Day 104: Sincejelo to Taraza, Colombia. Or "Where have all the roses gone?"

Evening all
It will be a short blog tonight because Kennif is feeling rather crap. We began the day early as usual heading for a 7am start. First we had to get the bikes out of the reception area of the hotel. It was a tight squeeze.




Dick kindly rode Ebony out onto the busy street and parked on the opposite footpath while Shirl and I did our traffic blocking efforts. And we were away. A bit of an effort as usual to get out of town but we were early and it was ok.




Shirl photographed lots of Colombian asses today. Aren't they great!












Such beautiful and gentle animals. Some lovely shots too as we rode along. This bloke was taking his budgie for a ride.




Milk on the way to the market.




Fish for sale at the Mobil.




Carrying an LCD television.




And Ebony ticking over 36,000kms at 31.6C.




We stopped for hamburgers. Muy bien!








After lunch the clouds looked ominous. So we pulled into a hotel and here we are. They were preparing for Halloween so Kiwi checked out the local witch. Seemed ok.




Then he checked out Margarita, the receptionist. Same.




Shirl and I checked the tightness of the front axle - it was ok and then unpacked all of our panniers. The contents smell a little musty from the damp and heat and humidity. It was just after 3pm by now so we decided not to have a nana nap but to walk into town, hoping to find an ATM. We found some watermelons.




Some very green rice paddies.




Fish for sale out on the street. Mmmmmmm .... maybe not.




Displays of brightly coloured cloth. Inglewood, 1956?




We also came across this family cooking empanadas on the street. First the balls get squashed flat.




Then the fill.




And finally the deepfry.




They looked delicious but were probably a shortcut to an early coronary.
And some baby chickens destined for ... who knows where.




And we also found an ATM. The only one in town. We went into a bank and asked if they would give us some money on the Visa but they couldn't. They then gave us directions to the town's ATM. Then one of the tellers offered to take us and show us where it was. And she did. And we were very grateful.

We then came back to the hotel - rather poshly named "La Gran Mansion" for a beer and some food. I had ribs. it seemed poetic somehow.

That only leaves the mystery of the roses. Who steals roses? The last two hotels we have stayed in had no roses on their showers. The water just jetted out. Why? At least today's room has a toilet seat. Hmmmm. :-)

Today's run: 241kms
Cumulative: 26,527kms
Tip overs: 6

Location:Taraza, Colombia