Month: September 2017

Pasto to Mocoa, Columbia

If you look at a map you will see that we are heading generally north towards Bogata, Columbia. Of course to get there we have to go through the Andes. Yesterday when Duke was buying our bus tickets for the next leg of our journey the helpful man in the bus office explained that it is a 10 hour bus ride from Pasto to Pitalito, our next destination. We decided to go half way today and half way tomorrow. So as a result we are in Mocoa tonight. Google maps says it is 43 miles from Pasto to Mocoa. But it is a windy mountain road and the trip takes five hours. About 60% of the road is dirt and very narrow. It is cut out the side of some very steep Andes Mountains. We rode in a van with 5 other people because I don’t think a bus would have fit on the road.

The picture above is our van at a lunch stop in Sibundoy. The road turned to dirt right after this. We have seen lots and lots of motorcycles in Columbia. Right in front of the van in this picture was a Yamaha motorcycle shop.

I tried to take some pictures of the road out of the van front window but they don’t do the narrowness or the steep drop off justice. The mountains were covered with jungle and we saw several waterfalls and even forded several streams.

The road twisted and turned so much and was so bumpy there was no way I could read. So the whole five hours I listened to the audiobook of Hillary Clinton’s new book “What Happened”. I’m really enjoying it and finding it inspiring and entertaining, perfect for our long ride.

Mocoa is at 2000 feet altitude, so for the first time on this trip we are warm. We even ate at an outside restaurant.

Tomorrow it is on to San Augustine Archaeological Park near Pitalito.

Ipiales to Pasto, Columbia

This morning before we left Ipiales we took a taxi to see Las Lajas Sanctuary. It is a beautiful gothic church built into the side of a gorge. The altar area is a cave in the rock where it is believed that miracles have happened.

As soon as we got in the taxi and the driver found out that we were from the United States he asked us if Trump is really going to build a wall with Mexico. Duke said who knows! And they went on to discuss American politics and the current situation in Columbia. I got to use my stock phrase Él es una vergüenza National. (He is a national embarrassment). All of our taxi drivers so far have been very friendly.

We walked down to the church from the road at the top and then took a new cable car across the Gorge back up to the top. It was spectacular.

Back in Ipiales we caught the bus to Pasto, about a ninety minute bus ride.

Pasto is the most modern town we visited since Quito.

We walked around and explored a bit. For dinner we ate Mexican food

Ibarra, Ecuador to Ipiales, Columbia

Today was a travel day. We took a taxi to the bus station and a bus to the Ecuador Columbia border.

We walked through immigration and across the border. The line at Columbia immigration was long but an official pulled us out of line and took us to a special line for seniors and we zipped through!

Tonight we are staying just over the border in the small town of Ipiales. It is cold and rainy here so our hot dinner tasted good.

Natabuela to Ibarra, Ecuador

Today we moved just a few miles north to the town of Ibarra. We took a taxi. Although our hotel is less than 5 miles east of Ibarra it took our taxi almost half an hour to drive up the mountain to our hotel, La Estelita. What a setting.

Our room is on the second floor far right in the picture below.

While we waited for our room to be ready we went for a walk.

From an outcropping a little below the hotel we could hear and see motorcycles racing at the road course across the lake. The track is called Autodromo Internacional de Yahuarcocha.

A man working nearby pointed out the ruins on the hill above the lake to the east. They were built by the local people to defend against the Incas. We were standing on an ancient pre Inca trail.

We could see goats grazing below and also walked by goats in a pen.

Once we got back to the hosteria and into our room we changed and went to the pool for a swim and we used the sauna.

The dining room is in the main building of the hosteria. The food was wonderful. We started with potato soup.

Then Duke had beef and I had chicken.

Dessert was figs with goat cheese.

And what a setting!

Quito to Natabuela, Ecuador

This morning we had breakfast at our hotel then took a taxi to the bus station.

We took the bus north to Otavalo and then changed to a local bus to Cotacachi. It was very full and Duke had to stand until some people got off.

In Cotacachi we got a taxi to our hotel in Natabuela.

We walked into town, people watched for a while and then had dinner at a Chinese restaurant.