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WARNING/AVISO:

Some of the following pictures are very graphic and potentially disturbing.  I warned you...

Hiro my hero

Halloween weekend street party

Medellin has lots of great local corner coffee shops.  The flat I was staying at with everybody, has one one on the first floor.

New grips and bike tuned up, fresh grease in everything, and whole new drive train

Bbq'in with Juancho and Thomas

Evening ride around town before leaving

Ciao Medellin, hasta la proxima vez

The workers at the toll booths are usually real nice, most times give me filtered water for free.  These folks were no exception, even gave me some panela to try.  Note, this was in the morning and I'm soaked in sweat - back in hot weather.

Bamboo is beautiful

Coffee

and even more coffee

Imagine breathing that while struggling up a hill

Out into the open farm land, and more heat.

The great thing about Latin America is a variety of local, fresh, cheap, tasty produce.

One of the most wonderful smells I've encountered bike traveling (usually dominated by horrible smells).  I think it was a coffee roasting facility, with hints of chocolate.

Usually police and military don't like their picture to be taken.  After riding into the night one day, I figured I could find camp somewhere near this spot.  Antinarcoticos.  We had some conversation and they were curious about my trip.  When I asked to take a picture with them, they were thrilled.  Let me camp on a soccer field near by

They even gave me an MRE for dinner.

Annoying buggers, tripping over my stuff and touching everything "dejame!"

Nice quiet coffee/snack break

These farm trucks are massive, 5 trailers long.  The whole valley is a huge farming area, with mainly sugar cane.  Lots of these passed me, and aren't traveling too fast.  I was able to draft one for a few km's and maintained 40km/h.

Camping at a spot one night where they make flour from yucca.  These are fermentation tanks.

The neighbors invited me over for breakfast the following morning

I've seen lots of accidents in Latin America.  In Baja there was the motorcylist that slid out on a turn and nearly flew off the cliff.  In the Yucatan, there was the couple that flipped their car in the rain and the woman was bleeding and barely conscious on the ground and we had to shield her from the rain waiting for the paramedics to arrive.  All the accidents I have seen, I arrived within just minutes of it happening.  I actually witnessed this one.  Guess who hit him, a microbus.  Motorcycle flew to one side of the road, and the guy's helmet to the other.  Of course I didn't take a picture of the guy out of respect, but his bone was sticking out from his leg and he was screaming in agony.  Note, you can see the gasoline starting to leak out from the tank.

New friends in Popayán.  Stephi, Santi, Felipe, Nuvia, Jose.  Such marvelous food and people.

The big three, always such a treat: shower, bed, clean laundry.  Thomas on scene.

Popayán, Cauca, Colombia

I met these guys while they were training for a cycling race, outside of Popayan while I was riding.  They passed me quickly, but these guys in the support vehicle gave me some powder electrolyte.  I caught up with them in town.

Wanna race?

Oh the noise and mayhem

Driving out to the family's finca (ranch)

Leaving Popayán, or so I thought

The wounds

The deepest road rash of my life

That became infected because my shorts kept pulling the scab off, and could never dry properly

Wear your helmet kids.  Two cracks to the helmet visible with scrape marks.  You can see where my helmet mirror attaches, the helmet is actually indented, with scrape marks just above it.  Imagine if I didn't wear the helmet...

Weeks after the accident.  I virtually never bruise.

Staying at the hostel, Joey and Rosie.  The only other long term residents like me (besides Corine).  There is always a constant flux of travelers.  It's nice to have them here.

I barely ever stay at hostels, but they are usually full of people and have dogs that bite (like the one that bit me in Flores, Guatemala).  Most times the hostel is real quiet, and has nice spaces like this open room.  Except until recently they've started filling my dorm room with people lots of times, leaving an entirely empty other dorm room for sometimes more than a week at a time.  You'd think that after a couple months they might try and afford me a little more comfort.  Nothing like having to share a room with all the smells and less space.

View of Popayan from El Morro

Opera at the university

Hanging at "wipala"

Corine and Rosie

Car sick driving to Silvia

Fascinating.  I stood staring at the lifeless heads.

Silvia

Apparently this is a very popular area for the Narcos to live.  I heard this is the house of an American, with ties to the Narcos.

The ranches of the indigenous aren't regulated by national law and can grow things like opium or cocaine.  This proves to be a problem for the locals because instead of growing food, they're growing these other plants to get paid a lot more by the Narcos, and the locals surffer.

Fishing from a trout pond

Then they cook'em for you.

I hate riding on the buses

I forget the name of it but for Rosie's bday they cooked up a traditional Scottish fruit cake.  It's actually cooked in water with a wrapping around it, instead of an oven.

I didn't like papaya until I was on the sail boat with Dianna and Stein in Panama.  Every morning I had some, and I'm finally coming around and actually enjoy the taste.  Plus loads of antioxidants.

There were loads of festivities and parades around the holidays.

Cooking crepes

The military has their demonstrations...

...and a few blocks down the road the students have theirs.

The late night spot, pueblito patojo

Local, fresh, and CHEAP produce. Love it.

Xmas with other gringos

Doing some Irish dances to salsa music

I wish I had a 'before' picture.  After the accident my pannier had a fist-size gaping hole in it.  They fixed it at the shop and completely replaced the whole side panel.

Critical mass, small turn out but fun nonetheless.  First day back on the bike, didn't realize how much I missed it until I started riding again.

After getting the brace off, I started rehab for my atrophied shoulder muscles.  With the holidays everybody left for vacation for a couple weeks.  So my room turned into my place for rehab until the doctor came back.

Very delicious dinner Lewis made one night.  Thanks!

New Years 2012 and the man we were to set fire (tradition of putting your regrets on paper, the placing them in the pockets of the "man" and setting it alight later)

Fine evening at Wipala

Time to burn

Watching the dummy burn gave me a bit of a somber feeling, was a little realistic.

Such a terribly long and brutal bus ride, 5 hours on a dirt-rocky road to get to San Andres and Tierradentro

They're always staring

Meg

Incredible to see how many tombs were dug into solid rock.  There are dozens of caves, and still lots undiscovered in the surrounding hills.  They are dated to be more than 1,000 years old.

Apparently the paintings are still original and have been preserved over the decades of time.

They caves were tombs and the natives placed the burned remains of the people into these urns.

Yucca

Te de coca

Lots of military still through lots of areas, fighting the guerillas.

All the mayhem of the holiday weekend with people throwing flour, water, spraying foam.

I had to join in.  Bought a can of foam and had a lovely time spraying random people on the street.  Went to an concert of a famous salsa artist and total anarchy ensued with flour and foam being thrown and sprayed in every direction.

Spray foam used, even says Popayan on the can.

Bar "New York"

Forgot to include a picture of the new drivetrain we put on in Medellin, including whole new chain ring assembly.  Ready to take on the rest of South America

Fireworks display from El Morro celebrating Popayán's birthday.  The most incredible display I have ever seen, anywhere.  So many types I've never seen, was the longest, and I have never been that close to a significant display.  Amazing.