local resturant has very poor service but I don´t want to walk too far in this neighbourhood. All the small shops here and in Ecuador have steel cages and you have to ask for what you want and have the items passed out like a prison.
The roads are clean and are swept regulaly and the grass is strimmed even for miles outside towns. In fact there is lots of grass and nothing eating it unlike Peru and Bolivia where it is mostly mud and grass is carried into town to feed the animals. In Ecuador and Columbia there appears to be a school in every small town I drive though along with speed restrictions.
That night the AC and fan are so noisy I decide to go without and sweat it out.
4th March
I can not find an internet cafe and then I am allowed to use the hotels only reception computer again so check e mail and send a few quick replies. I leave the hotel by 0850 hrs after getting directions and get out of town with no problems. I will head for Yumbo, Buga, Tulua, Armenia and then Bogota. Roads are good and straight across flat arable land growing maize, rice, pineapples, bannanas etc. When I reach Armenia the roads climb again very steeply up tight switch backs to Ibague it very slow again with lots of lorries going both ways but it is easy to overtake due to their speed up hill. I never get above 3rd gear though but get good views into the valleys below until I reach near the top where the cloud cover reduces the viz to one lorry length. Overtaking now a little more difficult! Once I get to the top I see a sign showing Bogota is only 200 kms and I think I should be able to make that today. I will not have to go into Ibague. I stop to take some more photos and have to change memory cards. I carry one and one mile further down have another rear tyre punture. Oh my golly gosh I say what a punture up here 50 kms from anywhere! (some thing much worse was more to the point). I am on a tight corner going steeply down hill so walk the bike to the next corner and turn around and try again to put the bike on the side or centre stand. No chance so I lean it against the cliff face and remove all the luggage. Then a 40 ton lorry going up hill and towing a lad on a push bike stops and offers me some compressed air, I greatly accept and give the lad 2000 pesos. We block the road for most traffic while I blew up the tyre. I reload all luggage and carry on down hill as fast as possible but only make about 2 more kms before flat again. I can see a Peaje (toll booth) about 500 metres ahead so walk the bike to the barrier. I ask the security guard if I can use his hard standing at the side of the booths and it is all agreed with all the other staff. I unload all luggage again and remove the rear tyre. Problem number one is now do I break the tyre bead this time! After about an hour and the use of a huge concrete slab I manage to break both beads and get the inner tube out. I have three holes all right next to each other. If I was in Europe I would buy another but no choice here so manage to repair. The guard offers me large basin so I can check the tube again. Every one again is so helpful. While all this heavy work is taking place I have to stop and lie down a couple of times as I am dizzy from all the exercise. I give every one toffees which are well receive. The 10 army guys turn up on 5 Yamaha XT600´s and I am in their parking space. They ask me lots of questions about my trip and all are again so freindly , a couple of them help me replace the rear wheel but not before stopping a lorry so I can use their compressor to blow up the tyre as they had been watching me pump up the tyre for ages ( 1000 pumps) with my tiny hand pump. I take photos or some of the army guys and lube their chain on one of there Yamaha´s as they had shown some intrest in chain lube having not seen it before.
I finally get going again at 1530 hrs and think all that cost me 2 hrs. I continue down more switch backs and finally to Ibaque and decide to move on as now 1630 and I will have 2 hrs more light. The roads are now straight with speed limits of 60kph but every one seems to be doing 100kph. Then 6 of us (cars) are stopped by police with a radar gun on a tripod. I no Comprendi and am let go while others seem to be paying fines.
Its now 1700 hrs and at 1830 the road starts to climb again into a steep sided valley with high cliff either side. There is a large river to one side but it is getting dark and there is lots of traffic going both ways. Bogota is about 80 kms away. It is difficult to see the road with the oncoming lorry headlights in my face. At 1900 hrs I give up and put into a hotel right on the side of the road but looks clean, tidy and has a resturant next door. There is aslo an Army guard of 4 outside as we are next to a large bridge. Hotel 50,000 pesos with my own priviate army guard with automatic weapons of course. I park the bike in a compound but only with a chain across for security (1st time the Honda has not been locked away except for camp sites).
I follow him and a Taxi for miles and the road is full of concrete manholes, then suddenly the taxi in front of me drives over a manhole and I nearly go into a manhole with no cover. Of course the taxi wheels go each side but I miss the hole with a few mm to spare. Apparently the cast iron is worth steeling for scrap which is why most are concrete now. I find another ATM and draw 100,000 Pesos. I discover in the end that the correct excahnge rate is about 1950 Pesos to 1 US$. I find a hotel and book in and pay 90,000 pesos. The local resturant has very poor service but I don´t want to walk too far in this neighbourhood. All the small shops here and in Ecuador have steel cages and you have to ask for what you want and have the items passed out like a prison.
The roads are clean and are swept regulaly and the grass is strimmed even for miles outside towns. In fact there is lots of grass and nothing eating it unlike Peru and Bolivia where it is mostly mud and grass is carried into town to feed the animals. In Ecuador and Columbia there appears to be a school in every small town I drive though along with speed restrictions.
That night the AC and fan are so noisy I decide to go without and sweat it out.
4th March
I can not find an internet cafe and then I am allowed to use the hotels only reception computer again so check e mail and send a few quick replies. I leave the hotel by 0850 hrs after getting directions and get out of town with no problems. I will head for Yumbo, Buga, Tulua, Armenia and then Bogota. Roads are good and straight across flat arable land growing maize, rice, pineapples, bannanas etc. When I reach Armenia the roads climb again very steeply up tight switch backs to Ibague it very slow again with lots of lorries going both ways but it is easy to overtake due to their speed up hill. I never get above 3rd gear though but get good views into the valleys below until I reach near the top where the cloud cover reduces the viz to one lorry length. Overtaking now a little more difficult! Once I get to the top I see a sign showing Bogota is only 200 kms and I think I should be able to make that today. I will not have to go into Ibague. I stop to take some more photos and have to change memory cards. I carry one and one mile further down have another rear tyre punture. Oh my golly gosh I say what a punture up here 50 kms from anywhere! (some thing much worse was more to the point). I am on a tight corner going steeply down hill so walk the bike to the next corner and turn around and try again to put the bike on the side or centre stand. No chance so I lean it against the cliff face and remove all the luggage. Then a 40 ton lorry going up hill and towing a lad on a push bike stops and offers me some compressed air, I greatly accept and give the lad 2000 pesos. We block the road for most traffic while I blew up the tyre. I reload all luggage and carry on down hill as fast as possible but only make about 2 more kms before flat again. I can see a Peaje (toll booth) about 500 metres ahead so walk the bike to the barrier. I ask the security guard if I can use his hard standing at the side of the booths and it is all agreed with all the other staff. I unload all luggage again and remove the rear tyre. Problem number one is now do I break the tyre bead this time! After about an hour and the use of a huge concrete slab I manage to break both beads and get the inner tube out. I have three holes all right next to each other. If I was in Europe I would buy another but no choice here so manage to repair. The guard offers me large basin so I can check the tube again. Every one again is so helpful. While all this heavy work is taking place I have to stop and lie down a couple of times as I am dizzy from all the exercise. I give every one toffees which are well receive. The 10 army guys turn up on 5 Yamaha XT600´s and I am in their parking space. They ask me lots of questions about my trip and all are again so freindly , a couple of them help me replace the rear wheel but not before stopping a lorry so I can use their compressor to blow up the tyre as they had been watching me pump up the tyre for ages ( 1000 pumps) with my tiny hand pump. I take photos or some of the army guys and lube their chain on one of there Yamaha´s as they had shown some intrest in chain lube having not seen it before.
I finally get going again at 1530 hrs and think all that cost me 2 hrs. I continue down more switch backs and finally to Ibaque and decide to move on as now 1630 and I will have 2 hrs more light. The roads are now straight with speed limits of 60kph but every one seems to be doing 100kph. Then 6 of us (cars) are stopped by police with a radar gun on a tripod. I no Comprendi and am let go while others seem to be paying fines.
Its now 1700 hrs and at 1830 the road starts to climb again into a steep sided valley with high cliff either side. There is a large river to one side but it is getting dark and there is lots of traffic going both ways. Bogota is about 80 kms away. It is difficult to see the road with the oncoming lorry headlights in my face. At 1900 hrs I give up and put into a hotel right on the side of the road but looks clean, tidy and has a resturant next door. There is aslo an Army guard of 4 outside as we are next to a large bridge. Hotel 50,000 pesos with my own priviate army guard with automatic weapons of course. I park the bike in a compound but only with a chain across for security (1st time the Honda has not been locked away except for camp sites).
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