Twiggy gets a once over

Marzo 23 / 2019 / Dia 8

 San Agustín – San Juan De Villalobos / Colombia

Salimos enamorados de San Agustín no solo por su parque arqueológico, también su gente, sus artesanías en piedra y la manera como conservamos nuestra historia.

Tomamos nuevamente la vía a Pitalito para encontramos con Carlos el mecánico recomendado por Piaggio Colombia, le hicimos la primera revisión mecánica a Twiggy. Y aprovechamos para comparar algunos repuestos.

Pitalito es una ciudad intermedia llena de personas amables, todas te quieren ayudar, además son muy pocos los tuk tuk acá y Twiggy era toda una sensación a su paso.

Salimos rumbo a Mocoa, pero nos encontramos una carretera en muy mal estado llena de huecos y esto hace que nuestra velocidad sea mucho más lenta, en esta vía nos encontramos dos retenes del ejercito colombiano, su amabilidad, y alegría a pesar del frio nos dejó impactados, algunos nos están siguiendo en nuestra cuenta de Instagram.

La peor hora es cuando va llegando las 5 pm y aun no sabemos donde dormiremos y si encontraremos algo para instalar nuestra carpa o algún hotel económico ya que estamos de paso.

Llegamos a San Juna De Villalobos, una parada para muchos camioneros. Y encontramos un hotel al lado de la carretera, administrado por la familia de Nancy una mujer trabajadora y muy amable. David esta un poco mal del estomago y ella muy amable me ayudo a cuidarlo.

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We left San Agustín having fallen in love with it.  Especially its archaeological park, its people, its stone crafts and they preserve history.  The latter is unusual for Colombia.

We followed the road to Pitalito where we found Carlos the mechanic recommended by Piaggio Colombia.  He gave us some great advice ref Twiggy and also gave her a once over.  We also took the opportunity to acquire some spare parts.

Pitalito is a average sized city but we met some very helpful and kind people, they all wanted to help especially when they learnt of our story.  Tuktuks were unusual to them and Twiggy became a bit of a celebrity.

We left for Mocoa, but the road was in a very bad condition full of holes and this reduced our speed.  We came across two Colombian army checkpoints, their kindness, and joy at meeting us was great to witness and some are following us on our Instagram account.

The worst time is 1700, it is getting dark and we still do not know where we will sleep.  Finding a flat piece of grass or a budget is then our priority.

We arrived at San Juna De Villalobos, a stop for many truckers, where we found a hotel next to the road, run by Nancy's family, a hardworking and very kind woman. David had Delhi Belly and she kindly made herbal remedies for him.

Statues, bamboo bridges and tombs

Marzo 22 / 2019 / Dia 7

 San Agustín / Colombia

Un día de relax, de disfrutar e ir poniendo cosas en orden.  Después de un buen desayuno tomamos nuestro tuk tuk rumbo a el parque arqueológico San Agustín, que quedaba a 15 minutos de nuestro hospedaje.

 Al principio nos pareció un poco costosa la entrada, y adicional no compartimos que las personas extranjeras paguen más.

Fue un recorrido por senderos, escaleras y caminos llenos de tumbas, piedras y estatuas; con fauna y flora protegida por el parque.

Quedamos sorprendidos del buen cuidado, mantenimiento y seguridad de todo el parque.

Es un destino infaltable de Colombia.

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Today we would stay put in San Augustin to have time to put things in order.  After a good breakfast we took our Twiggy to the San Agustín archaeological park, which was 15 minutes from our lodgings.

At first we found the entrance fee a tad expensive, especially when foreigners have to pay more.

We followed tracks through the woods.  They were lined with statues and sculptures and clearings in the woods were full tombs and thank goodness the fauna and flora were protected by the park.

We were surprised by the good care, maintenance and security of the entire park.

It is an unmissable destination of Colombia.

Land Wars

Marzo 21 / 2019 / Dia 6

 Rio Neiva – San Agustín / Colombia

Hoy ha sido la jornada mas larga de los pocos días desde que salimos de Medellín.

Nos levantamos a las 4 am no podíamos dormir, salimos y a las 5 am ya estábamos en la fila, que ya era muy larga, llena de buses, tractomulas, camiones, nosotros parecíamos un juguete en la mitad de todos.

Para las personas ver a twiggy es super novedoso, algunas preguntan, otras toman fotos y otros hacen videos para recordar el momento.

A las 7 am en punto abrieron paso, que momento tan estresante todos quieren ser los primeros, pero la vía solo tiene habilitada un solo sentido, el otro lado esta lleno de rocas, palos e indígenas protegiendo su espacio. Fueron momentos complicados, la velocidad no es nuestro fuerte y las personas se desesperan un poco cuando van detrás de nosotros.

Después de pasar por Obo, paramos y esperamos algunas horas que todo este caos pasara para poder continuar rumbo a San Agustín.

Antes de Pitalito tuvimos nuestro primer problema mecánico, algo con los cambios que pudimos solucionar gracias a Carlos un mecánico recomendado en la página de Piaggio Colombia, nuestro mejor descubrimiento.

Después de revisar todo, continuamos hacia San Agustín por una vía en mal estado para la importancia de este sitio turístico de Colombia.

Cruzamos el pueblo y nos encontramos unas cabañas “Gamcelat” super lindas, económicas y construidas dentro de la montaña, esta será una parada para recargarnos de energía.

Had to upload video of roadblock to YouTube since it was too big for blogger.

https://youtu.be/D6uJlVQMDaY

Tipo de tráfico detrás de nosotros después de la barricada

Type of traffic behind us after the roadblock

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Today was to be the longest day of since leaving Medellín.

We got up at 0400 since we could not sleep thinking up the roadblock, we left and at 0500 and were in the queue by 0600.  It was already very long, full of buses, tractors, cars, artics and trucks.  We looked like a toy in between them.

For some people to see Twiggy was quite novel, some ask about us, others take pictures or videos to remember seeing this strange contraption at an ungodly hour and others appear too shy to ask.

At 0700 sharp they opened the barrier, and everyone raced to overtake the vehicle in front.  Why????  A tad stressful when you are the smallest boxer in the fight.  Fortunately for us boulders, whole trees, sticks, people and anything else that could be found had been placed on the road so that there was only one lane.  They were some complicated moments, speed is not our strength and people get a little desperate when they are behind us.  Unfortunately, what was a demonstration by indigenous about their land rights had been hijacked by anyone and everyone that had an argument with the government.

After passing through Obo, we stopped and waited a few hours in a café for the hundreds of vehicles behind us to pass.  Once safe we continued towards San Agustín.

Before Pitalito we had our first mechanical problem  A clutch that over the space of a gear change went completely out of adjustment.  No problem thanks to Carlos, a mechanic recommended on the page of Piaggio Colombia, our best discovery.

After reviewing everything, we continued to San Agustín via a road in poor condition bearing in mind this was an important tourist site in Colombia.

We crossed the town and found some "Gamcelat" cabins, beautiful, economical and built inside the mountain.  This will be a stop to recharge our batteries.

Why so full?

Marzo 20 / 2019 / Dia 5

Espinal – Rio Neiva / Colombia 

Iniciamos nuestro día con rumbo al Desierto De La Tatacoa, poco a poco nos fuimos acercando por una buena carretera que nos comunicó con otra vía en muy mal estado, tratamos varias veces de tomar esta vía, pero fue imposible, en uno de estos intentos uno de los espejos de Twiggy se rompió.

Desistimos de poder conocer este maravilloso sitio de Colombia, nuestro vehículo no tiene la suficiente fuerza para entrar hasta el desierto. Adicional a esto tenemos poco tiempo David tiene ya bastantes días en Colombia y necesita salir antes de que su visa se le venza.

Continuamos rumbo a Neiva, una carretera en buen estado, un poco caliente y nos sorprendió que esta vía estaba muy sola.

Nuestra primera reparación de Twiggy, después de pasar por Neiva buscamos algún taller donde nos pudieran soldaran el espejo y reforzaran las bisagras de las puestas, ya que con tanta vibración se van desajustando un poco.  Paramos en Palermo, Huila, lleno de personas serviciales y amables. Después de reparar todo continuamos a buscar donde dormir esta noche.

Otra vez hotel al lado de la carretera en Rio Neiva, pero lo más increíble que el hotel este full.

Y nos enteramos de que a pocos kilómetros esta ubicado Obo, pueblo indígena que esta luchando por sus derechos de tierra, y están cerrando la vía desde hace más de 15 días, la carretera, solo dan paso de 7 am a 9 am, pero la fila es inmensa, nos dormiremos temprano para poder madrugar y tomar un buen lugar en la fila para pasar.

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We started our day heading for the Desierto De La Tatacoa, initially the road was great but bit by bit it deteriorated into a very poor condition. Very muddy and at one point we lost control and slid into a fence post breaking one of Twiggy´s mirror supports.  We tried for half an hour or so to make progress but eventually realised that in order to be kind to our wheels it would be better to bite the bullet and admit defeat.  Oh for a vehicle with 2 big wheels and lots of power.

We would have to visit the desert on our way back up the continent in a couple of years.   In addition to wanting to spare Twiggy, David only had a few days left in Colombia before his visa expired and we needed to make progress.

We continued south to Neiva on a road in good condition, a little hot and we were surprised how little traffic there was.  In Neiva Twiggy had her first repair. We found a one man workshop where the mirror support was welded and he reinforced the door hinges which had suffered due to the vibration. We continued and stopped in Palermo, Huila, full of helpful and friendly people so we looked for a place to spend the night.  Another small hotel next to the road in Rio Neiva, but the most incredible thing was that we had the last room.  Why so full?

We soon found out! A few kilometers down the road was Obo where the road had been blocked by indigenous people fighting for their land rights.  They were closing the road for at least 15 days, but it would reopen each day from 0700-0900.  We would get to bed early, get up at the crack o sparrows to make sure that we had a decent position in the queue and guarantee that we could get through before it closed at 0900.

Two chicas and a hotel

Marzo 19 / 2019 / Dia 4

Valle Del Cócora – Espinal / Colombia

Un día lleno de lluvia, pero antes de salir un buen café, algunas fotos y compartir con Rafael y su familia.

Tomamos el rumbo a la famosa carretera de La Línea, con lluvia a 10 kilómetros por hora, momentos de mucho estrés y demasiado tráfico de tractomula, s fuimos llegando poco a poco a la cima 3287 metros a nivel del mar e iniciamos nuestro feliz descenso, con poca visibilidad por tanta neblina.

El paisaje inicio su cambio, pasamos por un lado de Ibagué una ciudad intermedia, luego encontramos un valle lleno de sembrados de arroz, trigo y muchos mangos.

Casi a las 5 pm encontramos un hotel al lado de la carretera cerca al Espinal, administrado por dos adolescentes que sus padres viven en Bogotá.

Estas niñas nos dejaron guardar el tuk tuk en un cuarto útil del hotel lleno de herramientas, enseres y basura. Twiggy quedo super seguro.

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It looked like it was going to chuck it down all day and we weren’t wrong.  Before leaving time for coffee and photos of Rafael and his family. 

 We took the famous road of La Linea, uphill all the way and at times we were able to make 10 kph.  Moments of high stress usually caused by artics passing too close and too fast.  Finally we reached the top at 3287 meters and we happily began our descent which was made harder by poor visibility.

The landscape began to change, we passed through the small city of Ibagué, then the landscape was a valley full of rice, wheat and many mango trees.

At 1700 we found a hotel next to the road near Espinal, managed by two teenager girls whose parents live in Bogotá.

These girls let us keep the tuktuk in a hotel room full of tools, equipment and rubbish. Twiggy was super safe.  Super is used by Latinos a lot.

A church of his own

Marzo 18 / 2019 / Dia 3

Santa Rosa De Cabal – Salento - Valle Del Cócora / Colombia

Tomamos la ruta hacia Salento, entrando a este pueblo tuvimos nuestro primer susto con el tuk tuk, una persona muy imprudente nos cerro en su carro y casi nos volteamos. Es increíble lo vulnerables que somos ante la mala educación de otros.

Salento un pueblo cafetero con sus casas coloniales llenas de color, flores y olor a café, y lleno de turistas.  Disfrutamos caminando sus calles llenas de artesanías, también subimos a un mirador donde puedes ver los inmensos sembrados de café.

Continuamos para el Valle Del Cócora, un paisaje mágico lleno de verde con sus imponentes palmas de cera, uno de los símbolos de Colombia.

Bajando del Valle nos encontramos un restaurante “Donde Laurita” la mejor sopa de trucha y el patacón más grande que hemos comido hasta el momento.

Super recomendado, al lado del restaurante nos encontramos un hostal casi desaparecido, pero era nuestra salvación ya que era demasiado tarde para regresar a Salento.

Llegamos y nos atendió un personaje feliz, amable, conversador y super atento. Tomamos una habitación con todo muy básico, pero con el mejor paisaje y anfitrión “Rafael”´

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We took the route to Salento, entering this town we had our first scare with the tuktuk.  A very imprudent person, my language was a little stronger,  forced us off the road. It is amazing how vulnerable we are to the poor driving skills and lack of forethought of others.

Salento is a coffee town with colourful colonial houses, flowers, the smell of coffee and full of tourists. We enjoyed ambling along its streets full of crafts and we also climbed to a viewpoint where you can see the immense coffee plantations.

We continue to Valle del Cócora, a magical landscape full of green with its imposing wax palms, one of the symbols of Colombia.

Racing at an impressive 40kph along the Valley we found a restaurant "Donde Laurita" the best trout soup and the biggest patacón we have eaten so far.

Definitely recommended, next to the restaurant we found a hostel partly derelict but showing the signs of what was a previously affluent past.  It was our salvation since it was too late to return to Salento.

We arrived and were treated by a happy, kind, talkative and super attentive character. We took our very basic room but with the best view we were then invited to coffee by our host Rafael.

No Tolls :)

Marzo 17 / 2019 / Dia 2

Medellín – Santa Rosa De Cabal / Colombia

Salimos a las siete am, con toda la alegría y adrenalina de ese primer viaje largo, que será el comienzo de todo. Tomamos vía a Caldas, Antioquia. Muchos ciclistas en la vía, el domingo todos entrenan por esta carretera, tomamos la vía al Sur Oeste Antioqueño, y nuestra sorpresa es que casi toda la carretera esta en mantenimiento, tuvimos muchas paradas, algunas por más de 20 minutos.

Luego nuestra sorpresa una vía amplia con un paisaje espectacular solo para nosotros, es la nueva vía que están construyendo para conectar Antioquia con la zona cafetera.

Continuamos vía Manizales, y otra vez vías cerradas, sin asfalto y con mucho tráfico acumulado. Para nosotros no es fácil estos trancones, después de que abren el paso todos quieren ser los primeros en pasar y las personas no respetan mucho este tipo de vehículos.

Después de varias horas con demasiadas interrupciones, se va acercando las 5 pm y encontramos un hotel al lado de la carretera, La Postrera en Santa Rosa De Cabal, un hotel económico, seguro y con buen restaurante.

Y lo mejor de la noche, David me entrego mi anillo de compromiso…. QUE FELICIDAD, iniciamos una vida juntos llena de aventura, adrenalina y livianos.

Datos del primer viaje:  El tuk tuk no paga peaje en las carreteras colombianas, es un buen punto.

Estamos haciendo una bitácora de viaje con kilometraje, consumo de gasolina y tipo de terreno transitado.

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We left at 0700, with all the joy and adrenaline of our first long full day. We took the road to Caldas, Antioquia and many cyclists were out for their Sunday training trip.  We headed towards South West Antioquia and to our surprise almost the entire road was under maintenance, we had many stops, some for more than 20 minutes.

Then yet more surprises, a wide road with a spectacular landscape just for us, it was the new road they had built to connect Antioquia with the coffee zone and I guess not many people knew of its existence since it was empty.

We continued via Manizales, again closed roads, without tarmac and with a lot of accumulated traffic. For us these traffic jams are not easy since after they open the way everyone wants to be at the front and people do not respect others especially if you are in a small tuktuk.

After several hours with too many interruptions, it was approaching 1700 and we found a roadside hotel, La Postrera in Santa Rosa De Cabal, a budget hotel, safe and with a good restaurant.

And the best thing during our first night, David gave me my engagement ring ... WHAT HAPPINESS, we had started our life together full of adventure, adrenaline and light. That will be my head torch.

Highlights: The tuktuk does not pay tolls for Colombian roads as per a motorcycle which is a bonus.  Just hope that the motorcycle lane is wide enough for Twiggy.

We are doing a travel log with mileage, fuel consumption and type of terrain.

Those of you that know me. Me being David will realise that when there is flowery language it is Monica´s Latin side coming out 😊