Day 116: Popayan, COL to Ipiales, COL (330 km)
Day 117: Ipiales, COL to Tulcan, ECU (27 km):
By noon, we were at the border. The procedure started off great. Barely any line ups, buildings were modern and had signs telling what is where, which has not been the case at all in Central America. We checked ourselves and the bikes out of Colombia in about 30 minutes, pretty impressive.
Off to the Ecuadorian immigration and customs. Getting the passport stamped and purchasing insurance for the motos was a breeze. We were beginning to think that this is gonna be the quickest border crossing so far, and were already planning on driving the 220 kilometers to Quito on that same afternoon. Well, we got excited a little to fast, because things went to shit at the last stage of the process, which is getting the temporary import papers for the bike. We got to the office right before the lunch break, which is 2 hours long. Damn... We ended up entering Ecuador a little afer 4 pm, so we decided instead to drive to the closest town (Tulcan), and call it a day. Pretty lame day in terms of distance driven: only 27 km..lol.
Otherwise, the good news is that Ecuador is cheap: 1.50 USD for a gallon of regular gas, 2.50 USD for a typical lunch (soup, main course, and juice), and anywhere between 10-15 USD for a single hotel room. This will help to absorb the deficit created by a week of splurging in Medellin..lol.
Not much to say about Tulcan, other that it is cold there (2800 m elevation) and we got to witness a pretty fun Ecuadorian tradition. The week of the Carnival was just about to end when we arrived in the city, and people all over town were shooting each other with cans of spray foam. Drive-by foam shootings, people running after each other and spaying each other in the face... We had no choice but to get our own arsenal, for self-defense purposes. By the way, the foam is water-based, and dissolves itself within a few minutes, leaving no traces.
Day 118: Tulcan, ECU to Quito, ECU (220 km)
Awesome day of riding in the mountains, and our final one in Colombia, unfortunately. We could have easily spent a few more weeks in that country, but the show must go on. While in Popayan, I checked the number of remaining weeks against the distance left to cover until Ushuaia, and we are behind schedule. I am intending on flying the bike and myself to either Toronto or Montreal (whichever option is cheaper) from Buenos Aires in the first week of May, so looks like we will have to rush a little through certain portions of Chile and Argentina.
We met two local riders mid-way through the day, on a Honda Africa Twin and Yamaha Tenere 660. Alvaro and his brother (don't remeber his name...) are two big bike buffs, and also own a couple of KTM enduro bikes. Really nice guys, we chatted with them for a while. Alvaro works as a camera man for the BBC in London, and travels on holidays to Colombia as often as he can. He is planning to move back permanently in a year or two.
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| Not an easy life in the mountains... |
Day 117: Ipiales, COL to Tulcan, ECU (27 km):
Border crossing day. Ipiales is a rather shitty town, only a few kilometers away from Ecuador. We woke up early, as there was one last sight we wanted to see in Colombia before crossing the border, the beautiful Las Lajas sanctuary. It is only 8 kilometers away from Ipiales, and well worth the detour.
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| Our first encounter with the Cuy, a roasted guinea pig. More of this to come in Peru. I have zero intentions of tasting the meat of that rat looking thing... |
By noon, we were at the border. The procedure started off great. Barely any line ups, buildings were modern and had signs telling what is where, which has not been the case at all in Central America. We checked ourselves and the bikes out of Colombia in about 30 minutes, pretty impressive.
Off to the Ecuadorian immigration and customs. Getting the passport stamped and purchasing insurance for the motos was a breeze. We were beginning to think that this is gonna be the quickest border crossing so far, and were already planning on driving the 220 kilometers to Quito on that same afternoon. Well, we got excited a little to fast, because things went to shit at the last stage of the process, which is getting the temporary import papers for the bike. We got to the office right before the lunch break, which is 2 hours long. Damn... We ended up entering Ecuador a little afer 4 pm, so we decided instead to drive to the closest town (Tulcan), and call it a day. Pretty lame day in terms of distance driven: only 27 km..lol.
Otherwise, the good news is that Ecuador is cheap: 1.50 USD for a gallon of regular gas, 2.50 USD for a typical lunch (soup, main course, and juice), and anywhere between 10-15 USD for a single hotel room. This will help to absorb the deficit created by a week of splurging in Medellin..lol.
Not much to say about Tulcan, other that it is cold there (2800 m elevation) and we got to witness a pretty fun Ecuadorian tradition. The week of the Carnival was just about to end when we arrived in the city, and people all over town were shooting each other with cans of spray foam. Drive-by foam shootings, people running after each other and spaying each other in the face... We had no choice but to get our own arsenal, for self-defense purposes. By the way, the foam is water-based, and dissolves itself within a few minutes, leaving no traces.
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| Photo credit: familyonbikes.org |
Day 118: Tulcan, ECU to Quito, ECU (220 km)
Pretty decent day of riding, if it wasn't for the cold temperature and the heavy truck traffic on the Pamarican. We had to pull out some additional layers of clothing, which were stored at the bottom of our luggage ever since we left the States. It's a taste of things to come for the next few weeks, as we will be spending a lot of time in the Andes.
Otherwise, the 220 kilometers to Quito were scenic, and Ecuador does look promising in terms of riding. Halfway through the day, we got off the Panamerican, in order to ride some back roads. That worked out more or less well, as we had some trouble navigating (glitches in the GPS map), and the roads were not in the best condition, as it is still the raining season here, and you have to expect large patches of much around the corner. Needless to say that we had to slow down and be extra-careful.
We stopped in a small town for lunch, and then decided to get back on the Panamerican, in order to arrive to Quito before sunset. Lots of trucks in the last 100 kilometers. I haven't breathed this much diesel fumes in a while. The ride was a non-stop passing game all the way to Quito. It all worked out ok, though: no close calls and no tickets neither.
No photos from that day. Up next, Quito.
Otherwise, the 220 kilometers to Quito were scenic, and Ecuador does look promising in terms of riding. Halfway through the day, we got off the Panamerican, in order to ride some back roads. That worked out more or less well, as we had some trouble navigating (glitches in the GPS map), and the roads were not in the best condition, as it is still the raining season here, and you have to expect large patches of much around the corner. Needless to say that we had to slow down and be extra-careful.
We stopped in a small town for lunch, and then decided to get back on the Panamerican, in order to arrive to Quito before sunset. Lots of trucks in the last 100 kilometers. I haven't breathed this much diesel fumes in a while. The ride was a non-stop passing game all the way to Quito. It all worked out ok, though: no close calls and no tickets neither.
No photos from that day. Up next, Quito.
What if that RAT was boneless? Would you try it?
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