The Camera

It has served me well but alas... it is lost to me. The images posted here for the moment will be through the lenses of others with their consent.

Day 222-223 (Friday December 24, 2010 to Saturday December 25, 2010): Bogota

Christmas in Bogota! Sunrise in a club on the 30th floor on Christmas day.

Merry Christmas! I thoroughly appreciate that people read my blog.

Day 221 (Thursday December 23, 2010): San Gil to Suesca to Bogota

I travel with a French lady, who bought a bike in Ecuador and is riding it north, for about two hours, but part ways at Barbosa. She is travelling how I should have tried travelling after the motorcycle fire.

Suesca does not make me want to stay and since it is only noon I decide to stop in Bogota since Salento would be another 8 hours of riding.

This fountain is kind of ruined by the lights. However, still very impressive.

Day 216-220 (Saturday December 18, 2010 to Wednesday December 22, 2010): San Gil

Whitewater rafting and paragliding: Check
Scraping pegs on one of the most amazing roads I have ridden yet (Barichara to Guane): Check
Inspiration: Check

The church near the central park of Barichara.

The interior of the church. Note the wooden roof.

View from La Capilla of Barichara.

Where I did some para-gliding.

Day 215 (Friday December 17, 2010): Villa de Leyva to San Gil

The amazing roads are broken up by landslides and unfinished construction but at least they are passable. I take opportunity while waiting for my turn to drive on the roads to talk to people on the roads. Absolutely blown away by the friendliness of strangers.

The girl is an attention whore.

Day 214 (Thursday December 16, 2010): Villa de Leyva

While exploring the countryside around Villa de Leyva I see a person walking along the highway, many kilometers from anything and offer him a ride. Turns out to be an Australian who is visiting the same locations. On the way back to town the weather takes a turn for the worse and we have to stop and get under the tarp that I brought.

The view from the balcony of my dorm. That green thing in the bottom right (not the tree) is my bike.

La Pariquera

El fosil (Kronosaurus fossil)

A well in the courtyard!

Day 213 (Wednesday December 15, 2010): Bogota to Villa de Leyva

I start the day early because if I have learned anything this trip it is to expect things to take twice as long as expected. On my way out of town I find out that my signal lights no longer work. Which means one of three things: wiring, fuse, and/or (flasher) trouble. After replacing the fuse to no avail I remove the ferrings to get at the flasher. After replacing the flasher with a wire for testing purposes I determine that it is the flasher. Obviously the Kawasaki dealer doesn't have another in stock but after a little bit of discussion with the mechanics they recall pulling the internals of a flasher meant for another bike and placing it in the housing meant for the Kawasaki Versys. This solution works perfectly and I am back on the road after a short two and a half hour delay!

Hitting the open road outside of Bogota, the hassles of the past three months melt away. This is why I did not end my trip after my bike burned. This is why I fought away all the emotions that wanted me to stop. Dry, winding roads, with the sun above me, and an engine between my legs. I am sure people could see my grin through my full face. After three months of being in limbo I can hardly believe that I am finally on the road again with a motorcycle!

The handling characteristics of the Michellin Pilot Power 2CTs are very predictable and the Kawasaki Versys is lively and responsive. With the current setup gravel and cobblestone are also manageable on the bike. I still do not want to do long distances on either surface.

Day 212 (Tuesday December 14, 2010): Bogota

Preparations to leave for Villa de Leyva

Day 211 (Monday December 13, 2010): Bogota, Colombia (Arrival Day!)

I stop at the Kawasaki dealer to purchase the items I will need to bring the bike back to operation. I need to find a funnel since the crashbars make it difficult to add radiator fluid. While asking random people on the street for directions to a hardware store, a man and his son ask me to wait while they made a funnel for me. A bottle, some length of tube, tape, and 5 mins later they hand me a funnel. They ask for nothing in return but tell me to keep in touch. With oil, radiator fluid, gasoline, funnel, and tools in my hands I jump in a taxi and head towards the airport. I am cautiously optimistic, however, it is impossible for me to reserve all celebrations until riding my bike away. At the airport I hand all the documents I have to the shipping company and after getting a receipt of release I needed to go to the ADUANA (customs) office to get my bike temporarily imported. By the time I reach the office it is 13:00 and the person I talk to speaks a bit too quickly and I mistakenly hear that they are closing at 14:00. What she said though was that her shift ends at 14:00 and another shift will come in and process the bike. After Mexico, I expected to have to explain my entire situation again and have them go through all the paperwork. However, when 14:00 rolls around my entire situation has already been explained to the next person. By far the best customs and government agency experience I have had yet in Latin America. Finally at around 15:00 I am able to get access to my bike.

The crate is fairly damage but there are only a few scrapes on the bike. Not bad for first being shipped by truck from Vancouver to Miami and then by plane to Colombia. I am allowed to rebuild and refill my bike inside the warehouse. The male employees want to know about the bike and my trip. The female employees eye my bike from a distance. After the bike is filled I go for the starter... SUCCESS! With a huge grin on my face I ride out of the warehouse ready for some riding in South America.

Day 207-210 (Thursday December 9, 2010 to Sunday December 12, 2010): Bogota, Colombia

More waiting. . . with friends.

Day 202-206 (Saturday December 4, 2010 to Wednesday December 8, 2010): Bogota, Colombia

Parque Simon Bolivar

It is larger than Central Park in New York.

I think this picture needs more lens flare.

Thank you Stephan!

Feliz Navidad

Day 200-201 (Thursday December 2, 2010 to Friday December 3, 2010): Bogota, Colombia

The view from Monserrate.

Day 196-199 (Sunday November 28, 2010 to Wednesday December 1, 2010): Bogota, Colombia

I have been so caught up travelling a certain way that I have lost sight of why I originally chose to ride from Canada to Argentina. A motorcycle was chosen for my method of transportation because it would be the cheapest way to see, experience, and do things outside of large cities. I have come to realize that I was so caught up in trying to reduce future hassles by using a fully modified motorcycle to conquer the Americas that I dismissed the idea of continuing on a small and possibly unreliable used motorcycle under 200cc. The advantages being that I would not stand out, readily available parts, and price. To quote Tyler Durden from Fight Club, "the things you own end up owning you."

On Sundays most engined vehicles are restricted from using the roads.

Delicious breakfast tamal.

I love how the light refracts off of the pollution.

It is refreshing to travel with some people.

Into the Catedral de Sal.

What a delicious salt lick.

Afternoon in the main plaza of the Candelaria zone.

Day 195 (Saturday November 27, 2010): Bogota, Colombia

On the flight from New York to Bogota I meet a Colombian man who is now living in New York. After a whole 10 minutes of conversation I am invited to visit New York and stay at his home which he shares with his wife. If this is at all indicative of Colombian hospitality I will be thoroughly impressed. Near the end of my flight he asks me where I will be staying in Bogota. The cringe my answer puts on his face worries me but if there is one thing I have learned it is that locals are not necessarily in touch with their city since rumors can quickly turn into solid fact. Since I am carrying the cases for the motorcycle with me on the flight I do not want the hassle of riding the bus. Instead, I catch a cab to the hostel. On the way the driver tells me that the area I will be staying in is not safe and takes every opportunity to try and convince me to stay in an expensive hotel. I ignore him, not because I am stubborn but because I will trust my own up to date and less biased research and intuition.

After getting into the hostel I quickly get ready to orient myself since I do not want to fall asleep in the morning and mess up my entire sleep schedule. This mission ultimately proves to be futile as I doze off at noon. It feels good to be back in Latin America.

I am too tired to realize that there is a large smudge on my lens.