To enjoy Cali fully, it helps to know a bit of salsa so I cut straight to a few private lessons (scroll down for locations); then each night was spent practicing in the bars. Initially, a few awkward dances took place. This is the same for any new skill, I thought to myself, as I forced myself to approach the Colombian bellezas. We must battle through the small failures; small losses for future large gains. Soon I had enough to get by.
In this episode:
– Destruction of Colombia’s incredibly diverse and beautiful environment for the sake of money that I’m told only a handful of people seem to benefit from;
– Epic scenic winding mountain route with steep drop-offs famous amongst Colombian touring cyclists and the people of the south;
– A poor night’s sleep in an abandoned room with a strong odour of urine and loud trucks passing by all night within 15 feet of my head;
It seems that we are raised in the Western world to believe everything we do should be done as fast as possible. But for what exactly? More is not necessarily better.
Huila – The Kindest People in Colombia … and that’s a bold statement in a country that seems for the most part, to be full of love and friendliness. Until I reached San Agustín 10 days later I was offered a bed in someone’s house virtually every night. Sometimes before they’d even spoken to me….
The adventures with Javier continued in full force after the first stretch from Bogota through mountains, lakes and deserts. (Rowing into the night in a canoe on the rather large Lake Prado searching for a camp spot on the jagged and rocky shoreline (unsuccessfully), the insects were of biblical proportions.) This is part II…
Our adventure took us down various twists and turns as we followed the back roads into the hot foothills of the Cordillera Oriental…. With the rise in FARC guerilla activity in Colombia (such as the recent and bewildering environmental damage caused by the oil pipeline attacks in Putumayo, near the border of Ecuador), there was initial concern as to whether taking to the back roads was a good idea…
I had been somewhat procrastinating on my approach to Bogota. If I could have chosen a route that would easily bypass it I probably would have taken it. Virtually every person I met before my arrival decided to enlighten me about how dangerous the city is…
Riding a horse felt a bit like riding a bicycle with a brain. Let me explain. Whilst riding my bike over rocky terrain, I have had to constantly pick and choose my way through uneven surfaces. On the horse I felt I could just urge her in the general direction and trust her to pick the way (although…
Riding your bicycle in Colombia is, quite frankly, amazing. Combining the hugely expansive varied terrain with my (mildly) self-inflicted time pressures, the challenge hasn’t been trying to identify awesome off road routes, it has been deciding which routes to say no to…
The last few days of our trip we continued putting in the big days and 20 to 25 km became standard. Both of us were keen to get this trip finished. Although the sea sores cleared up when we rinsed essential parts with fresh water at the end of the day, my hands were starting…