So here I am once again not able to realize the permanent traveller ideal. So what do you do when your life hands you short vacations from "work"? You go on short trips whenever and wherever you can with whatever you have ...as long as it's away from the all inclusive and package crowd.

I had two weeks vacation time with my employer, so I promptly booked off three weeks. Who really needs that one week of extra pay anyway?


Looking at one of my last work projects before departure







Day 1: Saturday, February 1, 2020

Booorrriiing! Air Canada flight from Victoria, BC, Canada to Toronto, to Bogota. Only 12 hours total travel time and went off without a hitch. Landed and took a taxi to the City Express Junior Hotel near the airport. The locals were bundled up in their jackets and I stood out there in short sleeves in 16 degree temperatures thinking "aah, what nice weather we're having here in Bogota". It's a nice little business hotel about 5 minutes from the airport. It has a free shuttle but I had missed it by 2 minutes. Expensive by my standards but worth the cost for my first night. CAD 75.00 for one person. Plus CAD 4.00 for the cab.

Day 2: Sunday, February 2, 2020

Enjoyed the really nice free breakfast downstairs and went back up to my room only to realize I had left my little purse hanging on the back of my chair, complete with my wallet and passport. I was about to head back down when the phone rang. Reception was calling to let me know they had my purse, entirely intact.

I lazed around a little and finally took the shuttle back to the airport for my next flight. Bogota to Medellin on LATAM Airlines. Definitely an older plane but all good and reasonably on time. Whenever I looked lost, other local travellers would tell me which way to go.

The Medellin International Airport is actually located a fair distance from the city in Rionegro. The trip used to take at least 45 minutes over a winding mountain road but that's now been cut down to 20 minutes via the new Tunel Del Oriente (since August 2019) which goes 8.2km underneath the mountains. No motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, open buses, trikes, animal drawn conveyances permitted.


Tunel Del Oriente, courtesy of Government Website






I walked out of the airport, past the taxi drivers (not exceedingly aggressive) and found the lined up Medellin shuttles (Medellinguru.com has some really good information in English). They're small shuttles that seat about 12-20 people. I was asked to get on the first one in line. When I boarded I scratched my head trying to figure out where to sit since all seat were taken. The conductor directed me to a very narrow spot between the two seat rows at the very back. Not wanting to come across as some Prima Donna ninny I obediently went to sit down even though I knew my large gringa behind had no hope in Hades of actually fitting into the little spot. The metal from the adjacent seats unforgivingly dug into my padded behind as I sat down. Before I could get "settled" the young local woman beside me offered to switch "seats" and I gratefully accepted only to be asked by another Spanish speaking passenger to switch so his wife could sit with him. I now ended up with a nice aisle seat for the wild ride into Medellin.

Medellin is in an absolutely stunning location and the city itself is relatively modern. From where the bus dropped me off I enjoyed an even wilder taxi ride to my Airbnb/hotel about 5 minutes away. Hotel Parque Del Rio is located in a leafy, upscale residential neighbourhood and the staff are impeccably helpful and friendly. I had booked the room on Airbnb for CAD $36 and realized upon arrival that it did not have air conditioning. I handed the nice lady the equivalent of CAD $8 to move me to a room with A/C. The rooms are small and have no windows to the outside but it was sparkling clean and very quiet at night.

Since there was still lots of daylight left I decided to walk to the Metro station to visit Plaza Botero. Fernando Botero's art really speaks to me so I just had to go and see this plaza with his statues. He's a native of Medellin and a very well respected artist in Colombia and throughout the world.


Medellin Metro




It was Sunday so the traffic wasn't too bad. Pedestrians basically have no rights in Colombia regardless of what any theoretical laws might say. A little bit like Vancouver. They won't deliberately run you down but they also don't expect you to step into a crosswalk while they're approaching it. The Metro was busy but not overly packed.

Plaza Botero




Plaza Botero is in the centre of Medellin and was full of locals with their families all taking shots and selfies of themselves with Botero's voluminous sculptures on this pleasant Sunday afternoon. Most people seemed very aware of others around them and respected others' attempts to take pictures of loved ones beside the statues. We all basically waited our turn and made eye contact to ensure we were good to go without spoiling someone else's shot.


Plaza Botero




Botero Mural




On the downside, this is also a bit of skid row. There were people sleeping on benches and some obvious street hookers walking about. I might not want to be here by myself late at night.

Back to the Metro before sunset only to find that it was packed to the gills. A bit like Vancouver. I didn't let that deter me (I used to live in Vancouver) and pushed my way in, eliciting an expression of annoyance from one dolled up local senorita and smiling encouragement from an older gentleman.

I found a store and bought a small bottle of rum to enjoy at the hotel. The front desk lady was kind enough to show me some delivery menus and even made the call for me since I didn't quite trust my Spanish skills. I spent several hours on the front patio enjoying my rum and the best grilled chicken I ever had before turning in at the late hour of about 8:30pm.


In front of my hotel

I had planned on taking the Metro and one of their associated cable cars to go pick up the bike but decided against it after the previous day's experience on the Metro. I was in no mood to cram myself and my luggage into a train car today.

The hotel called a cab for me. I entered the cab and closed the door normally not realizing how flimsy Colombian cars are made. It closed with a loud bang and the driver admonished me for slamming his door and kindly educated me that this is considered violence in Colombia. I was expertly whisked through Monday morning Medellin traffic and 30 minutes later I was at my destination a refreshing 500 metres higher up than downtown Medellin and away from all the maddening traffic. I paid the driver his fare of COP 26,000 and on he went.

Bike handover was straightforward and the young mechanic forgot to get the US $500 deposit from me. The bike rental was actually a bit expensive but the other cheaper options were Colombian bikes made from Chinese parts and I didn't want to take the risk of an unknown bike breaking down on me on such a short trip. At least the Versys 300 has a fairly good reputation. The daily cost was US $65/day including mandatory SOAT (Colombian liability and injury insurance), top case, phone holder and charger and crash bars, etc. But no insurance for the bike itself. I rented from Colombia Motorcycle Adventures run by Jeff Cremer originally from the US.

Kawasaki Versys 300 X




I didn't want to drive back through Medellin on my first day so I headed north with the aid of my trusty phone and Google Maps. I was feeling liberated once again driving in a place where rules of the road for motorcycles are merely a suggestion. The traffic was actually quite light and I didn't sense any angry aggression. After about 15 minutes I arrived at my first toll booth and everything came to a grinding halt. The road was closed for the next 20 minutes to allow for road work.

I sat in the heat and we finally were allowed to proceed. For some strange reason they held all the motos back and let the trucks and cars go first. Maybe they thought we enjoy the challenge of catching up to and passing slower vehicles. The road was under construction almost all the way to Santa Fe De Antioquia but otherwise very scenic with lots a twisties. I was losing altitude quite rapidly and I could feel the heat intensifying with every passing minute. I came up behind a bus and prepared to pass when it suddenly slowed down and I noticed there was oncoming traffic. I locked up the rear wheel and realized I had to get used to the bike first before becoming too adventurous.

From Santa Fe De Antioquia I headed south on Ruta 25 and made a lunch stop when I spotted a little road side place. My first taste of Arepas stuffed with meat and eggs. Two of those little beasts filled my up quite nicely for COP 5000.

Beautiful stretch of highway on Ruta 25



Ruta 25 heading south of Santa Fe De Antioquia was basically perfect. Nice swooping curves, pavement that seemed to be no more than a year old and almost devoid of traffic. I came to a crossroads and hadn't decided yet which way to go. I quickly googled Jerico vs Jardin and Jerico came away as the winner. So off I went further along Ruta 25 and sadly discovered that it was being 4 laned with lots of construction going on. At least it was a fairly short section until I turned off to Jerico.

Today's Route



The climb up to Jerico is more how I imagine "third world" country roads. Narrow, twisty but pretty good pavement. I climbed and climbed relentlessly for no more than 15Km but gained so much altitude that the air was downright refreshing and cool at 1910 metres of altitude.

Another quick stop in the shade once I had arrived in Jerico and I saw a hotel that looked interesting on Google Maps. I usually try to find a place on the outskirts of town to avoid potential noise problems. Colombia is chock a block full of hoteles campestres (Country hotels). I ended up at Hotel Villa Palosanto for COP 55,000 including breakfast.

The view from my hotel room




As the sun went low on the horizon I walked the 15 minutes into town for some dinner. It was quite touristy with Colombian tourists milling about and the occasional gringo thrown in for good measure. Nobody bothered me and I had a nice quiet dinner overlooking the square and watching life go by. On the way back to the hotel I got "lost" only to realize I was one house over from the hotel after consulting Google Maps.

What's a ganadero (livestock raiser) to do if he needs a drink



Off to bed at my usual "at home" bedtime at 8:30

Day 4: Jerico to Salamina via Tamesis, La Pintada and Aguadas

After a bit of a restless night on a rock hard mattress I saddled up and went along my merry way. From Jerico straight south to Tamesis (narrow and twisty dirt road but easy to handle), then east to La Pintada (mostly good pavement with lots of good gnarliness) to join back with Ruta 25. Then almost immediately east towards Aguadas on what starts out as a bumpy dirt road for the first 15 - 20 Kms then turns into a motorcycle dream road with sudden sections of 100 to 200 metres of narrow dirt thrown in to keep you on your toes. From Aguadas south to Salamina and a long stretch of windy, narrow but good dirt road.


Today's Route ...Yes the time and distance on Google Maps is fairly accurate.



I asked the hotel manager about the road south to Tamesis and she assured me it was in great condition even though it was "destapada" (unsealed). So off I went onto a narrow little bumpy road, slipping my clutch while following a painfully slow delivery truck. A short and narrow opportunity presented itself and I opened the throttle while beeping my horn. The truck driver kindly obliged and made room for me to pass.

I was now on a lovely road reminiscent of some of our lesser used forest service roads back home. Since I was at an elevation of over 2000 metres there were pine trees and I felt like I had returned back home to British Columbia. Within a short span two mid sized cube vans flew at me in the opposite direction but we all came out unscathed.


Someone's Little Finca along the way.




I came to a junction and pulled over for a rest and a few good shots. This is when my run in with the police happened.

As I stood there beside my bike I saw a green police motorcycle with two men approaching from the south. They pulled up in front of me and they started asking me about two white trucks and where they were headed. I explained that I saw them further north and they conceded that it was out of their jurisdiction and that yes, they were looking for them.





They kept me there for at least 15 minutes while the one who seemed in charge insisted on telling me how fortunate they are not to have to carry large rifles anymore. How they are the tourist police and here for my safety. That they are developing tourism in the area and telling me about protected areas nearby with at least 250 species of birds and how Caldas Department was such a great place. I had to seize on an opportunity quickly to tell them how much of a pleasure it was to have met them so I could extricate myself from this highly volatile and dangerous situation, but not before they agreed to have their picture taken.

After Tamesis the road turned to very nice and curvy pavement and I let her rip, reaching a dizzying 60Km/h at times. Now I'm losing altitude rapidly and heading back down the the Rio Cauca where it's hot and dry. It's time for some lunch. I spotted a "truck stop" as evidenced by some trucks pulled up alongside and I ordered something which I didn't quite understand. In the end it cost me about COP 8000 for the meal including a bottle of water.


Truck Stop Lunch



I had the option of staying on the paved and hot Ruta 25 south and then climb up the dirt road via La Merced to Salamina OR head straight east to Aguadas and on to Salamina on what I anticipated would be all dirt. I went for option #2.

Off I clattered on a bumpy dirt road in the heat as I followed a tributary river to the Rio Cauca. Soon I started climbing and I had now resigned myself to a slow and dusty ride all the way. After about 15Km the dirt road turned into a narrow, beautifully paved (relatively new looking) and twisty road that usually only appears in a biker's wildest dreams. I cracked open the throttle and felt the wind on my body at an exhilarating 50Km/h.

Suddenly, around a corner, the asphalt ended and turned into a narrow and bumpy affair ....for about 100 metres... before the dream road resumed. This went on, with sections of 100 to 200 metres of "missing" asphalt until I got to Aguadas.

From there the road is definitely a long stretch of narrow and winding dirt where car drivers kindly move over to let you pass.

Salamina



Casa Las Marias had been recommended the night before in Jerico by a Dutch couple so that's where I stayed for COP 50,000. The bike went to a secured parking lot nearby for another COP 4,000. Had a "gourmet" meal, including a Colombian craft for COP 16,000 and went to bed.

View from the hotel