Planning Trip to Colombia Cafe Tour DAY 1 OcT 4 2024

 

The Coffee Route Colombia

The map is the proposed first day of our trip to visit and tour the coffee region of Colombia.....Currently 2 bikes a BMW f700gs and a 2024 Susuki 650 Vstrom. Starting point is San Vicente with the first night in Mindo though this is subject to change. Plan is to be on the road by 9am or sooner and ride no later than 4pm. I was hoping to have a passenger but she is busy with her new swim suit line and Runway Shows

Canoa Ecuador 2023

 It has been some time since I posted.....Currently I am in Canoa Ecuador since May 16th though I had been back earlier from November 2022 to March 2023. 

I received my Cedula in January which gives me temporary residency for 2 years at which time I can apply for permanent residency. My spanish speaking skills have not improved. Recently I was introduced to a lovely, Beautiful lady who is from the area but working and living in Guayaquil, 6 hours away. She speaks more English than I do Spanish and has expressed an interest in helping me with the language.

Tomorrow I return to Canada as I still have a home to maintain which has been looked after since I:ve been away by a friend,,,,Thanks Doug and Vickie. I am also new to Grandfatherhood with a beautiful girl named Claire born in March. I also have a court date in October the 25th as the town of Gravenhurst has charged me with a bylaw offence for having my recreation vehicle parked in my driveway...though I have had one there for 32 years. It apparently is ok if it is on a side yard or rear of the house, My home is a corner lot and though my driveway is enters to the side of my home, apparently I have no compatable side yard or rear yard.....the case was to be tried in May but the judge was a last minute no show and as I was returning here on the 15th it was rescheduled. 

A few pics of  the area....

Mindo to Canoa Febr 01 2022

 The dots on the map record our position every 10 minutes...so you will notice many close together or overlapping...means we are travelling slowly... 

The final day of our trip around Ecuador was under clear skies without rain. A scenic ride to Canoa with a slight detour off the main road.

1 stop for fuel, though we did attempt another near Jama but Athir was unable to unlock his gas cap....the bike however made it to Canoa.

We did make a lunch stop in Pedernales a town which suffered both a human and structural loss in the April 2016 Earthquake.

Ecuador is one of the countries where earthquakes are nearly a daily occurence. In the last 7 days as of Febr 07 Ecuador was shaken by 11 ...ranging from 6.5, 4.0 & 5.0 plus 8 between 3.0 & 4.0.

Ecuador is situated in an area of intense seismic activity. there is a high riskof earthqakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis.

Overall this was a great trip with the weather gods smilying on us under favorable conditions....an odd couple of bikes with a BMW GS 700 and a 125cc Honda Street bike travelling together on an Adventure. At times we were true off roading enduring ruff, rocky potholed roads, landslides and deep cascading water up to 2 feet deep. The 125 Honda underwent a number of surgeries from beginning to end which included a new front fairing, head lamp combination, mirror replacement, rear shocks, some wiring problems, battery replaced and finally front forks re oiled with new seals .....engine gasket between upper and lower engine body......plus the brake peddle spring which I believe would operate the tail light.......oh and the rear foot peg rubber fell off but I was able to see it as I was following.

The engine, fork seals and a few other things Miguel fixed on our return and Athir is enjoying more riding for a week while I returned to Canada.

This map gives you the route we chose not so much in advance but daily.....

 Click on it to enlarge ...same with the photos

The fairing damage was the result of Barry being thrown from his horse and the horse backing into Athir's bike which fell against mine.....not noticed but later in Banos when I needed air we found the valve had been damaged and wouldn't take air....Athir called BMW in Quito and was told the part was not in stock and would take 3 weeks to ship from Germany. We found a volcanizer up the street and in minutes he repaired the valve and replaced the needle....filled the tires on both bikes....cuanta cuesta...$ 1.00 gave him $ 3.00 and we were good to go.

BMW have tubless tires and the valve is in the wheel forks.  

   

Mindo...Rest Day January 31st 2022

Today was a day to rest after a picturesque but difficult ride yesterday.....both riders and motos needed a day off.

We did walk about the village visiting the chocolate factory....rain prevented us from being more adventurous. We could have visited the water falls and swam in its pool, zip lined, taken a cable car above the jungle, river tubed or visited the Butterfly Farm..called Mariposas de Mindo with over 1000 species at all stages of the life cycle.

Tomorrow we ride back to our starting point....for me a 4 hour ride but trailing a 125cc Honda likely 6 hours. 

Yesterday we had originally planned on a Northern route home from Otavalo to Esmeralda...a few days at the beach in the area then ride down the coast to Canoa. A good thing we didn't as a large landslide closed that route.....Bruce and Myrna changed their route due to this and stopped in Mindo and caught up with us having pizza for lunch.

   

Otavalo to Mindo January 30 2022

 The ride to Mindo turned out to be an Adventure....again Asphalt turned to stone and gravel...washouts and landslides....google said 4 1/2 hours to do 180 k......not at an average sppeed of 25k for most of the way.

 This looks relatively straight...not so....check google maps....they don't even show it turn back on itself

Amost 10 hours

Assessing if I should attempt it

I did...... no way I wanted  to cover 4 1/2 hours back where we started 

we  needed a wash and soon we got one having to go through a waterfall flowing over the road...hoping not be swept over the edge.

 Athir through the mud

 Looking for a way through this....

Athir dropped his bike trying to go around the mud

 They wanted a photo with the crazy gringo who tried to get through a landslide....someone had taken a picture and forwarded down the road

 Made it to Mindo at 7pm.....   staying here to rest for another day then Canoa

Puerto Francisco de Orellana to Otavalo January 29 2022

 Up early for a 4 hour ride on E35 to Otavalo........nice smooth trip unlike yesterday.

 Our hotel in Otavalo...Myrna y Bruce dropped over to take us on a tour of the Market/Local Volcanos and their home 

Myrna and Bruce's home

Volcano Cotopaxi

Coca to Puerta Francisco de Orellana

Our route started at 630am as we had planned on reaching Otavalo by 4pm.....seems google sometimes measures distance as the crow flies.....we took a short cut....100k took 4 hours as we went from Asphalt to course gravel and stone...then mud in places and numerous washouts.....the pictures don't tell the story. 

 landslides