Januar 2020 - Seite 2 von 3 - Lococoupleonabike

Januar 15, 2020Januar 19, 2020

Rincon del Mar – Cartagenas: Last day of cycling

Wednesday 15, January 2020 139km Total so far: 1217,8 km

I didn´tt sleep very good last night. The rooster started to crow so early. I think for some reason he was totally confused because it was only 2:30 at night. Well, I was confused then, too, but thanks to god I fell asleep again. Still at 4am I was awake 100% and finally at 4:45 I got up. I packed everything into my panniers and one hour later I started to bring down all the stuff. Matthias came also down at 6am already. He had told me so yesterday because he wanted to say good-bye and he was interested to see the loaded bike. I think that was very nice of him and very cool. So after the last good-byes I started to leave El Rincon by pushing the bike through the sand of the beach. Sun was just rising and I enjoyed this beautiful scenery very much. It was awesome.

I knew that the road to San Onofre for the next 16km would be an unpaved dirt road and that it would be climbing up.

At 7:45 I reached San Onofre and I found a bakery and bought some sweet cakes and a coffee.

After I took the road N°90. First there was no shoulder to cycle on and a lot of parts were under construction. There was heavy traffic and a lot of trucks because of the constrcution works.

The landscape was nothing special. Farmland and also a lots of palm oil plantations.Temperature rose constantly until it was really hot: 47°C. Everytime I bought 2liters of water when there was a possibility to buy but I could only drink 1 liter because the other liter was already cooking. Thanks god, today you could buy something to drink every couple of kms. Sometimes they were even selling some cocos nuts.

The road went up for long time and it kept on being hilly as hell. I thought today would be easy cycling but it wasn´t at all. Only about 22km before Cartagena the road finally went down with a nice steep short downhill. Then I started to get closer to the city and the traffic got more dense. It was a chaotic especially after the chilled atmosphere of Rincon del Mar. I was shocked and I missed it already.

There were so many buses, trucks and motorbikes. Everybody was using the horn like crazy and the buses always turned suddenly to the right from the middle of the street to collect people. I had to be so careful with many eyes.

My wife had mailed some hotel options so I was riding directly to one of them: Hothel San Martin. I was hoping very much that there would be a room available. At 5pm I got there and yes! They had a room for me. Cool.

I took a shower and I went to eat to a place where they got spaghetty bolognese. Delicious. After I had 2 caipirinhas which I had definitely deserved today, and on my way back I bought some beers and some snacks.

I went to sleep at midnight very tired after doing the blog.

Oil palms, Elaeis guineensis — Oil palms tree, Elaeis guineensis

Swamp "Cienaga De Luisa" — Swamp „Cienaga De Luisa“

Januar 14, 2020Januar 19, 2020

Rincon del Mar: Second day power chilling

Tuesday 14 January Total so far: 1078,8 km

Today I could sleep a little bit longer – felt so good! At 9 am I went to have breakfast with my new Austrian friends. Just the perfect breakfast location was yet to come. We started our location-research-project about 10 o´clock which turned out to be a little bit late for the Colombian rhythm. Surprise, surprise….. nobody wanted to give us some breakfast anymore. Everybody told us that it was far too late for breakfast. They all were preparing lunch already, but this didn´t match with our holiday schedule !

In the end we could find a place where someone was willing to serve some scrambless eggs and some juice for us. Luck is a relative thing – we at least felt very happy in this moment.

Later we were hanging out, everybody in a very relaxed mood. That obviously attracted a lady that came close and offered all kinds of wellness stuff from massages up to hair cut and even sweets etc. Whatever you liked she got it. Magic!

Lucy decided to get some braids and I booked a nice wellness massage for myself. She did it ok but first of all I enjoyed because of the location and I really could relax a little bit.

After stayed for a while and then went to my room to take a nap. What a wonderful lazy day! I wanted to go for a little walk but then I even was to lazy to do that.

In the evening we all went together for dinner to a small place where they were making pizza.

We had a good time and back in our hotel we chilled together drinking some more beers. At 11pm I went to sleep.

Januar 13, 2020Januar 16, 2020

Rincon del Mar: First day power chilling

Monday 13 January Total so far: 1078,8 km

Today I slept real long – I woke up at 8. I went downstairs and had breakfast. That was already more or less the action of the day….The rest of it I actually did nothing. Just chilling in my hammock. Ah, I also went to the sea for a very short time and I enjoyed that it was really warm. Lovely.

In the evening I met a couple from Austria: Matthias and Lucy. We went for dinner together and it was fun.

Later when we got back to our rooms we decided to sit on our veranda for a little while and we enjoyed some glasses of rum.

This is holidays!

Januar 12, 2020Januar 14, 2020

Tolu– Rincon del Mar: Heat and dirty roads

Sunday 12, January 2020 55km Total so far: 1078,8 km

I didn’t sleep very well. There was loud music coming out of every door here – amazing. I woke up already at 5 am and at 6:15 I started pedaling.

I reached the main road and after 5km I took a turn onto a secondary road. There was a sign saying no vehicles allowed because the road was under construction but I asked a worker and he said „for bikes it’s ok“. So I went. The road was dirty with sometimes brand new pavement.There was very little traffic. Mostly motorbikes and of course the trucks working for the construction. When they passed me very fast they always gave me a nice shower of dust…..The landscape was mainly meadows and pastures for cattle.

After about 19km I got back to the main road N°90 . After 8km I reached San Ofre. I had a small break there and meanwhile I left my bike standing in the hot sun. Temperature on my tachometer showed 56°C in just some minutes. Summer heat !! Well, I talked to guy there a little bit and he told me that El Rincon del Mar was much nicer then Berrugas so I decided to go there instead of Berrugas. From San Ofre the road went on also dirty and in bad condition so I could ride only slowly.

On the way I met a Brasilian guy also touring with his bike. He was travelling for 8 months now but he was going the other direction. We chatted a little bit, said good-bye each one following his own destination. I arrived in the village of El Rincon at 11:30 and started to look for a place to stay. I went all the way ‚til the end of the village. One option I already had checked out in google before but they told me they wanted 70€/night. Wow! I almost fell off my saddle! Thank you very much, I suggest you wait for the next stupid one. I went back and could find a nice tiny room with ocean view and a terrace with an own hamock. I was very happy because the area here is not very developped for tourism – very basic everything.

I took a shower, washed my bicycle uniform and was ready for a nap.

Later I was fighting hard to upload some images. The internet really is fucking slowly here. No place for digital nomades…..In the end I used my data – that was much faster.

At 7pm I went to a normal house that is made up like a restaurant. I ate my usual plate: chicken, rice and beans.

I came back, had a beer and enjoyed the warm air watching the ocean.

I am planning to stay here until the 15th of January.

Southern crested caracara (Caracara plancus)

Arriving at San Ofre — Arriving at San Onofre

I have to pass this pier to get to my hotel

Januar 11, 2020Januar 13, 2020

Tolu: Letting time pass

Saturday 11, January 2020 – Total so far: 1023,8 km

It felt good to sleep a little bit longer. I woke up at 9:30 and went to the bakery just in front of my hotel. There I got me a coffee and some sweet stuff for breakfast. I wrote the blog and edited images. This always takes some time because the internet is not very fast here.

I took another nap later on and then explored the village a little bit. Just strolling along, taking it very easy. I stopped somewhere to enjoy a maracuya-mango juice while I was watching the beautiful sunset.

In the evening I went to eat a pizza and then watched some TV. Feels like holiday.

Tomorrow will be an easy ride I think. I am going to Berrugas which is not very far from here. Only 50km to go.

Januar 10, 2020Januar 11, 2020

Monteria – Tolu: 99,99 flat!

Friday 10, January 2020 113km – Total so far: 1023,8 km

I got up very early today – already at 5 o’clock. I wanted to have breakfast already at 6. But: surprise, surprise! When I came down to the lobby the guy there told me s simple „no“. Breakfast starts at 6:30 only. „La p… m…“

I thought „no way, I am not waiting“. Without breakfast I packed the bike and I left. I was able to buy some fruits – pineapple and bananas. A lady cut them for me and put them in a plastic glas.

Cycling out of the city was ok. There even was a bike path going parallel to the main road for about 15km. As there was a lot of fog in the morning I told myself „ok, I’ll take advantage of it“. No sun! So I was going very fast – about 27km/h.

The road was wide. Four lanes and a nice shoulder to cycle on but also a lot of traffic. After Ceretes I took road N°21. It turned into a small road and there were no more shoulders. But I have to say most of the cars and trucks they respected me.

I saw many dead animals on the road. They just didn’t make it to the other side when they crossed the street and got hit by the cars. Very sad.

At least I must say that this time the road was flat. Just in the end there were some small hills.

In between I stopped to have a coconut and I had a nice chat with the seller. He told me all of his life. He was a simple man but smart enough to know how hard it is to make a living without education. He was the father of seven kids and he said that every day he keeps on telling them they should learn or study something. He himself struggled hard to get by. He told me that during the times when he is not selling fruit he is working as a „machetero“. Hard work from 6 in the morning till late in the afternoon for very little money. About 5€ only for the whole day. I liked him and I hope his children will make him happy one day….

Originally I had planned to stay in Covenias today. I got there very early, maybe 2pm and while I was riding around I got that feeling that I didn’t like it at all. This village was really very crowded and the beach was nothing special. So I stopped in the shadow, checked google maps and I decided to go another 20km to try my luck in another place.

After 45 min I arrived in Tolu. I liked it much better. Quiet and not so many tourists. I found a nice room. Nothing special but clean and with AC. I took a shower and I did my laundry. I really had to.

Later I went to the main plaza for dinner. I had some fish. It was ok but not super tasty.

On my way back I passed by a supermarket to get myself some drinks.

Back in my room I watched some TV and just relaxed.

Januar 9, 2020Januar 11, 2020

Caucasia – Monteria : Easy ride almost flat

Thursday 09, January 2020 122km – Total so far: 907,2 km

At 6:15 I started to bring all my stuff downstairs and loaded the bike. I was on my way out of the city at 8:30. Temperature was already 26°C degrees and there was a lot of humidity in the air. It felt like a sauna.

The road was quite average-nothing special. Cycling was kind of boring.The landscape was meadow. A lot of cattle everywhere. You could see those big farms with huge farmhouses. This region is famous for its cattle breeding.

I thought for sure the road would be flat today but that turned out to be a nice dream….I mean there were definitely flat stretches in between but always with a lot of small hills going up and down. In the end I made 500m of altitude difference. While I was riding I saw people selling parrots and tucans and I felt for the poor birds. To me a bird inside a cage seems to be a torture for this animal who’s nature is to fly.

At 8 am I stopped for breakfast. Same procedure as every morning: eggs and rice. I still thought about the birds. Crazy.

Also in this part of the country the roadside looked a little bit more dirty than the days before. Sometimes I cannot understand why peole are so dirty. They stop, enjoy the tree’s shadow for a break and after they leave all their garbage. Plastic bottles, dipers etc. Disgusting. Another thing that impressed me very much today was a guy who’s way to travel was hanging on to the back of a container truck. Crazy!

I pedaled on and temperature was rising high. At 1 pm it was real hot. I was lucky that in the middle of nowhere suddenly appeared a “restaurant”. At that time my water inside the cycling bottle was already to cook tea with and I was so thirsty. The „restaurant“ saved me. I stopped, enioyed a cold drink and besides had some chicken with rice.

Regain of energy! I kept going as fast as I could but then for about 15km no possibility to get myself something to drink. Again I was thirsty like hell and again the water of my cycling bottle was cooking.This time no restaurant. I had to keep going until I reached the city about 3:30pm. That’s life.

Thanks god I found a good hotel with AC. I first took a shower and then a well deserved power nap.

In the evening I went to an Italian restaurant and had a real big pizza. I felt so hungry like I could eat a „family size“ one.

With stomach full I came back to my hotel did some blog work and about 10pm I went to sleep.

So that it is not so boring, a curve now

Januar 8, 2020Januar 9, 2020

Caucasia: Recovering day & laundry

Wednesday 07, January 2020 – Total so far: 785,2 km

I woke up at 9 and went to have breakfast at 10 o’clock.

After I washed all my clothes which was urgent already.

I walked downtown trying to get me some new headphones, because mine are broken. No way. On my way home I passed by a supermarket to get some grocerys and when I came back to my room I did the blog.

The rest of the day I was just hanging out doing nothing!

I ordered a extra portion rice — Dinner with an extra rice

Januar 7, 2020Januar 9, 2020

Valdivia – Caucasia: Keep going down

Tuesday 07, January 2020 129km – Total so far: 785,2 km

Today I wanted to start early to avoid the heat and so at 6:30 I was back in the saddle again.

I was just pedaling a few minutes when I saw a guy obviously going to the market with a lot of fruit. Lucky me! I could buy my bananas right there from him! I felt happy because it is not like in Asia here where you can buy stuff everywhere – here you always have to look for everything.

The expected big downhill started as soon as I was pedaling and you could call it a real downhill for about 20km.Though I love to let go and speed up when I bike downwards I could not go as fast as I would have liked to.The road was not in very good conditions. I needed to be very careful. One thing were the bad road conditions but the other thing was that there was a lot of traffic, too.

When some parts of of the road were really bad there were guys with shuffles just adding sand to the potholes. Then they asked the drivers for money. I found it very creative, somehow it made me smile.

By the way, today for the first time I could get a coconut to drink. Man that felt so good, I just love it.

After the 20km „big downhill“ the road was still leading down in general but in between there were a lot of hills. The steady up and down also can make your legs real tired.

There was a stretch when I was riding very chilled and a guy approched to me with a motorbike. He began to ask the usual questions like always… „Where are you from, where are you going to“ etc. Then he went on, but after some meters he turned around and waved at me. So I stopped right beside him and before I could really take my feet off the pedals I already held a cold gatorate drink in my hands. Wow! Then he insisted to buy me some food. He was so happy and proud to invite me and wouldn’t let me pay. For me another incredibly nice experience.

Cycling was good. The road often went parallel to the Caucasia river and I crossed many bridges with awesome views.

At 4pm I got to the city of Caucasia and I found me a hotel that looked ok.

I took a shower and I went to eat like always. This time I really was hungry and the food on my plate left my stomach with quite a big hole still. So I went to a supermarket…. I bought some olive crackers and nachos with salsa. Yummi

So back in my room I continued my dinner and watched some TV till late at night – tomorrow is a day off!!!

Bridge over Caucasea river — Bridge over Caucasia river

Waste of water,normally they use it for wash the trucks — Waste of water, normally they use it for wash the trucks

Januar 6, 2020Januar 8, 2020

Santa Rosas de Osos – Valdivia : The downhill starts

Monday 06 , January 2020 88,3 km – Total so far: 656,2 km

I woke up at 05:45 and at 06:45 I already had breakfast.The usual menu: scrambles eggs, some arepas and coffee.
I started pedaling at a temperature of 12°C. It was 7:30 in the morning and the new day was dawning.The road went up and down and the landscape once again looked like Switzerland.

Later on the sun came out and it felt so good to feel the warm sunbeams on my body and skin. Temperature rose up to 24°C and it was fun to cycle. Very nice. I enjoyed.

Before arriving at Yarumal I stopped in the middle of nowhere to have a coffee. I saw the woman who worked there was doing some handcraft and I asked her about it. She showed me her work then. She was doing all kinds of handcrafts with bottle caps, very nice. She already won a big price in 2014. It was amazing. She e.g. did all of the tricots, balls etc. of Colombian’s national team. Super interesting.

Today I found a machete on the road and I carried it with me. Then I saw a guy working in the fields and asked him if he wanted to have the machete. Yes, and how he wanted! He really was so happy he almost kissed me when I gave it to him.

My plan today was to go to Yarumal but I already arrived there at noon and I was still feeling fit. After I had some lunch there I decided to keep going on to Valdivia.

Valdivia is just a small village at the side of the road. I was happy that at least they had a hotel there.

After a shower I went to eat. The food was not fresh. Warmed up chicken. Not very tasty.

I went back to my room and did the routine work. Packing my stuff and then going to sleep. It was 9:30pm.