Day 103: Cartagena to Sincejelo, Colombia

Greetings dear readers.
A veritable feast for you today. A desperate dash through chaotic streets as we leave Cartagena, Shirley punches a bus, Ken pops a rib (maybe two) and the tipover count goes from 4 to 6. And Ken decides that Colombians had lovely asses. Can you cope? If so, read on. If not, warm milk and an early bed for you!

We were up early this morning doing last minute packing ready for our ride south to Caucasia. I parked Ebony near the hotel




And gave her a quick check. Hmmmmm ..... this is a worry.




I have lost the pinch bolt that holds the front axle in place so it doesn't vibrate loose so the wheel doesn't fall off so we don't have a nasty somersault while riding down the road. Oh well. I'll keep an eye on it I guess.
Meanwhile Shirl went photographing food as she is wont to do.




This is her breakfast.




Soon we were ready to go.




And into rush hour Cartagena we went. Bloody hell! It was hot. It was honky, it was close.




It was crap! A bus got so close to us that Shirley gave it a good smack. Which amused everyone except me because we got quite off balance. It took an hour and a half to get out of town and we were frazzled.








Eventually we were in rural areas, riding past a huge swamp with lilies in the water.




It didn't last long however before we were back in a series of little busy towns.




Then the first nasty of the day. We hadn't realised that motorbikes didn't have to pay tolls so we rode as normal up to the toll booth. We were waved to the side onto a narrow path with raised ridges on the sides. As I turned to bump over the ridge, Ebony flicked to the left and we went down. Shirley cope magnificently landing as lightly as a feather and bouncing to her feet. I went down hard and felt a rib pop. Bother! Jolly old bugger even! I lay there for a while quietly screaming to myself and doing the kind of internal check that you do. Hmmmm .... Arms, legs, hands, head, wobbly bits .... all present and accounted for. Ribs? Oh dear.
A nice collection of people had gathered by this time having a good look at the prostrate gringo until Shirley told them to stop standing around and pick the bike up. Which they did. Not much to do really. I rode around the corner to a petrol station and had a break and we rode on. We got hit by a little thunderstorm so pulled into a roadside cafe for lunch.
I had parked in a little sandy spot and suggested to Shirl when it was time to go that perhaps she could pull me out. Then I decided I would ride out. Here's the result.




Fortunately I landed on my head on the edge of a step this time so I wasn't hurt. Mind you, my helmet took a good old whack. So did my ears once Shirley had finished with me. Stubborn I think was one of the words she used. Possible the nicest one among the others.
So we decided to change our destination to Sincejelo which was only 100kms down the road. It was at this point that I decided that Colombians have lovely asses. We saw so many of them today, many more than in other parts of our ride. Shirl tried to get some photos but it was difficult. And they are lovely.




Tomorrow maybe.
And so we arrived in Sincejelo. My pain killers were wearing off by now and it was a hard hard slog into town to find a suitable hotel. Eventually we came to the Meryland Hotel and parked our bikes by reception. Here's Dick bringing Ebony in.




And that is really all I have energy for tonight. Meal. Bed. Good night.
Today's run: 167kms
Cumulative: 26,286
Tipovers: 6. !!!!!

Location:Sincejelo, Colombia