The only danger is you might not want to leave
Trip Start
Oct 20, 2008
1
21
41
Trip End
Feb 28, 2009
Popayan,
Colombia
Sunday, November 23, 2008
A beautiful sunny day, I had a lazy start this morning. My cold is worse, I have a fever and a touch of laryngitis
Our clothes are still not dry from being washed the evening before so we slip around the corner to a cozy but very busy restaurant for breakfast. Over breakfast we decide to head for the city of Popayan today
After breakfast we head back to Casablanca to pack up and hit the road. Of course signage is nil and we get lost several times trying to find our way out of Cali.
We finally succeed heading south on highway 25. At one point a moped driving ahead of Mike stopped suddenly and completely in front of him. Mike narrowly missed hitting him and we have no idea why the operator of this vehicle did such a thing.
The Columbian country side is beautiful and very clean. There are huge Bamboo plants growing on the sides of the roads. Roadside vendors are selling flowers and fresh Pineapple. We begin climbing slowly, the road becomes a little curvy. Traffic volume is low however people insist on passing on the right shoulder or passing us as we enter a blind turn. Driving here is anything but relaxing. We enter the town of Popayan and we head for the downtown core in search of a suitable hotel. The old town centerīs buildings are white washed with heavy black ornamental iron. We find a suitable hotel called the Alcayata. We park the bikes inside our room (see Photo) Just as we close the doors a heavy rainfall and thunderstorm begins. Great timing. We wait the rain out and find a place for a good cup of coffee the business is called .............. Jaun Valdez. Can you imagine. After our strong coffee we stop at an Italian restaurant for supper. We tuck ourselves and the bikes in for the night. A real bachelor's pad.
Sunday November 23rd.
I had a terrific nights sleep last night. The cold meds knocked me out cold. I slept in until 8:30. We have a healthy breakfast and decide to explore the old city. It is warm and cloudy, rainfall is inevitable. As we roam the city we learn that it was founded in 1537. We visit an old foot bridge and climb a large hill that overlooks the city. As we take in the view 3 boys apx 7 years old approach us. We tell them no Espanol. They start laughing and calling us gringoīs. It was cute and they only bothered us for a minute. We then met another 10 year old with his parents who speaks some English. We talk to them for several minutes making small talk. Incredibly warm and friendly people. We then head off to the museum of Natural History. We spent a lot of time roaming the old city, people are open and constantly touching each other. We stop at a Church square and for a Sunday there is a flurry of activity. Children feeding and chasing pigeons. A teenage boy practicing his stunts on a pedal bike. A funeral procession drives by. An old man sitīs next to me listening to his am/fm radio. Street vendors are selling gum, ice cream and juice. Five police officers dressed in army fatigues, three of them woman walk past. The sky is black now and I anticipate a thunder storm any minute. Columbia is by far my favorite country that we have visited so far. Itīs people are open and hardworking. It is very clean and it offers great food.
