Long Downhill into the Amazon: Colombia, Ecuador, & Peru

 

Yes indeed indubitably back on the two wheeled steeds we be.

After our chill-time-hang-sesh hiatus off the bikes we’re back at it again. 

Here is the video recap for the month:

https://youtu.be/VcCbwC5xz4U

A bit of a disclaimer: We are so grateful to everyone who donated for our return flight. We fly back in the beginning of August. We leave from São Paulo, Brazil and will be landing in Orlando, Florida. From there we are going to be making our way up the east coast and then eventually out west. There was a bit of confusion and some people thought the adventure had ended but we’re still traveling south for another 5 months before we return. On that note it’s weird to think of the return as a set date but we’re excited for the change and to see all of y’all. 

After some decompression and reorientation at the Casa de Ciclistas in Medellin, we felt ready to hit the road again. We headed south on a route recommended to us by Manuel, the main man from the casa de ciclistas. He likes going off the beaten path so we knew were in for something “fun”. On the highway, at the top of a trying hill, we ran into Leo a crazy retired Belgium dude who was in his 70s and had been traveling as a cyclist on and off for the last decade all around the world. We exchanged some experiences over some lemonade a local restaurant owner had gifted us. For the rest of the day we would pass each other at different rest stops. 

He had a camcorder he would whip out to film us riding by. After we cycled our way off of the main highway at La Pintada, we hit the off-road section and camped next to the Rio Arma. The hills were pretty tough coming up from the river valley and the road would keep alternating from paved to dirt and gravel. We made it to the town of Aguadas where we were recommended to camp on Monserrate, a hill that overlooks the town and the surrounding ridges and valleys. 

The scenic backdrop to our campsite was a nice point of relaxation before the butt churning chafing that would ensue on the undulating roads ahead. 

There was also a super adorable cat nearby, to Annina’s delight and Ernesto’s chagrin. The next day, as we chafed and churned towards Salamina, we stopped near a citrus tree on the side of the road that was brimming with fruit. Large oranges! Or so we thought. As soon as we bit into them our whole body twitched with goosebumps as the sour taste made itself known. Orange limes! We packed our bags with a handful for a future lemonade refreshment. As we were getting ready to leave a delivery truck driver pulled over and asked if we wanted a ride up the hill. Feeling tired and happy go lucky we took the ride. Diego, the driver, was the sweetest. After we got our bikes in the back he offered us some Corcho that looked like dog dookie but tasted great. It’s kind of like a homemade marshmallow; which he said was “good” for your health since it’s made from bone marrow. He gave us a ride up to Salamina and before we left he gave us his contact and invited us to come eat lunch at his house in Aranzazu the next day. We made our way to the homie spot with the bomberos and they let us take their energetic german shepherd for a walk around the town (or rather let it run around behind it trying to catch up).

 We got caught in a torrential downpour while searching for WiFi, the thunder and lighting seemingly striking right above the rooftops. The next morning we made our way to Aranzazu where we met up with Diego and his family. They prepared us a hearty Colombian lunch (mainly meat). We talked with Juancho, their son, about his adventures hitchhiking around Colombia. 

They recommended we go play music in the Central Park so we did. The local people were the most curious we had ever met and really receptive of our lil acrobatic musical routine as they crowded around us at the park. After chatting with the locals for a while we left for the sweet downhill and as the sun was setting we camped next to a restaurant by a river. We ran into a French couple early in the morning who were also traveling by bicycle. They had one of the lightest packing setups we’d seen and we bid them farewell as they headed in the direction we had just come from. 

 As we traversed the dipping hills and valleys we came across a group of guys loading horses into a trailer and as our custom we casually asked if they knew of any horses that had died recently as we were looking for a jaw bone for another instrument. They assured us of horse that had recently passed down a path on a nearby plot of land. So after walking down the trail a little bit we came across the remains of the horse. It looked like the horse had been deflated like a balloon on the grass. Only the hide and the bones remained with vulture feathers strewn about. The top part of the cranium was gone, maybe taken by a dog or some farmer, but sure enough there was a complete horse jaw still putrid with decaying flesh. So we took it with us and sanitized the shit out of it/ourselves after handling it and strapped it to our ever growing pile of stuff on the back of the bike.

 After a day of cycling up, we made it to the big town of Manizales where the bomberos couldn’t host us but we stayed at a open air market under construction. After a brief pit stop in the city we made our way up some of the gnarliest stretch of roads we’ve been on. It was lots of pushing uphill over large rocks in the road. We chose this route because of its thermal waters. After biking into the night we got to sanctuary built for a scout troop that was crushed under a landslide in the mid 2000s. We slept next to the sanctuary and bathed in a shallow warm thermal pool. At 13,000 feet, the temperatures were pretty low in the night. The next day we continued our climb through the winding high altitude curves but, because of our haphazard planning, we were running low on food. Since we were in a super secluded area there weren’t any food stores. We stopped at the only store-ish thing in the area: a fancy, hot springs hotel. The food was so overpriced that we kept biking, bellies grumbling. A kilometer later we passed by a local finca (farm) and we asked the woman standing outside if we she had any food. Camila, the woman, welcomed us into her home and served us a delicious plate of rice, beans and potatoes with agua panela (a columbian drink staple of hot sugar cane). We played them some of our songs and her three kids enjoyed playing with our arts and crafts bag. 

After a little while she said we should stay until the next day and hang out with them, so naturally we did. The kids enjoyed making art with our water colors and markers and we got to do some much needed laundry that dried almost immediately with the whipping winds. We set up our tent and the three brothers turned it into their little play fort for the day. The brothers were having such a blast inside the tent that they wanted sleep out there. The dad came home from work on a horse and greeted us like old friends. As soon as the sun went over the ridge the temperature dropped drastically and we all huddled in the wood fired kitchen for warmth. We collaborated on a dinner with them but they were very unused to our heavy use of spices as they mainly subsist off of rice and potatoes. So a few drops of what we considered weak hot sauce in our soup was enough for all of them to get majorly spiced out. We made up for it by making the last of our supply of popcorn which the kids devoured instantly as they stared off into the distance with an intensity in their eyes. We spent the night sharing a room with the family under what seemed a mountain of blankets. We awoke before the sunrise the next morning as the kids were getting ready to go to school. They were huddled naked with towels draped over them, shivering from their morning shower in the heat of the kitchen. We all ate breakfast together and then the dad had to go to work. The kids waited on the road for the transport to come pick them up from school. They were so excited to go to school! We got our bikes ready and eventually the kid’s school transport never came due to a mechanical issue with the car. Excitedly they asked us if we could take them on our bicycles but they didn’t even know where their school was exactly, so we sadly declined. We all went with Camila to bring the baby cows to feed with the mama cows and also get some milk for the house. After coming back from chasing cows around there was a truck delivering some wood and it looked like it was going to be able to give the kids a ride up to school. So we said our goodbyes and started back up the winding hills. We ran into a Dutch couple who were on a short cycling vacation through the mountains. They were doing one of the longer cycling climbs called Alto de Letras. We split ways with them as we were headed towards the volcano Nevado de Ruiz. The landscape quickly changed into the high altitude paramo with the endemic frailejones and barren grassland. After we rounded a few turns we caught sight of the majestic Nevado de Ruiz volcano.

 Towering at over 17000 feet, it sits overlooking this rugged mountain landscape. We made a pit stop at an abandoned shack that made for some great views and continued down the unpaved trail.

 In the 1970s this volcano erupted killing over 29,000 people in the surrounding area and, as such, it’s a natural beauty that is both respected and feared. As we passed through the areas where previously lava had flown like a river, we found out from a motorcyclist that there was a moderate warning on the volcano so most people couldn’t summit because the volcano was releasing warning signs of burps of gas and smoke. The landscapes from this point on were some of our favorite so far. 

From red rivers and canyons to multi colored lagoons, our descent from the mountains was a bumpy ride filled with great scenery. Before getting to the real descent we stopped by a cabin on the road to see if there was any food we could eat for lunch. The man who was the caretaker there only sold snacks so we loaded up on a variety of nuts and chips to hold us over for the rest of the ride; yet, as we were about to leave he gifted us a couple of pounds of potatoes, pasta, and a small brick of panela. We were so grateful for his gifts and also this meant we had to carry the extra weight on this downhill. From that point on the road was definitely rough. The rocks in our path were so sporadic and big that it took a lot of maneuvering and slow going patience. 

Eventually we came out the other side totally exhausted in the cute little town of Murillo. The colorful wood paneling of the houses endemic to the colder climate small towns was so well represented here. 

We asked near the edge of town if it was alright to camp and we were welcomed into the house of a couple of empty nest grandparents. They brought us in like family and we stayed in one of their old children’s rooms. We talked into the night about how they used to live in the countryside of the volcano, farming potatoes in a time before there were any of the roads there are today. The grandma told us of how they evacuated when the volcano erupted and how she is no longer afraid for she’s lived a full life. We woke up to eat breakfast with them and, after playing them some songs, we made our way out of the cold climate for a while. On our misty descent from Murillo we ran into Ian the crazy Irish vegan cyclist we had met in Costa Rica. Ian was one of the more hardcore bike packers we’d met and he was on the search for crazier routes and more mountains. 

We chatted a bit about our routes and about cycling in general and then split ways. We went way way down coasting on these paved roads (9,000 feet exactly) till the cold became a dry, enveloping, sweaty heat. We reunited with the Rio Magdalena once again and would follow its curving flow all the way to the jungle and into Ecuador. But first, we needed to cross it so we camped next to a restaurant at the docks where the small canoes that give passage to the other banks take off. In the morning we loaded our bikes into the canoe and quickly made our way to the main highway on the other side. We biked in what seemed a relentless heat for what seemed like an eternal hell of a few days. 

In that span we camped with a family that lived in between farmland and an irrigation ditch and also our trusty homies the bomberos that let us camp in their patio filled with very vocal roosters and a firefighter who gave us detailed instructions on how to make cocaine. After detouring off the highway, cactus became more prominent and the shade less. We had found ourselves on the dusty path to the Tatacoa Desert. 

We arrived late into the desert valley and found a camp site next to some houses. The stars shone bright for a brief moment before the full moon peaked out over the horizon like a soft yellow lamp lighting the desert floor. The next morning as the sun rose so did the temperature and we soon packed up our tents to go explore the desert structures. A pair of Polish cyclist passed by where we had setup and we chatted briefly about their South American journey they had been traveling about the same amount of time as us but just through South America and they recommended a Warm Showers host in Neiva so we took note of that. We walked around the labyrinthine structures caused by the rain eroding the land. This area is renown for its archaeological importance and a lot of key fossil findings have been made in the Tatacoa. 

After exploring the maze-like canyons, we went back into the nearby town to briefly get in contact with this previously talked about warm showers host and to contact people. We rode for the next day and arrived in the city of Neiva, not knowing if we had a place to stay. We bounced around looking for a place to connect to WiFi in the center of downtown and just as we were about to go into a cafe, looking for a connection, this guy walks up to us and says, “Hey are you Ernesto & Annnina? I’m Jerson from warm showers I got your message earlier!” Weird synchronicity moment. He said he wasn’t sure he could host us because another couple was already staying at his house but he called his mom and she was like “of course bring them over.”. So we went over to his house and all crammed in there with multiple bicycles and motorcycles over lapping in the living room and bed rooms. We met the couple from Belgium, Margarita and Thibaud, who had been coming from Quito, Ecuador and we’re heading for the coast. Margarita got sick that first night from something she ate and they left early the next morning to find a place to recuperate with A/C. We stayed for a few days relaxing with the family and really got close with Monika the mother of the house. She really likes dancing and cooking for her guests. We also like dancing and eating lots of food so it was perfect. After a nice rest from days on end of biking we continued the sweaty route south and west. On the route we decided to try hitchhiking.

 We had a few failed attempts at catching rides so, after camping in a sports complex under construction and in a playground that had a lot of creative art and repurposed material, we biked to the town of Pitalito where we stayed at a fire station that was lined with trees of Pomo fruit. We took an all day winding bus from Pitalito down to La Hormiga to get closer to the border of Ecuador. Slightly motion sick and with headaches, we arrived in the town and slept in the bomberos garage. We got caught in a heavy rainstorm at night that was so loud, we had to cover our ears for some time before going to sleep. The next day under a light drizzle we crossed over into Ecuador! In this Amazonian jungle terrain we came across a lot of oil extraction and refinery plants. The escape fume towers burning in the jungle made a wild looking juxtaposition. At the border crossing we also learned we could get the yellow fever vaccine for free from the local health centers. After trying around at a few clinics we found one we could get it at in the town of Nueva Loja. We waited in line with a lot of mothers and baby’s as we listened to a lot of crying behind doors. After a short ride to the town of Sacha ñ, we stayed with a friendly bunch of bomberos that offered us lots of fruits from their fincas. Ernesto also played alongside them on their fútbol team against the local doctors. The game was very one sided and the bomberos needed a lot of practice, mainly on teamwork which is quite ironic. The final score was something like 8-2; doctors winning. We rode back in one of the fire pick up trucks and made some popcorn and performed for them. The captain really got a kick out of the quijada and was always scratching along or fiddling on our ukulele. We departed around noon time because one of the bomberos showed us around his family’s farm and we tried some new fruits. On the way back from the farm we helped a little boy and his mom get to the health clinic because he got nicked with a machete in the head while play sword fighting. The cut wasn’t bad but the kid was freaked out by the sight of his own blood and puked a few times. We made our way to the town known as El Coca where we had decided we would embark on our river journey through the jungle to cross into Peru. We went to the docks and asked about prices and after finding the boat we wanted to take they told us we had to load the bikes the night before because they were going on a separate cargo boat. This journey requires taking two different boats over a span of more than a week and crossing the Rio Napo from Ecuador into Peru and then eventually joining with the Amazon river! Before we left we had to go to the immigration office and officially exit Ecuador even though we would still be in the country for two days. We prepared by buying some dry food staples the night before and ran into a fellow traveler at the bombero station we stayed at who had a mobile diy trash drum set he used for busking. The boat we took in the morning was an all day affair only stopping for a quick lunch break around the half way point. Once we arrived at the small river village near the border of Nueva Rocafuerte we camped in a palapa (palm thatch structure) next to a building under construction that had access to free public bathrooms and showers. We chatted with a guy from New Zealand, Simon, who was traveling back to Iquitos to an ayahuasca retreat center. It seemed he somehow always excitedly brought the conversation back to talking about ceremonies and his shamanic medicinal experiences. After a night of torrential downpour, where the roof held up pretty nicely and we only had to shift our tent slightly from runoff, we were ready to crossover into Peru on our second day of boat travel. We had to wait for the cargo boat to arrive to transfer our bicycles into the boat. Once we secured them onto the front deck we were off and in what seemed a relatively short time we crossed into Peru and into our next stop of Cabo Pantoja. This is where we would be taking the large cargo style boat into the jungle city of Iquitos. The boat was already docked and we went up to talk to the captain he told us we could bring our stuff on board and could sleep on the boat till we shipped off in two days. So we gladly accepted brought our bicycles on board and all our stuff and then found out there was another similar boat leaving that same day, but after asking around most people recommended we stay with the boat we had already chosen because they were more official and more comfortable so we took their advice. We also had to go find the immigration office and officially enter the country of Peru. After getting settled and getting our passports stamped we hung out with our New Zealand homie and a new homie from Chile just having casual conversations. They were both leaving on the faster speedboat the next day, they would arrive in Iquitos in two days. We also met our traveling comrades a couple from Spain and Germany, Alfredo and Elke who were traveling on the so called “slow” boat with us to Iquitos. Our last day on land was spent walking around the small town, climbing a water tower and recording songs with the reverberating acoustics, and picking cacao fruit from forgotten trees. 

We left early morning on a Tuesday and the bugs were killer right at sunrise. Slow going and true to its namesake the “slow” boat makes plenty of stops in all the small villages along the river. The boat stopped many times to pick up literal tons of plantains and other fruits, as well as animals ranging from ducks and chickens to large jungle rodents and river turtles, pigs and cows. 

They also get a lot of random bush meat which they toss into larger barrels after heavily salting it. Along with the cargo that is loaded at every stop more people get on to the boat. Everyone sleeps in hammocks but since we don’t have any with us we we’re on the ground. 

We had to defend our territory because after most of the space was claimed, people were starting to set up their hammocks on top of us so we set up our tent to mark our spot. Also the cargo boat acts like a roving market. Lots of people come to check out new boat engines or chainsaws they have on display from the city. They also have coolers which they sell cold drinks and icy pops from which are the biggest sellers. A bonus is we kept our water in the cooler to keep us cool in the heat of the day. Also somehow children always gravitate towards us and so we offer them painting time or play simple acro games with them. 

This is sure to be a boat ride that we are not to going to forget easily as it is equal part adventure and traumatic experience. The highlight of the show was when a cow on the cargo ship, after standing in the heat for days, released a spew of projectile diarrhea all over the boat. But we had made it to the city of Iquitos with its trash laden shores and congested streets in the middle of the Amazon. After 4 days on the river we felt pretty horrible. A mixture of headache with body ache and just general off-ness from sleeping on a dirty floor next to a half-eaten armadillo carcass. 

So we searched for a place to stay. The bomberos said we had to come back at night so we checked in to a place and promptly showered and passed out. The city feels like a dirty tourist trap so we quickly fled after only a day there. While there we walking around the market, ate tree grubs and checked out their medicinal plants. From there we biked for two days down the only road that connects Iquitos to the town of Nauta where we could take the last leg of river boat to get to roads again in Yurimagas. We’re now back on land ready to climb mountains and sweat the uphills. Have you tried any new foods recently? Witnessed anything that was disgusting? 

Sending sweet sticky fruity kisses and hugs

Annina & Ernesto

Bacano Parcero: Colombia

 

We’ve entered the age of 2020 vision; although we still need our glasses to see clearly. Most of this past month has been spent off the bikes since we’ve been having back to back reunions with the homies. Also, due to the high density of action-packed adventures and mishaps from the past month, this email will be in two parts for better enjoyment and more pictures. 

Here is the link to the video update for the month!

https://youtu.be/OQzRPxiqazQ

After a fun filled time of cycling in the capital of Bogotá we started off towards the mountains in the direction of Medellin. This would turn out to be the brief but intense biking section of this past month. As we biked up these gnarly mountains, it was further cemented that Colombians love cycling. We didn’t go a day on the route from Bogota to Medellin without seeing a handful of cyclists sweating with that deranged look of enjoyment in their eyes. Especially near the bigger towns, there were spandex-suited groups galore. We stopped in the town of Villeta for the night where a local farmer let us camp on his property next to the river. We cooked over a camp fire under the moonlight. The next day we continued the uphill route. We were playing bike tag with two mountain biking homies from Bogota as we passed each other multiple times on the ascent out of the city and finally we decided to stop and chat, then continue the journey together for the day. Their names were Jessid and Jonathan. We took snack breaks together and they offered us electrolyte beverages and gü packets. We witnessed Jonathan breakup a fight between two heated truckers on the highway because one didn’t let the other pass. One of them was armed with a crow bar and had a large rip in his shirt, exposing his big belly. It was pretty intense. We split ways in the town of Guaduas where we were caught in a rain storm and camped behind an abandoned restaurant. The caretaker invited us over for a Colombian Christmas tradition of prayer and song with the local community and showed us the nativity set that he had set up in his front lawn with a replica of a town from the old days. The night was filled with fast praying, little cookies, and the family calling us their version Mary & Joseph. We stopped for lunch in the fishing town of Honda. After arriving in the main square, we were invited into a bakery by its owner for some refreshing juice and chatted with them about our adventures. We also ate at the local market and our meal was paid for by a local restaurant owner David who was eating with us. After feeling grateful for all the generosity we received in this town, we pedaled the hot sweaty road to Puerto Salgar where we camped on the roof with our trusty homies: the bomberos (fire fighters). Time was a crunchin and we only had a few days to make it to Medellin in order to meet up with our friend Lily who was flying in for the holidays. So we did a combination of cycling and hitching most of the day till we got a sick ride with a flat back semi truck to the river spot of Rio Claro. We camped next to the river and got rained on through the night. Luckily nothing was too wet and after breakfast we biked to try and find a good hitchhiking spot. We were invited to lunch by two workers from the nearby cement factory and, after a few failed attempts at getting a ride, we realized they had put a restriction on semi trucks on the road for the holidays. Thus we ended up biking uphill for a decent stretch until we finally got a ride from a delivery driver on his way back home to the outskirts of Medellin. Again, we camped with the bomberos but had to leave at the crack of dawn; the town still heavily shrouded in fog. This day would be our last day on the bikes for a bit and it was quite the journey. We biked over the hills and into the valley of Medellin. The steep decent was filled with incredible panoramas of the city. As we rolled into the city center we saw a protest march in process so, naturally, we joined in the ranks as it was on the way to where we were going. A makeshift stage had been set up on the back of a truck and a local punk band was playing protest songs. The activists were taking to the streets against the Colombian president Duque who has been accused of creating policies that favor the rich, moving towards negatively changing welfare benefits, and silencing/killing the leaders of indigenous groups. After parting ways with the protest, we then made the long steep ascent out of the city towards San Antonio de Prado where we were going to store the bikes at the Casa de Ciclistas (translates to: cyclist’s House). At the house we met with some fellow cycle travelers: Luis from the motherland of Mexico and his homie from Medellin. We shared stories, food, and zines. We loved hearing about the history of the “House of Cyclists” and how it came to be. Manuel, the guy who started the house, has a very unique vision that grows with the people that come and stay there. We are grateful to them for the help in storing our bikes and housing weary traveling cyclists. We only stayed one night in this magical place because the next day we had to meet up with Lily who was flying in from Boston to visit us. We met up at a mall in the center of town and stayed with an interesting Couchsurfing host near the south of the city. We spent Christmas Eve walking around the town with a sign that read “Looking for a family for Christmas”.

 It got us into lots of conversations. We walked up the backside of the hills that lead to the infamous Comuna 13. This neighborhood is now known as a tourist destination for its escalators up the steep hillside to a walking gallery of street art. The neighborhood used to be one of the more dangerous areas in the city but through infrastructure, art, and community, it’s become a vibrant place. We walked around and caught the sunset from balconies next to the walkway. We descended from Comuna 13 & headed towards the center of town where we had heard of an international potluck gathering for the holiday. We met a lot of cool people there and stuffed ourselves with delicious international tastes. The next day we rode the city metro and public transportation gondola system . 

The gondola takes you out of the city into a nature reserve for hiking. We glided through the sky and watched as the city disappeared and the trees took its place. We walked around the trails and had a picnic in a wooded area. On the way back we took a pickup truck through some dusty bumpy roads. We chatted with the young boy who was riding in the back with us. He showed us some of his DJ tracks/remixes that he said he played in the local clubs. 

Once we arrived back in the city we walked to one of the big central parks that was having a light show. Colombians really like having a lot of lights in the parks for Christmas. This one was massive with floating installations in the lake and music coordinated lights with circus performers dancing about. It was crowded to the max so we played a game of who could lick the most shoulders without getting noticed. Nina won but Lily was a close second. We had a fun time in Medellin and after these festive days, we decided to head to Pereira where we had been invited to stay at a coffee farm through Couchsurfing. We introduced Lily to the art of hitchhiking for this leg of the journey but we quickly learned that asking for a ride for three would prove to be rather challenging in Colombia. 

After two days of mostly failed attempts and lots of dancing by the roadside with a cardboard sign, we had only gotten one ride from a nice trucker who got us to a little pueblo by a river. Since we arrived there after night fall we couldn’t quite get the lay of the land. We asked at the local police precinct where we could sleep and they led us up a hill to a cow pasture where we could camp out for the night. They recommended that we set up a makeshift fence with rope around our encampment so that the cows wouldn’t accidentally trample us in our sleep. So we made the makeshift border around our tents with rope, bike tubes, and clothing. The “fence” proved to be useful as the cows wandered very close to us as we slept. 

From there we caught a bus to Pereira after realizing the hitchhiking game was becoming too long of a waiting game for this type of adventure. We had a relaxing few days at Diego and Fainnery’s house in the coffee hills where we learned about the process and cultivation of coffee on their little farm. Did you know coffee production involves fermentation? We didn’t! They have only just begun on their farm experiment in the countryside and we’re excited to see how it develops. 

After Pereira, we had to return to Bogota because of Annina’s passport renewal at the US Embassy. Also, our traveling family was about to expand as we were to be joined by our Humboldt homies Dan & Caitlyn. We took a wild swerving overnight bus to Bogota where we were to stay with Juan Carlos Aka Willy Wonka our Couchsurfing host. We picked up Dan & Caitlyn at the airport with our clown mask (of course) and our adventure as a family of five began! 

We had a low key New Years after walking around the empty street of Bogota (most people leave the city for the holidays to spend time with family in the surrounding areas). On the morning we  wanted to hike up a nearby trail but it was closed for the new year so we ended up in a local park and dancing with an African dance crew that was practicing in the park. Our next and final day in Bogota was spent in two ways. Annina had to go to her passport interview at the Embassy and the rest of the crew went to one of the bigger open air markets to eat some local food and buy lots of new fruits. Anninas experience at the Embassy was rather tumultuous as she realized, once at the Embassy, she hadn’t brought any money. Money is kind of something you need to get a passport but Ernesto had taken all their cash and cards without thinking about it. After getting the Embassy to agree to give her a few hours to round up the cash, Annina contacted her friend Sebastian who she met last time she was in Colombia (2 years ago). Sebastian, the saint, was 5 hours from Bogota on vacation but ended up sending Nina the cash through an ATM which, to her, was like an act of magic and a miracle. She went back, paid for the passport, and gave the embassy an address to send the passport to in Medellin. Completely clueless to Annina’s debacle, Ernesto, Lily, Dan, and Caitlyn were exploring the big hill of Montserate where you get a full panoramic view of the expansive city. Dan & Caitlyn took the gondola up to the sanctuary at the top and Lily & Ernesto hiked up the paved hillside. After taking in the view and eating plentiful snacks they reunited to take the gondola down and catch a bus back to the homie spot. The crew had decided they were catching a flight to Baranquilla  to be able to visit and camp at Tayrona National Park. We had decided this the night before to take a short flight instead of opting for a 20 hour bus ride to the coast. This seemingly time saving decision would turn into the legend of the epic flight chronicles of Bogota. And it goes like this...

We were cutting it close to get to the airport. Bags heavy and lopsided, we bumbled up the sidewalks to catch the TransMilenio bus line that is the city’s make believe metro. Once we got there it dawned on us that we might not make it to the airport on time if we rely on public transportation. So we quickly scrambled like an egg for an Uber by using the public WiFi at the station. In a desperate attempt, Ernesto booked a large van but it’s gonna take too long to pick up. So he tried to cancel but the WiFi is being spotty. Then Annina and Lily were delegated as Uber points of contact. The gang has to split up and go in two separtae vehicles. Nina took Dan and Caitlyn (turnt trio) and Lily and Ernesto went together (dusty duo). The dusty duo confirmed a spot by the over pass bridge next to the station but after waiting 5 minutes the person was a no show. Luckily a taxi was dropping off at that spot. Quickly the Dusty Duo switched places with the people inside and took a bumpy taxi ride through the traffic congested city. The driver was a chill homie who off hand mentioned that the city fair used to have better roller coaster rides when there was less regulations and a higher risk of death. Reassured of their safety, the Dusty Duo arrived into the departure terminal with a half hour to spare. Just as they stepped into the check-in area, they ran into two thirds of the turnt trio: Annina and Dan. The immediate question was “Where’s Caitlyn?” but apparently Caitlyn had disappeared into thin air like Chris Ángel on MindFreak. After some nail biting and a few glances at the clock, we decided Dan would check in his backpack while Lily watched the bags and Annina and Ernesto did a quick sweep of the airport for any trace of Caitlyn. Their search was unfruitful and they were puzzled as to what to do next. They couldn’t all wait and risk missing their flight. On top of that, Dan was told he couldn’t check his bag. That time had passed. With tears in our eyes, we split ways with hopes that Dan would find Caitlyn and maybe catch a later flight. So the new turnt trio of Annina, Lily, and Ernesto shuffled and skipped towards the security checkpoint. After getting their bags scanned, and with no time to put their shoes on, they continued the hurried trek to their gate in their socks. Once they descended the stairs to the terminal it was like a M Night Shamalan plot twist. There was Caitlyn already at the terminal! What?! Apparently she had just made a b-line for the Gate upon getting to the airport, thinking we’d all do the same. After a brief discussion, and letting her know that Dan was still the the entrance of the security gate, Ernesto ran to a security agent and asked if they could make an intercom announcement to try and contact him, but no luck there. Caitlyn ran back towards Daniel. Luckily the flight was having some delays so we still had some time. Ernesto would periodically send messages over the WiFi to check on how they were doing. Caitlyn thought Ernesto was running around searching for Dan so she had been waiting by the checkin. Upon hearing Ernesto was actually just laying in the ground in front of our airport terminal, Caitlyn went searching for Dan. At this point people had begun to board the plane. Fingers crossed, Annina, Ernesto, and Lily waited. Suddenly a text! Caitlyn had found Dan. But at this point the last trickle of people were boarding the plane and time had run out. Lily had already gone on the bus to board the plane and, as Annina and Ernesto went to scan their boarding passes, they looked up and who was on the other side of the checkin counter but none other than Dan and Caitlyn. We were all amazed by the timing of it all. What a wild stress ball it had been. They got on the bus shaking their heads in disbelief at the photo finish. They got on the plane and stuffed awkwardly lumpy bags into the overhead. We had a short ride in the air where we ate leftover, squishy fruits, played Pac-Man, and discussed family dynamics. It was a relaxing way to end a wild and chaotic day. 

After arriving in Baranquilla the crew stayed a hostel for the night where most passed out face down in exhaustion from the day’s excitement. Most of the next day was spent on and off of public transportation and buses to get to Tayrona National Park. Once we arrived at the entrance to the park we were told the park was closed to visitors and we would have to wait a few days to see if we could make a reservation to get into the park. We ended up staying in a room/camping next to the entrance and tabling making any decisions until we woke up the next morning. Apparently there might be another way to get in. 

In the morning we were woken up by the distorted megaphone announcements from the entrance shouting that the park was at maximum occupancy for visitors and that the easiest way to get in was to make reservations online for the next day. We then went online and found the park was completely booked online for the foreseeable future. Since we had a limited time we schemed our options. We had also talked to one of the ladies who worked & lived at the restaurant attached to the place we stayed at the night before. She told us there was a way to get in through side trails and that it was totally secure. She assured us she had been doing it for years and that we would be guided by one of her family members into the park. The price was steep almost double the entrance but she guaranteed we could get in and enjoy our time there. There was already a few groups of people talking to this clandestine woman with the low key side hustle. After some discussion we decided to roll the dice and try to get in to the park. She guaranteed us that if we were caught we would get our money back. So after dishing out the appropriate tariff for her services and reserving places to camp we piled in the back of a pickup truck and traveled around the house to a trail that started at the back of their property. We were joined by a group of Argentinian pretty-girls, and two couples of Colombians. We hiked through a roughly sketched out trail in the jungle, our full packs loaded with food and water. We stopped in a shady spot close to the road where we were waiting for the signal that the appropriate bus was coming. Soon, one of the family members came running up the trail and, breathing heavily and in between gasps of breath, told us that we needed to hurry down the trail to catch the bus. We all walked rapidly toward the road and soon after we filed into the bus. Already loaded with passengers, we crammed in and were told to close the windows. We were soon dropped off near a parking area. We felt triumphant in our arrival into the park. After an hour of illegally entering the park, we had made it! We strapped our bags on tight and started walking down the trail. We ran into a team of horses and their human homies who ride on top of them. We looked about with a bit of aloofness and our imminent downfall arrived when we asked for directions from a guy standing in the fork in the trail. The security guard who we asked realized we didn’t have the official bands that denoted our legal entry into the national park. So as quickly as we had sung our victory cry we all had to pile on the back of a truck used by the park enforcement. 

They also caught our Argentine comrades so all together we laughed in surprise at the absurdity of the situation all the way out of the gates. We got a brief scolding by the police guard on duty and then we were right back where we started with a bit of excitement still tingling in our bones. We went back to our low key hookup and we got our cash back as promised. Argentinian pretty girls made a bit more of a dramatic scene, throwing down their bags and ripping off the bands they had purchased for emergency insurance. We also were able to get money back on the camping reservations but not the mandatory emergency insurance. So not to bad  cost wise for a bit of excitement. We quickly gathered ourselves and made our way further down the coast to decompress at a campsite on the beach. It turned out to be the perfect chill spot where the ocean meets the river delta. We had a grand old time walking the shore at night and climbing palm trees for coconuts. Our few nights there prepared us for the rest of the trip back to Medellin. 

Back to back bus rides all the way to Baranquilla and then onwards to Medellin. We had to transfer in the town of Caucasia in the middle of the night and sleep at the terminal for a few hours but so it goes with the uncertainty of bus transportation. Back in Medellin we awaited the arrival of our two other backcountry homies Josiah and LB. Our final days with Lily was spent doing much necessary laundry and resting. We bid our farewells with nascent tears in our eyes for such a wonderful and adventurous time we shared together. We spent the day with Dan and Caitlyn exploring the iguana filled lagoons of the botanical garden and walking around the fat sculptures in Botero Plaza. On the tail of Lily’s departure we anticipated the arrival of LB who had quite the flight fiasco when they missed their connection flight and then their next flight was delayed 4 hours for inclement weather.We picked them up at the airport and thenall napped pretty hard until Josiah arrived. We took a light afternoon walk at our old haunt of Comuna 13 where we saw a really cool new exhibit with glow in the dark, 3D elements. 

The next morning, we caught a bus to the town of Guatape known for its colorful lined streets and its large monolithic rock called “El Penol” that has stairs going up the side of it. Climbing up those stairs is not for the faint of heart. We climbed whilst sweating in the shadows and breathing heavy up this geological mound. Soon we were rewarded  with 360 views of the whole lake valley. 

We chilled at the top for a bit catching our breath and chatting with other travelers. After our descent we went into the town and walked around the picturesque cobblestone streets and caught the last bit of sunlight by the lakeside pedestrian walkway. We stayed in a remote little cabin on the lake that we had to walk to quite a ways down dirt roads to get to. It was worth it to stay in a tranquil spot by the waters. 

Our last spot traveling as the crew of 6 was to the coffee region of Jardin. We stayed at a coffee farm with Wilson and his family. He picked us up in his little Suzuki Wrangler and we all jammed in there with packs and random appendages hanging off the sides. We did a long all day hike up to a waterfall inside of a cave called the Cueva del Esplendor. The waters were frigid as we jumped off of the rocks into this cavernous water world. The rest of the day was filled with adventure: from avoiding fresh baked cow patties to walking through hilly pastures with curious baby cows. 

We arrived back in town spent and our homie Wilson swooped us up. In the morning we got a complete coffee tour from the beginning of the seed sprout to picking, processing, and roasting our own coffee. It was a nice experience walking around the farm picking fruits and berries learning about the history of the farm and the whole coffee growing wisdom. Soon after our hand toasted coffee tour, we packed up and rode down to town where we were waiting for the departure of half of our backcountry crew. We played a fun game filled with excitement and suspense inspired by Ernesto’s familial gatherings. For the game, you must form a circle. The object is to try and open a heavily wrapped present but you have socks on your hands and a hat on your head. While you’re trying to open the present, the next person in the circle is rolling dice and trying to make a pair. If that person gets a pair, they are given the hat & gloves and start trying to open the present.  The person next to them starts dice rolling. The person who opens the present gets the present. After many laughs and foiled attempts at unwrapping gifts, the time had come to wish our homies fare thee well.

 The reunion was filled with much needed laughter and relaxation. We hugged it out and did around of affirmations for old times sake. 

Now just three with Josiah at our side, we found a spot to camp in the outskirts of town near the river. We decided we would catch a ride towards the town of Salento the next day so that we could hike in Los Nevados National Park. After catching a few buses towards Pereira we spent the night at a guest house near the city before catching a bus to Salento the next morning. We arrived in the town in the early afternoon and found a spot to store some bags we wouldn’t need in the hike. We went to lunch at a local eatery and by chance we sat next to a chill homie who happened to be a mountaineering and hiking tour guide. He gave us the low down on some of the trails we wanted to take and also recommend hiking around the other side of the snow capped volcano, Nevado de Tolima instead of coming back to Salento. So with bellies full and sights set on the mountains, we hopped on the back of one of the customized jeeps they use as taxis and rode into the valley of Cocora where we would start our trek. This valley is home to the tallest palm trees in the world, the wax palms. With these palms towering over the green hills as we hiked, we made our way through dairy cow pastures. After a quick stop at a waterfall we started making the steep ascent through the jungle and into the mountains.

 We hiked well past the sunset. Our legs feeling exhausted, we found a flat patch to sleep for the night near a research station called Estrella de Agua. Josiah, also known as Ho (his Colombian name), got a few extra miles in by running back to get his almost-lost backcountry hat. We woke up early just to see mule packers heading down the mountain to resupply. We hiked the rest of the day steadily gaining elevation and going through the iconic paramo landscape. The landscapes is covered with an endemic species in these high elevation eco-systems; the plants are called frailejones. They are these fuzzy pillar like plants that cover the land.

 At one point we tried to hike on a ridge overlooking the frailejones but the wind was so powerful we were almost blown off the edge of the mountain. Ernesto and Josiah had a blast, jumping into the gusts of wind which pushed back against them, holding them in place. Nina just wound up with a bunch of dirt in her eyes. While our surroundings kept becoming more beautiful, the weight on our backs and the lack of oxygen definitely began to take its toll. We stopped at some of the small farms along the route where some people would camp and get food. 

We picked up raw milk at one of the farms which was not only delicious because of its creamy flavor but also because raw milk is illegal in the USA and most of us had never tried it. The farm’s small wooden shacks were much needed resting points before continuing the journey. We climbed to Laguna del Encantó where we camped for the night. It was frigid night with passing rain through out the night. Josiah spent most of the night trying to cook rice; the high altitude prevented our brown rice from cooking despite Ho’s attempts so we ended up eating wet, uncooked rice. The uncooked rice only added flatulence fuel to our high-elevation. In the morning we climbed up close to the base camp for the volcano making it to 14,600 feet (4,450 meters)! 

The elevation rewarded us with views of the surrounding mountains and the lake we had camped at. We also ran into some summit climbers that we had met the day before. They told us they couldn’t make the summit because the winds were too strong and the cloud cover was too heavy. We continued skirting the mountainside and on that day we made it to a hot spring in the canyon. There were many backpackers soaking in the hot pools surrounded by the expansive mountains. We took a quick break and hung out near the where the water tube let in to the pool and got a massage from the cascading water pressure. After packing our bags we made our way down a lesser taken trail through undulating hills. We soon lost track of the trail and spent a few hours way-finding. 

As the sun started setting we settled down in a flat wet patch of paramo and were heartened to see the city lights in the distance once night had fallen. The next day proved to be intense after finding the trail. We quickly left the paramo and entered forest and jungle landscapes. The terrain became more treacherous with mud slides, slippery rocks, and lots of fallen trees. We had to walk only 2.5 miles but descend 6,000 feet (1,830 meters). Let’s just say it was intense. After the slow descent on a steep incline we made it to  another beautiful camp site at Rancho Hot Spings. This little grassy spot on the hill was surrounded by towering rock walls and waterfalls. Idyllic. Our legs trembling from the heavy descent, we bumbled the last bit of trail through some river crossings and a cow pasture where Annina took a short break to pet a baby cow (theme). Once we got to the road we found out it was still 10k to the spot where we could get transport so we asked the lady at only house if there was someone who could give us a ride down there. She called one of her friends and he gave us a quote that sounded very overpriced but we agreed out of exhaustion. As we waited a large group of friends came down; they were also waiting to go down the road. In a whirl of dust, a Jeep carrying a large group of passengers rolled into the dirt parking lot where we were waiting and, after asking how much it was to the town, we realized it would be a wayyyyy cheaper to go with this guy. He could drive us twice as far for less than half the price. So we quickly piled in and put our stuff on the top of the Jeep. Well, it was just our luck that the other guy we had called arrived right on the tail of this Jeep. The lady who had arranged the ride came to complain to us about this and felt slighted. Luckily the Jeep driver was quick to defend us under the “finders keepers” regulation. Also, the rest of the large friend group took our side and were egging us on to tell the lady off but we just laughed nervously instead. Once we got rolling down the bumpy road the tension eased as the dust flew in our faces. We had plentiful laughs as we all lost circulation in our limbs from the tight fit in the back of the Jeep. We took a series of buses to get from Ibague back to Salento and arrived late in the night. After finding a place to stay we took long awaited showers and passed out hard. The next day, the town was popping as we walked around and saw the sights. 

We ran into our homie the mountaineer trekking guide and he recommended a river spot for chillin so we took his advice and walked down to it. We relaxed riverside for a while and more than anything soaked our sore legs in its cold waters. After spending most of the day bumbling about, we caught a rough overnight bus to the nexus: Medellin. Arriving groggy and sleepy, we stayed in a hostel near the bus terminal. We lazed about and recovered from the roughage. The last few days with our young boi Ho were spent bouncing around from hostels to Couchsurfing.

 We also bid farewell to our trusty ukulele, Lost. It was in bad shape with only two strings playable and the majority of the head piece splintered off. We went to a few local music stores and went back and forth with a few options before deciding on our new sidekick: Found! We are grateful for these past few weeks with yung boi Ho and for this past month with all of our dear homies. We enjoyed the intimate laughter, the inevitable mishap, and their supportive embrace of love. 

We also felt like we further cemented our passion for cycle traveling after taking such an extended hiatus off of the bicycles. This made us appreciate even more the crazy medium in which we decided to explore. We’ve bid farewell to Josiah and now it’s  just the two of us once again and we are excited to be back at the Casa de Ciclistas and reunited with our bicycles. 

How has this new cycle round the sun been treating you? Anything you’re excited for in the eternal tomorrow? Anything you’ve taken a break from for an extended period of time that is calling back to you?

Sending our love as always,

Annina y Ernesto