The Americas 2013

I arrived in Bogota late on Saturday night after an 18 hour flight and exhausted although looking forward to continuing the northward journey.

I spent much of Sunday resting, acclimatising, walking around Bogota and just generally getting my equipment ready to leave on Monday (yesterday) after collecting the bike from BMW however, after picking it up, getting to the hotel, checking the bike over, repairing the locking mechanism on one of the panniers and packing, it was now late morning and the heavens had opened so decided to spend an additional night in Bogota rather than spending the first day of riding getting soaked. This turned out to be a good idea because I awoke at 5:30am, got ready, had breakfast and left the hotel by 6:30 in fantastic weather although the traffic was already manic by then.

My 500km ride today..

What the ride looks like when you come off the mountains into the coastal plain.. 

Bogota is located at an altitude of about 2800m and today I was heading down into the coastal plain to a town called Barrancabermenja (pronounced Barranca-ber-meyer about a 500km ride from Bogota) so the first 150km was twisty hairpin bends to a town called Honda (nothing to do with the japs) and thereafter I was in a valley that makes up a part of the coastal plain although 1000km from the coast. The first thing one notices when entering the valley is the heat; Bogota has a climate of 12 to 25 all year round but once you are into the coastal plain the temps rocket to around 40C at midday so by the time I arrived in Barranca-ber-meyer 8 hours later I was drenched in perspiration.

Colombia continues to be beautiful and green, the towns quaint and the people super friendly!

A town called “Honda”..

How the locals spend their day.. 

I am spending the night at a little place called Hotel Millennium. Fancy name for a place that looks over the Colombian equivalent of Sasolburg’s primary plant which I only noticed when I got to my room, drew the curtains open and expecting to see lakes and flamingos!! Anyway, tomorrow, weather permitting, I head to Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast where I will spend the night, and maybe 2 if its nice.

Not lakes and flamingos, although “Barranca-ber-meyer” is a cute town..

I am currently riding this stretch alone and Jax will be meeting me in Cancun in Mexico in a few weeks so the alone time will no doubt be interesting.