There is a Colombian Saying: "The worst thing that can happen in Colombia is that you will want to stay longer" ...it has been 11 months since I entered Colombia
speak in English
yes, oh... now? yes, yes
well, what can I tell you in English
I want to tell you that I am very happy to be here in Colombia
and all the people are amazing
and the animals are amazing... and there is a lot of positive energy
and I love Colombia i don't understand anything!
hello and welcome to Colombia
I was going to Ecuador, I was going to go to Cali or Neiva and book it to the border because my passport was expiring but I got the new one
and I guess that means I got another 45 days here in Colombia
so, heading out of Maniales
and it's still "wet dog" rainy season here but...
I think it's okay, it's really not that bad
looking forward to the next... i dont know maybe 2, 3, 4 weeks
... in the central range of the Andes there's some nice roads on the way
I think that's it for now... going uphill for the rest of today
it's delicious
good morning
we've got the baby cows
well, good morning to you too
it's a rough road
so I went by Salento today
which many people I spoke to really liked and it was their favorite town
but it was just too touristy for me and it was kind of uncomfortable being there
so I'm going uphill
towards Toche
because for me, I think the real magic in Colombia is a...
just... your typical Colombia
there's no road sign or...
price tag or a guide...
it's just this and I really, really like it
but anyway, I told somebody I was going to Santa Elena
which is the only town I know the name of
and he said... well he laughed but he said...
that there is a horse trail after the Paramo
I think that's going to be kind of cool to see how it goes
there is definitely no way anybody can drive this
maybe with a moto but even then...
no, it's not gonna work
they are shitting all over the place, making the mud even worse
the friggin wild west!
no matter where you go there always seems to be cows
and where there are cows, there are roads
and then, people, houses and sleepy little towns
it is a wonderful world, where the countryside meets civilization
and the roads are ruled by jeeps and motos
hello my friend
you are so dry!
the road that I saw on google maps a while ago... oh there's a person... with a dog
hey buddy
this is as far as they built the road then the machine broke
and they were like, there's not gonna be anymore road
down on the trail here
which can be nasty at times but I think it's a good trail for the most part
good afternoon so the story, is the following
the road that I saw on open street maps
is good... but it has no bridge
so you need a mule or a horse to cross the river
so I'm going on the other side of the valley
and I've been told it could be difficult
the army friggin questioned me twice
and kept taking photos of my passport i was afraid they were not gonna let me go
but they let me go, so...
so I'm making my way up this valley of the river that starts with a letter A
and fingers crossed that the road stays pretty good
and we make it over the paramo to Cali, to Valle de Cauca
there is another piglet hey little one
moment of the day
that mountain
very, very beautiful
probably one of the most beautiful
...cloud covered mountains I have ever seen
and for lunch
i've got tomatoes!
a lot of tomatoes, and they are perfect! look at that
just perfect to eat...
best tomato ever
this is the face of complete and utter surprise
is that a bicycle?
he's probably never seen a bicycle in his life
he's like... what is this!
you can't eat my front tire... it's not polite
it's a tire! don't eat it
come here, my friend
but you're not gonna bite me... noo
smile for the camera
so this is where I'm gonna stay today
just in time, looks like it's gonna rain
oh no, he's calling the rest of the cows
don't do that man, we're friends... come on
look at him
surprise!
it's a bicycle!
my little cow friends have left a nasty surprise for me here... muddy town
in the jungle, the mighty jungle the lion sleeps tonight
aweee.. lililili-li-li bumbabawee
and if I told you that this is actually the good stuff... i dont know if you will believe me
but as long as there is space next to you to push and carry the bike it's okay
it's only when it gets narrow that its difficult
or when it's really really steep and you are crossing a stream or something
and then it's like.. oh man.. i wish i never went on this trail
it's very beautiful, it's very peaceful
and I really, really, really like this place
I often wondered, wether it would be easier to keep going or to go back
the words from my friend with the cape, rang through my mind
no, brother
but something was pulling me further and further, up and away
towards these remote ranches and the life on such a trail
so simple and beautiful
no phone, no pool, no cigarettes
I would be the king of the road, if there were one
aside from selling a cow every few years,
most people here make cheese
the left over milk is food for the dogs
and when ready it's on the mule train back to town
there was just a little sliver of hope, that the paramo may offer a little bit of riding
but even if it didnt, there was one thing to remember
i was only here because i wanted to be here
maybe word will travel back to the soldiers in Gaitan
the guy on a bike whom they almost turned back, has made it to the Paramo
we may yet see the sun!
woooow... it's a road
DAY17 if I had ridden on the highway I could have gotten here in 2 days from Manizales
there is a lone horse, good morning horse
on this beautiful saturday morning, introducing my new friend... my black dog friend
his name is Moracho
and I think he might come with me all the way up to the top
my good friend Moroccho is defending me from evil dogs
tell him who's the boss
this is a good one, leave him
he's a friend Moracho, come on
this is how you deal with street dogs.. you get a protector dog
no Moracho, leave him. he is good
good job Moracho. that's right, pee on that stack of leaves
they even protect me from the cows hey leave it alone, come on, lets go
going up I ran into a native blockade
where I was asked all sorts of questions and after two hours of waiting I was told I can't continue
camping was fairly easy
sometimes I would ask at a ranch and others I would see an abandoned house and set up under the porch for protection from the rain
and others, just sleep on the road
food was amazing as well
the little stores seem to have everything
fruits, vegetables and if you ask nicely they would even boil some eggs for you
maybe I have gotten a little too accustomed to the calm colombian countryside
...and completely forgotten that this was not too long ago, in some parts a civil war zone
I rode past a similar but abandoned blockade after Corinto
and really wondered what these bright lights that you can see at night were
I am pushing my bike up his hill this morning up from valle de cauca
and some guy with a moto pulls me over
and they are asking me all these questions
and its obvious what's going on
you can clearly see the gun in his pocket and he has his hand right in there
and he wants to look at my passport and stuff and I am thinking, man this is it
gonna get robbed
maybe because they have all these marijuana plantations all around the place
you can see the lights at night where they grow it
maybe that's why they had this other blockade when I was going up to the paramo
because they grow drugs and they dont want people going up and down
so yeah, a bit of a scary experience
but I think he saw how badly i smelled
and was like it's not worth it robbing this guy
but it would have been funny if they tried to rob me
because I only have like 3$ right now
but anyway, i have my cameras, i have the bike so no complaints there
the dog days in colombia
he's so cute!
good morning
here in Cauca
so the situation is the following... um...
climbing up toward the huila volcano
my friends that I stayed with yesterday told me there was a...
a part of the trail that has no bridge
so that may be an eventual complication
but we will worry about that later
very beautiful here
3000 meters with those huge palm trees
i dont know how they survive this kind of weather
and i'm still in colombia and i love it
when you want to sleep in but a big chicken comes and yells next to your tent
pitbull in body, poodle in heart
yeah, yeah, i know
i dont know what happened but suddenly
3 wet dogs appeared
and they are drinking water and smelling stuff
look at that guy... hey dude
you're the wettest dog I have ever seen!
wait, is there a 4th one?
yeah there's 4 of them, what the hell?
where did you guys come from?
there used to be a road here, going all the way to Huila then in '94 the volcano erupted and then no more road...
this is not a trail, this is water world
on a raft eh?
and the jury concludes that this road...
is not really recommended
unless you are a little crazy
how is there more rain!
well, thats my trail. i have to go down here
the road is right over there but I cant cross this river over here
so I have to somehow get up there
meanwhile at google
let's put a numbered highway on the map, why not
so at the end, we've got a bridge!!!
i love you bridge
and it's not even 100% sketchy like the other ones
i can maybe even bike across it
i love bridges
i think if i go back to school, i'm gonna finish civil engineering
and become a bridge engineer
it's going to be my aspiration in life to provide bridges to those in need
but we've made it
i think there's gonna be a hamburger tonight
after the trail, i was very happy to be on a road
a good road, where motos and horses go
and there are no sketchy bridges, cliff sides or river crossings
there's two horses, good morning horses
and two dogs, good morning dogs
hey, there is another horse
and a person with a horse and another dog
a road that climbs nicely and slowly to the paramo yet again
where the food is delicious and the Chivas roam free
...with whatever you can think of on top
some days, i am killing myself up those mountains and trails...
and other days, it's time to take it easy
i passed the Guambiano natives, well dressed for the cold
and in the town of Sylvia, a brown dog started following me
we wrecked havoc on the quiet streets as he kept following and barking at everyone else
he's going at everybody and barking at them
and soon there was just another hour left on the panamerican highway to Popayan
but a group of mountain bikers, invited me to join them... so why not!
so this is as far as I got right now from Popayan in Colombia
i am super happy to be able to make those while on the way
my friend felipe had another friend who invited me here at their house
i have been staying here and drinking coffee and...
and editing videos for few days now
but yeah this one is an hour so far but i think there may be another 15 minutes
it really means a lot to me to be able to bike and make these videos and live my dream
still some time before i need to go to ecuador
yesterday i got a chance to stay at a pretty interesting... hostel in the middle of nowhere
and i taught their kid how to play chicken bowling
basically you take a ball and you aim at the chickens
but they are actually very quick animals so i didn't hit a chicken
a little bit of rain, which is not that bad
the road has been super amazing and kind of remote
i saw a horse with a person a while ago but
pretty wild out here well, not too wild because there is a powerline up there going across
so we are not super wild
but its wild
the colombian kind of wild
sometimes you just gotta scratch your bum
no matter the consequences
i wonder how many trees have died because horses scratch their bum
they are going wild
this is basically the school here
they only have 7 kids and
they learn about the colors, you can see Red
blue and yellow
hey, that's the colombian flag, isnt it?
and they have posters from each kid
wow, and they are holding bats
so i was having lunch at this town but eventually the kids came out of school so I'm trying to get away
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