To the Land of Toilets that Flush in Both Directions

Days 256-261 I stayed in Medellin
Day 262 ta: 2624 kt:41.5 gps:N 6 degrees 32.323' W 75 degrees 05.291'
Day 263 ta: ta:1302 kt: 50.8 gps: N 6 degrees 27.308' W 75 degrees 18.470'
Day 264 ta: 2074 kt: 37.9 gps: N 6 degrees 30.145' W 74 degrees 49.243'
Day 265 ta: 2618 kt: 80.7 gps: N 6 degrees 28.619' W 74 degrees 14.093'
Day 266 ta: 1393 kt: 70.6 gps: N 6 degrees 51.636' W 73 degrees 45.993'
Day 267 ta: 2053 kt: 59.7 gps: N 7 degrees 06.284' W 73 degrees 24.533'
Day 268 ta: 4836 kt: 60.1 gps: N 7 degrees 06.561' W 73 degrees 07.058'
Days 269 and 270 I stayed in Bucaramanga

I ended up staying in Medellin a little bit longer than I expected. The weather there is perfect. This is the reason it is often called "The City of Eternal Spring". I didn't really do much other than go see some bands during a free music festival. Medellin has some talented musicians though I guess this is to be expected from such a large city.
Sometimes it seems kind of weird staying in a hostel. I go from speaking Spanish exclusively to almost exclusively speaking English. It is actually quite possible to travel through Latin America with very little Spanish. All you have to do is hop from one hostel to another.
I am beginning to think of travelers as a small community of people. It is surprising how often I see some of the same people in different cities. I even hear about news affecting travelers through word-of-mouth. Case in point: when a jeep carrying a bunch of Japanese tourists collided with a jeep carrying a bunch of Israeli tourists killing all but one, I heard about it from other travelers first.
The mountains between Medellin and Bucaramanga are not as tall as I expected. What is strange is that I prefer taller mountains because it is a whole lot cooler. I seem to get a new rash every time I enter tropical lowlands. This time it is on the back of my thighs which is more pleasant than other places I have had them.
I followed several river valleys from Medellin to Bucaramanga. The Medellin River is a large raging torrent that doesn't seem like it could ever be tamed. It goes through a concrete channel when passing through Medellin, picking up a lot of trash along the way. It may be an ugly river but I was nevertheless awed by its power. The Nus River is much prettier and cleaner than the Medellin River. At its most beautiful point comes cascading down the side of a mountain right outside of a town called Cisneros. There is another nice river gorge right outside of Bucaramanga but I don't know its name.

Day 271 ta:1560 kt:25.8 gps: N 6º55.777' W 73º00.839'

There have been several items in the news that have caught my eye. The first is that the Colombian government managed to rescue Ingrid Betancourt and a little more than a dozen other prisoners from the F.A.R.C. She was, by far, the most high profile kidnap victim that was held by them and was a major bargaining chip for the release of F.A.R.C. prisoners held by the Colombian and U.S. governments. Now the F.A.R.C. can focus on what they do best which is trafficking cocaine.
The other items in the news that I thought were interesting was the separate reports that Barack Obama wants to expand government subsidies for faith based programs, and that he now supports warrantless wiretapping and has voted to grant immunity to the telecommunications companies that acted in collusion with the Bush administration in allowing illegal wiretaps to occur. I don't know why the left of the Democratic Party likes this guy so much. He is just as bad as the Clintons.

Day 272 ta:4543 kt: 46.3 gps: N 6º41.182' W 73º02.033'

In my travels I go through many places that seem ordinary, for lack of a better word. For example, the cattle ranches throughout Latin America are often very much the same.They are sometimes on flat land and sometimes on rolling hills. Regardless, they are always in a place where all or most of the trees have been cut down. Cattle ranches dominate the areas which I have traveled through on most of this trip. Needless to say, I have grown bored of riding by so many cattle ranches, not to mention that this makes finding a decent campsite harder to do.
The Chicamocha Canyon is not an ordinary place, not by any means. The peaks of the mountains rise imposingly high above the valley floor. Large parts of the mountains remain untouched because their slopes are too steep for farming, ranching, or building just about anything. The road that travels through this area winds down into and then back out of the valley. It is stunningly beautiful here and, hence, well worth the seemingly never-ending ascents.
It is these ascents coupled with the daily rain showers that begin around 3:00 p.m. that make me question my undying faith in the viability of commuting by bicycle in mountainous areas. The fact is, though, that the era of cheap petroleum is coming to an end and the people that live in these areas are going to have to come up with something to replace internal combustion transportation. Doing this without contributing to global warming will be a challenge as well. If we use electric cars we will be consuming more electricity and hence putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as much of that electricity will come from natural gas or coal burning power plants. The same is true for hydrogen fuel cell technology because of the fact that hydrogen may be universally abundant but it is almost always chemically bonded to another element and requires energy, hence electricity, to separate the hydrogen from it chemical bonds and make a useable fuel.
Generating the electricity we consume now is difficult, if not impossible, using non-atmosphere-altering, renewable energy sources. Imagine how difficult it will be doing this if all of earth's petroleum dependent planes, cars, trucks, trains, boats, war machines, construction machinery, and agricultural machinery were plugged in to the grid. Nuclear energy is not a viable option. If it were the nuclear powers of the world would have no problem with Iran developing their nuclear energy program.
It all comes back to reducing our energy consumption and I think more widespread use of the bicycle can help us do that. Sooner or later, people are going to have to give up their cars as it will be prohibitively expensive not to mention damaging to the environment for them to continue using them. If $4.00 a gallon gasoline is enough to make Americans give up their trucks and S.U.V.s just wait to see what will happen by 2050 when the earth's population is supposed to reach 9 billion people and gas will cost who knows what. At least some of those 3 billion extra people will probably want to drive effectively negating the gas savings from switching from an S.U.V. to a car. I keep pedalling away, astonished by the insanity of it all. If people ever wonder why I am crazy enough to ride my bike as far as I have, this is why. I don't ever want to own a car. I don't want to be part of the problem but rather part of the solution. I don't want to be part of a dying tribe but rather a part of a flourishing tribe. With all of these future energy challenges we face there is a reason to be optimistic. All the scrap metal coming onto the market from all of the soon-to-be obsolete tanks should actually bring down the cost of producing a bicycle. I wonder how many bicycle frames you can make using the metal from one tank.
In the U.S. a woman recently died while waiting for medical assistence in a hospital waiting room. This contrasts with a woman in Ibague, Colombia who gave birth on the street because she couldn't afford to do so in a hospital. Having no access to health care is one of the dangers that much of the world's poor suffer from. We should all be so horrified of these events happening that we work to increase the availability of health care everywhere. I can't believe that their are people who actually believe that the for-profit health system actually functions.

Day 273 ta:1567 kt:46.2 gps: N 6 degrees 28.136' W 73 degrees 15.732'
Day 274 and 275 I stayed in Socorro

I ended up staying in Socorro longer than I originally planned because my right hip stiffened up to the point where I was walking with a slight limp. Waking up with gastrointestinal issues the day after a full day of rest caused me to rest one more day. I left Socorro this morning with the same sore hip. I plan to take it easy today and try to stretch out my hip by riding my bicycle. All in all, this is not a serious problem but I am being extra cautious since I should be doing some grueling mountain climbing in the next four days.
When I was in Socorro, I found myself watching the National Geographic Channel on television. Don't get me wrong, the National Geographic has long been a respected institution but there are some shows on that channel that make me want to spit. I was especially disgusted by the show about Ewan Mcgregor and his friend who are travelling through Africa by motorbike. I have respect for people that go on motorcycle tours but I don't have this same respect for Ewan McGregor. He is taking not one but two Land Rovers along for support. He went through a simulated hostage experience and has a personal trainer but he didn't seem to want learn any basic first aid or take any language training. Moreover, his handlers did all the paperwork in advance. Even if you do all of the paperwork in advance, you will still be taken for a loop at every border crossing. I also think that he exaggerates the dangers of his undertaking. I am currently travelling through a part of the world that has a bad reputation for violence but it has been mostly tranquil thus far. Yes, there are soldiers and police everywhere but Coca-Cola deliverymen don't have shotgun-wielding security guards like they do in Guatemala or Honduras. I personally consider the Mara Salvatrucha to be a bigger threat than the F.A.R.C. My favorite quote of Ewan McGregor is, " I feel like I am on a ride with my mates." You are on a ride with your mates, dipshit! I could cycle around the world five times with the amount of money that he is probably spending on his three month trip.

Day 276 ta:3517 kt:44.9 gps: N 6 degrees 08.802' W 73 degrees 20.883'
Day 277 ta: 3053 kt:49 gps: N 5 degrees 55.752' W 73 degrees 37.076'
Day 278 I stayed in Barbosa
Day 279 ta: 3837 kt:49.9 gps: N 5 degrees 37.063' W 73 degrees 48.939'

It took a while for my hip to finally loosen up. This is a recurring problem that I have had to deal with in the past but this is the first time that I have had to deal with this on the road. When my hip stiffens up it never seems to be caused by any external injury. It usually happens when I sleep in a bad position. Anyway, after taking it easy for the last couple of days, my hip has finally completely loosened up. The bicycle is such a wonderful invention. It is like a leg stretching machine.
Spending time in the small mountain towns in Colombia is a very eye-opening experience. It seems like the American media is always pushing the idea that the rest of the world is so poor and dangerous. The truth of the matter is apparent if you spend any time at all in small Colombian towns. Children run around unattended. Everyone seems to be well fed and well clothed. Whole towns walk around the city centers and socialize with their neighbors. Everyone seems to know everyone else. I feel safer in these places than I feel in many places in the United States. Sometimes, I can't help but think the whole idea of American exceptionalism is a load of shit.
At 8,500 feet it is surprisingly chilly. It is always surprising to have to wear a jacket when you are in the tropics. I finally topped out today on my way to Bogotà. I am in the town of Chiquinquira and I will head to Bogotà soon.

Day 280 ta:1229 kt:35.2 gps: N 5º25.986' W 73º45.276'

I have been slacking off way too much. I have not even come close to my maximum capabilities for at least two weeks. Because of my laziness I am going to have to extend my visa in Bogotà. Tomorrow, I will make myself ride to Bogotà no matter how many hills are in the way.

Day 281 ta:3328 kt:113 gps: N 4º35.990' W 74º04.116'
Day 282-286 I stayed in Bogotà
Day 287 ta:2043 kt:67.8 gps: N 4º21.704' W 74º22.819'
Day 288 ta:1947 kt:91 gps:N 4º13.825' W 74º50.480'

Coming into Bogotà from the north, I began to wonder when I was going to reach the city. I kept on seeing signs that indicated that Bogotà was less than 10 kilometers away but it still seemed pretty rural. Then as I topped out over a hill I saw it: a damned big city. I entered the city around 186th street and the place where I wanted to stay was at 16th street so I still had some riding to do. About 30 blocks away from the hostel where I wanted to stay, my front shifter broke. This is not as bad as breaking my rear shifter. I was still able to ride up hills and I made it to the hostel, albeit more slowly.
By the time I finish this trip, I will probably have replaced every single part on my bicycle at least once. I was expecting to have to pay $100 for a new pair of shifters but this ended up costing $400 after labor was included. My new shifters are much nicer than my old ones. For all you gearheads out there, I upgraded from Shimano Tiagra to Shimano Ultegra. The shifting on my bike is much smoother now. I was also lucky enough to find new bike tires after going to about a dozen bike stores. My tires are already going bald again so this is a relief.
Bogotà is a massive city filled with street performers, graffiti, big buildings, and lots of traffic. The graffiti and street performers are both high quality. It is amazing how well the people juggling for change can juggle. Most of the graffiti is really colorful and psychaedelic. Even though it is illegal, many people brazenly smoke weed in the streets. There are a whole bunch of rastas that sell stuff in one of the central plazas. I almost bought a Marcus Garvey hat but then I thought it would look funny to see a white boy wearing a black power hat.
When I finally left the city after six days of chilling out, I still had to ride over 20 kilometers just to leave the metropolitan area. After topping out at just over 9,000 feet, I descended over 8,000 the next two days. Some of the scenery along the highway outside of the town of Melgar, Colombia was so spectacular that I had to stop just to take it in. It is no longer cold but uncomfortably hot. The mosquitoes are back in force. I can't wait to ride into the mountains again.

Day 289 ta:3022 kt:64.2 gps: N 4 degrees 26.290' W 75 degrees 14.159'
Day 290 ta:3994 kt:39.6 gps: N 4 degrees 26.095' W 75 degrees 27.954'
Day 291 ta:3905 kt:50.3 gps: N 4 degrees 29.181' W 75 degrees 41.967'

I just spent the last two and half days climbing uphill. Austin doesn't have hills that come even close to the hills that I have to climb in Colombia. The longest I have to spend climbing any hill in Austin is no more than 30 minutes. The first 4,000 feet of climbing in the tropics is always the hardest to climb. Not only are you ascending but you have to do so in tropical heat. On the first day of climbing, I had hit my wall by the time I reached the city of Ibague, Colombia. I ended up staying in Ibague for the night because I wanted to recuperate my strength for the strenuous climbing that I knew lay ahead.
As usual when I stay at a hotel, I didn't leave Ibague until midday and I didn't get as much riding in as I wanted to. I ended up not finding a good campsite until after dark. After worrying my poor little head off, I lucked into finding an abandoned house on the side of the road. I felt very fortunate because almost all of the land on the side of the road is sloped. All the of the flat land is already monopolized.
I finally made it to the top today, topping out at about 10,800 feet. It was cold and windy at the top. The wind was so strong that it redirected me several times when I was going downhill. Believe me, I do not like being redirected by wind when I am moving at 60 kilometers per hour. It is always very scary. The descent was long and I must have passed at least 30 semis on the way down the hill.
When I reached the town of Calarca, Colombia at the bottom of the hill, I was given a total rock star treatment. A news crew happened upon me and interviewed me and then I must have been surrounded by 20 people, all of them asking questions, at a restuarant that I ate at. I don't mind being a rock star for a day or two but I sure do love my anonymity and privacy.

Day 292 ta:1908 kt:67.4 gps: N 4 degrees 12.286' W 76 degrees 09.016'
Day 293 ta:2081 kt:117 gps: N 3 degrees 26.794' W 75 degrees 32.416'
Day 294 ta: 948 kt:54.7 gps: N 3 degrees 01.266' W 76 degrees 29.959'

I am in sugarcane country. There are warning signs for el tren cañelero or sugarcane train. At first, when I saw these signs I was confused because I didn't see any tracks but then I saw a semi with four trailers full of sugarcane and I figured out what it was. Sugarcane is grown everywhere here as far as the eye can see. I have really come to enjoy a drink here called guarapo which is made of pressed sugar cane juice and squeezed lime juice and cooled with ice. For a little more than 50 cents, it is a very tasty, cheap, and refreshing beverage. While eating my dinner today, the people at the place that had the food gave me some sugarcane to chew on. Sugarcane is so ubiquitous that everyone seems to just have some lying around.
The day before yesterday was one of those days where mechanical issues slowed me down. My real gears were slipping so much that I saw as necessary to stop and try to fix this issue. After fiddling around with the limiting screws on my derailers for at least an hour, I was able to solve the problem.
When I came into Calì, Colombia, I had ridden 110 kilomers by 2:00 p.m. I was hungry because I hadn't eaten in the last 80 kilometers. My breakfast was delicious and filling enough that I was able to ride a long distance without eating again. I had lechona for the first time. Lechona is a whole pig that is stuffed with rice and more pork and then baked. Mmmmm!
My lunch was the typical fair which includes soup, meat, rice, beans, fried bananas, a salad, and a drink which is usually limeade but can often be something more exotic such as maracuya juice. The main thing that I like about these meals is that they are large and pack in a lot of calories and liquids for me to make it through these long, hot days.
After eating lunch, I was headed to an internet cafe to look for a place to stay for the night when I ran into a couple of teenagers who were smoking weed. They got me high and helped me find more weed.
The place I stayed in Calì is in a nice neighborhood that has a park on a hill overlooking the city. The park is filled with people on Friday nights. There are aspiring musicians playing music for their friends on the hillside, little children sliding down a sidewalk in milkcrates, comedians, and lots of merchants selling their wares.
When I was smoking out on the hillside in the morning, some woman found two boxes filled with kittens. They were all healthy and cute as hell. I helped the woman carry the boxes to a dog groomer where they were going to stay for a while.
I didn't leave Calì until midday but I wanted to stay longer so I could explore the zoo and find some cool graffiti. Alas, I do not have that much time remaining on my visa and I don't want to pay 30 dollars for another two months when I would only be in Colombia a few days longer. I am trying to get past the border with Ecuador at the beginning of August which isn't too far away.
Today clouds started rolling in after dinner but I was able to find a good place to pitch my tent with enough time to watch the storm before it hit. A thunderstorm in the mountains is often a beautiful thing if you aren't stuck in the middle of it.

Day 295 ta:5831 kt:82.5 gps: N 2 degrees 26.780' W 76 degrees 36.519'

Riding along the highway, I see many different kinds of buses. By far the king of style among all the buses is the Colombian chiva. They are dripping in style, so much so that they put even the Guatemalan chicken buses to shame. Made using American buses no younger than 20 years old, the roof is reinforced, the walls and seats are removed and replaced with bench seating with no doors, there is an extra-heavy duty reinforced bumper, and the whole body of the bus is painted in intricate patterns. As the buses pass by, there are often people or merchandise hanging off the bumper. I once even saw one pass by with a dog curled up on the bumper. There is a large bamboo beam that goes across the roof so a tarp can be hung over the roof which carries all the luggage that ranges from sacks of potatoes to motorcycles and everything in between. Sometimes they are rocking some bad ass cumbias when I pass them. Sadly, they are mostly a relic of the past and they have been largely replaced by more conventional buses.

Day 296 ta:3263 kt:57 gps: N 2 degrees 12.146' W 76 degrees 48.920'
Day 297 ta:2150 kt:54.8 gps: N 1 degree 56.684' W 77 degrees 08.195'
Day 298 ta:2856 kt:49 gps: N 1 degree 40.570' W 77 degrees 19.759'
Day 299 ta:5576 kt:51 gps:N 1 degree 26.271' W 77 degrees 16.763'
Day 300 ta:4534 kt:38.3 gps: N 1 degree 11.490' W 77 degrees 16.766'
Day 301 ta:6593 kt:78.4 gps: N 0 degrees 49.819' W 77 degrees 37.960'
Day 302 ta:891 kt:12.6 gps: N 0 degrees 48.117' W 77 degrees 43.320'

The part of Colombia taht is close to the border with Ecuador is spectacularly beautiful. The mountains are massive and they are cut through by many deep river gorges. This does, unfortunately mean that there is a lot of hill climbing but I can deal with that. Considering that I am no more than 100 kilometers from the equator, it is surprisingly cold.
I met yet another person who is riding his bicycle to Southern Argentina. His name is Tom Snyder a.k.a. the bicycle comedian. I personally think that riding a bicycle is more fun than funny but he has made a living as a comedian for the last couple of decades and I respect that. He usually rides from gig to gig around the world on his bicycle. In his act, he rides up onstage. He has amassed an impressive number of miles on his many journeys. It was fun riding with him. We split up at the border because I knew that having overstayed my visa that I was going to be delayed at the border and I didn't want to get him in trouble.
I tried to make it to the border on time but the mountains slowed me down. When I arrived in Ipiales, Cololbia on the border with Ecuador, I thought that I had already overstayed my visa so I just got a hotel room and decided to deal with it the next day. When I arrived at the border crossing, I found out that I had overstayed my visa by exactly one day and that this was going to cost me $100. Doh!!! To officially deal with this problem, one has to pay a fine at a bank and receive a stamp in the passport. However, since it was a Sunday and all the banks were closed, I took the unofficial route and bribed the border officials to erase all the records of my being in Colombia so I could receive my exit stamp before I entered Ecuador. I am not happy about dropping a C-note to deal with this but I figure my idiotic government will find some way to devalue my savings by at least that amount in a couple of weeks.

Day 303 ta:3341 kt:59.5 gps: N 0º30.680' W 77º55.320'

I had a miserable, rainy start for my day today. At 9,000+ feet the rain is always cold. After sitting in my tent for a while, I finally decided that the rain wasn't going to let up any time soon so I put on my rain gear, packed up my gear and, rolled up my wet tent. There is a phenomenon that I am finding thoroughly annoying: all of the zippers on my rain gear have become so calcified that none of them work. I can usually get the zippers to work after some effort, but, this morning, I ripped the handle off of one of my zippers while trying to close my pocket. To add to the pleasure of the day, I pulled a muscle in my left thigh after I slipped under my bike before I had even started riding for the day. It was not a bad pull, though, and the sun came out around midday so I was able to enjoy my ride.
One of the things that I love about Latin America is that you can blatantly tresspass on someone's property and they are cool with it. After I pitched my tent tonight, a man with a rifle walked up. I was startled because I thought that I was well hidden. I showed him my hands and told him that I was unarmed. I then told him that I saw clouds coming in from behind and I had to quickly choose a place to erect my tent for the night. He told me not to worry and to sleep well. This was definitely nice because I was planning to pack up my stuff and leave before sunrise. This way, if it is raining in the morning, I can take my time.

Day 304 ta:3577 kt:65.2 gps: N 0º21.607' W 78º07.282'
Day 305 ta:2522 kt:37.5 gps: N 0º10.257' W 78º12.414'

Though I love long fast descents, the change in temperature can be annoying. When I woke up two days ago it was cold and I didn't want to get out of my sleeping bag. After zooming down a mountain, I was in a desert valley and I had to strip off all of my winter gear and my full length tights. I then ascended back into the mountains and had to stop again because it was getting cold. I stopped in the city of Ibarra, Ecuador because I had an upset stomach and I didn't feel like dealing with digestive issues while camping.
I am camped at 9,000 feet again right now and it is cold again. I should make it to Quito tomorrow and I am hoping that I don't have to deal with any major elevation changes.
I don't know when they decided it was their official hat but the indigenous Ecuadorans like to wear a hat that looks like a cross between a fedora and a stove-pipe hat. After passing through some mostly black areas in sugar cane growing regions I am just to the north of Quito where everyone seems to have a more indigenous appearance.
Ecuador is dirt cheap. If you spend more than $2 on a meal, you should expect a feast. The hotel I stayed at in Ibarra was a "luxury hotel" that cost $7 a night. It was a pretty nice place that would have easily cost at least $60 a night if it were in the U.S. If an Ecuadoran was working in the U.S. for $6 an hour, there first two hours would probably pay for all the rent and daily expenditures and the rest would be icing on the cake.

Day 307 ta:6075 kt:89.8 gps: S 0º12.187´W 78º 29.233'

I finally crossed the equator on the way to Quito. There are no offical markers on the highway which was surprising. I spent yet another day going through large temperature changes as I would go from higher elevation to lower elevation and back again. My friend Luis was, ironically, in the city I had left from in the morning when I called him from Quito so I had to get a hotel for the night.
I am staying at Luis's house. I met him when I was going to the University of Texas and he was also attending school there. He is from Guayaquil, Ecuador originally but moved to Quito about three years ago. He is currently opening up the first headshop in all of Quito. He has told me that he has the only store in the country that sells bongs. Right now at his place, there are hundreds of bongs and pipes spread all over his tables.
I am happy to report that one can find pretty good weed in Ecuador. It doesn't smell or taste as nice as what I am used to smoking in Austin but it has no seeds and packs a punch. We have been smoking out of a bong which he smuggled into Ecuador from the U.S. by airplane. He left it at his mother's house for the longest time and told her that it was a flower vase. He told me that he thinks about 5% of Quito gets high so he may be on to something by opening up his headshop. I have never had so much hope for capitalism to succeed.
We made some tea out of San Pedro cactus and went wild. San Pedro cactus has trace amounts of mescaline, which is the psychoactive substance in peyote, in the skin. San Pedro grows all over the place in Ecuador and many people have it their doorways because it is the "guardian of the doorway to heavan." Preparation requires a lot of time and a lot of patience. I spent several hours peeling the outer layer of skin of the cactus cylinders and despining them before we boiled the skin several times to make a very concentrated tea. The trip was strong compared to the peyote I ate in Mexico which surprised me because the mescaline is more concentrated in peyote. We are talking about going camping with a bunch of this tea. Good fun.