Colombians In Colombia

Imagine yourself driving down the road and you see a driving school student out learning to handle the roads. However you are in central Colombia winding through 7,000 foot high mountains clutching the wheel, paying attention and holding your own against holes, bumps, and general strip mining all along the highway.  The driver of the car labeled “Enseñanza” (driving school) is doing the same poor thing. And then she met a couple of horses and an aggressive oncoming car. It scared me but I don’t know what it did for her, the student. 

We saw a fair bit of merciless driving on the way to our next stop where we plan to play tourists. It was an all day drive through some mountainous country with lots to see. 

I woke up in our overnight spot at 8:35 am and I thought to myself how luxurious it is to be retired. Then Rusty wanted a walk so there is that, you’re a slave to your dog no matter how snug the blankets. 

It was a free night at the overlook, shared with some trucks and they were all gone, hard workers all. They eat soup for breakfast. Weird? You bet, but we chose pork rib soup over egg drop soup and here it is: 

It was surprisingly filling and now I know I can eat anything for breakfast and enjoy it. To me that’s part of the pleasure of travel, history interests me but today’s culture is offered on a plate. And then when you dive into the local way of doing things the locals come knocking. 

Meet Linda with two decades in Louisiana and Arkansas where her adult children live. After her husband died she felt obliged to come home to Bucaramanga to look after her nonagenarian parents. She and Layne exchanged WhatsApp numbers and next time we come by…there we will be. It was late enough in the morning we could contact the insurance agent and there we were: legally insured for 90 days right after our current policy expires on Thursday. 

“Stop!” Layne said firmly so I did. A giant fruit stand caught her attention and while she shopped we had fruit drinks to help us in our selection. 

The due with the glasses was making one of his regular trips by motorcycle to Bucaramanga and he said he always stops here for a pick-me-up. We got to chatting about travel and the pleasures of motorcycles and so forth. It was a nice interlude. 

And do the day went, coping with traffic in towns and avoiding motorcycles everywhere.

In the countryside you drive open roads for a while and then around a corner you see a line of cars, pickups, buses and trucks grinding along just a few minutes after they passed you. A slow moving truck is at the head of the line and you get to admire the scenery at 15 or 20 mph. 

Passing is a precarious business on these winding mountain roads and sometimes big trucks need room to get around corners! Check it out below as the car carrier simply couldn’t fit on the curve…our side of the highway kept pushing of course! 

I prefer to follow than be tail gated so I frequently slow down or use my left turn signal to indicate when it’s safe to pass. But I do my share of passing when the crawling speed is intolerable. 

The thing is you never quite know what’s about to happen so staying alert is critical. 

Oh and potholes. Check these out on a major highway. The photos don’t really explain the horror of road slides poorly paved leaving an eight inch step or the sudden minefield of holes that require slaloming and heavy applications of brakes. 

The paved over landslides look like giant frost heaves and they can be difficult to spot. 

Shadows or pot holes? 

If you do cross the center line to avoid a hole understand these trucks won’t slow down one bit to help you out…

And then you let your guard down: 

And then lunch. We ordered a mixed grill to share for twelve bucks. I walked Rusty while Layne ordered. 

I came across these plants whose name I forget but they fold up when you touch them: 

Not overpopulated I would say: 

Our lunch started with a little appetizer of corn tortilla strips and a fiery salsa, hotter than anything I’ve tasted since Mexico. 

Rusty laid down at our feet, not the only dog in the place but certainly the quietest. Colombians are so dog friendly it is quite surprising. 

This vast mound of food arrived. Layne got a container from the van parked nearby and she started menu planning for the next three days. 

Once again a lovely Colombian, Norma, came by out of nowhere and practiced her English and got a nickel tour of GANNET2 and exchanged WhatsApp numbers with Layne who is also the communications officer for the expedition. 

Layne had organized a campground in the heritage city of Villa de Leyva and we hoped to be there between four and five yesterday afternoon. 

In the event we arrived around 5:15 after a long day of avoiding potholes etc…it was 75 degrees at 7100 feet and we enjoyed the refreshing coolness at altitude.

iOverlander said we would be met by the family matriarch, the grandmother and sure enough…

Margarita showed us the ropes and we were left to our own devices. 

We buttoned up GANNET2 with window covers against a cold night, expected to be as low as 53 degrees which we haven’t seen for a while. The rumor is there may be hot water in the showers which will be welcome at these temperatures. 

I don’t know how long we will be here, one day or five but it promises well. 

Goodbye Guaimaro

The alert reader will observe GANNET2 is no longer parked in the shade at the campground.

That would because we drove  away from Guaimaro Campground and decided to pay a visit to the nearby village of Guane on our way out of town. That’s right: after 17 days parked we are on the road. Again. 

But there is a serpent in every paradise and we came up hard against an unforeseen problem: car insurance! 

We took a leisurely drive to our two pm doctor’s appointment in the nearest large town, San Gil, pronounced “San Hill” so these photos are from a village near our campground outside Barichara. It’s a  popular day trip destination called Guane (“Wah-ney”) though we found it to be rather annoying as it is a town dedicated to selling anything they can to visitors. It was difficult to get a moment to oneself for quiet contemplation.

In an effort to contribute to the local economy Layne bought a small purse and a bottle of goat milk liquor made with whiskey which tastes better than it sounds and then it was time to drive to the big town doctor’s office.

We had some other jobs we wanted to get done in San Gil: a car wash, an ATM visit, and renew our car insurance so we planned a full afternoon of exciting activity. Pardon the sarcasm because after the doctor visit it all went haywire!

From the bucolic serenity of the Guaimaro campground (above) we landed in a city built in a canyon, a city of intensely steep streets, narrow streets and parking lots too low to accommodate our tall Promaster van. What a stress!

We drove around a bit after we located the area where the doctor has his office and after a few streets so steep we could barely get up them, a truly scary way to drive! - we found a flat partly shaded spot to eat a sandwich and wait for two pm. While Layne prepared lunch I walked Rusty around the neighborhood to the doctor’s office so we knew where to go at the appointed time. We were organized dammit! With the sun setting to the left in the picture below we left Rusty in air conditioning and increasing shade while we talked to the doctor recommended to us by the campground owners. 

The visit went well and we got our anti parasite medicine to restore our digestion plus we got some advice about living at altitude, above 1600 meters, 5,000 feet, which mostly involves monitoring your blood pressure which is inclined to rise with the altitude (who knew?). The hour long visit and check up for both of us cost a very reasonable $125 in cash (500,000 Colombian pesos). We were pleased.

The doctor spoke some English, was courteous and professional of course but listened thoughtfully as well. I found him very reassuring and helpful so of course Layne wrote him up in iOverlander and Google and so forth. After that excellent outcome things went wrong.

Layne got in a long line to get more cash from an ATM using our First State Bank of the Florida Keys debit card which usually works, while I sauntered into town across a footbridge over yet another canyon to find an insurance agent. Google maps had the office in the wrong place, nowadays it’s a butcher, but I found it across the square. “Oh no” the clerks said in consternation faced with selling car insurance to a FOREIGNER! Impossible!  You have to go to the capital of Santander Province. But Bucaramanga is three hours away?!! We set off across the mountains as we had no choice with our insurance expiring in two days. I’d rather have been wiling away the afternoon playing chess in San Gil…

Layne got in touch with Dieter a resident near the campground we’d met during our stay to see if he had any ideas. His contacts drew a blank apparently the insurance laws were changed recently making it harder for foreigners to get insurance on temporary imports. Our hearts sank as we had not anticipated this problem and we had been told to wait till your policy almost expired before we renewed. Time was ticking. 

We had a planned stop in a parking area next to a mountain restaurant a third of the way to Bucaramanga. The idea was to stop and buy dinner and sleep next to the scenic overlook. That plan went just fine and after dinner, soup and ribs and lemonade for $5:50 each, Layne had a brainwave. 

I set our Starlink satellite dish on the roof of GANNET2 as we had no cell signal at all inside the van and only a slow one outside and instantly we were connected to the world. And as much as anyone can despise Facebook the traveler networks came through for us. 

Layne put out a request for help and in minutes we had three suggestions for agents who could help us online. We chose the one who accepted payment by credit card over the ones who require payment through a bank account which would involve more standing in line back in the city.   

By eight pm we had an agent lined up ready to work in the morning on our new insurance policy for us with a promise to get in touch today. We shall see! 

I get stressed by bureaucracy and I was pretty grumpy struggling with this unexpected mess. Paperwork feels so out of my control, plus with hindsight I realized my usual approach which is to visit offices in person had failed us. 

At the campground it had seemed obvious to stop at an insurance office in San Gil to renew our SOAT  (Seguro Obligatorio contra Accidentes de Tránsito) insurance but in reality we should have sought information ahead of time. My bad and I knew it. Layne is very patient with me sometimes.

A police car stopped by to watch the sunset and Layne asked as only Layne can if it was okay to spend the night. With that assurance we settled in for the night. At 6,000 feet we weren’t going to need air conditioning and road noises rarely bother us cocooned inside our well insulated van. 

Rainy season is on the way and clouds are building but it was still dry and warm, t-shirt weather. 

With any luck we will have our papers sorted by lunchtime and be safe to spend our time touring not fighting traffic and shuffling papers in offices. 

Remember this is our retirement, not a trip, and every day brings a new unknown to be solved to keep our brains active and youthful! I’d rather do a crossword…

Follow Up: Insurance is done thanks to a lead from a fellow traveler. $120 for 90 days coverage which will cover the rest of our permit in Colombia. Much relief. 

The Arab Place

We’ve taken to eating once a day as we wind down our time in Barichara. Thursday was Arab Day and as remote as this town may seem they have a Mediterranean restaurant. “We want to go to the Arab place,” we told our tuk tuk driver; because we did. 

Layne was less enthusiastic about this lunch but even though it was overpriced I liked the food.

It was half open air dining and we had the place to ourselves. I saw a dog water bowl so I assume it is Rusty friendly but it was a hot morning and he had been reluctant to go so we left him at the campground. Apparently he howled a little and he was glad to see us when we got back but I did miss him. 

We got refreshing mint and hibiscus drinks to start, tart with ginger and that was worth a non alcoholic buzz. 

Layne checked out the dried fruit and spice emporium before the appetizers arrived, lamb dolmas and falafels:   

We shared a lamb stew called “tagine” in Morocco which comes in a hot clay pot. 

Mark from the campground had a selection of vegetarian appetizers, olives in a spicy sauce, eggplant stew and labneh which is soft cheese made from twice strained yoghurt and has a dry goats cheese type flavor but much richer. 

The piece de resistance was a dessert of pistachio baklava with a honey sauce. Mark said the coffee is also middle eastern rather grainy and made with cardamom so we skipped it despite my curiosity. 

At $55 for us two it was rather more pricy than we expected but I suppose the surprise of having access to Middle Eastern food in middle Colombia made the expedition a success. 

It is a beautifully designed and curated space. 

At the top of the town.