Effe fietsen – The world on a bike

Nou ja, dat is hier toch al gauw Zuid-Limburg. Maar wel heel mooi. Het landschap is tot onze verbazing erg groen. Verbazing, omdat het hier al een tijd niet regent. Er staan mooie oude bomen in de heuvelige weilanden, waar vee graast van de op prachtige plekken verscholen hacienda´s. De dorpen zijn kleurrijk, veel kleine kiosken die frisdranken verkopen en empenada´s, restaurantjes en standjes met meloen, ananas, kokos enz. We hebben steeds aardige hotels. De ene kamer is wat groter dan de andere, maar ze zijn steeds schoon, vaak is er airco en vaak ook wifi. We ogen in dit land minder exotisch dan in Azie. Men ziet ons aan voor gringo=Amerikaan en dat is hier niet negatief. De mensen zijn heel vriendelijk en nieuwsgierig, maar het is niet, zoals in Azie dat we geen moment voor onszelf hebben, omdat iedereen om ons heen komt staan. En we krijgen nog steeds bewonderende blikken, duimen omhoog en aanmoedigende kreten.

Ik heb nog geen enkele reis zoveel gedronken als tijdens deze reis. Onderweg gaan er liters water op en we maken regelmatig ruststops voor een emmertje jugo natural, een groot glas versgeperst sinasappelsap, een cola light of een ander frisdrankje. En als we een hotel hebben gevonden is de eerste vraag die Frans stelt of ze een paar biertjes koud hebben. Die drinken we meestal op vóórdat we gaan douchen. Dat is dan onze beloning voor de inspanning.

Dan hebben we wat fietsproblemen onder de knie gekregen. Frans had spel op zijn achterwiel en vermoedde dat dit versleten kogeltjes waren. Dat kan hij zelf niet oplossen. Natuurlijk werd dat juist op zondag zo erg, dat hij er niet mee door durfde te rijden. Via ons hotel werd er een brommertaxi geregeld en om 07.00 uur maandagochtend stond deze voor het hotel om Frans naar de fietsernmaker te brengen. Dit bleek een professioneel bedrijfje en ze hebben de kogeltjes kunnen vervangen.

Ik kon niet meer op het grootste blad komen bij het schakelen. Was eerst niet zo´n probleem, zo vaak gebruik ik dat niet en met het middenblad kom je een heel eind, maar toen lukte van het kleinste blad naar het middenblad ook niet meer. Lichte paniek bij mij tot mijn held na enig redeneren waar dat nu aan kon liggen, bedacht dat de handgreep waarmee ik schakel klem zit, doordat mijn ergonomische handvat en de bar-ends er te dicht tegenaan zijn gaan zitten. Frans heeft alles wat losser gezet en ik kan weer vlot schakelen. Zouden onze voor ons gevoel onverslijtbare Santos bikes na 5 jaar nu toch slijtageverschijnselen gaan vertonen? In elk geval is het euvel voor nu verholpen. Dat moet ook wel, want morgen verlaten we het heuvelige land om weer de bergen in te gaan. Er staat ons, na 40 km heuvel een stevige klim van 18 km en 900 hoogtemeters te wachten. Dat wordt dus echt om 05.00 uur vertrekken. We hopen dan ook wat meer koelte te krijgen, want de hitte blijft onverminderd.

Eveline

68 kms. 229 vertical meters. Easy and beautiful ride. Not much to tell about it. 41 ˚C (routine), mostly shady road, light breeze, many cows of many sorts, even Brahmans, as we read on a big sign board at the entrance of one of the many haciendas, many of them nice places to see. There are many trucks on the road that transport the cows, or better: the bulls, since we read the word “torretes” many times. We already mentioned that Colombian meals are rather meaty, well, here seems to be the origin of this.

Because of the problem with my rear wheel we left much later, at 08.15. At 07.00 sharp, we had already had our breakfast, a moto-taxi man showed up to guide me to a bike repair shop. This appeared to be some 1.5 km away. There they appeared to be professionals. That is, the guy immediately saw the problem, but then he could not remove the cassette (the set of sprockets) from the ax. It took some trial and error, but in the end he made his own tool, exactly one like we use in Holland, and it took two of them to get it loose. Then het changed the balls, they were bad indeed. In one hour it was all fixed, cost 7000 COP, app 2,5 euros. I felt relieved and off we could.

In Caucasia we looked for the centre, we asked some guy of a jugo-natural stand. He gave the directions, but we were not really surprised that a moment later a man on a motorcycle came riding with us and guided us to the centre. Thank you very much, we didn’t know the man, didn’t know how he knew what we wanted, but he simply did it. In which other country does this occur?

New pics: click here

The track: Download 20100201_planrica_caucasia.gpx

95 kms. Flat, but still 170 vertical meters.
The staff of hotel Nitana kept their word, we had breakfast at 06.00 en punto. So some 15 minutes later we were on the road again. App. 26 ˚C, which we find nice and cool, but a very humid atmosphere. I couldn’t see through my glasses of the moist. Totally different from previous days.

Around noon, after 70 kms, we were in Cerete, a bigger place. We tried 3 hotels, all full. An employee of the first hotel accompanied us to the next two, he couldn’t help it either (but again, how nice to guide us through the town, without being asked). So, after a rest with lunch, we decided to continue to the next town, where we are now in Hotel Central, one of the many opportunities. Airco, wi-fi, good and simple.

The track: Download 20100130_covenas_monteria.gpx

55 kms. Flat, only undulating in the beginning. 184 vertical meters. We are staying in a cabana of Hotel Nitana, belonging to a friend of Rodrigo, in whose appartment we stayed the night before. Hotel Nitana is just one of the tens of accommodations that are located side by side along this coast. The road on one side, the beach on the other. It has everything that is needed for a prolonged stay, a perfect room on a perfect location, the bounty beach just steps away from our door. But there are no other people, it is dead quiet. We are the only guests in the hotel and we don’t see other tourists in all these other hotels either. The high season is just over. Then the staff is not very active and communicative towards us. We don’t see that we will have a nice time when we will stay an extra day here, though a day without cycling wouldn’t be unwelcome. We fear a day of boredom. So we arranged to get up and leave “a la seis” again. Hope the staff will be awake and ready. They promised to be, we’ll see.

The track: Download 20100129_sinc_convenas.gpx

100 kms. Undulating, 824 vertical meters. Again it was not the distance but the heat, combined with the undulating road that made it heavy in the end. In Sincelejo, which is a big town, we were on our way to the centre, since we like to stay in city centres, because it is more lively there. At a certain point we were stopped by a man who gesticulated that he wanted to speak to us. He appeared to be a man who likes to meet foreigners and who is a traveller himself. His name is Rodrigo Hernandez Falla. He owns a workshop, or small factory (app. 25 staff) , named “La Rectificadora”, that is specialised in revising car engines. Above the workshops he has an appartment that he offered us to stay in, for free. He has a particular hobby: vintage cars. He owns some 7 or so old cars, most of them in perfect restored condition and beauties to look at. He showed them to us and told that only a short time ago he had driven all the way to the utmost southern point of the continent, Terra del Fuego, in a 1928 Ford pick-up truck, one of the cars he showed us. It’s engine spun like sunshine. Together we had a fine dinner and it was his pleasure to present all this to us. In the morning he suggested us to go to the coast, where he arranged a special-price stay in a friend’s hotel. Too good to be true.

So, if any cyclist enters into Sincelejo from the road from San Juan, just stop at Calle 25B, No 28-33. You can hardly miss it, look for the signs “La rectificadora” on the right side of the road a couple of hundred meters after having passed Hotel Boston. Ring the bell, or just enter the yard and we are very sure that you will be received as we were. And if you don’t, his staff will see you come by (they know!) and they will notify Rodrigo. He will find you soon after! We were delighted to have had this encounter with this special man and his wife, and we thank him a lot for his kindness and the interesting time we had together.

Photo’s: click here.

The track: Download 20100128_sanjdnepo_sincelego.gpx