~March 24, 2017. Cabrera, Colombia

It was a long, wet and cold descend to Cabrera. Zig-zagging around the rocks, potholes and all sorts of stuff I was happy to have a fatbike, anything less would mean lots of skidding with the rear tire and generally a more stressful ride down. Eventually I reached the cows and the dogs, motos hung around the sides of the road and even few jeeps and trucks.

They say "don't shop when you are hungry" and same thing applies here. Don't shop for rain gear and sleeping bags after two weeks of freezing your ass off in the Paramo. I got a complete top and bottom, a warm sleeping bag, a dry bag and few other things, will need to worry about getting them over from USA a little later.

Meanthile the visa clock was ticking and I had about 30 days left. There was a shortcut road to Villarrica, saving me a 4-5 day ride and I spent most of the ride up with a friend. I did not know horses live up to 30 years!

There were even some Lada 4x4's here.

Eventually I crested over the top just as the rain started pouring and waited it out at a roadside hut with two friends.

Few shot up buildings from the war with FARC near the police station were interesting to see. Infact, police stations around here seemed less like in other parts of Colombia but more designed as forts and bases that can be defended.

The road continued on, small and quiet past fincas, houses and tiny communities.

I scrambled up a field I spotted few hills back for some nice camping, the senor from the house below did not mind having a cyclist overnight. You can listen to the loud bugs at evening but they quiet down at night when the rain takes over. Being waken up by water dripping on your face is quite unsettling but once I get a tarp it should be okay.

I almost miss my intersection but a man invited me to his house for breakfast at the top of the hill and explains where the road goes.

Few hours later at Palmitas I stop for a break until school is out and then its a little less of a break but a constant cross-questioning by kids.

these are pretty bad ass, you should see some of the roads they drive. you can hear them for miles

at this altitude, its a lot more refreshing than cold.

I had planned a rest/internet day for a while now but just few kilometers before town I stumble upon a nice spot overlooking a valley and for the first time in a long time - a proper sunset.

some days i wonder why i even try to get stuff to focus, its a constant struggle against impossible odds. Dear Sony - you suck! (although the last canon lasted only 4 months before it took a dip in the ocean I think the next camera may be one of the… — some days i wonder why i even try to get stuff to focus, its a constant struggle against impossible odds. Dear Sony - you suck! (although the last canon lasted only 4 months before it took a dip in the ocean I think the next camera may be one of these waterproof models - at the cost of image quality)

Past Dolores its a nice and quiet road and then even some pavement.

A day off in Alpujarra and I get to walk around, get a haircut, clean clothes (two weeks of constant wetness and no showers in the paramo can be quite bad). In the evening a man says:
"are you iohan?"

Victor has seen my videos on youtube and himself is cycling from Bogota to Neiva. It is his final day today to Neiva but I manage to convince him that instead of riding 60km on the pavement he should join me and try to cross a rive and go to the Tatacoa desert.

After a rough road we see the river and conclude that it would not be crossed but a man says there is a cable crossing. We alert two guys at a house, they follow us with a moto and one of them swims over to the other side to get the cart.

An hour of hit riding and pushing we make it to 6 houses known as Doche.

We finally make it to the desert and kick off some horses to find a place to camp.

they are not wild but there was something interesting about their movements and how they acted when they saw us, similar to the wild ones in Wyoming.

There is something about the desert sky and the strong colors during sunset and sunrise. I take photo after photo as if it could capture whats happening. A man on a horse passes by singing old country songs and I can't help but wonder: where is he going?

cordillera central looming in the distance. its nice to get away from the mountains sometimes so that you can see how huge they are.

In the morning we continue on a quiet road toward Villavieja

Victor's family meets us there and he heads off to Neiva, while I get to ride the rest of the day without bags on the way to town.

The main entrance to the Tatacoa is full of hotels, cabins, pools and restaurants and somehow seems off-putting.

I meet two germans I saw in town while I was napping but was too lazy to go and say hi. They are cycling from Ecuador to Bogota. I realize its 3pm after and probably not enough time to get back to town before dark.

I turn off to go and have a look at a 4-star hotel but right after I find a 4-star singletrack, heading opposite direction of where I am going.

After a nice ride I stop at a lone resort house and manage to rent a hammock and dinner for $5.

Since its close to where we were last night, in the morning I set off to see where the singing man on the horse was going.

same donkey from the other day huffing and puffing around. he used the pool without paying.

OSM shows a partial road somewhere but I can't believe it. I push the bike to the top of a hill and conclude that there is absolutely no way I am making it along that ridge.

I walk my bike all the way down but spot a house in the distance and scramble to a canyon which is surprisingly rideable.

I wish I had the camera on to get Christobal's reaction when he saw me, not everyday you see somebody bike down the river... or when I explained to him what Youtube was and that I wanted to show his house to other people from other countries! he invited me to his house and to some delicious papaya. There is a road from here, he said.

At Baraya I pulled out 8 thorns from the tires, pretty glad to have tubeless. Few more left in there that I could not remove but I hope it would be okay.

It was all pavement to Neiva which was a very big town, 30 000 people. it even had a food truck theme park.

As for me, I got the laptop sent from Bogota to do some editing on the way out of Colombia but instead decided to go and take my gear from Florida, since I had a free flight from Medellin to Miami (due to a big delay when I was returning from Dubai) and the cost of sending things over was just very big. So for the time being I am biking north toward Medellin...