June 8th 2024 – Ipiales, Colombia

On our last day in Cocora Valley we visited Salento’s only gym. It was small with basic facilities and a good atmosphere. Carlos, the owner, was a very nice guy. He was curious about our journey and made us sign his wall. The gym seems to have many guests from abroad. Carlos’ cat helped him run the place. It greeted everyone who came in, expected to be petted and kept a close eye on your workout.

It was not easy to leave but after 5 days in the valley it was time to move on. We journeyed west through the high country surrounded by farmland. Mainly coffee fields and pastures for cattle.

Eventually we lost altitude. The vegetation changed as the temperatures and humidity went up. We arrived at Donkey Sunrise around noon.

Donkey Sunrise is a guesthouse, camp site and hub for motorcycle travelers. Tim established the place a handful of years ago and run it with his wife Isa and her parents. They are often joined by volunteers – travelers who forget to leave and offer their skills in exchange for lodging.

One of these volunteers Andrew @TrikyShooter greeted us as we rolled in.  After Tim had showed us to our room it was time for lunch prepared by Tim’s father in law Aleazar who is an excellent cook. The only other guests Jake and Jack from England joined us at the table. It was a group of good guys.

The mood was somewhat subdued as a result of a message they had received earlier in the day.
Jack had been traveling in Colombia with a friend from back home. They had split up a little while back.
The same morning Jack’s friend had been found unconscious by the side of the road next to his bike. It had happened in the northern part of the country. He had been hospitalized with 2 broken legs and was in a bad shape. In the afternoon Jack decided to leave his bike at Donkey Sunrise and fly out to join his friend.

I’ve later received reports that the guy has been moved to Medellin, had a leg amputated and is fighting for his life. His parents have arrived from England.

Katrine and I spent the rest of the day hanging out and swapping tales with the guys at Donkey Sunrise.

We took our leave with the boys, left Donkey Sunrise early and followed the Cauca Valley south. This offered us a view of a different Colombia from what we had seen so far. The valley floor sits at around 1.000 meters and is covered with fields. The main crop was sugar canes. It surprised me that there seemed to be a significant majority of black people in some areas. I later learned that we had been traveling on the fringes of what is known as “Black Colombia” and that Colombia has the largest African-descent population in the Hispanic World.

In the afternoon we arrived in Popayán, also known as “The White City”. A good price and secure parking had made us book 3 nights at a hostel close to the city center. The place turned out to be a bit of a dump. Mostly because of the other guests but also because of the location. One evening as we were walking home from dinner, a guy came up to us 2 blocks from the house to warn us about the neighborhood we were heading into. When he learned that we stayed there, he just shook his head and asked us to be careful.

Popayán had a picturesque downtown area and a few other interesting sights but we never really gelled with the city. Maybe our perception was colored by the place we were staying, but the atmosphere just rubbed us the wrong way. We did find a couple of very good restaurants and cafes though. Pampering the palate always improves the mood.

What appeared to be a grassy hill at the edge of town, where the locals liked to enjoy the sunset over the city, was in reality “El Morro del Tulcán” , a gigantic pyramid built approximately 3.000 years ago.

The original plan after Popayán was to visit San Agustín. The town was only 130 km further south, but to get there we would have to cross the mountains on road 20 which is partly a gravel road. If we decided to take that route it would also, later on, involve crossing back over the mountains further south on road 10. The eastern part of that road is dirt and reaches well over 3.000 meters. Combined with steep grades, hairpin corners and heavy traffic it has a reputation for being one of the most dangerous roads in the country. 

The weather forecast for the following week predicted heavy rains every day in that whole area. The kind of weather that often results in mud and rock slides – of which we have seen plenty of evidence already.
I really wanted to do the route but after a lot of consideration I decided that it wasn’t worth the risk. My responsibility for Katrine’s safety played a part in that decision.

Instead we left Popayán heading south on the Panamericana. At one point we diverted to a smaller road that ran parallel but further up in the mountains. The riding was great and the scenery spectacular.

In Pasto we found just the right thing to counterbalance our experience with the hostal in Popayán.
A charming little hotel in a cute neighborhood. It was such a lovely place that we had to stay for 3 nights.

The only reason we had stopped in Pasto was because it was a day’s ride from Popayán in the direction we were going. The city turned out to be a positive surprise.
Located at +2.500 meters altitude Pasto has a pleasant climate year round. Aside from its yearly Carnaval de Negros y Blancos the city don’t have much to brag about, but is still referred to as Colombia’s “Surprise City.” I understand why.
There was something about the place that really appealed to me. People seemed to be content and busy living their lives. It created a good atmosphere and a sense of authenticity. Pasto soon became my favorite city in Colombia.

Renault seems to have been a popular car brand in Colombia for decades. The number of Renault 4 almost equals the number of Beetles in Mexico. I remember how it was the preferred car model by the postal service in Denmark when I grew up. One day when I stopped to admire one in pristine condition, the driver got out and proudly showed me how he had completely renovated it.

Eventually our itchy feet persuaded us to leave town. Yet again it was the Panamericana that showed us the way as it climbed south out of the city. We had now reached The Andes in earnest and found ourselves above 3.000 meters on a couple of occasions.
The road south was a rollercoaster ride with fast sweeping corners on racetrack smooth tarmac. A wonderful contrast to the roads we had been riding the last few months. That there was hardly any traffic made it even better. The surrounding scenery was almost surreal in its magnificence.

We reached Ipiales, our destination for the day, all too soon.

A fancy but dirt cheap hotel downtown with secure parking would be our last home in Colombia and the staging point for our last excursion in the country. After a change of clothes an Uber took us the 9 km out of town to Santuario de Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Las Lajas. We visited the church and explored all the trails in the area while enjoying a mix of sunshine and showers.
The weather, scenery and that we had nothing else scheduled convinced us to walk home.

2 nights in this rather nondescript town a stone’s throw from the border to Ecuador allows us time to prepare for the crossing and say our goodbyes to Colombia after 5 interesting weeks in the country.