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Panamericana adventure
  • Meike Grothe
  • Herbert E
  • Meike Grothe
  • Herbert E

Panamericana adventure

A dream comes true!! Starting in Vancouver, our plan is to go South until we reach Tierra del Fuego - World's end. Our chosen way of transport: 2 fantastic travel bikes. Follow us on our adventurous trip with all the expected highs and lows 🚵‍♀️😀 Read more
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  • Panamericana adventure
    Alejandro and Wilson watching the cockpit
    Back in lifeSailing towards ColombiaAlejandro pumping water out of the boat

    Usual adventures on a sailing boat

    March 2, 2020, Caribbean Sea ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We started getting hungry at about 11am and finished a pack of cookies we had in our bag luckily - still in the horizontal position. However, after something to eat, we had regained some energy again and made it to the cockpit. Except for Alejandro and our boat dog Wilson, everyone was still passed out. We saw that Amanda and Caro had changed beds as Caro didn't want to sleep in the saloon anymore after 2 salt water showers during the night due to a not properly sealed window. And Amanda was tired of holding tight in her front bunk bed due to the high waves.
    Within the next 2 hours, Olaf, Amanda, Dhana (shortly) and the captain recovered as well and Alejandro made some sandwiches thankfully welcomed by standing ovations on our side. The captain also made some coffee, which helped us feel alive again. The sea had calmed a little as well, so we were also able to watch dolphins and even stretch and stand up for a while.
    By about 4pm, everyone but Caro managed to get to the cockpit and we all had more sandwiches and tuna salad. We had entered an area of Colombian islands that offered some protection from the waves and winds.
    However, shortly before the sunset, we passed the islands and headed back into open sea, waves got bigger and everyone decided to go back to a horizontal position instead of having dinner.
    Some hours later, we woke up by some noise, light and loud discussions. Water had come into the boat and Michl in the front and Alejandro in the saloon were trying to get it out. As the sea was also pretty rough, the captain decided to anchor close to a nearby island to be better protected from the waves and stay there for the rest of the night.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Fuerte de San Fernando de Bocachica
    Highrises of CartagenaThe Wilson anchoring in the marinaStreet art in CartagenaHistorical center

    Here we are, Colombia!

    March 2, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    A long boat trip came to an end this morning when we arrived in Cartagena. After another 4 hours from the anchoring spot, we passed the fort of Bocachica, saw the highrises and the marina of the city. We had a final breakfast on the boat (hamburgers), before inspecting our luggage for any damages due to the water. Our panniers were dry as well as one of the big bags. The second one got completely soaked - but luckily there were no electronics in it. Michl's iPhone did not survive a swim in the salt water though. The captain took him to his favourite technician later to replace it with a new one.
    However, we left the boat and went to immigration. This was pretty easy. We handed all our passports to a lady at the marina, she had them stamped somewhere and came back later to return them to us.
    We then went to our AirBnB, took a desperately needed shower, dried some wet stuff and gave a package of dirty cloths to the laundry service. Then we headed off to find a bike for Michl, so he can join us during the next few days. We checked some bikeshop just to see what's on the market, but didn't buy anything yet.
    Afterwards, we walked along the beach towards the historical center. It's interesting how quickly the environment can change here - from a slum-like road to pricey highrise apartments within one block. There's lots of streetart around all parts of the city. And the historical center is quite beautiful. Surrounded by a stone wall, many colonial style buildings, very colourful and lively, bars, restaurants... We really liked it.
    At 7pm, we met the boat crew at a pizza place to have dinner together. Nice to see everyone again after a shower and in clean cloths. But as we were all pretty exhausted from the cruise, we called it an early night and said goodbye to everyone.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    1Michl's new toy
    1Our Schwalbe Marathons after 13500 km of cyclingSome dances in front of the walled city3Let's have a beer!!

    All about bikes

    March 3, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Today was dedicated to prepare for the road again. Firstly, we found a decent bike for Michl, so he can properly join our CYCLING trip. Secondly, Herbert did some maintenance on the bikes. The tyres got damaged quite a bit on the boat, so it was perfect timing that Michl had brought the new ones from Germany.
    In the evening, we decided to head to the historical centre again to discover more of this lively city. After a short stroll, we met Amanda and spontaneously went into a bar for some beers. What a fun night full of chatting and laughing!    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    1Leaving Cartagena
    On the road againOur motel room

    Hitting South American roads

    March 4, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    It almost feels like a new start: after 13.440km, 140.000m of elevation gain and almost 800 cycling hours in North and Central America we had a bit of a break while sailing from Panama to Colombia. Today, we are back on the bikes, this time in South America.
    The first stretch took us out of Cartagena, passing the fishing harbour and a really poor residential area. What a contrast to the touristy historical centre! But people looked very curious and smiled and waved at us.
    After some km on a dirt road, we got onto the 4 lane highway 90B, smoothly paved, no traffic and a shoulder. Quite nice to cycle! Unfortunately, it changed to a 2 lane highway with no shoulder. But at least not too much traffic.
    Roads here in Colombia seem to be toll roads most of the time. The good thing is that motorcycles don't have to pay anything and get an extra small lane to pass the barriers. This is actually quite convenient as we can use the same lane to pass quickly and easily as well.
    Cycling today was relatively easy, quite flat, nothing particularly exciting. We just had to fight the heat and some slight headwinds (of course, the wind had changed from Northeast to South, now that we are going South).
    Michl did well on his first 90km ride. When we found a restaurant that also offered rooms, we called it a day. We had dinner at the restaurant, as the room was already full with our luggage and bikes, so no proper space to cook. Plus, Colombia is a lot cheaper again compared to Costa Rica and Panama. This, we enjoyed yummy grilled chicken breast with rice and salad and fresh juices! Sleeping early to be able to get up early to be the heat...    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Breakfast time
    Simple housing along the road1Relaxing at the beachDinner time

    Last swim in the Carribean Sea

    March 5, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    As we won't see the Carribean Sea any time soon anymore, we decided to take a little detour and stop in Santiago de Tolú for a night. We started with a filling breakfast at the restaurant of the motel and headed towards Tolú on the highway. A little rolling, bit generally easy cycling with not much traffic. There was some construction work, but in Colombia motorcyclists and cyclists have "special rights". Except for once, we never had to stop on a one lane, one direction road, but could always continue no matter the direction of the traffic. When we had to face traffic, we just cycled on the lane that was in construction and closed for cars and trucks.
    After some 40km, we turned onto a smaller road. On Google maps, it looked like a dirt road, but it turned out that they had just paved it and it was still closed to public (except for motorcycles and bicycles of course). Therefore, we had a perfectly smooth road for ourselves to enjoy the scenery. We even saw a blue ara flying on top of us and a young cow drinking on the road.
    Once in Tolú, we straight away liked it. It's a good size, where you can get everything you need, but it is not overcrowded. It had restaurants and bars, but only few tourists. There was also a central square where we could sit in the shade and watch people.
    We also went for a swim in the sea of course, followed by a yummy dinner cooked by Michl (thanks heaps for this!) and a couple of beers on our balcony.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Riding through the construction site when traffic is going the other direction
    Break in SincelejoLunch stop in Los PalmitosBreak along the roadInteresting signs along the way1Chicken for dinner and a hungry dog

    Beat the heat

    March 6, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    Leaving Tolú, we had to go on a different road with even more construction work than the day before. Lucky we didn't have to wait (thanks to Colombian rule 😉), but could just go the lane that is currently built against the traffic.
    However, scenery was still nice and we saw lots of blue aras and some monkeys even. The first 40km to Sincelejo were constantly rolling, but nothing too bad. Plus, there was no wind today, but instead some clouds, so we made good speed.
    After the break on the central square in Sincelejo, we continued to Los Palmitos where we had our lunchstop. So far so good.
    However, now, Michl's suffering started. It was almost midday, the clouds had gone, it was above 40°C and the area was super dry with no shade at all. The road was still rolling which was way more exhausting now compared to the morning. Michl had also stopped talking (this basically never happens 😉). We made it to a tiny tree that provided at least some shade and stopped right next to the road. We bought some juicy watermelon from a street vendor to revive Michl a little. The gentleman living in the house in front of which we stopped even got some chairs out for us after a while. After over an hour at this stop, we could continue the 13km to San Pedro where we found a basic hotel. Michl had a rest while we walked around the village for a while. For dinner, we had semi-good chicken due to the lack of alternatives. Michl didn't finish his food and preferred feeding the dog...    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Disgusting smelling fish soup for breakfast
    Ferry actionMichl's bike on the roof - and then it's soldOur room in Mompox

    Last cycling tour with Michl

    March 7, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Michl's last day of cycling has already come. In the morning, we were all a little tired, as the owners of the hostel had talked loudly until late. We got breakfast in a roadside restaurant next to our hotel. The first course was a fish soup - Michl's facial expression says everything... None of us could eat more than a small spoon to give it at least a try. The second course was eggs with fried platano, rice, cheese and a sausage. Pretty standard, nothing real tasty, but I imagine that it's also quite difficult to cook with thos scarcity of water or get fresh groceries.
    After breakfast, we cycled 40km to Magangué, a very busy town next to Magdalena River. It was quite difficult to cycle in between hundreds of motorcycles and some horse carts. In Magangué, we tried to sell Michl's bike. He had decided to not cycle all the way to Mompox with us, but take some transportation. However, we weren't lucky as most of the shops did not buy second hand bikes. And the only guy who did, did not have any money on him today to buy it.
    So we decided to give it another try in Mompox. Inorder to get there, we had to cross the river. We took the ferry and - thank you Colombia again - it was free for bikes. We even had something to see as at the other side one of the big construction machines had fallen half way into the river and couldn't get moved anymore.
    Anyways, we found a collective taxi for Michl and his bike (they just tied it to the roof) and cycled the remaining 40km to Mompox.
    Here we were pretty successful: we first got a bus ticket for Michl to Bogotá leaving tomorrow, then sold his bicycle (we are expecting the second half of the payment tomorrow, as the lady did not have enough money today) and found an AirBnB in an old colonial style building for a decent price.
    After a shower, we went for a stroll through UNESCO world heritage town and cooked a final dinner together. It's a very nice town with beautiful colonial style architecture, so we are looking forward to some more exploring tomorrow morning.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Mompox, UNESCO world heritage site
    Goodbye Michl, see you back in GermanyHalf-year-cake in GuamalMagdalena River deltaA yellow road in Google maps can be sandy in Colombia...

    1/2 year out and about

    March 8, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    6 months ago, we borded our plane to Vancouver. Half a year and thousands of experiences later, we are in Colombia - hard to believe.
    Today, we had a bit of a sleep in. We wanted to take Michl to the bus which wouldn't leave before 12:30, so we had some time.
    First, we explored this amazingly beautiful little town. In the morning, the light was great for photos and it was only 30°C, so still fresh for the conditions here. We also bought a hammock in a local market (not a touristy one) which we Michl is taking to Germany for us. In the market, they had a green parrot. As we see heaps of them here, but can't see them on our photos due as they "hide" in the green trees, we took the photo in the supermarket. We spent the rest of the morning in our AirBnB and I gave some hints to our hosts how to improve his website. Also, Tatiana who bought Michl's bike came by to pay some more of her debts. In the end, she still missed to pay some 15$ which she couldn't organize from anyone within a day. But there weren't really many options to sell the bike to anyone else.
    By noon, we went to the bus station and said goodbye to Michl. Great to have friends who come to the other side of the world and share a part of your lifetime experience with you!
    Herbert and me then took of to cycle to Guamal where we wanted to stay for the night. It was only about 33km away, but in the midday heat a bit of a fight. Plus, the road turned first into a gravel road with many potholes and then even into a sand road, which didn't make cycling any easier. Luckily, there was no traffic so we could ziczac around the potholes which was faster than some trucks could go.
    In Guamal, there was nothing. So after a cold sugary soda and a cake (celebrating 6 months out and about), we decided to continue to El Banco. We feared a sandy bumpy road, but luckily, they had just built a perfectly smooth new road after 4km. So cycling in the heat with a continuous headwind in our face was tough, but doable on the flat delta area of Magdalena River. A young boy with his brother on the bike raced us for a while which was a fun distraction.
    In El Banco, we stayed in the first hotel we could find and cooked dinner in the room before going to bed early.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Easy cycling along Magdalena river
    Stop in El Burro for fresh orange juiceRelaxing in the backyard and a typical class room in ColombiaBoat trip on Cienega de SahayaEmpanadas for dinner

    A day with Colombian locals

    March 9, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    One of those days as a bike tourist again... We got an invite again: Delwin invited us to stay with him in his village Pelaya. As it was going to be extremely hot as always, we started early from El Banco. And as it was all flat with no wind in the morning, we arrived in Pelaya at 10:30am already, including a short stop for fresh orange juice.
    Delwin picked us up from a supermarket and showed us his office where we could put our matresses for the night. We quickly showered out of a bucket (they cut off the running water during the day) and he gave us a tour around his former school. Then we went with the 3 of us on a scooter to Delwin's house, stopping at many places on the way to meet his family and friends. His girlfriend had prepared fish with rice and yuka for lunch. We then spent the afternoon relaxing in his backyard and discussing German and Colombian culture. Delwin is extremely well educated and knows a lot about European history. He also knows a lot of German football players and sportsmen in general.
    Late afternoon, he had a surprise for us. We went on a boat trip on the nearby lake. On the way there, we stopped for some corn drink and great laughter with a funny man - he was definitely a personality!
    The boat trip was great. We saw heaps of birds and an amazing sunset. No caiman though, although they had told us there were plenty of them in the lake. The boat wasn't really stable. As soon as someone moved, we almost rolled over. But in the end, nothing happened of course.
    Back in the village, we went out for empanadas for dinner and back into the office to go to sleep early.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Our medals, bags and bocadillos
    Uneventful ridingDinner time2Can you guess all the animals on the signs?

    Heat battle continued

    March 10, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    As a farewell, Delwin gave us a couple of bags, medals and bocadillo (a sweet made of guayaba which gives you energy). Then we headed to San Alberto. The route was uneventful, mainly flat with one bigger hill to climb. We saw the first real mountains of Colombia and lots of interesting animal road signs.
    Again, it was really hot, even though it was overcast all day. This made it really exhausting to cycle. When we arrived in San Alberto, we were happy to find a hotel with airconditioning. We decided to explore the town a little. As we were hungry amd thirsty, we bought fresh cold orange juice from a street vendor, some bred and cake from a bakery and a dinner of soup and meat with rice, pasta, yuka, platano, salad and sugar cane juice (way too sweet for us). The dinner was really tasty and huge and only cost 1.60€. It's actually cheaper than cooking. Finally, we went to a refill station of water gallons to ask if they can also refill our water bottles. They did it and didn't want any money for it as our 6litres are pretty much nothing for them. Nice people all around!    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Tyre service for free
    Heavy trafficReplanning the routeNew road, still closed for carsDinner in front of the hotel

    Replanning the route

    March 11, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    What an awful day on the bike! Highway again, lots of heavy traffic, headwinds, and a flat boring scenery. The highlight was a quick stop for a fresh orange juice including a nice chat with the vendor and her friend.
    After 85km going South, we saw an old bridge next to the new bridge which was only open for pedestrians. We pulled over to get a short rest about 100m away from the traffic and decided that we did not want to go any further on that highway. So we replanned our route and took the next turn East towards Bucaramanga. On this road, there's less traffic. Plus, they built a new road which is not open yet, but perfectly passable by bike.
    We still called it a day after 10 more km, found a basic hotel and cooked a fresh pasta salad.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
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    A different foggy worldCathedral in GironWhite houses in GironSelfie with AndrésChurch and Palacio Municipal in Piedecuesta

    Entering a different world

    March 12, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    The day started a little different compared to the last weeks: there were some raindrops when we started cycling. And pretty much from the beginning, we had to climb. The landscape changed completely, from dry and flat we entered a green and mountainous world with temperatures under 30°C - what a relief! We also had a longer breakfast stop at a roadside restaurants, as we didn't have hurry to beat the sun.
    We climbed to about 1200m where the road started rolling through some villages, lots of agricultural land and a bigger cacao city.
    Around noon, we reached Giron after a 500m elevation drop, a beautiful colonial village in the mountains, all painted in white. We had a short lunch break before continuing on a busy highway with no proper shoulder. We did a semi-circle around Bucaramanga, the capital of this department, in order to go further South. In Piedecuesta, a small but busy village, we called it a day and stayed in a basic hotel.
    Lots of nice people on the road today. First, Angelica on her motorcycle stopped next to us for a chat and to give us her number in case we need help. Later, Andrés cycled next to us for a short talk about our trip. We also exchanged numbers to stay in contact. He seems to be motivated to do bike touring as well, so maybe we can inspire him a bit more. In general, many people cheered and gave us a thumbs up which is always encouraging on a climb!    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    The road did not withstand the heavy rains
    Testing out new socksMountain viewsFruit juice shopChurch in AratocaTypical road in Aratoca mountain village

    Beginning of the rainy season

    March 13, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    2am - we woke up from heavy rain and realized we had left our shoes outside. I tried to save them, but it was too late, already soaked completely. We thought about our options and decided to sleep in to give them some time to dry.
    So instead of getting up at 5am, we slept til 6:30am and had breakfast. The shoes were still wet of course, so we had to find another solution. Herbert just used his new shoes that were actually meant for colder weather conditions further South and I just used plastic bags instead of socks.
    Then we hit the road again. We had already heard that there were mudslides 2 weeks ago and the road was blocked for bigger cars and trucks. Perfect for us as we passed a long queue of trucks and cars who had to wait, but we could pass with our bicycles. Apart from some locals, the road was empty.
    So we climbed for some 350m, before enjoying an epic downhill of 850m on a canyon road. So much fun!!
    However, afterwards, we had to start climbing again on a curvy mountain road with no shoulder. And now, hundreds of trucks came from the opposite direction, speeding downhill with risky overtaking maneuvers. Obviously, they had just got the news that the road was open again, so after 14 days of waiting, they wanted to win back some minutes.
    We stopped at a tourist restaurant at the entrance of Chicamocha National Park to get something to eat and a hot beverage. For the first time in Colombia, we got good coffee as it was not sugared. I also emptied my new socks from sweat and water that was inside 😏
    Then we climbed the last 550m to Aratoca - with a short stop for fresh mandarin juice. We found a nice hotel room with a balcony in this mountain village and went out for dinner and exploring.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Getting out of Aratoca wasn't easy...
    1Funny trees along the waySteep roads in San GilChurch at the main square

    Extended stay in Colombia

    March 14, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    When we woke up at 6am, there was no running water. As this has happened before, we decided to sleep a little longer as waiting usually solves the problem. And indeed, at 7:30am, the water was back on.
    We had breakfast and started our cycling day by pushing the bikes out of Aratoca because the roads were too steep to ride. Back on the main road, we could get back on the bicycles, and continue our trip to San Gil. It was a nice and easy ride with some climbing at the beginning but a great and long downhill into the town. The scenery was cool as well and we heard the crazily loud noise of grasshoppers most of the time.
    We only cycled about 30km today as we are taking it slowly at the moment. Due to the Coronavirus, South American countries are closing their borders to foreigners. So we figured we may as well take our time to see more of Colombia. Our visa does not expire until end of May and there's heaps to see and bike here.
    In San Gil, we checked into a hostal. Here, we also heard the expected news that Ecuador will close its borders tonight, Peru on Monday. So I guess we'll really have some more time to explore this diverse country.
    The town seems to be a backpackers' mekka, you can do all adrenaline stuff such as rafting, bungee jumping, paragliding, caving, canyoning... We just went for a walk around the town with its crazily steep roads, checked out a view point and the central square, did some chores and cooked dinner at the hostal.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
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    Beginning of the eastern Andes1Interesting cemetery artsColombian version of ViagraTraditional ice cream in Guane

    Barichara

    March 15, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    The advantage of taking it slowly due to an uncertain situation is that we have more time to explore. So today, we cycled to Barichara, a village North of San Gil. The road was paved with few traffic, so we could enjoy the 500m climb followed by a 400m downhill through the mountains, passing some really nice farm houses.
    In Barichara, we could leave our bikes at the sister hostal of our hostal in San Gil. This enabled us to walk around the village - far better than on bikes as some roads were steep and there were cobblestones everywhere.
    All houses were painted in white, which looked really beautiful. We saw the central square, the church, a chapel, the rock art park with some sculptures and the impressive cemetery. As Barichara is famous for its rock artists, most of the gravestone include a piece of art such as angels but also a football, hats, books or even a guitar.
    As it was quite hot, we decided to take a local bus to Guane. It's a little further North of Barichara, only 8km but 500m lower in elevation. Here we tried Sabajón, a drink of whisky mixed with milk, and the local icecream. The museum was closed during lunch hours, so we skipped it.
    While we were waiting for the bus back to Barichara, there was a public announcement through loudspeakers on the main square. They were going to close the museum to protect the village from tourists bringing in Corona. He is generally right, of course, but as the major of the village repeated this about 20 times, it was a weird feeling sitting there as an obvious tourist with locals staring at you.
    Luckily, the bus arrived 5 minutes later, we went back to Barichara and rode back to San Gil from there. Grocery shopping, dinner at the hostel and route planning for tomorrow before going to sleep.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Quarantine shopping
    Working on the bikesOur living space in the hostelOur Australian housemate Ishan

    Corona stop

    March 16, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    It seems like we are stuck for a while. This morning, we got the news that hotels have to close (including our hostel) and some regions (including Santander where we are in at the moment) don't let travellers pass anymore.
    The owner of the hostel offered us to stay here for a while. As it's a nice place (the hostel as well as the region), we decided to stay and observe the situation. We really don't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hotel options around.
    So first thing we did was to buy fruit, vegetables and beer (toilet paper was sold out already, but there's still enough in the hostel 😉). We also registered at the local secretary of health. They took our personal information as well as our health status (no symptons). They told us that we shouldn't have any problems because we've been in the country for 15 days now (JUST), which is considered to be the critical time for bringing the virus into the country. We didn't get any official certificate, but can always refer to the registration in case we get stopped by the police.
    Then, Herbert replaced the chains of the bikes which he was going to do anyways some time soon. Our temporary Australian housemate Ishan prepared sandwiches for lunch and a peanut butter curry for dinner.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Juan Curi waterfallCharalá central squareBack road ridingDinner in the hostel

    Social distancing

    March 17, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    In the morning, Ishan left our hostel apartment, as he decided to cancel his trip and go home to Australia. So now it's only us and Andrés in the house. Andrés is Colombian and usually works in the hostel. During the closure, he can't work there, but prefers staying as the conditions are way better than in his home.
    After breakfast, we decided to do social distancing in the mountains and went for a bike ride on a remote road to Charalá. The route went passed Fonce River and was really beautiful. We passed a waterfall and spent some time on the central square eating icecream.
    On the way back, we wanted to check out if the Indian Cave is still open. In order to get there, we took a back road which was dirt. But hey - we have time and no luggage, so let's try! Climbing was really hard and I sometimes had to push some metres, even though we lowered the air pressure. But the landscape was awesome and there was absolutely no one else on the road.
    In Paramó where the cave is located we first stopped at the church. Then we went to the entrance of the cave. Unfortunately, noone was around. Looks like everything is closed to the lack of tourists. So we just went back to San Gil, did some grocery shopping and cooked dinner.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Smoothies for breakfast
    14Empanadas in MogotesCentral square in Mogotes

    Daytrip in the mountains

    March 18, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Next day of Covid-19 prevention: we started with smoothies for breakfast to fill up our vitamines. Then we headed took another remote road out of the city. This time, our destination was Mogotes. It started with a 600m elevation gain before we had a curvy rolling stretch.
    Shortly before Mogotes we passed a health control. They took our data and asked about any symptoms. As we don't show any and would return back to San Gil, we had no problems passing. In the village, we enjoyed some yummy empanadas before going back home.
    In general, we see more and more people with face masks. I'm tempted to ask them if they are all sick, but don't want to risk getting in trouble 😏    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Spanish books and a puzzle to kill time
    Herbert studying Spanish on the couch in our patio

    Getting ready for the lockdown

    March 20, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    In the Santander, the state we are in right now, there'll be an obligatory general curfew starting tonight. For now, it's only for 78 hours, but who knows? Anyways, we are preparing for staying in our hostel in San Gil for a while. So first we bought some Spanish books and a puzzle to kill time indoors. Furthermore, we used the time for studying more Spanish.
    Today, we went for a final bike ride before we can't go outdoors anymore. We cycled uphill to the tiny airport and followed some dirt roads before heading back to town. Finding our way back to the main road wasn't easy as most turns ended on a private property. But people were always friendly and directed us back on the main track.
    Back home, we had a hot shower as it was relatively cold (18°C). Afterwards, we went grocery shopping, so we have the basics for the next 4 days.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Online workout in our patio
    1Puzzling - "Rio de Janeiro" with lots of blue and green only to make it difficultA beer at night doesn't hurt... 😉Views from our little bike tourFace masks to go out... 😥

    Day 200 and the quarantine

    March 25, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Who would have thought that we spend our 200th day of our trip locked up in a house in Colombia because of a worldwide epidemic? Noone could have predicted this, that's for sure!!
    In Colombia, travel has been largely restricted since 16th of March. Since last Friday night, there's state curfews, so it isn't allowed for people to leave the house anymore, except for grocery shopping or going to a doctor or similar. At midnight today, a nationwide curfew started, so these rules apply in all of Colombia.
    We still think we are kind of lucky because we found a good place to stay during this difficult situation. First, the climate in San Gil is nice. Temperatures during the night drop to about 20 degrees, so we don't need airconditioning or a fan during the night. Before 10am and after 4pm, temperatures are cool enough to exercise.
    Secondly, we have running water all day, electricity, a fully working kitchen and a bed. What sounds normal to most people is actually not everyday life for everyone here in Colombia.
    Thirdly, we also have quite some space in the building including a patio, so we can see the sky even if we have to stay at home. It's not allowed to leave the house for exercising, so we use it for online trainings. Good to see there's heaps of offers on YouTube such as Yoga or #lederhosentraining.
    In general, we try to keep a daily routine: get up around 6:30am, start with breakfast and followed by our morning exercise. During the hot hours, we puzzle, study Spanish, read, catch up with the news or with friends and family. Once it cools down, we do our evening workout, followed by dinner. Before going to bed, we usually watch some comedy online. We found a way to download videos on the phone, transfer it to the camera and connect it to the tv, so we have a big screen to watch it. In general, we prefer older comedy shows with last year's topics to get a break from Corona.
    Yesterday was a highlight in our routine. In between state and national curfew, there was a day of a break. We took our bikes and went uphill for a ride to exercise a little. It was soooo good for our souls to be outdoors, a totally different feeling!! And again, we are lucky to be in San Gil as there's mountains all around. We can make 600m elevation gain on remote roads in only 10km. So we don't even have to go far in order to get a decent training and enjoy the views. Unfortunately, the officials here realized that all people used the "free" day to go out. So we got sent back to town when a firefighter passed us on his scooter. He also critized us for not wearing a face masks.
    In general, people go crazy about the masks here. 95% of the people here wear them which is scary to us. We refused so far, but when someone yelled at us on the road again when going shopping, we decided to wear some as well. Lucky, we still had the ones we received in California which were supposed to protect is against the smoke of the fires. They won't help against the virus, but people here are satisfied and we won't end up in the news as the foreigners who refuse to wear masks... Anyways, apart from groceries, we could also buy a skipping rope and 3 balls for juggling which will hopefully distract us a little during the next 19 days.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Puzzle done - check!
    Baking our own breadA skipping rope session is included in the daily workoutThanks for the beer @Jason&Reiko!Painting a wall in our hostel1"pico y cédula" - the last number on your ID indicates what day you can go out

    Killing time

    April 2, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Although we can't bike on, we are not totally lazy. Colombia has been in lockdown for almost 2 weeks now. This means that we are not allowed to go outside except for grocery shopping. And even this is restricted to only 2 days per week which is based on the last number of your Combian ID. As we obviously don't have a Colombian ID, we show them the number at the bottom of our passports. Here, I have an "8", so I am allowed to buy food on Thursdays and Saturdays, Herbert with his "6" on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The last photo shows the regulation for San Gil.
    This system is actually implemented differently in each city or village. Sometimes, a certain number can go on a different day, sometimes during a specific time slot. In some cities, you can use public transport only at a certain hour depending on your last number. I guess this system has a good intention, but can make things really chaotic and difficult. For example, when people from the village need to come into town to get money from the bank and in their village, they can leave the house on a Tuesday, but in town they are only allowed to enter the bank on a Thursday...
    Meanwhile, we try to kill our time. We finished the puzzle within 3 days, using trial-and-error for the blue sky. We also baked bread. As we don't have a working oven, Herbert is trying to build our own oven-like system. The 3rd trial wasn't actually too bad.
    Furthermore, we do a lot of exercise. The skipping rope saves our stamina and 2 yoga sessions per day make our bodies more flexible again after 6 months on the bikes. And thanks to amazon Colombia, our friends in Switzerland could surprise us with some European beers 😀
    We can't do much, but we also try to help the people here as much as possible. Therefore, we painted a couple of walls in the hostel. We also try to use local delivery services. This is, however, a little more complicated compared to Germany for example, as there is no central website for deliveries or many websites of local restaurants in general. So when we walk through town, we look for papers posted on restaurant doors that refer to a delivery service or search facebook pages for people who advertise in local groups.
    Overall, we really miss cycling. But considering the worldwide situation, I guess we can't complain.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    2Pizza and rum treat
    Yeah, the spare part finally arrived!!1Yoga training...Pancakes and guacamole for breakfastChicken in hot bbq sauce with potatoes and carrots

    Early Easter egg hunt

    April 8, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Things are getting pretty boring here. The Colombian government extended the curfew until 26 April. Plus, they changed the regulation for going out and reduced it to once per week during the Easter week. So we are staying in our hostel doing the usual: working out, reading, eating, sleeping... As it's Easter, we got a treat of pizza and Colombian rum which should get us through the rest of the quarantine. Our yoga skills are still pretty basic, but improving - and so are our cooking skills... Our personal highlight this week was the spare part of the blender that arrived yesterday, so we can finally make smoothies again 😀 Who would have thought that we spend "7 months on the road" locked-in??Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Beer from Germany in the local supermarket
    Best burger ever!Our DIY beer and mobile standOur new "freedom"1First outdoor exercise since mid MarchMoving furniture

    A first little step towards freedom

    April 27, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Unfortunately, we are still in San Gil and still in lockdown, as the Colombian Government extended the curfew until 11 May for now. This means, we'll be staying here for at least 2 more weeks.
    The last 2 weeks, we followed our daily routine of workouts, yoga, reading, eating... We found a German beer in the supermarket, discovered a super cheap absolutely amazing burger place with delivery service and perfected our do-it-yourself mobile and beer stand for our regular movie nights. We also had some video calls with friends which is a really good distraction from our daily life inside a house.
    However, something has changed positively starting from today: the president realized that exercising outdoors is important for one's health. It's generally restricted to morning hours (5-8am) and within 1km radius of your house. So, of course, first thing we did this morning was going out for fast walking around the blocks close to our hostel.
    Once we got back, we found out, that in San Gil, they actually restricted the exercising hours based on the last number of your passport: for example, with my "8", I'm allowed to exercise for one hour on Tuesdays, 7-9am and Fridays, 5-7am. Good the police didn't check us today 😉
    Furthermore, we got 2 new housemates: the hostel owner and his mum moved in as they had to give up their apartment during this time with no income. Andrés, our housemate up til now, on the other hand, moved back to his aunt and uncle to work in their workshop to earn some money. Today, we helped moving the furniture out of the apartment which provided another excuse to get out 😉
    Let's see what is going to come in the next couple of weeks..    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    We got facemasks with the Combian flag to remember quarantine in this country
    Regular video calls to keep up the spiritGame time!Herbert preparing arepasNew freedomEnd of the road after 10km - but happy!

    The end is near

    May 13, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    We've lost count of our days in lockdown already... It's been almost 2 months now that we can't move on. After 6 months of continuous travelling, we are stuck in a town, even in one house, which is a difficult situation. We are lucky to be healthy, to have friends to video-call with and people who support us here in Colombia with offering us a nice place to stay. However, when they announced another extension of the lockdown until 25th May, we decided to look for flight opportunities back to Europe. It was a hard decision for us, but with still increasing numbers of Covid infections in Colombia as well as in other South American countries, we don't believe (bike) travelling will be easily possible any time soon in this region. So now we are waiting for either moving up on the waiting list for European repatriation flights (German flights already left beginning of April) or for the airport to reopen for commercial international flights. Let's see...

    In general, there's a very regional strategy to confront the pandemic here in Colombia. As San Gil is - luckily - a "Corona-free" town, most of the businesses can open again. They also allow us to do grocery shopping 2x per week again - based on your passport number - and exercise any day between Monday and Friday within the borders of the town (no radius of 1km anymore) for one hour between 5 and 8am. We totally made use of this little freedom and cycled to the regional airport, 10km and 500m of elevation away from our hostal. This is also the border of San Gil as you can see by the blocked road. However, we are really happy to feel the wind again around our heads 😊    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Saying goodbye to Diego and his mum in San Gil
    On the way to BogotaCar is full - but we found bike boxes :)Saying goodbye to Marcelinus in BogotaMobile sinks / long queue outside the airport / pantomime game / Corona plane food

    Final countdown

    May 17, 2020 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    With the help of the German embassy, we got seats on a repatriation flight to Munich. So we said goodbye to our hostel family in San Gil and left for Bogotá. Juan Diego, the owner of the hostel, organized a bike rack for his car and drove us to the capital. The drive was quite nice: we passed beautiful mountain scenery and the "cycling state of Colombia", Boyaca. As interstate travelling is usually not allowed yet (we had an official document from the embassy), roads were empty and we made it to Bogota in about 5 hours.
    In Bogota, we organized bike boxes for the flight. Our host for a night in the city, Marcelinus, welcomed us warmly, helped us pack the bikes, cooked us Colombian meals and gave us a lift to the airport the next day.
    In Colombia, the airport is closed and only operates few humanitarian flights. Our flight was the only one that day. Necertheless, we had to be there 5 hours early because of security checks. After waiting in line for 2 hours (with a 1.5m distance of course), we had to wash our hands in mobile sinks and had our temperature measured. Check-in went smoothly, so we had to kill another hour before boarding. Luckily, we met a couple who we knew from the San Gil hostel before lockdown. So we played pantomime with them which was great fun.
    Boarding was line by line which took quite a while. Seats were uncomfortable, inflight entertainment turned off, food was served in a plastic bag and we had to wear a face mask all the time. We definitely had better flights before, but well - we landed safely in Munich.    Read more

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