Once again Mother Nature reared her ugly head as we left Cartegena on our way to Medellin. Luckily the rain wasn't too intense and we were able to dry off as we rode. Signage again was a problem, but we always found someone willing to tell us we were in fact on the right road. Initially the roads were a bit rough but within 30 kms. outside of Cartegena we were able to open up the bikes and make some good mileage. The landscape opened up and cattle were being raised everwhere. I am not familiar with the different breeds, but Brahmas were very prevelant. These cattle were well fed, a far cry from the way they looked in Mexico.
As we rode further and further into Colombia we became more impressed with the country. Regardless of economic status, peoples homes were nicely landscaped with colorful plantings adorning their yards. Roadsides were void of the trash that was common riding thru Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. The more affluent ranches and fincas have manicured hedges, bright white fences along with palm tree lined roads to their homes.
Wherever we stopped along the road to eat or get gas we were treated very well by complete strangers. As always they are curious to know where we are from, where we're headed and how much do the bikes cost. If we were lost people were willing to escort us to our destination, make phone calls if necessary and offered their e-mails or phone numbers if we encountered any troubles along the way.
As stated before Colombia has been experiencing massive rain storms, resulting in large losses of life due to landslides. We have been fortunate so far in only having to ford a couple of flooded roads and always seem behind the slides that happen on the highway. Colombia's road crews have been very efficient in clearing debris in a timely fashion and we have not been held up on our way to Medellin. As we climg higher in elevation cattle change to dairy cows and the scene looks alot like Switzerland, but with banana trees. Our travel speed has been decreased dramatically as we snake up and down mountain passes following behind transport trucks, this being the Pan-American highway.
Prices in accomodations have dropped significantly but gas prices remain at $4.50/gallon, perhaps the highest in all of South America. Rooms with 2 beds, air, hot water, TV and internet are in the 12-15 dollar range. But sometimes the air-con is to noisy to work or the internet is down or there is problems with the hot water. Small prices to pay for the experience of the trip.
We got into Medellin late in the day and decided to stay at Casa Kiwi, a youth hostal run by a New Zealander and motorcycle enthusiast. The price was a bit high for what we got, but we could park our bikes in the garage under the hostal and there was a small supermarket across the street for breakfast goodies. We met a couple from England that were travelling for three years on bikes in Cartegena and they recommended a restaurant around the corner from the hostal. Their claim to fame is beef ribs and it is justly deserved, the best we have ever eaten.
The next day , Saturday, we left Medellin for Cali. It seems as though every Medellin resident owns a mountain bike or ten speed as the roads out of town were flooded with flourescent colored lycra wearing peddle pushing enthusiasts. Some roads were blocked off to make room for them, others should have been for safety sake. Speeds were down to 25 kph as we rode higher and higher winding our way up the spine of a mountain pass, where at the apex was only enough room for a lane of traffic either way and 1500 ft. drops on both sides. On the way down the pass as traffic came to a halt Carol broke into conversation with some Medellin bikers who invited us for lunch. Alejandro is a civil engineer(Suzuki 650) and his friend Javier is a professional photographer(KLR 650), Carlos and his passenger also rode a Suzuki 650 single. We shared a nice meal and good conversation talking about the bike scene, orthodontics, Colombian women and the difficulties Colombians face getting visas for neighboring countries.