Last night in Carmen de Apicala was fantastic, we ate arepas' con pollo, carne y queso, beber mucho aguila light.  Today, nursing a dolor de cabeza drove to Popayan, Colombia.  Through, sugar cane haciendas, coffee and banana plantations, the drive was amazing and after diez horas arrived in the "white city".  Tomorrow morning I'll tour the city and enclose a few pics.

Back to last night, went to mi buenos amigo Don Luchos' tienda, his lovely wife Arlenes attended the impromptu get together along with mi esposa Lulu, our neighbour and amiga santiaga dropped in and a host of local also contributed to the pre new years party.  Hey, who brought the aguadiente?  A local firewater that no doubt contributed to my headache.

Anyway, up at 5am, red bleary eyes watery and within an hour or two started the trek to Ecuador in earnest.  The country is amazingly beautiful, green mountains with Palm, Teak and Banana trees, colourful flowers with blue sky and great sunshine. Saw quite a few large tractor trailer units with four attached 20 ft trailers carrying sugar cane.  How they negotiate the winding portions of the road is a mystery to me.

Tonight, staying a hotel, two double beds, nice clean room - total cost is 60,000 Colombian pesos, sounds like a fortune...  actual cost is 30.00 Can.  One bed room is only 15.00 can.

I'm attaching a short video, look closely at the rear of the truck ahead of the car.  Colombians are a little crazy on the road - a small example.  The exhaust from the truck affects the clarity, the kids were coated after about a 7 km ride

Travel day -1

Hi guys, this is my first post to my new blog.

It's day -1 meaning the journey commences southward tomorrow from Bogota, Colombia.  Travelling via carro, in this case a Chevrolet Spark, 3 cylinder, 1000cc tiny hatchback.  We're equipped with spartan camping supplies, tent and stove and intend on staying in it whenever possible.  Otherwise, the cheapest hotels that are wifi friendly.

My travel companion for the journey is Lulu Angarita, a Spanish speaking, native Colombiana who somewhat reluctantly has agreed to guide me through Colombia to Ecuador then Peru and only the wind knows next.  Reluctantly because she is only to knowledgeable about my ability to worsen almost any situation when travelling...   For my part, having promised best behaviour and counting to 10 prior to any comment, ANY comment.  

Day one is one of little travel but quite stressful, negotiating the streets of Bogota, a city of over 10 million people, is bad enough but since I've recently secured my Colombian drivers license, it's my responsibility.  AKA as my first stress test.

La casa de Angarita, Carmen de Apicala, Colombia