Alive and well in Cali, Colombia. Jumped the Darien Gap and rode from Bogota to Cali. Looking for the equator. I think it is south! ;=]Part 4 of the adventure is underway. Thanks to Copa Airlines and Girag Cargo Service, crossing the Darien Gap was a snap. In Panama City at Tocuman Airport we crawled thru all the paperwork hoops (2.5 hours) and turned the bikes over to Girag Cargo Services who promised that they would have them in Bogota, Colombia the next morning at 4:00 AM.

With a little prayer we boarded a Copa flight the next morning that got us to Bogota at 1:00 PM. Went to Girag offices (only about a 10 minute walk) and holding our breath, asked about two motorcycles. The nice lady said “sure, we wondered where you were!” Very relieved we crawled thru some more paperwork hoops (2.5 hours) and back to the bikes.

Installed the mirrors and windshield and then the fun began. We had to ride thru a fellow’s office and down two sets of stairs to get the bikes to the street. No pictures because I was too busy! :=) Next morning we hired a cab driver/tour guide to take us on a personal tour of Bogotá. A beautiful city. Some pictures!

Even found the Harley Dealer.

Up bright at early the next morning we headed for Cali to the south. We were told that the ride from Bogotá to Cali would be one of the prettiest rides on the whole trip and they were right (we even got to see it this time, no clouds, fog or rain). Elevations to 3200 meters with green valleys, swift running rivers, nice roads, coffee bean fields outlined with eucalyptus trees, made it an absolutely GREAT ride.

We never got stopped in even ONE military checkpoint (waved us thru every time). We made the 297 miles in 8 hours. Two things to mention here about motorcycle riding in Colombia. EVERY motorcyclist must have a reflective vest with the tag number displayed. You can see that I am right in style! :=)

ALSO, motorcyclists do NOT have to pay any tolls (and there were a lot). There is a special lane just for motorcycles!

How cool is that? Great chance to pass that truck! Many more photos of the South America Adventure here!

RickMcD.smugmug.com/gallery/1920143/1/109593686

Also don’t forget that I can receive email at my regular email address. I check it almost every day!! More from Down the Road!