“Todos los pasos están deshabilitados (All the passes are closed)….It’s very complicated here in winter my friend.”, the Villa O’Higgins carabinero officer explained. “The river can be up 100 metres wide and 3 or 4 metres deep.” After days of strangely warm weather and high rainfall in Villa O’Higgins, his words made some sense. Maybe it was impassable? After all he should know what he’s talking about, right?
We all have dreams that we fantasise about. ‘Fantasise’. Most of the time that’s about all we do. Trapped by dogma and other people’s expectations, we often feel that too much has to happen. So, what do we do? Nothing. We don’t even try. Perhaps at best we tell ourselves “someday in the future I’ll get to it”. It’s…
After reading about Paul’s experience on his route between Cajamarca and Cajabamba (he and his friend were detained by mistrusting villagers for 18 hours in Santa Rosa) it was with some doubt that cycling the dirt road via Jesus was a good idea. However I had the good will of the ‘teniente’ in Cachachi and I could…
After crossing several fields, running low on water, negotiating a massive wall and locked gate, a few days with an upset tummy (again) and passing through several tunnels on a old scenic railway I found myself at the Dammer farm for some much needed rest. Another spectacular section on the Dammer / Gilbert route.
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;
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…
After saying goodbye to my new friends in Corbin I set off at around 10am well fed and rested; an unusual feeling on this trip. I had been advised of a lot of grizzlies in this section and that it was extremely remote so I planned to stay in a cabin en route that evening.…
Ok I wrote this a few days ago when I had no reception in the back country: After stocking my body up on pizza, I headed off up the 4 km hill from Elkford. Having had nearly 2 weeks of sunshine, the sudden rain storm was an acceptable hardship but my feet and legs were…
Having been through some phenomenal country in Alaska, I thought I had been through the best my trip would have to offer. However two days into cycling down the Great Dividing Range (aka Continental Divide in the US), I am blown away by some of the country I am passing through. As some of you…