Getting the bike over the Darien Gap by plane proved to be just as easy as the last time back in 2008. The only difference was that the price went up to 725 USD from 550 USD and it took longer to clear customs on both sides this time around. In fact, we spent an entire day at the Girag offices in Bogota getting the bike ready for shipment and another half day on the Panamanian side getting it cleared through customs.

Fresh from our early morning flight from Bogota we proceeded to get our bike set-up for the trip out of Panama city...

We fixed ourselves the goal of making it from the airport cargo terminal in Panama city to David, near the border with Costa-Rica. We had visited Panama City before and needed to make up some time so we just drove though the capital city...

We have been fortunate in that we have rarely gotten sick on this trip. But riding through Panama that began to change as my intestines decided they weren't into eating strange food any longer. In fact, they were more into spending quality time on the toilet, any toilet really, even on the side of the road where there are no toilets. Just bushes that sometimes hide ants nests that are discovered under foot at the most inopportune time.

So when we arrived in David we splurged on a nice air conditioned room with what must have been the cleanest bathroom we have seen so far. And I should know as I spent all of the following day studying the tilework. At one point I even found myself studying the inside of the toilet bowl. It really was spectacular.

After our day of rest we took to the road again and entered Costa-Rica. We had heard about the use of radar guns by the police so we were particularly careful. So you can imagine our surprise when we were stopped by a police officer and told we were speeding. He clocked us at 93 kph in what he said was a 40 kph zone. He started by explaining that there was a big fine to pay. When we asked how much he informed us it would be 400 USD. Ouch! But I guess he was in a good mood because after a bit of talking he decided to let us go without paying anything. We continued on to the town of San Isidro and rode through the remainder of the country the following day and into Nicaragua. Our first stop in Nicaragua was the city of Granada...

And the next day to Somoto...

The day we left Somoto we entered Honduras and had an unpleasant encounter with some police officers at a routine roadside checkpoint. More on that little incident in the next couple of days.

Brian

After our visit of the coffee region we loaded up the bike once again and headed for Santa Fe de Antioquia which is about an hour north of Medellin. But to get there we decided to take some back roads, easily one of the best ways to get to know a country. For the first time since our arrival in the country it was hot. Real hot. But we still took the time to visit the town a bit...

Two days later we were on our way to Mompox, a colonial town a few hundred kilometres to the north-east of the country. In order to get there we had to take a small ferry...

The ferry ...

But even something as simple as taking a ferry can get a little complicated in this part of the world. In this instance, 3 young men latched onto us the moment we pulled into the lot that serves as a waiting area for vehicles. We were both hot and thirsty and somehow we missed the fact that these three people were not employees of the ferry service. So we made the mistake of asking one of them at what time the ferry arrived. For providing us with this information they felt entitled to receive a dollar each. And when we refused to pay them they threatened us with a beating once we would get to Mompox...

The promised beating never took place. We feel that this was probably due to the extreme heat in Mompox. The kind of heat that will melt the marrow in your bones and leave you without a desire to live. And forget the effort required to raise your fists. Not gonna happen. Truth be told we never did see them again and spent a pleasant day visiting the town...

Santa Barbara , an old baroque style church...

Public transport...

Our exit from Mompox via a different route turned into one of those epic days. It was supposed to be a bit of gravel until we reached the main highway than links the Atlantic coast to Bogota in the interior. But the “bit of gravel” ended up being about 90 kilometres of sometimes very deep bull dust that hid jagged rocks and potholes...

This little stretch of road took us a good 4 hours to get through. It was only once we made it safely to the main highway that we noticed our mudguard was missing and presumed shaken to death. There was no way we were turning back so we pushed on towards San Gil, a nice tourist town a couple of hours from Bogota...

The main plaza in San Gil...

Our final stop for our month in Colombia was Bogota from where I am writing these words. The city was our home for a month back in 2008 and once again we found ourselves sampling some good food and visiting some fine museums.

The gold museum impressed us a lot...

So tomorrow we will be bringing our motorcycle to the airport for the flight to Panama city with Girag, a Colombian air cargo company. Let's hope all goes well.

Brian

After the arduous ride from Popayan we were hoping that the ruins at San Augustin would be well worth it. They are, after all, recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site. I wish I could say that we were blown away by the ceremonial tombs that comprise the site but we were not. They are rather modest. But if you're into how dead people were buried 3000 years ago I guess you might find the site interesting. A few pictures of the statues and sarcophagus...

Tierradentro, another Unesco site several hours away, was more what we had in mind. Once again the road to get there was a bit of an adventure in itself and once again it is a site dedicated to the dead but in this case we found the area and the tombs very interesting.

The road to get there...

Burial sites:
First you go down...

Then you look at what is inside...

View from our room...

Brian

Our re-introduction to Colombia took the form of a rather harsh entry into the city of Pasto. After driving in circles for the better part of an hour we finally settled on a decrepit hotel on some unnamed street. The type of place that has a large padlock on the front door. As for securing the bike we found a paid parking just a couple of doors down. We knew we were in for a treat when we asked the attendant at the parking lot if we could retrieve our bike at any time. “Oh no sir, the parking lot is locked from 7pm to 7am. The night attendant does not open the door for anybody. You know, this is a very dangerous neighbourhood!”. Oh joy.

That evening, we spent some time up on the roof looking down upon the street as the prostitutes worked their trade and the drunks stumbled from point A to somewhere else.

But things soon got better as we made our way to Popayan the following day (we could not leave Pasto soon enough). Popayan is a beautiful colonial city that has much to offer in the way of museums and restaurants. They even light up the town square at night...

After a rest day in Popayan we headed off to San Augustin. We had read that this particular road could be challenging and it was. Despite the fact that San Augustin is only 140 kilometers from Popayan it took us a wopping 5 and a half hours to get there. Things started off well with the first 30 kilometers being paved and then the dirt started. But not just any dirt. No, this dirt road had potholes every 2 or 3 feet. And when there weren't any potholes there was mud. The road is not technically difficult but the going is painfully slow. Here are some pictures to better tell the tale...

While in San Augustin we met a nice couple who drove down from British Colombia on their motorcyles. Taz and Joel both ride Super Sherpas, agile looking little bikes that seem ready for anything that you could throw at them. Which is good because they were heading into the muddy potholed mess that is the San Augustin to Popayan road the following day. Here is the happy couple...

While we were having supper with them they mentioned that we should keep an eye out for Alisa whom they had been in contact with via e-mail. Apparently she was in Tierra Dentro (our next destination) and there was a possibility that our paths cross. Sure enough, the following day we met her moments after we arrived in town after another rather harsh road...

And that was our start to our second visit of what is turning out to be one of the best countries in which to travel (despite the sometimes challenging roads!).

Brian

There is something about Peru. And no, I'm not talking about that fact that much of it smells like fish. The something has more to do with how people drive in this country. For example, if you drive with your lights on, people coming the opposite way will flash theirs frantically to warn you of impending doom. The impending doom they are warning you about is the inevitable dead battery they believe will be the end result of your foolish attempt to be seen by other vehicles. You see, the fine people of Peru seem to be under the impression that it is not possible to have your headlights on and not drain your battery.

Another example. People in Peru like to honk their horns. This is especially true of taxi drivers who use their horns as a way of letting you know they are available for hire. So as you casually stroll down the street of your favorite city (you know, the one filled with thousands upon thousands of taxis) you end up getting honked at hundreds of times. It can, to say the least, be slightly annoying. Maybe somebody should tell them about the radical system used in the rest of planet earth. The system of the little yellow light on top of the cab. Off means not available and on means that it is. Real simple and some would say fail safe. But then again, turning it on would probably just drain their battery. Gotta love Peru.

It seems like just last week we were in San Rafael following the Dakar race whereas now we are in Arequipa, Peru, about 3500 kilometers north. Wait a minute, it was just last week.
So how did we get from there to here? Well, we drove as usual but what was different was the rather frantic pace with a few days covering about 700 kilometers.
But to get here there was a roadblock to blow past, a 4400 meter pass to go over and a vast desert to cross. First things first...

When we left San Rafael the basic plan was to blast through the countries we had already spent lots of time in and slow down for our favourites. This meant that Argentina, which we have spent over 7 months in, would be given little time. Same goes for Chile, we just wanted to zip through. For Peru we would have wanted to explore more of the interior but the rainy season means we have to stick to the Panamerican highway which is the equivalent of driving around a racetrack for thousands of kilometers, there is just so little variety in the scenery. So this means that by next week we should find ourselves in Ecuador where we hope to take things a little slower.

Now about the roadblock, police station, mountain pass and desert, here are some pictures along with explanatory captions.

The roadblock we came across in northern Argentina. It seems some local people were protesting the lack of jobs in the region. We slowly made our way to the top of the lineup of vehicles and, upon getting a nod from one of the folks manning the roadblock we drove over the branches that served as an obstacle. We still aren't sure if the nod meant go ahead and cross or if it simply meant hello...

The mountain pass is called Paso de Jama and rises to 4400 meters at the highest point. It links northern Argentina to northern Chile. Since we arrived at the pass too late for the border formalities we ended up spending the night in the village of Susques on the Argentina side where the local police chief was kind enough to let us pitch the tent at the back of the station. The following photo is of the road up the pass....

The desert is the Atacama desert and is considered the driest place on the planet...

Our next update should be from somewhere in Ecuador.

Brian

There are fanatics and then there are those that follow the Dakar. This past week, we have immersed ourselves among the latter. Everywhere we went we were greeted with cheers and even the occasional requests for photos. To see our bike you would wonder why. With the panniers on and the thing looking like a winnebago on 2 wheels you can't help but think that some of these fans need glasses since we look nothing like the competitors of the Dakar rally. But some of them evidently did think we bore a striking resemblance to these athletes. And so it was that as we were riding into San Rafael a few days ago after watching some of the racers go by we received an overly enthusiastic welcome into the city by more than a few of the thousands who had lined the streets. The video below was taken by Marie-France as we rode in...

Home base for our quest to experience what the Dakar race is all about was John and Annette's farm just outside the city. There we were among several other bikers who had gathered to this little oasis for the chance at seeing some of the competitors race by the city on this particular leg of the world famous race. We had a chance to once again spend time with Ken and Carol whom we keep bumping into these past 2 years, Bjorn, Danielle, Tony and Ina all of whom we met last month in Viedma, as well as Jerome and of course Javier from Dakar Motos. A great time was had by all...

Brian

Coming full circle

Last week marked an important (at least for us!) moment in our trip. For the first time since we left Canada over 2 years ago we are now “coming home”. The fact that there is no home to come to is somewhat problematic but, for the purpose of this text, let's say that home is anywhere in Canada. This means there will be no more returning to Buenos Aires, or Mendoza or anywhere else we ride through from now until we are back in the great white north.

It is a last chance to soak in the sights, see old friends that were made along the way and slowly (very very slowly) start thinking about exactly what we will do once we get back. I would be lying if I said we weren't feeling a bit melancholic about ending this trip. It somehow seems far too soon. There are just too many experiences to be had, too many things to see, too many pictures to be taken and of course too many people to be met. But the deciding factor, as with so many things in life, is money. When it runs out we are done. And right about now that looks to be the month of June, 2010. So until then, we will try and continue to keep our eyes, ears and hearts wide open.

Brian

We want to wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS and to thank you all for following us throughout our adventures.

No better way to celebrate christmas than a big asado (BBQ)!

Marie-France and Brian

We decided to leave Chile and were snowed on at the top of the (very) long pass and then rained on once in Argentina. We had decided to cross the country to go see the penguins in Punta Tombo since we had missed them last time. So, after countless kilometers we made it...

Their babies were there also...

After this visit we continued our road north towards Viedma for the 2009 meeting there. The meeting is actually in El Condor, 30km east of Viedma. We were about 25 persons from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, Scotland and Switzerland. Here are a few pictures taken that weekend...

Our corner at the camp ground, we are on the left...

Tony is in a wheelchair, but it doesn't stop him and his wife from travelling. His motorcycle is the one right next to him with the orange cover on the sidecar.

After the meeting we went towards Buenos Aires and stopped in Azul for one night. Jorge, in Azul, has been helping motorcyclists since 1993 and has this small place for the enjoyment of everybody. It is Bob sitting on the bench...

People write where they are from on the walls...

We are now in Buenos Aires and will spend the next two weeks here with Brian's two brothers, their spouse and the one teenager.

Marie-France