7. The Rock
Day 93
It was a restless night. I was too tired last night. I still am, actually. And sore. Two Advils for breakfast will have to do. I am not sure why, but in every hotel they put me at the top floor. I have nice views but have to make at least 3 trips to bring all my crap upstairs …
Unlike yesterday, it is hot and muggy here at 6 in the morning. And it is drizzling outside. Great. Oh well, it can’t be sunshine, rainbows and unicorns every day. Or can be … ?
I am drenched in sweat just bringing my gear downstairs and strapping it on my bike. I am early, there are some thunderstorms in the forecast for the afternoon. I hope I will make it before them. I am quickly off riding to get some ventilation. I am back to the sweatbox. Cool weather lasted entire day and a half …
200 km and 5 hrs ahead of me, according to Mr. Google. As much as I liked yesterday, I hope there will be more paved roads today. And so far there are. I need a gas so I stopped at the gas station. They have only a regular. I continue and after another 20 km to get a Premium. Everybody is shocked with my bikes’ size. There are 3 questions everybody’s asking.
How fast it can go
How much it costs
How big is the engine
There are many motorbikes in Colombia. Not just scooter but real bikes. And Colombians like motorsports. I get a thumb up all the time here. Another great thing in Colombia is toll roads are free for bikes. There is a narrow lane for bikes at the toll gates, you don’t even stop. Awesome! I got on one of those roads today. Those roads are not better, there are as bad any other ones. Only two lanes and heavy traffic. Lots of up and down sections with blind corners.That doesn’t stop any self respecting trucker to pass another big semi. Incredibly, it always works out. Even though somebody might end up in the ditch. Like me today. TWICE! Two trucks heading towards me and I have nowhere to go. Luckily there is a ditch I can “duck” into. And I keep riding! Crazy, absolutely nuts. There are steep hills up and down. If you get stuck behind a truck, good luck. The double yellow line is for decoration only. I am so greatful my bike has 136 HP. And sometimes I need to wake up most of them when passing. You need to adjust your risk assessment criteria here or you won’t get anywhere.
Anyway, it is raining on and off. And I am in and out of clouds as well. But it is fun. I stop to take pics, I have tons of time today. I hope. I even stop for breakfast to kill some time … Finally there is a turn off to my destination, Guatapé. A very narrow and twisty road, about 35 km. There is no way anybody would be passing anybody on road like this in Canada or EU. But this is Colombia … As I don’t have any suicidal tendencies I settle behind other slow cars and just enjoy the scenery. And there is a lot to see. It looks like this is a weekend place for people from Medellín. There are some really nice houses here, I mean, REALLY nice. There is a lot of money here. Hotels everywhere. I definitely feel like I am in a touristy town. The main attraction is a man made lake with many islands and countless bays and coves. And the other one is a giant granite rock.
My hotel is on the other side of the town, no problem finding it. Nice and quiet, very artsy and clean with friendly staff. I unpack and get ready to go out. But the weather thinks otherwise and starts pouring … Damn … Well, I’ll wait it out, I hope. Meantime, I get online and book my next place in Medellín. If it is even close how it is on the pictures, it will be awesome. Lets wait till tomorrow. Rain stops and I get on the bike and head out. Destination, the giant granite rock which you can climb on the top. Slick operation, parking is electronic and I have to pay when I will leave. Get up to the parking lot bellow the rock. As I am parking my bike another biking couple couple came over and shook my hand. And gave me their sticker. Another adventurers from Ecuador. Funny, everybody has their own sticker, it is like a business card.
Anyway, I park the bike, buy a ticket and off I go. Only way to get to the top is climbing the stairs. One set goes up another goes down. And they are incredibly steep. I am being quickly reminded that I am not 20 anymore. I have admit, I had to stop few times, pretending I am taking pictures. I was but … I get to the top and there are few souvenir and food stores there. And washrooms. But the view is absolutely stunning. 360˚ unobstructed gorgeousness (just made up a new word … ) It is cloudy with showers but also some sunny parts. All that makes for great pictures. I hang around, get some fruit snack and an ice cream and taking my time. I don’t want to go gown as it took a bit of effort to get here. There were few rainbows around and I should have some nice pictures of them. Check the picture section. They will be there. Eventually, when I will be able to catch up. But it is time to head down, it is already getting dark. Going down was physically much easier and faster but boy, those stair were steep. And now you are facing away from the rock … But before you know it I am down. 5 km back to my hotel, drop my bike off and head straight back to town for dinner. It is dark already. There are many restaurants there there so I don’t look for long. I get couple of cervezas and a trout for dinner and head back to the hotel again. Now the hard work starts. Writing a blog for two days. I don’t think I’ll have time to do anything with pictures. I’ll do them tomorrow. At least some. Promise.
Another great day is almost over. Medellín tomorrow.