Having the girls meet up with us was so much fun. I don't even know what to \write about. It was a wonderful distraction from all of the problems we had and an even better way to get reset for the rest of the journey. I will eventually add some captions to these photos, but for now, please enjoy!
World Cup soccer is a big deal here! We were lucky to be in town during a Colombia game!
After trying to watch the game at a bar we went to the mall... where about 1000 people were watching the game on a big screen.
It's really neat seeing the globe from a different perspective.
Sloths! and monkeys!
Interesting mannequin in the old city.
While we ate dinner people kept taking pictures in front of this door so we did too!
Geocaching!
The mud volcano! (See Ryan's post!)
Toasting that we beat the line! It's good to get in early!
The Stahlratte made us brunch!
Bazurto market. I had grand plans for us to get things for dinner here... but it was too gross and intimidating to actually do so.
Ryan is here too!
La Popa, overlooking Cartagena.
Circus of terror!!
Notice that those tickets say "VIP"
The show was awesome!
Finally out of Cartagena. This is Planeta Rica.
From 300 feet to 9000 feet today!
More strange fruit! In Medellin.
We went to a cafe in Medellin where we had to purchase a bottle of rum and a bottle of coke. But then they would mix the drinks at the table.
Our plates didn't work in the parking lot's system because they don't meet the Colombia format. We had to fake them.
Back to it, folks! Nick and I are finally southbounders again after a ridiculously long hiatus...a vacation from our vacation, as it were. Oddly enough, the (over) two weeks we spent piddling around Cartagena was as long a vacation as I usually take each year...and it was a mere morsel of this 3-month adventure we've embarked upon.
Mere morsel though it may be, 2 weeks is a sizeable chunk when we consider our overall route. By this date, we expected to send the ladies back to the US from Peru.
We're currently nowhere near Peru.
Today, I got confirmation that Sarah was on her flight home (trying to fly standby yesterday fell through); and only then did Nick and I mount up to make some miles. The late start put us into the heat of the day before we had made our goal: Planeta Rica. We were both dripping sweat, but we were glad to see new terrain after such a long, stationary stint on the coast.
A tasty morsel for a late-evening snack: savory bread wrapped around pineapple, ham, and cheese!
By my calculations, we still have a shot at Tierra del Fuego / Ushuaia, but I expect that nearly every day we'll have a hard decision to make: "do we see this sight / take this day of rest / greet this friend / etc, or do we continue to strive for Ushuaia?"
Original Plan
New Plan
Diff
Location
Notes
22 Jun
22 Jun
0
Cartagena, Colombia
Day 43: Disembark from the Stahlratte onto South American soil.
28 Jun
15 Jul
-17
Ecuador
Day 49
4 Jul
18 Jul
-14
Peru
Day 55
16 Jul
26 Jul
-10
Bolivia
Day 67
25 Jul
29 Jul
-4
Chile
Day 76
30 Jul
2 Aug
-3
Argentina
Day 81
8 Aug
9 Aug
-1
Tierra del Fuego
Day 91-92: Southernmost point of the Americas: Tierra del Fuego / Ushuaia
On my rented-moto adventure just after we got to Cartagena (and still had hopes of a quick departure), I discovered Totumo, the Mud Volcano. Since I had just happened upon it during a day cruise, I was not adequately prepared to take a dip, but the locals advocated its health benefits and the lines of tourists climbing the hill clean and descending as mud monsters made animate sparked an interest within me. (The Dallas Morning News apparently did a story on Totumo back in 2008.)
When we realized Sarah and Nadine would have to come to Cartagena and spend a week here, this was one of the first sights that came to mind.
The drive was easy: about 40 minutes up the road from our AirBnB, along the shore and through the forests of northern Colombia. We arrived and were waved into a shady parking spot by a local guide, who then gave us the low-down on what to do next. We donned the apparel we were prepared to get muddy in, handed the camera to the guide, and mounted the mudpile.
The climb up was by way of a staircase molded into the dried mud on the sides of the volcano, with rickety wooden railings. At the top, we peered down into grey goop, cast our towels and sandals aside, and descended a rough-hewn ladder into the goo.
It was a very odd experience to descend into a pool of mud, bringing to mind childhood dreams of swimming in jello or tapioca pudding. It was a very loose, wet mixture, but as is sloughed off a raised arm, it left behind grainy bits of finely-ground minerals. There were a couple local guides offering massages when we entered -- though we opted to provide our own massages -- as well as another pair of visitors. This gave us plenty of space to ooze around and explore the experience.
As far as any of us discovered, there was no bottom to the pool of mud, but we found it easy to float only chest-deep and quite difficult to submerge ourselves up to the shoulders. I found myself "sitting" cross-legged most of the time, though any nudge off balance would send me into a slow-motion but inevitable tilt with my head dipping toward the mud.
After a half hour or so, with more tourists arriving, we worked our way toward the exit ladder, caked with stalactites of mud from previous climbers. With the first few steps, one of the workers at the bottom of the ladder became quite familiar with his hands to assist with scraping off the excess mud. At the top of the ladder, our guide gathered our belongings (since we were gooey from stem to stern) and we headed down the "dirty" side of the mound, where we traipsed down the brick road to the lake to rinse off. There were helpers here, too, waiting to assist with the rinse, but once again we opted to look after ourselves.
Mud. Was. Everywhere.
The rinsing process took some time, checking all nooks and crannies. At one point, I stood up to prepare to head to shore and then discovered a load of mud all around the waistline of my trunks. Back down into the water to flush it out. Eventually, we were shoreside again, back down to skin and swimwear, and we headed back to the bikes.
At the shack where we had parked, we were offered lunch (for a reasonable fee), so dried in the breeze and took in some hydration. As we waited for lunch to be served, we watched several tourist buses unload, sending their contents up the mud mound into a long and slow line waiting in the sun. So glad we arrived before the rush!
After lunch, we parted ways, with Nick and Nadine heading directly back to town (and the beach in front of our AirBnB) and Sarah and I looped the long way around through the mountains on a lovely motorcycle excursion. It was a hot one, but well worth it to be in the saddle again; better: with Sarah along for the ride!
I went ahead an activated AdSense, which inserts advertisements in the blog. Hoping this will not detract from anyone's experience. If it does, I'll certainly be interested to know. We had some discussion about the cost of the trip and whatnot. Despite my objection to being beholden to sponsors or denigrating the purity of the site by defiling it with ads, I was curious to see what sort of revenue they might bring in. I don't expect it will be much, based on the level of traffic across our site, but it will be interesting to see where it takes us.
But if you find yourself troubled by them at all, please let me know. Sharing this adventure with you is certainly more important than generating a pittance.
We've been pretty fortunate on our journey...lucky, one might say. Realizing the potential for delays due to nature in the far north in early May, due to potential border issues south of the US, and due to unpredictable social turmoil through Central America, we advised Nadine and Sarah to wait until we were on the Stahlratte before purchasing tickets to join us in Quito, Ecuador. The ship would be a major point in our schedule. It would take average luck to catch it, but if we missed it, there would be some hard decisions to make, since it wasn't scheduled for another San Blas - Cartagena run for another 5 weeks.
The ship, though, was a known factor; we didn't give luck a second thought. For 12 years, the Stahlratte has been delivering motorcycles and their riders safely, on time, and in style from Panama to Cartagena and vice versa (among other routes around the Caribbean). While researching methods to traverse the Darien Gap, we found tales of ships run ashore and abandoned, and pictures of bikes perched precariously on motorboats to run down the coast for likely-illegitimate entry into South America. Unquestionably, the reputation of the Stahlratte demonstrated that it was not only the top choice, but also well worth its cost, even if only for its unflinching reliability.
This was our point of decision, then, and the point when it was clear that Sarah and Nadine could buy their plane tickets with confidence. When we made our date with the Stahlratte -- June 19 -- we would be past opportunities for bad luck to thwart our plans. It would be time to buy. In the end, we made the call a few days early since we found ourselves in Panama City (a short ride from the Puerto de CartÃ, where we would meet the Stahlratte) well ahead of schedule.
And then the few short days aboard the Stahlratte: a charming ride through picturesque islands and out across the open sea. Despite some light nausea from the swelling sea (this Kansas boy has never been much of a sea-goer), the ship and its captain and crew lived up to all the hype marvelously, with a skillful and expedient loading process, delicious meals, and good humor in spades.
But after all of our fine luck and good fortune traveling in the Far North, crossing unreliable borders, avoiding pyroclastic flows in Guatemala, and scurrying through a civil uprising in Nicaragua, our luck was slain in the Cartagena harbor. The part of the trip we saw as no problem...the one that had been specifically brokered by the Stahlratte's captain a month in advance...fell asunder.
Day after day, we returned to visit our motorcycles, captive as they were on the Stahlratte, only to hear that the local aduana yet again refused to honor what had been agreed to...refused to entertain further discussions.
The bikes aboard the Stahlratte, securely lashed to the gunwhale and covered. They remained this way seven days longer than necessary in the Cartagena harbor.
Initially, hopes were dashed. After a couple days, hopes gave way to monotony. And a week later, when the bikes were finally ashore, there was little celebration. There was certainly relief to have them back in our possession, and -- eventually, after further frustrating delays -- free and clear of the aduana.
The bikes: finally ashore again. Next: a four-hour stall at aduana as we await a single signature.
But the damage was done and the tickets that Nadine and Sarah had purchased were useless: Nick and I would not be able to make it to Quito in time. The best solution we came to was for them to redirect from Quito and meet us in Cartagena after a day of exploring the equator on their own.
For Nick and I, our planned week-long ride from Cartagena to Quito turned into a planned, quick, 5-day ride from Cartagena to Quito, then to a planned, frantic, 3.5-day ride from Cartagena to Quito, and has now turned into 3 days of stalled-out doldrums and lots of extra dollars spent on changed flights.
The constant movement of the last two months became a sudden stagnation. Our luck not only died; it was killed. Deliberately.
But the fault is not Cartagena's. And luck is never constant. Sarah and Nadine arrive tonight; very soon. Even their journey has been fraught with delays and changes. But we are on an adventure, not a trip. And in adventure, situations are dynamic and we must adapt ourselves to them.
This week in Colombia was not fun. We tried not to post anything negative until our bikes were free and clear, just in case, but now its time to get a few things off our chests!
The Stahlratte has been bringing bikes from Panama to Colombia for twelve years. Recently they changed a law regarding importing bikes via sailboats specifically, citing concerns about smuggling. Ludwig had to cancel the trip before ours and take a trip without passengers here so that he could negotiate with them. Seemed like everything was sorted so our trip set sail as planned.
Fast forward to when we get to Colombia and they decide not to honor their deal.
We spent an entire week going back and forth from our AirBnB to the boat. We would have breakfast, wait for the call, and then go back to shore.
We spent countless hours like this:
On the first day of sorting things out, the customs woman, Matilda, decided to take a personal day even though they already started working with her. Later days she just avoided everybody all together. Eventually, Ludwig and his agent went to see the customs lady in person. They got a conversation started and she just walked away from them. They found her somewhere a little while later and she walked away again.
There is a lot of "greasing" going on in these countries and the working theory is that she was paid to give us a hard time. I hope someday we get to find out the whole story.
Meanwhile, we all pick up a bit of food poisoning. The day before we actually got the bikes I thought I was going to have to go to the emergency room it was so bad.
Finally, we get the call that we are cleared to go. When we arrived at the boat they already had three of the bikes unloaded. Ludwig worked out a deal with a dock to unload the bikes the way they were loaded, but when the time came they said we had to wait. So Ludwig, and crew, unloaded the motorcycles using a skiff and brute force because now we had an appointment at the customs office to make.
We get to the customs office around 8, as planned. Within half an hour the inspections were done and the paperwork was on Matilda's desk. We sat with Ludwig's agent in the waiting room, just waiting for her to put her signature on the papers. And we waited, and we waited up until the lunch break was looming. The agent went back several times to check with her and nothing happened. Eventually he sent Ryan back to try to appeal to her. She said 15 minutes. About 30 minutes later we all went back and she shooed us away.
Finally, minutes before the city shuts down for lunch, she decided to sign the papers and we were out the door.
Last stop, mandatory insurance. Because the city shuts down for lunch, the insurance office was closed. We had our own lunch and then waited for them to open at 1:30. When they opened, they informed us that the guy that does motorcycles was not there and they were not sure when he would be back. They sent us to another place and we waited until they opened at 2:00. They couldn't help us and sent us to a third place, whose system was down and couldn't help us either. Par for the course!
We eventually took the bikes back to the AirBnB and got a cab (part of the way into the city) and we hoofed it, Blues Brothers style, to the top of a building where they were going to be closing shortly. They could help, but naturally they needed copies and did not have a copy machine. An office two floors down agreed to help but their copy machine stopped working.
In the end, Steve was able to get insurance. Yuri could not because his bike was too old to be in the system and Ryan and I have to wait for another day.
God damn it.
At this point, we are far too late to make our dates with the girls in Quito. After another long battle, we decided the best solution was just to stay here in Cartegena. The girls will have a day in Quito to see the equator and eat cuy and then they will fly to meet us here for the rest of the week.
It was tough being stranded and in limbo for so long but we tried to make the most of it. It really is a beautiful city and I am looking forward to our visitors!
The view from La Popa, before our souls were crushed.
Huge historic fort here. Apparently ready to lay siege on the new city.
Circus Terror is in town, I hope it's still here when the girls are!
This is what our afternoons looked like every time we left the boat for another day in town.
Check out this fountain!
Sloths! This one's a baby!
One of the traditional dishes we crammed in.
In addition to the fort, there are some old city walls that surround the old town.
This fascinating guy was weird but delicious. I can't remember what it was called...
I probably should mention that in addition to the waiting, and the food poisoning, we were also broken into. It wasn't that bad, we left the key in the door... anyway, we were in the room sleeping. Steve heard somebody come in and chased him out. When we followed up with our host the next day she had some additional security installed around the perimeter.
Finally!
Keep an eye out for Cartagena, Part 2. That will be with Nadine and Sarah and will be a much happier post!
