With my remaining time in Colombia I had two options, to return either to Cali or Neiva and head straight to Ecuador but somehow the stars aligned and I received my new Bulgarian passport, meaning I can stay the full 90 days on the visa. While I hiked the Paramo and did few days of video editing for episode 19, the new fork arrived. Even with the fat tires, an unexpected bump or just rough sections can really kill your momenum and without the need for maintenance, the Lauf seemed like the best choice. Back in Manizales putting it on was easy, I just watched the mechanic do it.

Forecast was same as usual, just clouds with rain symbol or the next week. I guess its still wet dog season here in Colombia but also with over 45 days left it means I can go anywhere!

I hid for an hour under a road stop but it didn't seem like it would stop so I continued.

When the rain stopped I found several decent spots to camp but they were all flooded, there is no way to camp even if I had a waterproof footprint chances are I will wake up in a lake. I walked through 2 inches of semi-liquid cowshit to a ranch and asked if they have any dry place to camp.

They pointed me to an old house up the road which surprisingly turned out to be quite luxurious and clean. Dogs were barking, clothes were drying and dinner was on the way. They have 104 cows and 3 people. One shift is at 1am and the other during the day, lots of work and lots of rain in these parts.

Almost saw the volcano in the morning but clouds quickly took over. Having ridden this route it was quite different to do it the opposite way. Just as it started pouring I stopped at the school and park entrance for lunch. There were only two kids at the school but it still ran. I spoke with a man who works at one of the ranches, "it is too wet to grow potatoes here," he said so they only have cows. He had worked for 6 months in Argentina, didn't know where but 5 hours by bus from Buenos Aires. The woman from the guard booth brought us both coffee. She works here 6 days and lives in the small house but goes back on wednessday.
"I would drive a moto but its too scary," so she gets a ride with the daily milk truck or with the teacher. The roads arent all that good but many people moto up, even with cargo and/or a second passenger.

the view from the school/guard booth where I took lunch break

It was a brake burning and fun descend and it took a while until I could wipe that smile off my face. Leaving Santa Rosa de Cabal the rain cauht up to me so I waited under a roof with two dogs, two cats and Marian who was walking her dog. Poor little beast is half rage and half shaking and does not keep an eye on his food.

Scenery really changed, it was almost as if I was back in Canada. Tree plantations on both sides of the road, pine trees gowing tall with chai saw buzz looming in their futures and quiet roads no houses.

Eventually there was a sketchy bridge so I went in the river, at least I will wash out that dried cow poop off my shoes from yesterday.

But not for long...

There was good and dry hardpacked flat surface, perfect to make a camp and a great combination of open space and the sounds of the jungle. It didn't rain and I almost fell asleep outside but fear of bugs and crawly things sent me to my tent.

5am alarm, the most wonderful bird songs I have ever heard. I caught some morning colors as I was packing up.

Then after few hours I started seeing cyclists, lots of them.

Turns out they are all riding from Pereira, it must be saturday or sunday. We quickly formed a small gang and went up the hill towards Salento.

they looks nice while standing but sometimes these buggers would almost fly into your face while you are cycling downhill... thats the way to birdwatch!

After some pony malta and bocadillos my friend left me where the countryside meets the highway.

Break!No...Break!No, cows dont have breaks... stop the truck — Break!
No...
Break!
No, cows dont have breaks... stop the truck

the standard willys hauling people and you name it what esle around the countryside

Good is the life of the highway dog, wifi, coffee and all you can eat left over buffet. Entering the coffee zone.

Many people have told me how nice Salento is but it was just too touristy and a little intimidating. Lines of restaurants each selling trout and the servers trying to get passerbys to stop, shops all selling the same souvenirs, flip flops and hats. Tourists walking about in funny hats.. you get the picture...

There was a mountain film festival and I asked the girls there if they want to play one of my videos which have spanish subtitles, I wonder if they did.

There was also the famous Cocora Valley but it also felt like there was pressure to see it and like it. I just rode out of town u towards the clouds and ranches which offer camping. On closer inspection NONE of their tents were set up on level ground.

They also had a downhill track but said that not many people ride it. Probably because the ones that did ended up in a hospital!

lets say hypotetically that you make the jump, there is no way to stop before the wooden fence, or maybe there is another jump over the road that I cant see...

I settles for a so-so spot but with actual trees it will be dry. Not a lot of water so I proceeded to fry everything I had.

I think that is the Santa Isabel peak with its halo in the morning light before it disappears into the clouds.

People say that you can't buy happiness but you can certainly put happiness in a bag, put a price tag on it.. and then buy it!!!

A man waiting by the road with one 40L jug of milk.
"Nice, how many cows do you have? 2 or 3?"
"No, 11 but they are not good."

Further up an abandoned schoolhouse would have made a much better camp spot but no way I could have gotten here yesterday.

The road was one of the easiest climbs in Colombia and descend was just as easy. With the front suspension I felt invulnerable, nothing could stand in my way it was like walking in sunshine. I had met a cyclist who told me about this road and described it as hell, rocky, muddy and rough... like in the fisherman story!

Looking at the hillsides it was tough to think that people live there. All it takes is one slip and fall and you are rolling down the hill like that tree nut from the ice age movies.

By now I have developed something like a 6th sense. I stopped for coffee and just minutes later it started pouring cats and dogs. My friends already few beers in and few shots of agua ardiente offered to trade my bike for a moto. I demanded also a horse and a chicken (gallina, the ones that lay eggs). They said to stop by when I come back to Colombia, maybe they need some time to get the horse and the chicken. I have also found a good way to answer the uncomortable question of how much the bike costs: a cow and a half.

I stopped to take a photo of a mule but istead got talking with the owners. While horses live to be 30, mules only 18-20 years. This one in particular has gotten into ultralight mule-packing!

I raced the green jeep on the way down, definitely leading by a long shot until the slide. 30meters of above ankle deep sticky mud came down the creek making the road a little less fun.

I did not do as well as the potato truck.

It was 5pm and hotels are really affordable here. For $7 you can get a very nice room in most non-tourist towns and maybe even a breakfast but after several days of video editing and having constant internet back in Bogota I felt like I needed to be outside. Some fruits and veggies and 2L of juice and I was ready to go

There was mixed intel on the road, from "its a horse trail with no bridges" to "a jeep can drive there". Santa Elena is a dot I put on the map sometime ago and this was the way to it. I asked at a ranch if I may camp and they set me up near the tomato greenhouses, every 3 months they are ready and few minutes later the rain started.

In the morning the family invited me for breakfast. Soup.
"Interesting, I only saw soup for breakfast in Cundinamarca."
"We are from Cundinamarca!"
Turned out I had passed by their little town of Fosca twice.

Soon the little pavement was gone and all that was left was dogs, dnkeys and jugs of milk, heading up towards the clouds. Four words describe this climb perfectly: "not even granny gear"

if you even look one of those milk jugs the wrong way... you know whats coming!

At 3 I saw a house and asked them if there are places to sleep further up. "You can sleep here," they said and when the rain started it seemed like a good idea.

They have 200 cows, several chickens and few dogs and for the rest of the evening it was on and off with rain, saving the big downpour for the night. No electricity or tv here just a quiet big valley and fire cooked meals.

you show one sign of weakness and then the chickens will walk all over you and your house.

the Monalisa of chickens, everywhere you turn its looking at you

two pots of gold, 3 hours of hiking away

5am, rain. 6am, rain. 7am, rain. At 8 it eased down and you could see few of the snowy volcanoes across the valley before the clouds engulfed them again.

While petting his horse, Dario saw me and came to say hi. He was the last cabin before the road goes into the Paramo, a protected area named Semillas de Agua (the seeds of the water). He is from Cali and has been here for 8 months, enjoying the solitude and beauty (and rain) of the paramo. He gets 3 day break once a month.

30 minutes later it was clear that no car or moto would make it further on that road. A herd of cows broke trail for me and by that I mean they ran ahead through the knee deep mud shitting all over the place from exertion.

Later road got a little better so I tried to pass them but they kept running, for how fat they are they are very quick. Even when I managed to pass them they continued to follow me.

I was supposed to take a left somewhere but there werent any intersections. I spotted a nice house at 2pm. Pretty cool place to spend the day and a dry night. Drink some aguadulce from that canela brick I have been carrying and cheese and write up some journal entries.

The setup was simple, a table and a cabinet to be used as a chair and later bed. At 3500ish meters elevation there are no worries for mosquitoes or other crawling things. It rained on and off in the evening but the night cleared up just enough to see the beautiful stars.

outside an endless battle between the clouds and the sky...

until the cold evening takes them all away and the stars start shining from million miles away

It didn't stop raining till 8am and thats when I slowly rolled out of bed.

Two hours of surprisingly flat and muddy roads I reached Santa Elena. At noon it turned out to be one of the sleepiest towns I have ever seen. A house had a small sign "restaurant" and the two stores had no signs, just an open door to reveal similar types of goods, no fruits or veggies.

The road to Roncesvalles was rather rough but a little less pressure in the tires took care of that. It wasnt very steep but it was a constant up and down along the mountainsides, hoping from valley to valley.

little cuties! they are twice as cute when wet from the rain

By now it was clear that being in a town on a fat bike is not the way to remain unseen. Everywhere I go people start talking to me, beggining with the usual, "no tiene motor?". After some riding around I found a place to wash the bike and checked into a hotel for a long awaited hot shower. Electricity went out just as I put on the soap on so that wish did not come true after all :(

the lookout at the entrance to Roncesvalle

The milk truck driver who does 9-hour, 120km runs to Ibague told me of the smart dog.
"He is smart, he made me buy him a sasuage the other day."
"I had to buy him bread," said another man.
Me? I happily handed him over a piece of meat from the breakfast soup.

these dogs excellently sum up how I feel about the rain...

It was a long way down but with good views and a little rain.

such a great feeling seeing the clouds burn away from the mountainsides. The bright colors bring back life into the dullness and sadness of rain

somewhere in the valley a moto buzzes its way up negociating potholes and rocks and cow poop

I raced alongside some of the jeeps which haul people and sacks of potatoes, coffee or beans and whatever else comes to mind.

baby jesus and the virgin mary look after those who dare to roam these rough roads

imagine being in the back of one of these and needing to go to a hospital?

Big lunch and juice at San Antonio at 1500m and from there a kid sent me off on the pavement.

San Antonio, a beacon of civilization in these hot and empty hillsides

There was just something about the sun and all these colors! SUMMER IS BEGINNING!

vibrantly colored, gently shaped and still somehow a little bit out of focus! #sony

The biggest challenge was to pass by one of those jeeps without smiling.

always one more! be it a man, woman or child, a sack of potatoes or a box!

up a hot hill climb I was literally thrown a rope, as the man realized I had no idea what he was saying. Happy to be saved from drowning in sweat, I obliged.

Through Limon the way was hot and steamy to Rio Blanco

but dont worry, when the top fills you can always go on the side

A long while ago I had put up some waypoint markers, one reading "here", just 50km down the road and pointing to three green dotted lines, one with a blue highlight. Not quite sure what it means but maybe I can make it over the range to valle de cauca. We will see... I find an old storage unit and set up camp inside.

at night the hillsides light up and so does the sky

until next time!