Downsizing for the Weekend

The Stahlratte dropped anchor in Cartagena late Thursday night (21 June), and we stayed aboard to get a last night of rest aboard the ship.

Cartagena: night and day.

Friday morning, we had our first "last breakfast aboard the Stahlratte". Little did we know the delays aduana would beset upon us in the days to come. After breakfast, we went ashore and the first harbinger of troubles came that afternoon: no bikes before Monday morning.

"No big deal," thought I. "A minor inconvenience." I promptly found Motorbike Rental Cartagena, with lots of options for motorcycle rental over the weekend. I was determined to have a good time around and outside of Cartagena.

I was not disappointed.

We broke fast aboard the Stahlratte again Saturday morning and picked up our passports. I left Steve and Nick to the taxi and walked back to rent an AKT 180: a perfect example of all the little bikes we see zipping around these crowded Latin American countries as we struggle through traffic on our oversized highway beasts.

Michael, the shop owner, directed me to some recommended routes north and south of the city, but I started with just running around town, enjoying the maneuverability of the wee bike, despite the 5.5-fold decrease in power from what I'm used to. Eventually, I headed up Cerro de la Popa, which offers an excellent view of Cartagena in all directions. At the top of the hill is a historic and picturesque Augustinian monastery, complete with museum.

"He who has more is not happier; but rather, he who needs less."

"Do the things that you can do, pray for the things that you cannot do and pray that you will be able to."

No GPS mount on the rental bike and few street signs made for a lot of missed turns and re-routing on this first-day's voyage. Hence, I ended up on the bike longer than expected; thus, became much redder than anticipated due to the full brunt of the sun's attention. I took the rest of the day off from the bike and found some skin lotion to help my flesh heal more quickly.

Sunday, though, I was back at it and determined to see some roads outside of the city. Since Nick and I will be heading south from Cartagena whenever we get our own bikes off the Stahlratte, I opted to head north and east. Somewhere along the way, I caught sight of a sign for Volcan de Lodo El Totumo and figured I'd have to check it out.

Behind me, you can see folks covered in mud, head-to-toe, coming down from the volcano. It is said to be medicinal. Not having any clue about this place before my trip, I failed to bring appropriate attire. Guess I'll have to strive from health without the benefit of volcanic mud.

After a good dowsing of mud, folks would walk down to the lake to rinse off.

From there, I headed inland along excellent highways that curved through lush forest.

Eventually, I decided that the rented dirt bike should really see some dirt. I noticed that Google Maps listed an ATM at Santa Rosa Bolivar, just off a few smaller roads, so determined that I would find it.

Google Maps, if you're listening, I can now say with a fair bit of confidence that there is no ATM at this location. I tried every option I could find, down to single-track paths, and -- near as I can tell -- these coordinates are in the middle of a pasture, far from any structure, let alone poblado of notable size.

Making my way back to the highway, I realized I couldn't make it back to Cartagena for our 3 p.m. KCJF planning meeting, so I elected to pause for it in San Estanislao, the nearest town of decent size. When I arrived in town, it was clear that the World Cup game was on everyone's mind. Colombia was playing Poland and was ahead, 1-0. While I paused at various locations around town looking for a decent wifi signal, Colombia scored two more times. Each time, raucousness erupted in all directions. Very exciting! In the end, Colombia won the match, 3-0. Congrats!!

After our meeting video conference, I pointed back toward Cartagena. Hit a military checkpoint just outside of San Estanislao, where I had a difficult time understanding the official. "Cédula" is a word that had only been on the fringe of my vocabulary until then. Not anymore. Got it down pat.

In Villanueva, the entire town was apparently shut down  to celebrate the win in Russia. I had to turn off the main road onto some muddy and super bumpy side roads to bypass the celebrations. There was really no hope of going through them.

Made it around the festivities, though, and back into Cartagena, which was similarly elated.