After enjoying the hospitality of the Pit Stop in Manizales and the safety of a lovely looking college town, we decided to take in the cultural offerings on coffee country with a tour of a coffee farm. We were picked up from the hostel in this glorious Toyota and off we went to the mountains.
Not used to leaning the stiff ass suspension and leaning the wrong way in corners, Billy started feeling a little ill. Trying to roll down the windows he found out that the windows didn't work either. As we accepted the fact that despite looking nice, this was just another crappy mass transit vehicle the driver asked us to stop trying the windows and explained they didn't open because they were bullet proof. Apparently in this safe little college town, it was necessary to pick up tourists in bullet proof cars. Great. Needless to say this made us reevaluate the road we'd so enjoyed days before.
The coffee tour was pretty interesting. We followed the whole process, learning what makes a good bean and why, how to roast and of course properly make a coffee. All done with an espresso in hand. After the tour was over, six of us were packed into an open air Jeep TJ with a birdcage on the back. Somewhat less comfortable than the ride in and judging by the apparent need for bulletproof vehicles, somewhat disconcerting.
Our time up in Manizales we left, bound for the small mountain village of Salento. We stayed at a beautiful eco-farm/hostel where we met some friends from Manizales. There wasn't much to do in Salento if you don't like natural beauty, boardgames or playing with puppies. Thankfully we like all of those things and happily spent the day learning an ancient Greek version of connect 5 and various card games.
The biggest draw of people to Salento is the nearby Valle de Cocoro and its Quindio wax palms. Hiking up a river bed flanked on either side by a series of mountains made for some intense views and being surrounded by the worlds tallest palms didn't hurt its case. At elevation however a 10 km hike makes for a much more tiring day than one would expect.
Upon our return the time had come for a new tire for me. During the process we discovered that the tire I'd had mounted by a mechanic back in Saskatoon had pinched the tube when installing my last tire. I'm still surprised that I made about 19,000 kms on a pinched tube without a single flat. Lucky I guess. With tools out, and still with it's new dents and bruises I took the time to finally christen Big Ugly. Hopefully this means a little more luck to come.
After spending two days staring longingly at their movie style popcorn maker, we bought two bags of popcorn and our resident expert in all things explodey, Patrick, proceeded to pop all of it. It took a while to figure out why none of the popcorn was popping... until one of walked over and asked why the heating element was still unplugged. After a short intermission we had more popcorn than we could possibly eat and a popcorn party had begun. Everyone in the hostel was in the kitchen eating popcorn, making caramel sauce and getting a little bit social.
Our work done in Salento and ready for change a bee-line was made for the border. After an underwhelming over-night in Cali we posted up in Popayan for what was supposed to be one more night. As we arrived we were amazing by the architecture and how pretty the city was. Once we found our hostel, right on the town square, we drove into the pedestrian walkway to unpack. No sooner had we parked out front and removed our hats when a woman came over speaking rapid fire Spanish. Once the surprise of not being yelled at had passed, I figured out she was from the local tourism board and needed photos with us. As her and her photographer made an impromptu photoshoot with our bikes a crowd of locals started to gather. By the time our tourism board friend was done there was a group of at least 40 or 50 people around us taking photos of/with us and our bikes.
A night past at the incredible, inexpensive Park Life Hostel and we decided not to leave. Another day was spent enjoying walking around Popayan before we continued towards Ipiales and the border. In the same way that Popayan was unexpectedly beautiful, Ipiales was not. It was rainy, run down and had a lot of nothing to do. After supper we hit the hay pretty eary. Like 8:30, 9 pm. This worked out for the best though as we were unexpected woken up at about 3 or 4 in the morning to the sound of gunshots and people running screaming past our hotel. It was later explained to be a political shooting, but that didn't really warm us to the idea of bullets flying around by us.
First thing in the morning the bikes were packed and we were heading out of town without a second thought. We did make one final stop in Colombia at Las Lajas to see the famous church there. Built on a bridge over a gorge, it was probably the most impressive church I've ever seen. The back wall and alter was the gorge wall. The entire church was built around an apparition of the Virgin Mary and apparently deities don't appear in very convenient places.
From Las Lajas we went back to the border. We'd heard news from our friend Neil that the border was long and painful, so we arrived with low hopes, but clearly not low enough. Leaving Colombia could not have been easier. Roughly 5 minutes to export us and our bikes. Arriving at the Ecuadorian side was a different story. 4 hours waiting in line was punctuated only by a clash between the Ecuadorian and Colombian national youth soccer teams. After some short, and I'm sure polite keeping of international relations, beer bottles and steel signs began to be thrown around the square until police came in with pepper spray to restore the peace.
Driving in to Quito was an interesting experience. 17 kms through town before a single turn. We posted up at the Secret Garden for the time being and were surprised to see that all but one of our drom mates from Cali were occupying the Secret Garden. After going out with everyone to celebrate Chinese New Years we spent the night sitting in a little Shwarma joint drinking 83 cent 600 ml beers.
The next day we explored the historic center of the city. I think its still the most beautiful colonial city I've ever seen. It was just massive and so immaculately preserved. It was incredible to walk around after seeing all of it from the balcony at our hostel.
Another day was spent celebrating our halfway point. Off we went to the equator park. It felt real good to hit one of those tangible marks. So many photos were taken on and around the line.
After taking our share of pictures at the official marker of the equator we continued on to the real GPS verified equator, where there is, of course, another museum. With some new American friends we were first shown some 'cultural' ecuadorian displays. These consisted firstly of big ass spiders, 21 foot snakes and a preserved parasite that swims up ones urethra and hooks onto the bladder with a barb that would make a fishing hook look pleasant. I'm not sure what this has to do with the equator, but I know I will not be skinny-dipping the amazon.
They also showed us some locally shrunken heads and other weird amazonian things before taking us to the REAL equator. No water does not spin opposite ways on either side, it drains perfectly straight down. Sorry to disappoint, you have to be farther from the equator for it to work.
You can however balance an egg on the head of a nail, at least I can. I even have a certificate stating that I am an egg master. Well done Braydon. Well done.
Once our friends had departed it was time to move on to a new adventure. Cotopaxi marks the world highest active volcano. Its surrounded by beautiful farm land, and this is where we crashed for a few days. Again we were happy to see that many of our recently made friends had the same idea. Two cool, rainy days were spent happily camping at Secret gardens kissing cousin; Secret Garden Cotopaxi, where all our meals were included in the price of our camp site. While we enjoyed the conveniences of hot water, a hot tub and all you can eat bananas, Pat and Bill enjoyed tearing up the local flora on motorcycles. Climbing mountains and other manly endevours while Colin and myself busied ourselves back at the homestead warm and dry, playing Uno with our Australian friends.
Upon leaving the Secret Garden we had to drive down a long, muddy driveway back to the gravel road. Colin's bike failed him here, sending him sideways off the road. His bike bore the brunt of the impact with a bent highway peg and roughly one gardens worth of mud jammed in and around the right side of his bike. Worst of all his right case broke off. Thankfully he was carrying spares and after a brief stop back at the hostel Colin was ready to go with a shiny new latch on his case. Bikes more or less in one piece we were Banos bound.
Banos, also the name of the washroom in Spanish is a lovely, if not totally touristy small town. Upon pulling into town we immediately ran into (not literally) our buddy Mike, from Todos Santos, and later Cartegena and Medellin and within 5 minutes of parking to find a hostel we ran into Emma, Jane and Dean, our roomies from Cali. Small world. Once settled at our little hostel We were met by our Uno enthused Aussie friens; Karley, Kristen and Mark, who stayed next door at our hostel. This was roughly the same time we were lucky enough to meet Fernando, our room mate for the next few days. Within 30 seconds of meeting this gem of a man he had whipped out about 4 switch blades and other rediculous novelty knives, waving them around the room to show us his new toys. In total he had purchased 12 knives and wanted to show us all of them. This coupled with smoking in our room and suggesting two of our Aussie friends join him in bed made for a short conversation before we left.
Feeling adventurous one day we decided Cuy, Guinea Pig, would be an interesting lunch time experience. With a flavor like duck and an appearance out of a child's nightmare, it was a surprisingly tasty experience. You had to work surprisingly hard to get the somewhat scare meat off the bones, but that's all part of the fun I suppose. Definitely a culinary experience worth having, whether it is one to be repeated is yet to be seen. Interesting fact though. With a diet of spinach and other lovely greens these damned Cuy have nicer salads than I've been able to find in months.
Another day we decided to go check out some of the 12 waterfalls in close proximity to Banos. While Colin was otherwise occupied, Kristen, Karley and Mark with their big white topless 4x4 met up with us on our bikes for a cruise. We left in lovely weather, which quickly became driving rain. It didn't take long for us to be wet and our 4x4ing friends to realize their soft top had about as many holes as a block of Swiss. We also found out that our trusty 4x4 had about as many horsepower as the bikes. It couldn't drive uphill in any gear higher than 2nd, so a leisurely pace was the only option.
One of our stops was this beautiful waterfall, which you could walk in behind.
Back, safely in Banos the appeal of being warm again was overwhelming, so all 6 of use headed to the nearest hot springs for a rejuvenating dip. Unbeknownst to us, however, the baths were closed just as we wanted to go. This left us with an hour to kill and a big empty lot. Uno cards el far away-o, tic-tac-toe commenced, but as you know if you've ever played with someone who knows the pattern, it quickly becomes a silly game. Whats much more fun is trying to create a new three person version on a 5x5 square. Don't run out and grab your friends just yet, but lots of laughs were had.
The hot springs once more open, we went to enjoy a refreshing dip. A quick shower was necessary as per establishment rules, however after I snuck out in walked the apparent shower Nazi. Shoving her bar of soap into Mark's hands and telling him to wash up. Once done, she told him he was not thorough enough and to wash up again. Once down at the springs we discovered that they were indeed very hot. Not nearly as hot as the scald-your-ass springs in Guate, but uncomfortably hot for more than a few minutes. Thankfully they also had a near freezing pool very close where you could chill your body down to near hypothermic levels before once again going hyperthermic in the hot pool. Apparently its good for you. Sure felt good at least and definitely gave the old cardio a bit of a run around as heart rates spiked and dropped.
Bidding all of our Australian friends a fond farewell we headed back north towards Lake Quilatoa. The road to Zumbahua was an enriching experience, whether the road had never been made or was just being upgraded never really became clear, but either way it was terrible. Loose gravel, sand, mud and enough heavy machinery to tear it all apart was all that greeted us from the time we left the Pan-Am. Little did we know that this was the better side of the road.
After a nights stay in Zumbahu, where the Hotel receptionist asked us if we (the only customers in the hotel) to watch the place while she left, not to return until morning. The lake was incredible, as was the ride up to it. Brand new road and a beautiful destination. What more can you ask for?
From Lake Quilatoa we made our way back south to the highway where we continued our journey west towards the coast. As we made our way towards Puertoviejo the roads rapidly degraded to a series of potholes and gravel linked with small patched of cracked pavement. The kind of road that makes men grate their teeth and small children cry. Before nightfall we'd found our way, tired and covered in mud, to Manta. Compared to the beauty of Banos and Quito, Manta is a dirty, ugly industrial city with little other than Tuna canneries. Upon our arrival we were swarmed by a group of kids who were super happy to get Canada flag pins from me and even happier when Pat let them rev his bike. You see in our experience Latin culture doesn't frown on obnoxiously loud vehicles the way Canadians do, and they were more impressed than upset that his bike had just caused everyone within a two block radius acute hearing damage.
After the kids had all gotten pins, the dads and employees hanging out out front all wanted on too, so pins for all. Although I'm not sure my explanation of "For on your clothes," worked all too well as I later saw a pin being used as an impromptu earring.
In the morning we toured the nearby fish market where the local fishermen were displaying their wares. Tons of big 40 to 60 pound bluefins for next to nothing. It almost made me wish we were staying around long enough to cook supper. Almost.
From Manta we made our way down to Montanita, a small surf village of 1000 people. We were excited for some nice r and r and maybe a little surf at Ecuador's best surf spot. Little did we know that the Reef Classic Conquer Montanita surf competition was this same weekend. We showed up on Thursday afternoon to find this sleepy town had grown to at least 10,000 people and hostels were disturbingly hard to come by. We ended up finding what I believe was the last room in the town, and for pretty good reason. The hotel itself wasn't terribly dirty, but between the one washroom for all the dorms, sand covered floor and the four of us sandwiched into a room large enough for two people to be standing at a time with no fan, we knew we were scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Thankfully there was a view and a beach and a ton of people looking to have some fun, so it wasn't really a problem that our room sucked. We were rarely there. We met our friends from the Equator and enjoyed taking in the surf comp, the music stages and frisbee on the beach. Unfortunately, every party must finish and every morning some ass hole wants to start it back up with an obscenely loud car stereo parked outside our hotel room. Every day between 6:30 and 7am he'd start up his stereo and I'm sure if we were somewhere fancy enough to have glass in the windows, they'd have been shaking or shattered. But alas we weren't and just had to sit and nurse some self inflicted sickness to the tune of Latin music.
At least I was able to convince a bar to turn on the Super Bowl for a few of us. By half time the bar was full of gringos and good times were had by most. And in the morning the city had shrunk. As most left the town once more became a sleepy little surf town. A pretty place were it would have been nice to hang out.
Leaving Montanita for Guayaquil we had cause for an unwanted stop as Billy's rear brake spontaneously stopped braking. When we opened it up to see if it was still creating pressure there was nothing but a spurt of boiling brake fluid and then nothing. Carefully continuing to Guayaquil, which just became a longer pit stop, at some point the brakes came back. Who knows. In Guayaquil Billy had his bike serviced as we enjoyed the town and the pool at our hostel.
Bike repaired and safe once more we were on our way to Peru. A long uneventful ride brought us to the Ecuadorian border where a huge, modern border crossing met us. A fast, easy departure and off we went to Peru. On the Peruvian side things were not quite to modern. Despite seeing a nice new facility, we were stopped at a series of small trailers with a cop, an insurance sales woman and two people with stamps. Things went relatively smoothly, surprising us with its efficiency as well as proving our thoughts about insurance to be way off. Having talked to other riders we'd expected it to be necessary to buy a full year of insurance for the princely sum of $500. More accurately we expected some light fraud or simply to bribe the necessary people, as things seem to be done here. Instead, new tourist policies seem to be in place, allowing us to buy legitimate insurance for a much more reasonable price. Thank goodness.
It was incredible how stark the change as we entered Peru. Within no more than a few dozen km. our tropical green surroundings gave way to desert like we haven't seen since Mexico. After fighting our way through the Peruvian traffic we arrived in Mancora. A small town with not much to do without a board and a beer. We were unable to stay at the hostel we wanted, as it was booked fully for the next month, but the owner welcomed us with open arms and guest bands giving us access to all their facilities.Which is definitely cool seeing as this is possibly the most badass hostel we've been to. Pool table, pool, giant Jenga, and parties every night. What can go wrong. Oh ya. They also have a tattoo artist on call, so lots. Don't worry mom. I don't have anything permanent yet.
After our first night here Colin took off ahead of us to get to Lima where he'll be getting some repairs to stop the 1ml/km oil burning issue his bike has developed as well as meet up with Emma, our friend from Cali. Hilarity will ensue? I'll find out later.
As for us, tomorrow morning will find us once again mounting up as we drive to Trujillo to visit Pat's aunt and do whatever exciting things Trujillo has in store.
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