Monday Jun. 18, 2007
Since everyone's been asking "what have you been doing there for so long?", I guess I'd better try and explain. But it's going to be hard for most people to understand unless you've actually been here on a bike. And keep in mind that the typical mentalitity around these parts is manana, manana (tomorrow, tomorrow). This means that what can't get done today (and probably won't if you're North American) can always get done tomorrow.
To me, Colombia is quite different than Central America. For example: It's nearly impossible to find someone here who speaks English, the highways are much better, the scenery is breathtaking and I even see a few other large motos on the roads in the cities. Bike shops here even know what my bike is because they've actually seen one before, and parts and service are available here that I've been told aren't in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, and are supposedly much much more expensive in Chile. So it seemed to me that this was the place to stay and order parts, do the necessary service and even some upgrades to Buzz in preparation for our trip into the vast distances of South America that lay ahead.
Medellin is centrally located, so just about every weekend that I've been here I've gone on a ride to some interesting place within reach (over 11,500 kms (7,145 mi) since I entered Colombia). I've bought and setup my new GPS, made changes to the structure of the website to make it easier to navigate but yet contain even more information (you noticed, right?), and I learned how to edit and create my first downloadable video of the trip. Of course staying at an economical and comfortable moto-hostal complete with a garage that attracts overlanders like flies didn't hurt either. And my Spanish has even improved a little too.
But by far, one of the best things about being here has been the people I've met. I was pleasantly surprised when I bumped into Chistian at Ruta 40 (the BMW dealer) here one day. I first met his BMW GS1100 with Nevada plates alone in the streets of Antigua, Guatemala, where I left a note inviting him to e-mail me if he was headed south and wanted to chat. A couple weeks later he did just that, but we were already in different countries, so we continued to stay in touch without knowing where or when either of us would be at any given place. Then one day I spotted his bike in Granada, Nicaragua and upon entering a little shop to pickup my laundry we finally met in person - but only briefly. Chris is a huge baseball fan (Redsocks in particular) and there was a big game the next day so he couldn't possibly ride south with me, but we agreed to try and meet up again soon. Quite a bit later I found out that he stayed in Granada for over a month with the girl at the laundry store, so I never expected we'd meet again so soon. Chris is a fun guy and we enjoyed some good times swapping stories and going for rides while at our little home-away-from-home in Colombia. Hopefully we'll meet again on the road south someday.
My new Russian friend Vladimir left the hostal the day after I headed to Cartagena for Semana Santa (holy week), but unfortunately a truck had other plans for him. It was raining out and he somehow rear-ended the truck, damaging his lights, upper fender and instrument cluster which caused an electrical fire in the huge wiring harness (it's not really a 2-wire system afterall hey BMW?). Retuning with his bike on a truck to the hostal he would have to wait until the following week (when I returned, surprised to see him still there) for all the businesses to open before getting anything fixed. This is where it gets interesting. You see Vladimir has paid no money for his trip, and his sponsors only pay for the minimum, so he travels quickly and without frills and doesn't usually stay in one place long enough to get to know anyone (that's why he never bothered to learn Spanish). It's obvious that he's serious about his charity (www.motopeople.ru) and this trip is no holiday for him. Somehow between dozens of phone calls using Skype on his computer and talking to someone in Russian he managed to get BMW Latin America and the great guys at Ruta 40 to repair everything (including hand-soldering dozens of tiny wires in the harness) for absolutely nothing.
It was during this time that I got to know Vladimir a little better. He was the stereotypical, tough-guy, Russian. But, he didn't drink vodka....actually, he didn't drink any alcohol - his whole life! Maybe he wasn't so stereotypical afterall. He loved to walk long distances and was the most energetic dancer I've ever seen. He just couldn't sit still when music was playing and he really loved doing anything that had to do with using his legs. One night I found out why. Exactly one-year before he started his trip he was hit by a car while riding his Yamaha R6 in Moscow. The car had ran a light and was now sitting ontop both his legs, but the driver had no insurance. When they finally got him to the hospital, the Doctor said they would have to amputate, but Vladimir didn't accept that and insisted on paying him to try and save his legs. It sounds like most people don't have insurance or money for health care in Russia, so the Doctors tend to take the easiest solution unless convinced otherwise. One-month after his 11th surgery, with titanium rods in both legs and huge scars proving the pain he endured, he started his world trip to raise awareness and funds for motorcyclists in Russia that needed medical assistance. To me, Vladimir is a perfect example of perserverance, triumph and success. He is not only an extremely talented rider who somehow continues to ride fearlessly, but also a very motivated and happy person. I'm glad he got stranded at our hostal for another week, otherwise I would never have know what kind of a person he was - and I think he felt the same about us.
After so much time here in Colombia it's impossible for me to write a story about everything I've experienced. Therefore, this travelogue entry is simply random pictures from my time here with a short description of each one (hold your mouse over the picture). So I guess if a picture is worth a thousand words, there are millions of stories here.
I can't tell you how much help the people at Ruta 40 and Moto Angel were to me. If you're a motorcyclist and you ever find yourself here, it would be a shame not to visit them. Besides being extremely friendly and avid riders themselves, they are all very good at their jobs.
A few notes from my time in Colombia:
- It's a country full of obvious contrasts: Wealth/poverty, trust/distrust, beauty/ugly, ancient/modern
- On May 2, 2007 Buzz turned 100,000 kms (62,137 mi)
- A wave from a child is like a hug from a stranger - it can instantly change your entire opinion of a place and its people
- After following a car for sometime with 2 kids looking back at me I decided to wave - they replied with the finger
- Dog is truly mans best friend: Saw a dog carrying an empty food bowl in his mouth while walking with his poverty stricken owner, both were looking for donations
- Saw a taxi with long plastic plumbing pipes strapped to the undercarriage and sticking out the front and back at least 1.8 m (6 ft) each end while driving through city traffic
- GPS City in the USA and Fugawi in Toronto both have very bad sales & customer service - I wouldn't recommend them
- Seems like you get fingerprinted for almost everything here
- To buy anything at a large grocery store with a credit card you need to provide a cell phone number for ID
- Experienced my first earthquake
- They always ask how many quotas (portions) you would like the bill in when paying by credit card
- You can buy copies of just about anything; shoes, music, movies (it's actually hard to buy originals)
- Public transport drivers are like frustrated Juan Pablo Montoyas, make plenty of u-turns, drive with 4-way flashers constantly on, side doors open and make lane changes at will - of course speed limits don't exist. Note: the same can be said about any Latin American city.
- Received more attention for my moto than any other country so far, and drivers are more respectful of motorcyclists
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