Today was our first day on the road. After breakfast, we headed to the garage to pick up our motorcycles and get everything ready.
A great first day to test things:
- The first ride on a brand new motorcycle ... a truly nimble, amazingly powerful, highly customizable, and comfortable motorcycle ... although a bit top heavy
- The first full immersion (45 minutes) dodging Colombian traffic as we departed Cali ... absolutely invigorating early in the morning : )
- A great introduction to perfect twisties with perfect pavement up and down the mountains
- A nice dive into a level 3 (out of 5) stretch of dirt riding to get around a main road closure
The one interesting realization today was how really diverse the Colombian population is. As we made our way through different valleys and mountain ranges, we saw populations ethnicities change dramatically within a few kilometers. From largely black towns to largely Guambiano ones to everything in between. A realization of the long history and struggles that these lands have seen over the last few centuries.
This area like everything in Colombia seems very fertile with a rich red soil everywhere. We stopped for lunch to have some trout at a panaderia and headed to Popayan, our destination for the night.
Popayan is the capital of the Cauca state. A beautiful and very well preserved white-painted town full of churches, universities, and interesting streets and shops that was founded in 1537. An earthquake in 1982 destroyed a lot of the city but it has since been restored. Our hotel is in an old Franciscan monastery.
We stopped at Sotareno - a bar owned by Agustin, an 88-year old music lover that keeps his vast vinyl record collection there. He has an incredible memory and knows where all the songs are. A very cool place.
Tomorrow, we are heading to Pasto, the largest city before hitting the Ecuadorian border.
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