Getting shivers when I look back ...

Getting shivers when I remember that we were there in Dec2015

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-39470238



see our adventure ride on Colombia's most dangerous road...

http://www.sauerkraut-tofuwurst.com/2016/01/riding-trampolin-del-diablo-adios-mi.html

Colombia - Tracks, waypoints and accommodations

Tracks and waypoints can be found here as GDB and GPX files.

Almost 3000km

List of pet & bike friendly accommodations:

Cartagena - Hotel Palma Real

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 65000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: inner yard
Contact: booking.com
GPS: N10.39121° W75.52241°
Comment: Clean, cold shower, TV, Wifi, A/C, fridge, restaurant next door and in neighborhood

Sincelejo - Hotel La Ceiba

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 40000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: in front of reception
Contact: GPS: N9.27408° W75.41026°
Comment: Clean, cold shower, TV, no Wifi, A/C (on/off via fuse at reception, no remote control),

Sincelejo - Hotel Liyen

Type: Room with two beds
Costs: 80000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: garage yard nearby
Contact: Hotel Liyen, Calle 25 #24-19 Calle Cauca, Sincelejo (Sucre), hoteliyen@hotmail.com, 2760044, 300 258 4885, 300 4981175, GPS: N9.30156° W75.38896°
Comment: Clean, cold shower, TV, Wifi at reception (and rooms near enough), A/C, fan, downtown, opposite to shopping mall

Planeta Rica - Hotel Linda Palma

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 80000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: besides the house
Contact:
GPS: N8.35945° W75.56115°
Comment: Clean, cold shower, TV, Wifi, A/C, country side, green surroundings

Valdivia - Hotel Monterrey

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 25000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: in front of the house
Contact: GPS: N7.16656° W75.43916°
Comment: cold shower, Wifi, restaurant, at the Terpel filling station

Medellin - Pit Stop hostel

Type: Big room with one bed
Costs: 90000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: inner yard
Contact: http://www.pitstophostel.com/
GPS: N6.20755° W75.57373°
Comment: Shared bathroom, clean, hot shower, common TV, fast Wifi, some parks around, common kitchen, pool

El Penon de Guatape - Parking lot

Type: informal camping
Costs: free
Dogs: free
Bike parking: besides tent
Contact:
GPS: N6.22187° W75.17881°
Comment: Toilets during day, no shower, Guards are not too eager to let you stay there but then they seem to give in.

Alejandria - Golden Elephant hostel

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 48000pesos low season (60000pesos high season)
Dogs: free
Bike parking: inner yard
Contact: http://www.goldenelephanthostel.com/index.php/en/airbnb,
GPS: N6.38033° W75.14047°
Comment: Shared bathroom, hot shower (low pressure), common TV, Wifi, common kitchen, billiard

Rio Claro Park Camping

Type: Camping
Costs: 25000pesos for two nights per person
Dogs: free (small dogs are ok even though there is a sign no dogs allowed)
Bike parking: besides tent
Contact:
GPS: N5.89484° W74.85849°
Comment: No parking besides tent, toilets, cold shower are besides campground but were far away (10min walk) from our site, there is supposed to be Wifi at the reception, restaurant and attractions are a few minutes by feed further down the road.

El Portal de Salgar - Hotel El Portal de Salgar

Type: Room with two beds
Costs: 60000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: secured parking in yard nearby
Contact: Calle 16 No5-14, 8399018, 313 6519049, Puerto Salgar,
GPS: N5.46849° W74.65166°
Comment: Private bathroom, cold shower, TV, Wifi, A/C, fan

La Vega - Hotel Los Heroes

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 80000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: secured parking in garage
Contact:
GPS: N4.99782° W74.33832°
Comment: Private bathroom, hot shower, TV, Wifi, fan, pool, restaurant

San Fransisco - Finca El Cimmaron

Type: House with three bedrooms
Costs: 300000pesos/week
Dogs: free
Bike parking: garage
Contact: 317452666
GPS: N4.98483° W74.28824°
Comment:

Facatativa - Loma Linda

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 45000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: secured parking behind room
Contact:
GPS: N4.82316° W74.37134°
Comment: Private bathroom, hot shower, TV, Wifi, cold nights

Near Bogota - Hotel

Type: Room with two beds
Costs: 32000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: at parking lot
Contact:
GPS: N4.52659° W74.34722°
Comment: Private bathroom, there was supposed to be hot shower but we had no water at all, TV, no Wifi, truckstop, internet cafe next door

Girardot - Gran Hotel Luis Fernando

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 80000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: in inner yard
Contact:
GPS: N4.30106° W74.79893°
Comment: Private bathroom, TV, swimming pool, A/C, Wifi was slow and worked only in a few spots, cold shower,

Tatacoa Desert - Camping

Type: camping
Costs: 5000pesos/person
Dogs: free
Bike parking: besides tent
Contact:
GPS: N3.23481° W75.16685°
Comment: Toilets and shower, restaurant, no Wifi, they had also rooms either with private or shared bathroom.

Neiva - Hotel Del Rio

Costs: 50000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: in inner yard
Contact: Cle33P No. 4-38, 8740143, 3112180499
GPS: N2.94814° W75.30939°
Comment: Private bathroom, TV, A/C, good Wifi, cold shower


OTHER INFO
Bearings
Rodamientos California
Pablo Cesar Penagas Chavarro
Cra 5 No. 3-12
Neiva
Tel: 8716716, 3152264075
rodamientoscalifornia@hotmail.com


Machine shop
Alvaro Santofimio e Hiljos & Cia
Almacen Taller y reconstructor de motores
Cra3 No.2-25
Neiva
Tel: 8721647, 871 4870
rectisantofimio@hotmail.com

Palestina - Eco

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 60000pesos?
Dogs: free
Bike parking: besides house
Contact: booking.com
GPS: N1.72057° W76.11906°
Comment: Private toilet, shared shower, Wifi did not work, ice cold shower

Sibundoy - Hotel

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 25000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: in front of the hotel
Contact: N1.20470° W76.92105°
Comment: warm shower, Wifi at reception

Pasto - Hotel Concorde

Type: Room with two beds
Costs: 60000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: paid parking opposite of hotel (moto: 8000pesos/24h, car: 10000pesos/24h)
Contact: N1.21931° W77.27989°
Comment: Clean, warm shower, TV, good Wifi


Vets:
De perros y gatos
7360688,3113689229
Cra36 # 18-79, Pasto, Colombia


Bacanes
Cra 36 # 12-87, 27228222, 3017552625, 31652443323, bacanesmv@gmail.com
www.veterinariabacanes.com.co
Pasto, Colombia

Bordercrossing Colombia Ecuador

That was one of the easiest, smoothest, cheapest and fastest border crossing for a long long time. No fees, no trouble with the dog, no "helpers" and the customs officer at the Ecuador side even spoke some English. Despite other travel reports, there was no need for any vehicle insurance. Welcome to Ecuador!

Skippy's nightmare of leaving Colombia with dogs

It was time for Skippy and the girls to leave Colombia. We have traveled a lot but never ever had such trouble. Skippy was devastated and I am still missing words to explain what happened. See for yourself...


If you want to leave Colombia with your pet by plane then you must obtain an export permission from ICA for your pet. This also applies in case you owned your pet before you enter Colombia.
ICA office is in Bogota (I am not sure where else). This was the case with Avianca, maybe other airlines are less strict.

Trigger-happy Colombians at the Blacks and Whites' Carnival, Pasto 6Jan2016

Many Colombians seemed to me very trigger-happy folks independent of age, sex, or whatever else. Have a look for yourself what happened at the "great parade"…

Blacks and Whites' Carnival, San Juan de Pasto, Colombia (Carnaval Negros y Blancos) 31Dec-4Jan - the warm-up days

Fact is that we came to Pasto because Skippy decided to stop the trip and Pasto is the last big city before the border. Then we heard of the upcoming carnaval and thought it would be a great opportunity to enjoy some nice moments in the end of our common trip. See for yourself what happened and what we thought about it.


Next video is about the grand parade.

Blacks and Whites' Carnival (Spanish: Carnaval de Negros y Blancos), is the largest carnival celebration in southern Colombia, its geographical indication belongs to the city of Pasto. It is celebrated from 2 to 7 January of each year and attracts a considerable number of Colombian and foreign tourists.

In 30 September 2009, this Carnival was proclaimed by UNESCO, as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Source: Wikipedia

Still impressions from Desert Tatacoa, Neiva and el Trampolín del Diablo a.k.a Adiós mi vida

Here are again a few still impressions from our ride through the desert, Neiva and our ride on one the most dangerous roads of the world.

Break: Wolfi checking his bike, Skippy not so happy

A thought came along this road: is a sidecar with its asymmetry a good vehicle to go on such roads?

Desert Tatacoa - cute waysign

And that is how the commercial sign dominates...

View from the first stop

Panorama (click to enlarge)

Pablo's bearing shop in Neiva, Colombia

Pablo (holding my front frame) and Adolfo after the successful operation. Thanks you very very much Pablo, and thank you for your fast work Adolfo.

Since I was out almost all day, Peto made sure I am not going anymore out without him...

... seriously ;)

Welcome to one of the most dangerous roads in the world: trampolin de la muerte

With a length of 69.7 km, the road between Mocoa and San Francisco in the department of Putumayo in Colombia, is one of the most dangerous roads in the world. The road is known as Trampolín del Diablo (Devils trampoline) or Adiós mi vida (Bye bye my life). The road was built in 1930 and zigzags the Andean mountain range.
This road, which is not suitable for public transport or heavy, was built in 1930 to transport soldiers during the war between Colombia and Peru, and so far has been directly responsible for ending hundreds of lives. Different sources record more than 500 people dead in 2011 and in 1989 about 300 people died in a terrible collapse.
Source: http://www.dangerousroads.org/south-america/colombia/3030-trampolin-de-la-muerte-mocoa-san-francisco.html

And such a nice scenery - it was worth going there.

But those steep drops, better not think about it.

Wolfi posing near Laguna de la cocha

Info on the companies:
Bearings
Rodamientos California
Pablo Cesar Penagas Chavarro
Cra 5 No. 3-12
Neiva
Tel: 8716716, 3152264075
rodamientoscalifornia@hotmail.com

Machine shop
Alvaro Santofimio e Hiljos & Cia
Almacen Taller y reconstructor de motores
Cra3 No.2-25
Neiva
Tel: 8721647, 871 4870
rectisantofimio@hotmail.com

Alea iacta est

Alea iacta est. Skippy has made her final decision on what to do next...

Riding Trampolín del Diablo (Adiós mi vida) - Colombia's most dangerous road

This road certainly was spooky. A single lane gravel road often without protection guards and extremely steep edges. One mistake and death is certain. Sharp curves as well as many fast driving trucks and cars required full attention. As this was not enough, we rode parts of it by night and Skippy ran out of gas.


With a length of 69.7 km, the road between Mocoa and San Francisco in the department of Putumayo in Colombia, is one of the most dangerous roads in the world. The road is known as Trampolín del Diablo (Devils trampoline) or Adiós mi vida (Bye bye my life). The road was built in 1930 and zigzags the Andean mountain range.
This road, which is not suitable for public transport or heavy, was built in 1930 to transport soldiers during the war between Colombia and Peru, and so far has been directly responsible for ending hundreds of lives. Different sources record more than 500 people dead in 2011 and in 1989 about 300 people died in a terrible collapse.
Source: http://www.dangerousroads.org/south-america/colombia/3030-trampolin-de-la-muerte-mocoa-san-francisco.html

and a Happy New Year!

Wolfi follows Skippy all the way to Palestina

This was the first time we went our own ways. Even though it was only for one day, it gave a taste of the future. Skippy was supposed to be in Palestina...

Treasurehunting in Colombia - getting water and insurance extended

Sometimes the logic and the system in Latin America is shockingly different like in these simple examples: buying drinking water in an environmental friendly way and getting/extending the compulsory insurance for the motorbike.

The only insurance company which seems to give foreign vehicles insurance for less than a year is Suramericana www.sura.com

Re-designing the front end of SilberWolf (19.- 22. Dec2015)

Re-designing a bike in a country which language I do not speak is a major challenge. The fact that the forces which appear on a sidecar are typically unknown to the every-day mechanic. Will I get this fixed?


Info on the companies:
Bearings
Rodamientos California
Pablo Cesar Penagas Chavarro
Cra 5 No. 3-12
Neiva
Tel: 8716716, 3152264075
rodamientoscalifornia@hotmail.com

Machine shop
Alvaro Santofimio e Hiljos & Cia
Almacen Taller y reconstructor de motores
Cra3 No.2-25
Neiva
Tel: 8721647, 871 4870
rectisantofimio@hotmail.com

SilberWolf broken in Desert Tatacoa

We wanted to explore Desert Tatacoa which meant only a small divert and some 35km of gravel road. I noted about half-way that something was wrong with my front fork only to get the devastating news confirmed at the campsite.

Should she stay or should she go now?

Back on the road again and Lyra went from good to bad and back to good. What to do?

James Bond - 007 in Bogota, Colombia

Back to timeline...

Skippy had finally enough with her Mac and thus we went together to Bogota to find a solution. We also found that the new James Bond was shown in English - a must-see for both of us.

+++ news flash +++ Ideas and advice needed: front frame trouble again +++

just when I thought things got better...

I thought that only the bearing went broken (again) for some strange reason.

Bike repair, a spooky spider and a pissed Skippy

Skippy got really pissed at her new Mac - one of the worst-behaving PC's which I ever had. It was time to do some major preventive maintenance at the SilberWolf and of course a little bit of our life at the finca.

Skippy's cakes and organic farmers festival

Skippy's cake and food production was running on full power and Wolfi got to enjoy goodies daily. Our host invited us to visit their yearly local organic farmers event with music.

More pictures from San Francisco and Bogota

These nice folks helped me out with some tools (at Jumbo, Bogota)

"Oma" Cafes gibt es überall in Kolumbien :)

San Francisco near La Vega

The finca (in the middle)

Alto de la Virgen - Chapel on top of the mountain

Inside the chapel

Skippy spreading the vegan message with her self-made T-shirt

Alex - our host and guide for this trip

Worm (or spider) manifestation in the tree

Cute and tiny fellow

Rare view to the mountains (no clouds)

Local way to dry laundry

These seeds(?) puncture right through the leave

It was time to screw around at the bike (video coming soon)

Troublemaker?

A typical "cloud" of people around my bike

Pilgrimage, slaughter and a new plan

Skippy, me and the dogs were on a local pilgrimage. We witnessed a day of slaughter. Skippy is training girls AND we have a new plan (28Nov - 2Dec)!