UPDATE 14 - COLOMBIA - 05 AUG 06

21 Jul – 05 Aug 06 Colombia

21 Jul 06 (Fri). Quito – Pasto Colombia: Ruta 35, 25: 230 Miles.
What time are they likely to set off for the border? That was a difficult one. We saw the Colombian group at breakfast yesterday at about 0830; was that their normal start time? Well if we have breakfast early we can then try and find them. Walking down the

corridor at 0710 we saw Matthias and Patty having breakfast already dressed for riding; confirming that the invitation was still open to us to join their ride north; what time are you leaving? 0730! Ah 20 minutes notice to move and we’re not fully packed and have to check out – plenty of time. Concurrent activity, Mick pays the bill, I start packing the bikes. We were going to give Albert a ring to warn him of the start time, but we could not find his number; thought it was on one of his cards; we should have confirmed it with him last night! They are all in the garage at various stages of readiness and we are packed, loaded and ready to go in time.

We should introduce them:

Matthias& Patty; Mauricio & Mari Jose; Juan Carlos & Laura;

The first stop was to refuel all bikes just down the road from the hotel. Now 5 bikes, we took places 4 and 5 and it was a 400 metre shake out; seeing who waited at red lights, who jumped them, how they rode together. It was then a simple route to exit Quito

One of the questions Matthias asked yesterday was “at what speed do you ride”? I said “up to 130 km hr, if the conditions are right”. “Oh you ride much faster than us”. Today that’s what we wanted, to have slow start to get the new tyres bedded-in and get used to this very strange sensation that road tyres give after 12000 miles on knobblies. It was the usual highway tactics of over/undertaking traffic and generally making best speed through the heavy traffic as we departed the city. Once clear and on the open road they just opened their throttles and were gone; must be the early morning blast to clear the cobwebs from the injectors? We went with them aware that we were riding faster than we really wanted to on new tyres!

One hundred Kms later we stopped at Otavalo a bustling market town that the girls wanted to do some shopping in, although there men said there was no room on the bikes for any more stuff! Did they listen, do they ever? Mick was now carrying ceramics, cloths, table cloths etc. I asked Matthias if this was their normal riding pace, he said it was and was sorry if we were being held back as they were considered slow riders amongst fellow Columbian riders? Held back! Christ, we could only just keep up; Mick was trying to run-in a set of knobbly tyres and I was just getting the feel of the road tyres! “But you said your average speed was 130 Kms Hr”! Something had been lost in the translation yesterday!

Two bikes have always be an attraction when we’ve stopped, but now we are 5 it’s quite a sensation. All the usual questions and some more, with the translation done for us (me) we were able to answer more questions and let the kids play on the bikes. The grin on the boys face is because he has been allowed to start the bike and is now revving it; the little girl behind is also enjoying it. Then it was, see how many kids you can get on a Beemer, only 4; they carry more on a Honda 90 in these parts!

We reached the Colombian border having continued to ride at the same pace through more outstanding scenery and the tyres were now well run-in, from rim to rim.

The border crossing out of Ecuador was the same as all the others and crossing into Columbia was straightforward too. Either Patty or Matthias accompanied us at all stages to interpret or give advice. We need two things once through the border to make us road legal; bibs with our registration numbers on as it’s the law to ride with a visible number on you and third party insurance. How fortuitous, just up the road from the border is a man who can – do bibs. An order was placed with him and we would return in 40 minutes to collect them. Mauricio took the lead in the border town of Ipiales to find insurance for us. One insurance office would insure us but only for a year, no less, but outside a girl said that her company could sell insurance too. Mauricio negotiated a deal, but the crunch was that she could not issue the certificates we would have to get them from Pasto, which was our overnight stop, how fortunate. No, the insurance must be registered before 1600; it was 1500 now and we were a good hour’s ride from Pasto. Could she register the bikes by fax and we’d collect the certificated before the Pasto office closed. This was a tricky one, she’d not done this before; but with Mauricio’s persistence and charm it worked. Collected the bibs and off to Pasto.

Another unknown town looking for an address what do you do; ask the ambulance driver sitting next to you at the lights. That’s what Juan Carlos did and got the ambulance to lead us there. Mauricio and I went to complete the arrangement while the rest entertained the crowd that had gathered around the bikes. A few wanted to sit on them but most just asked questions. The local paper even turned up and somewhere there is an article about the five bikes coming to town!

22 Jul 06 (Sat). Pasto – Cali: Ruta 25: 280 Miles.
Cali was our destination for tonight and the offer from Juan Carlos to stay at a Finca owned by a friend or relative or as planned a hotel? The Finca it was and a good choice too. The ride was as yesterday, fast and furious and getting maximum value across the whole radius of the tyres. It’s got to be a compliment to the tyres or is its Mick’s ability, but the Continentals are a good match for the road tyres. We met a few obstacle enroute, one being a small land slide that was spilling rocks and debris onto the road. Then plenty of road works. At one stop were given local fruit, the names of which I cannot remember but it was good. As we were about to set off Mauricio toppled off is bike; it must be an inherent BMW characteristic that they fall over when stationary? Or as Mauricio would say, it because his leg are just a bit too short!

Security along the Pan American Highway is a high priority for the Colombian Government and to maintain it there is a constant presences of the military. Either check points or static guards on nearly every bridge. Had we been riding on our own we would have slowed for each checkpoint but there was no slowing with this group! We didn’t even slow for villages or towns! We were sure that the double yellow line in the middle of the road were something to do with no overtaking but perhaps they were just to show where the centre of the road was! And those round signs with a red boarder and some numbers, like 30, could be a speed limit but didn’t seem to apply! If the road is clear or there is a gap, it must be yours so fill it or you’ll get left behind.

The Finca is a weekend retreat and was a superb place to overnight. It had a few animals, one being Tona the pig, she was a very friendly pig, especially if you had a bottle of beer. She would be fed 8 bottles a day!

It was a great evening and very generous of the owner. While we were talking to him and explaining our intentions; ride to Cartagena and ship to Panama, he arranged for us to be put in contact with Richard Hurtado who is a tour guide amongst other thing in Cartagena and could help us with all and any of our requirements.

23 Jul 06 Sun. Cali – Bogota: Ruta 25: 300 Miles.
It was the final push to Bogota today and we were going to ride La Linea. Now if we’d been warned of the danger of La Linea once we had been a hundred times! It is a mountain section of the PAH, is very steep with hairpins every few hundred metres; so far so good. But the danger is the heavy traffic, the diesel spills, the trucks using the whole road at corners, broken vehicles blocking the road; get the picture. And as if that was not enough, today is the end of a long weekend holiday and the last weekend of the holiday season too. So there will be an enormous amount of traffic.

Our first stop was at Buga to see the pink cathedral, an important Catholic site in Colombia. From there it was to the bottom of La Linea to refuel, have an ice cream and mentally prepare for the onslaught!

It was as described, but they had forgotten the chaos bit, every vehicle wanted to be the one in front because it had to get home first; but we were getting in front, being that much more agile, able to fit into smaller gaps and quicker off the mark too. Today took the whole meaning of safe and sensible riding took a new dimension. The stunts we pulled today will never be repeated on UK roads! If you could not get through by overtaking on the conventional side, around the left, and there was room to undertake on the right it was taken. Three abreast overtakes and last minute ones too. It took us an hour from start to finish, to climb the mountain and drop the other side, quite an experience and we’ve got it on video from one of the head cams. And all along the route were Police and Army check points; not one slowed for!

It was getting dark as we made our final run into Bogota; Mauricio was leading and although he says he has trouble getting on and off the bike, when he’s mobile, he’s a demon to catch as we rocketed into the suburbs at 100 mph; that brought us to the end of three very quick days. We did not think of ourselves as being slow or sluggish on a bike but we certainly felt like it riding with these guys. We just had to be grateful that they were a slow Columbian group!

24 Jul 06 (Mon). Bogota.
We stayed with Patty and Matthias and their two children, Stefanie and Matthias Junior although there was the same offer from Mauricio and Maria Jose. It was nice to stay in a home with homely things around you after three months on the road living in hotels of various standards. The hospitality and generosity was boundless; Junior gave up his room so that we could have room each. Matthias had already warned BMW that two bikes would be coming in for a service. Although Albert had done that too. Washing was done and meals prepared; we could get used to this. Matthias led the way to BMW Autogermana where we left the bike for a well deserved service and Patty came to collect us. She had wanted to take us to some of the museums but they’re all closed on a Monday. And the city was covered in cloud so a trip up the Teleferico and Monserrate to have a panoramic view of the city was a none starter too.

Matthias suggested the Salt Cathedral as an option. It was a Salt Mine that had been excavated further to create large chambers used as chapels and depict the life and death of Christ. The main cathedral chamber was enormous; with an illuminate cross and alter dominating it, changing colour every few seconds. They also had a chamber dedicated to the miners who had lost their lives during the construction.

We all spent the evening with Mauricio and Maria Jose at their home, having a barbeque and showing them the video of the La Linea run. Reliving those close shaves and daft antics!

25 Jul 06 (Tue). Bogota
The weathers good so it’s a whistle stop tour today and because Bogota has a system to restrict the number of vehicles in the city, Patty has to be out of the city limits by 1600 today. Off to the Teleferico and Monserrate for a view of the city and the Gold Museum, Junior come along too. You get to the top of the Monserrate either by the cable car, the Teleferico a Monserrate or the funicular railway. We took the cable car that gave an impressive view of the city as we whet up.

Next stop the gold museum. It was easier to leave the car at Monserrate and get a taxi into the city, but that was easier said than done. Taxis did not want to take us in to the centre. The gold museum houses a vast array of Inca and Indian treasures. Most of it intricate gold or silver jewellery and artefacts. Very much the style that we’d seen during our Machu Picchu and Nasca Lines visits.

Time was running out for Patty and we had to collect the bikes from BMW. The bikes were just being wheeled out to reception as we arrived. They were sparkling clean, filled with fuel and the extra oil was gratis as all oil is included in the service. Oh and they had a full service. Explanations of service finished and payment complete Patty was starting to get a little twitched that time was now very short.

She would lead us home with Junior checking that we are still in sight of her. After we had been drawn through a couple of red lights and changed lanes with out warning we were getting the measure of her driving tactics and just blocked two lanes behind her so she could move left or right at will and if the traffic was pushing from the side we’d go forward and block it too. We approach a major junction, three lanes going each way, controlled by lights and police; as we got the go no go point the lights turned red! Patty was in a dilemma; to stop would put her on the front row with the wrong number plate for the day and time had run out – a hefty fine. To jump the light would be a hefty fine too. She jumped the lights at which point the police looked at her, looked at us flanking her, blew his whistle hard to stop the other traffic and waved us through swiftly; how kind. We were now out of the city and could relax; no we’re still in Colombia, to relax would be folly!

As a way of thanks for the generosity and hospitality we took them all out for dinner as we were heading off early the next morning. Our chance meeting in the hotel garage at Quito has lead to 5 days of hospitality and friendship that will be difficult to surpass. Two total strangers accepted into this group and taken into the homes has been a highlight of this trip. Nothing was too much trouble, they researched shipping and air freighting the bikes, they made contacts for us so that we had someone to turn to for assistance; what more can we say other that a heart felt thanks.

26 Jul 06 (Wed). Bogota – Honda – Santa Marta: Ruta 45: 600 Miles.
On the road for 0630, farewells complete and Patty was giving us a lead to the main junction to take us from Bogota to Honda then north to Santa Marta. Other than dropping from 2600 metre above sea level to sea level in a very short time; riding in fresh air to riding in a blast furnace only to have some light relief from the heat when the tropical rain storms hit us it was a fairly straightforward and uneventful 12 hours and 600 mile! We were very glad to get off those bikes this evening in Santa Marta. Was it really that ordinary? Probably not but I just cannot write any more today!

27 Jul 06 (Thu). Santa Marta – Cartagena. Ruta Coast Road: 144 Miles.
A short run today, just down the coast through Barranquilla to Cartagena. Another short sharp rain storm and again there is no point in stopping for gortex as it was still warm. We rode straight into the old walled city to find a major land mark and then call Richard to see if he had any info on shipping to Panama. We parked at the rear of the Hotel Santa Clara, one of Cartagena’s finest hotels, a converted Convent, phoned Richard who arrived within minutes on one of the thousands of motorbike taxis; his first concern was had we booked into a hotel; no, this one is US$250 per night, this level of luxury is not on our radar! Good he had an apartment that we could rent for much less; well that’s a good start. Secure parking and a two bedroom apartment for US$80 per night, we’ll take it for two nights and the see!

Next stop was to visit a couple of shipping agencies to start the negotiations. All very tentative today, more info and confirmation tomorrow.

28 Jul 06 (Fri).
This morning Richard had come up with a new cunning plan, he’d been doing a bit of research for us and found a shipping company who would ship the bikes in a dedicated container for about US$2000. A dedicated container means we do not have the added problem of packing the bikes in wooden crates, all added expense and time. First we had to have copies of all our documents and that’s not as easy as going to a copy machine and getting copies! No you have to got to an authorise agent who copies the documents, stamps them, countersigns confirmation of authenticity, raise the la cuenta (the bill) and then passed for the final and official authorisation and authentication signature; that process employs 5 people! But at least it official!

Off to Diaduanas Ltda to see Neicy and see what they have to offer; complete service to include all official inspections clearances, papers; a dedicated 20ft container just for our bikes and all the shipping costs to Panama a hefty US$2000. With a bit of negotiating we got it down to US$1900; still a huge bill for shipping, but then we needed it and had little option than to go with it. And they do not take credit cards, which meant drawing 4,350,000 pesos in 20,000 pesos notes from the ATM, great wads of cash! The deal done, the container booked for us to load next Thursday, the ship would sail for Panama over the weekend of 05 Aug and we should see the bikes in the Free Port of Panama on Monday or Tuesday.

29 - 30 Jul 06.
As we are to be in Cartagena for a total of nine nights we needed some cheaper accommodation, so Richard came up with another apartment for US$40 a night; that’s better. It overlooks the beach and is on the pelican’s flight path. They glide past in single file, up to 10 of them at time just like A10 Warthog’s, the American tank busting ground attack aircraft, very surreal.

31 Jul 06 (Mon).
Richard has many irons in the fire and one of them is as a tourist guide and that was what we were going to do this morning. We started from our apartment in the Bocagrande area of Cartagena heading towards to docks, taking in the expensive residential areas and the old Spanish colonial houses that are now protected properties and cannot be altered or demolished.

The history lesson; Cartagena was discovered by the Spanish in 1501 and the city founded in 1533. The pirate Drake; surely they mean the revered and distinguished English sailor and explorer Sir Francis Drake; no they definitely have him down as a pirate; suppose its one mans freedom fighter is another’s terrorist or pirate! Any way he captured the city in 1586 and allegedly the Spanish crown paid him off handsomely to leave them alone; which he did. The Cathedral, Santa Catalina de Alejandria was built in the old city in 1575 and independence from Spain was granted at 1100 hrs, 1 Nov 1811.

The Santa Cruz de la Popa Monastery was built in 1607 on the highest point over looking the city by Simon Gonzales. Because of it strategic location and commanding view, fortifications for 3 battery’s of cannon were constructed just below the Monastery. This hill had been the domain of the leader of the runaway slaves who had been banished from the city. He had become a wealthy and influential gold merchant, the Spanish had named him Busyraco (the devil) and when the Spanish Inquisition arrived in Cartagena he was first on the rack for a bit of soul cleansing follow by a good bit of purification at the stake over slow fire of green wood! Oh yes, and the Spanish and the church took the gold for their troubles; a fare fee for a good days work!

Cartagena was steadily fortified with first part of the Castillo San Filipe built on the top of its hill to accommodate 20 soldiers to defend the city in 1656 -57. After it was sacked and recaptured it was improved and expanded from 1728 to 1763 to house 400 soldiers and 6 battery’s of cannon, with ramparts tunnels and escape route; an intricate piece of architectural and defence engineering.

Defence of the city was not left solely to the Castillo San Filipe but defence in depth was provided by the city walls, which had been a wooden stockade until 1614 and the Fuerta de San Sebastian del Pastelillo covering the bahia Cartagena. There were also numerous other defences strategically sited at the entrances to the bays covering the shipping lanes in and out of the enclosed waters of the Cartagena

Let me set the scene; its 1930 hrs; we are at Club de Pesco on the Fuerta de San Sebastian del Pastelillo on the waters edge of the Bahia de Cartagena. There’s a gentle breeze, the temperature is very pleasant and the water is millpond smooth. There is a clear dark Caribbean night sky with a waxing moon gilded with stars; a schooner draws alone side and guest board for an evening sail in the bahia. Music plays gentle in the background and the illuminated dome of the Santa Catalina De Alejandria Cathedral in the Old City is framed by the masts of the luxury yachts moored in the harbour. The fish was exotic and delicious, the wine fresh and chilled. Now, this is a place where our wives should be sitting across the table from us, not another Mick!

01 Aug 06 (Tue).
We had a stroll around the old city getting a closer look at its character and soaking up the ambience. The preserved history, like so much of the Spanish influenced part of this continent is fascinating. We took lots of photos, but the ones here are the Plaza Aduana, The city’s main gates, the city walls with canon and the Cartagena flag;

Sunset through the watchtower and over the pelican sculpture

02 Aug 06 (Wed).
Our loading time for the bike has been brought forward by 24 hours, which works in our favour as it gives that extra bit of spare time to sort out any last minute official problems that could occur. Richard has accompanied us as usual and giving us a lead from a taxi bike; we went via the Castillo San Felipe to get a landmark photo, then rode to the docks through a market on the waters edge with a stench so foul that it was hard to suppress the involuntary gag reflex and that would not have been fun in a full face helmet!

We were waved onto the weighbridge by our shipping agent Andres, from Diaduanas to start the documentation process, then off to the secure compound to wait for the Aduana (customs) and Narcotics Police to inspect the bikes before loading and lashing into our container. We would have to come back this afternoon

Returning to the docks we were subjected to their thorough security screening, authentication and search. Although this was a bit laborious, it is understandable, but rather defeated when we just drove the bike all the way in this morning without this scrutiny! Once in it was the Narcotic Police who had to be satisfied that we were clean and not carrying anything untoward. We emptied all of the panniers for him to inspect and search as he felt necessary. He seemed to quickly satisfied and it was a repack and load the bikes. This was a self help process; unlike the Falklands when we handed the bikes over to Eva Jaffray and the safe care of her guys at the harbour, to see them again in Chile all snugly packed with protective airbags and tightly windlassed lashings so that there was no chance of movement. Here, the dock crew started to lash the bikes, but it was obvious that they do not load freight like this very often, so we took over. A sea container is a bit tight to work in when you’ve got two bike side by side and with the external temperature in the mid 30s it’s a sauna inside; lashing finish and it looks like a cats cradle; hope the Caribbean is calm for the crossing? The last action is for the Narcotic Police to confirm that the Aduana has cleared the consignment and he seals the container. All loaded and the paperwork to be collected on Saturday before we fly to Panama.

03 - 04 Aug 06.
Spent at the keyboard catching up on the last couple of weeks, surely we should be on the beach enjoying the sun sea sand and the view. Made a rod for our own backs, all this writing!

05 Aug 06 (Sat)
Without Richard’s help and assistance over the last week we would have spent a great deal of time just chasing our tails trying to workout what had to happen next and how and where to achieve it; many thanks, we are very grateful.
He is now chasing up the final shipping documents that we need to have in our possession before we depart for Panama this afternoon.

Our Comment on Colombia: It was not on our country visit list at the start of this trip, but all the recommendations given to us first hand was that it was country not to be missed. Yes there are security issues; as I’ve been writing today there have be news reports of explosions in Cali, bombs found here and there etc. But we used to live with that threat from our own home grown terrorist groups and it did not stop us going about our business! The people, not just the ones we’ve been riding with have all been friendly, helpful and honest; on three occasions I handed over too much money and was returned the excess because they noticed the error not me. By selecting the locations and times of day to visit it is a country steeped in history, beaches and warm weather that has a lot to offer the tourist. Not to be complacent, but also not to be frightened of the shadows, by taking sensible precautions trouble should avoid you; except in the exception!

South America Done: That’s South America completed. We did not get to see The Guyana’s, Surinam, Venezuela and we only clipped Brazil but it has been an outstanding area to visit by bike. The almost unrestricted riding, the scenery, flora and fauna, the people and probably what has had the greatest influence, but little attention paid to it has been the weather. Until we entered Columbia on 21 Jul 06 we had been wet twice while riding since leaving the UK on 20 Apr 06. We’ve been wet nearly every riding day since then; but at least it’s warm rain! Would we come back? Yes, but not until we’ve done the other Cape!

We are supporting:
Charity:
Macmillan Cancer Support – http://www.justgiving.com/mickdaly-hereford

Schools:
Christ College Brecon - http://www.christcollegebrecon.com/
St Richard’s Bredenbury - http://www.st-richards.co.uk/

Some statistics:
Days away 107
Days Riding 54 = 50%
Days enforced rest 28
Miles covered per bike 12600
Av miles per riding day 233
Fuel used in litres per bike 1320
Fuel consumption 9.5 miles per Litre or 43 MPG
Tyres used per bike 3 sets
Counties visited 10
Number of border crossings 21 entries = 4 x Chile, 4 x Argentina, 2 x Brazil, 2 x USA. 1 x the rest

Breakages in total:
1 x Rear view mirror
1 x Left & 1 x right cylinder guard
2 x Speedo cables
2 x Spotlight bulbs
4 x Touratech short reach rear indicator arms. 100% failure
1 x Clavicle
1 x Ankle #

Bashed in total:
1 x Fuel tank (slightly)
4 x Side panniers
1 x Windscreen
1 x Crash bar
1 x Big toe
2 x Wallets

Our intention for the next week. Did we achieve last week’s intentions to visit Columbia; oh yes. Next is to clear the whole of Central America up to Belize within five days of getting the bikes out of the shipping container and on the road in Panama!