Leaving Manizales, we twisted through the mountain pass on a road that could have been built for motorcycles. Lots of traffic, but the little bikes passed and weaved well and we made good time through the city of Peirerra. We stopped in a town just past there and had a cold drink. They have a carbon water drink here called H2oh. I have struggled to get order it a couple of times, having to point to it to get the message across. Then it came to me. I was using English, even for letter pronunciations. This time “hachy dos oh” and she knew what I wanted. Chris just
“mismo”ed and got the same.
We ended the riding portion of our day at Los Tubos hotel. Basically, the hotel is built next to a river and plumbs water from the river into their 4 pools. When we arrive, a large group of 18-25 year olds, probably from a nearby town, celebrating a birthday party. We are now in an area that is less Spanish or Indigenous descendants, and is primarily black. I got a lot of double takes from them (all friendly, just surprised). Not a super fancy place, but a nice affordable option for the Colombian working class. It was quite entertaining to sit near thepool, have a beer and watch them all group dancing away.
We also worked a little on the bikes. Chris added his phone mount so he could see where he was going. With all the motorcycles on the road, it is hard for me to tell which one is behind me and him keeping up with me is virtually impossible in this traffic. (I also have the white bike, which is a faster colour). I worked on double checking all of my wiring, which turned out to be fine and just the little USB adapter seems to be at fault for some charging issues.
We went off to dinner at a road side eatery (thousands of these in Colombia) and had chicken with rice, fries and salad. Chris also had the soup. Total meal cost $16 for the both of us. Retiring back to the hotel for the night, I type the blog and relax, listening to the peaceful, crashing sound of the rushing river, broken occasionally truck brakes on the road. A little gecko is sharing my room. Being totally uncreative, I named him Geico.
Colombia Motorcycle Ride 