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

We finally left Bogota on the 8th of April and headed to the small village of Salento in the coffee growing region of Colombia. Before leaving we made sure to get the latest information on guerilla activity and everyone assured us that there would be no problems. The only warning” we did receive was from Max (Bananaman) who was turned away near the town of La Florida (near Cali) by concerned citizens who warned him of the presence of the FARC in the area. Since La Florida was not on our route that day we drove without worry on some of the most spectacular roads we have seen so far on this trip. There were lots of twisties and beautiful scenery along the entire route.

In the three weeks we had spent in Colombia up to that point we had already seen how friendly Colombians are. The drive to get to Salento only served to confirm that Colombians are among the friendliest people you could meet. Each time we stopped for either a break or because of road construction we were greeted with a hearty hello and the inevitable questions about the bike. As usual the question of cost of the motorcycle comes up to which we usually respond with “por qué?, Quieres comprar mi moto?” which roughly translates to “why do you ask? Are you interested in buying it?”. This never fails to get the surrounding crowd laughing.

The village of Salento was a welcome break from Bogota. In addition to great scenery there are several nice hikes to be had in the area one of which is to a coffee plantation which we visited on our second day. There we met Don Elias who shows tourists around the small plantation for a nominal fee. Considering that I have been drinking coffee for the better part of 20 years I was surprised at how little I knew of this little bean and what is required to transform it into my daily caffeine fix.

After a few days in Salento we decided that it was time to pick up the pace and see a little more of the country so we packed up the bike and hit the road for Popayan via Cali. We were a little apprehensive about this route because it would take us near the village of La Florida which we had been warned about. No problem we thought, the bike has been repaired and runs great.

And as long as the engine is running there is just about nothing that can happen to it that will cause it to just quit (other than a bad Hall Sensor which we had just replaced or a flat tire). So our plan, as always when we are in “iffy” areas, was to just drive past the region of La Florida without stopping. Besides, according to our map we would miss it by a good 50 kilometers.

I need to mention here that we travel with a very basic handheld GPS. It doesn’t really tell us were to go but it has been useful in telling us when we are going in the wrong direction. The little screen will show me towns and villages as little dots and might show me the highways and a few lesser roads but that’s it. At one point along the road to Popayan there came a fork with a sign showing that either direction (either straight or to the right) would lead us to Cali and Popayan which lay beyond the notorious city. The signs here tend to be a little on the small side so I took a split decision and kept going straight. According to the GPS there was no road but we decided to keep going since it was obviously a new construction and in very good shape.

After about 15 minutes of this I saw a dot on the GPS labeled “La Florida” quickly approaching. “Humm…” I thought, “This is a little unnerving”.

So I did a quick mental calculation and figured that we were about 30 kilometers away from the town.

“No problem, these roads tend to bend quite a bit so I’m sure it will eventually lead away from La Florida”….

20 kilometers away and approaching fast.

“the hell with it, lets keep going”….

15 kilometers away.

“Alright, as long as we keep the engine running and keep moving we’ll be fine”

10 kilometers away.

“Time to put her in fifth and blast through this area”

Clutch in and….SNAP!

“Oh, of all the places for the *&!$%!” clutch cable to snap!”

Fortunately, prior to leaving on the trip I had installed a spare clutch cable running alongside the original in case we needed to do a “side of the road” repair without too many delays. I think we may have actually broken some speed records for a clutch cable replacement that day! After a couple of minutes we were on our way, leaving La Florida behind. We arrived in Popayan tired but happy that we were able to handle a basic repair on our own.

Popayan was a nice little town but we both wanted to move on so the following day we headed to Pasto a few hours away. Once again we were treated to amazing roads and scenery the entire route. Hour after hour of sweeping views with villages nestled in the mountains and jaw dropping cliffs. We were about 10 kilometers away from Pasto when we came upon on long line of vehicles all stopped. Anytime we encounter a line of vehicles we take advantage of our small size and make our way to the front of the line to see what’s up. In this case the side of the mountain gave way onto the road which was impassable for all vehicles except the smallest. We inquired if the road ahead was safe and were told that this was one of two landslides. They suggested that we could easily get through the first one but opinions differed as to whether or not we would get through the other one a few kilometers ahead. We decided to check it out for ourselves and gingerly made our way through the small gap in the road at the first slide. A few kilometers later we came upon the second slide which completely covered the road. The only option to get by was a slippery 5 foot climb at a severe angle and then a 100 foot ride on the top of a grassy embankment with a nice drop on either side.

Opinions among the crowd were mixed as to whether the beast could negotiate the small detour. 50% percent of those present thought the bike would make it while 49% thought it was not possible (the other 1% just wanted to know how much the thing cost). Seeing as 100% of those present had never driven a 243 kilogram BMW motorcycle with worn road tires I opted to stick with my gut feeling and wait for the road crew to clear the way. Within 2 hours the road was cleared and we were on our way to Pasto.

Once again we found ourselves eager to keep moving so the next day we left for Ecuador. But before leaving Colombia there was one last thing on our list. Near the town of Ipiales (right on the border with Ecuador) there is a church built inside a small canyon.

We were now ready to leave Colombia. So what did we think of this country? Like most of the people reading this, we too were subject to an Americanized version of what Colombia is. True, the country has faced it challenges with violence and kidnappings but whatever it was in the past it seems to be changing rapidly. The Colombia we saw had the best scenery, friendliest people and most amazing roads we have seen on this trip so far. It also offered the best opportunities for meeting people of all walks of life, from the wealthiest citizens of the country to those barely making enough to eat. What they all had in common was a deep sense of pride and an eagerness to share all of what the country had to offer with whomever they met. This one tops the list so far.

Brian

While doing research for the trip we quickly determined that insuring our vehicle against theft or accident is prohibitively expensive if not nearly impossible to obtain. For this reason we go without and keep our fingers crossed. Third party liability insurance on the other hand is, in most countries, possible (and in some instances mandatory) to obtain. Sometimes you can buy it at the border and sometimes you have to hunt it down.

For Colombia we had heard conflicting reports about whether or not it is mandatory for tourists. We decided to be cautious (we usually do!) and try to get some. Edgar from BMW Autogermana referred us to Jorge who is a good friend of his and owns an insurance company. To make a long story short it turns out that Jorge’s company, Altagamma, can indeed insure a foreigner against third party liability for almost all of South-America but the cost is very high (certainly too high for us). Despite this setback, meeting Jorge ended up leading to several interesting encounters with other BMW owners (Jorge owns a 1200GS). One of these individuals was Juan Carlos who invited us to take a ride with him to Valle de Leyva. Valle de Leyvaris 4 hours away if you drive normally and 3 hours away of you drive like a crazed lunatic. We got there in 3.5 hours. It was one of the rare occasions where we didn’t need a map of the GPS to find our way around. It was great to be able to follow somebody who knows the roads.

The three of us on our first break…..

Brian

First off, let me state for the record that I love our motorcycle. As you read on you might ask yourself why this is so. Here’s the story:

We received our parts from BMW Atlanta and made our way to Autogermana S.A. (the BMW dealership) bright and early the following morning. Expectations were high as we had been waiting a week to get the bike repaired. We finally had the last piece of puzzle in our hands (bolts for the flywheel) and we were looking forward to hitting the road for parts unknown once the beast was finally back together. Within an hour of arriving the mechanic and I had finished the job. Everything was in place, the key was in the ignition, smiles were all around…..and then I saw the bolt.

Normally seeing a bolt in a mechanic’s shop would not cause me any anxiety but when I realized that it belonged to my just assembled motorcycle I got a little nervous. In times like this your mind quickly races with questions:
“Is this an important bolt?”
“If it isn’t an important bolt why would they have put it in the bike?”
“How is it that after putting the bike in a few hundred pieces we were able to put them all in the correct place except for one?”

Then you start getting angry at the bolt:
“How could you do this to me? This is my moment of glory! I have lived in ignorance of motorcycle mechanics all of my life and the one time I decide to take the plunge and get some grease on my hands my feeling of elation is brought crashing down to earth by a piece of threaded stainless steel barely 3 inches long with a worn head!..……Wait a minute, a bolt with a worn head…..I know this bolt….Yeah, this one is to secure the gas tank in place!” (yes, I have indeed gotten this intimate with our motorcycle in the past 6 months)

With this little crisis over we were ready to start it up. Unfortunately as soon as we got the bike to idle it kind of just died. So we spent the next 6 hours trying to figure out what the hell was wrong. We finally narrowed it down to possible hall sensor failure. Turns out this 3 by 4 inch part costs a whopping 550$! By the time we installed a new hall sensor it was already 6:00pm. Once the new part was installed the bike ran perfectly, but seeing as it was raining we decided to come back for the bike the following day. So now we have our wheels again and despite the time delays and costs in getting it repaired, it feels good to be reunited with the machine that has brought us all the way from Montreal to Bogota.

As for our experience with Autogermana I have to say that not only were they able to figure out exactly what was wrong with the bike and fix it, they were great hosts as well. Edgar, the service manager, made sure that I could help with the work and did everything he could to make sure the bike was perfect before we rode off. My experience was made all the better by Alejandro, the mechanic, who made sure that I was given just enough responsibility to learn but not so much that I would wreck the bike. I would not hesitate to recommend this dealership to anybody coming through Colombia. Thanks guys, I had a blast!

While waiting for the parts to come in for the motorcycle we took advantage of what Bogota has to offer by visiting a few sites. First off, we did the round of Museums. Our favorite was the museum dedicated to Botero. Here are a few pictures:

The resemblance is striking isn’t it….

“El Presidente”. Strangely, the artist dissapeared shortly after this painting was shown for the first time ….(alright, I might be stretching the truth on that last bit but I could not resist!)…..

In addition to the museums we spent a good deal of time walking around the city. The architecture here is beautiful, particularly in the city center. Despite a high rate of poverty the people are generally very friendly and won’t hesitate to have a chat with us.

This poor little fellow seems a little overwhelmed….. 

Today we visited a Cathedral about an hour outside of Bogota. What makes this Cathedral interesting is that it is in a salt mine (that is still active). Here are a few pictures;

Brian

Sometimes when you are on the road you will have a chance meeting with somebody that will alter your immediate plans or otherwise make you see things in a different light. This happened to us on the morning we went to get the motorcycle at Bogota airport several days ago. The morning in question I decided to take a look at a website that I used to consult months ago when we were preparing our trip. It’s called adventure rider (www.advrider.com) and it offers quite a bit of info for people who want to hit the road with their bike. So as I was looking over the site I came upon a ride report by a fellow called (on the site at least!) Bananaman. It seems this Bananaman was also doing a trip in the Americas. I remember thinking it would be nice to meet him since we are essentially doing the same route with the same type of bike (BMW1100GS).

Shortly afterwards we left for the airport and got the paperwork done. As I went to get the bike from the warehouse I noticed a note on the gas tank. Sure enough it was from the same guy. Turns out that while he was at the airport in Panama getting ready to ship his bike with the same airline he saw ours and left the note. He arrived the next monday and we had a great time sharing stories over the next couple of days. Here is a photo of the three of us outside our hotel in Bogota.

Brian 

As we wrote in our last entry we are now in Bogota, Colombia. Getting the bike here went very well. The morning after we arrived we called the shipping company and were told that the bike had arrived and that we could go pick it up. As usual, getting all of the paperwork done was a little long but once we finished all we had to do was re-connect the battery and get the beast onto South-American soil. There was just one little hurdle left….

If you have been following this blog for a while you already know that we had some repairs done on the bike in San Salvador to fix a persistent oil leak that has plagued us since we started the trip. What you don’t know is that after we returned to the region from our short trip to Montreal the oil leak got worse. In fact, we took the bike back to the same dealer in San Salvador to re-do the repairs, free of charge. After fixing the bike a second time the leak returned although it wasn’t as bad as before. Unfortunately, this is the type of mechanical problem that can quickly get much worse (as we have already experienced) and can end up being very difficult and expensive to repair. So we decided to press on in the hopes of getting it fixed in Colombia.

A little word of warning is in order at this point: no matter what type of vehicle you chose to bring abroad it will eventually suffer some sort of mechanical problem. For us the mechanical problem took the form of a potentially very problematic oil leak whose origin we have had a very hard time determining.

Once we made it to Bogota we went to pay a visit to the BMW dealer and explained to the service manager our predicament. We also asked him if I could participate in the repairs to which he said yes!! So yesterday I got intimate with the inside of our motorcycle.

First step, take off the seats……

Second step, take off the rear wheel and gas tank…..

Third step, lift up the rear of the bike……

Fourth step, remove the tranny to reveal the flywheel……

Which, once removed, revealed to us that the main seal was not the problem…

The culprits were rather the transmission seals (oil wiped off prior to photo)….

Which required us to do this to change them……

So now we are waiting for a few parts being shipped from Atlanta BMW to finish the job. By the way, if you are not mechanically inclined but have made it this far I feel I owe you a reward. Here it is:

Something to think about!

Brian