Colombia Trike Tour - San Gil to Bucaramanga

I had a wonderful time in San Gil. When I 1st arrived, the town appeared to be very noisy, dusty and busy - and that it is. But, as usual, it's always the people I meet that make a town special.

Corner church in San Gil

Video of 4 days in San Gil

Crossing the Rio Fonce into San Gil

Christmas lights in San Gil

Dia de las Velitas

Christmas stairs

Dia de la Virgen

San Gil is a very famous town that Colombians love. I don't really think it is the town that

Christmas lights in the main plaza, San Gil

Colombians love but the surrounding area that is gorgeous. The family that owns the Hotel Esmeralda where I stayed were so sweet, generous and helpful that I completely forgave the hotel for being too noisy. I enjoyed 2 fiestas taking place in the main plaza; Dia de las Velitas (day of the small candles) and Dia de la Virgen. I took a small bus twice. Once to Curatí and another to beautiful Barichara. Two towns that are close enough to San Gil to explore in a day.  I also met some young guys on the way into town that stopped me to find out what I was doing. We exchanged contact info and they invited me to a picnic on a river in a gorgeous canyon. I took a bus to Curatí and then a tuk-tuk to the canyon following Pierre and Shaggy on a motor bike. These guys were terrific. When we arrived in the canyon there were many more young people who were going to camp for the night. They had a fire going with potatoes, corn and yucca cooking in pots. There was a variety of meats cooking on the grill and they had all kinds of drinks as well. This spot was at a deep watering hole where there were rocks to dive from. The weather was perfect and I really enjoyed meeting all these young people.

With Shaggy, in the canyon

Curatí canyon panorama

In a tuk-tuk on the way to the Curatí canyon

Canyon river view

With the youngsters at the watering hole

The next day I took another bus to a gorgeous town high in the mountains called Barichara. This is a real tourist town. The town sits on a plateau overlooking a big canyon. All the buildings are painted white with red tile roofs and cobblestone streets. It was also very clean, quiet and touristic. I really enjoyed being somewhere touristic, beautiful and quiet.

View of a canyon from Barichara

Barichara with view of the mountains

Quiet and touristic Barichara

Looking at the map, I noticed the next town, from San Gil that had a hotel, Aratoca, required a lot of climbing. The most climbing I've ever done in a day is 4,000 ft. It took 10 hours and a couple of days to recover. I really like to keep my daily climbing to less than 3,000 ft. Google maps and Komoot estimated 3,700 ft of climbing to Aratoca. Google maps also only showed 1 hotel, the Casablanca HostelSpa. I called to make sure they were open and had a vacancy. The manager asked me to make a reservation as well. 

Myrtle waiting at the bus terminal

I decided this was a good opportunity to try and take a bus in Colombia.  I went to the bus terminal to see about my options. There were many companies with busses that travel back and forth from Bogotá to Bucaramanga. Some of the busses were too small. One company said the bus would stop in Aratoca but I had to pay for a ticket to Bucaramanga. Another company didn't leave until 7 pm and after arriving in Aratoca I still need to ride another 8 miles to the hotel. I think riding at night is very dangerous especially on a winding, narrow mountain road. I also found a company, Omega,  that would stop in Aratoca and leaves every day at noon. A ticket was $2 and the agent said I would be charged extra for the trike but he couldn't say how much. It was about 11:30 am when I there and decided to wait to see what the bus looked like and if the luggage hold under the bus would be big enough for the trike. Sure enough, the bus arrived at noon and it was a regular big bus. When the driver opened the cargo hold I could see there was plenty of room for the trike. I left feeling very confident that taking the bus was would be an easy trip to Aratoca.

1st canyon view

A couple of days later, I loaded up Myrtle and rode, again, to the bus terminal giving myself plenty of time. I bought a ticket for $2 and was charged $7 for the trike. Unfortunately, when the bus arrived it was completely full and there was no room for Myrtle. I waited for a few more busses that were also full. By 3 pm, it was clear I was going to need to stay in San Gil and try again tomorrow.  I called the hotel manager where I made a reservation and he said he would come to the bus station and to stay put. He was there in 10 minutes. At first, he didn't understand why I couldn't take a small bus and then a small bus arrived and I showed him there wasn't a place to put the trike. He talked to the bus people and realized that I was stuck. Then he called some friends that have a delivery business and they arrived at the bus station very quickly. I said I would be happy to pay to have my trike and bags delivered. They quickly loaded up Myrtle and the bags and explained they had some other deliveries to make but they would be at the hotel before 7 pm. They seemed like very nice and responsible guys and I immediately trusted them. 

Myrtle being loaded in a delivery truck at the bus terminal

Myrtle being delivered a the 'hotel'

Canyon view from the 'hotel'

I followed the hotel manager on a smaller bus and we started up the narrow, winding and twisting road to Aratoca. About half-way, I suddenly realized that I didn't know these guys and I also didn't know the hotel manager. Did I just make a huge mistake?  Would I ever see my trike and bags again? The manager, Nestor,  just laughed. We arrived at the hotel which was much more rustic and basic than I was expecting, especially for the price. I was shown to a decent room but most of the 'hotel' was unfinished. The views of the Canyon de Chicamocha from the hotel were outstanding. The waiting was hard but my trike and bags were finally delivered. Wow, was I relieved. I felt like everything was right with the world again. I ended up paying the guys exactly the same amount as it would have cost to take the bus. 

Showing a young girl at the 'hotel', Nicole, the drone

Beautiful Canyon de Chicamocha

For a long time now, as I have been traveling, the wifi has been so weak that I haven't been able to upload photos, make my videos and update my blog. This hotel didn't have wifi at all and I decided to push on. It wasn't until the next morning when I realized I wasn't at the hotel where I made a reservation. This hotel was called the Parador de Santander. The whole situation was a bit confusing. I didn't understand why I wasn't taken to the hotel where I made the reservation. It was another 5 miles down the same road  which wouldn't have been a big deal for the guys in the delivery truck. When I was packed up and ready to leave I discovered the manager wasn't there and I had no idea how much to pay. I had been quoted 100 million pesos ($30) when I made a reservation at the Casablanca HotelSpa but this 'Parador' was not a spa, not even close. I called the manager and he said the price was the same. This was very surprising. In the US, $30 for a hotel room is unheard of. But, here in Colombia, most of the hotels I've stayed at have been in the $12-15 range. All of those hotels were much nicer than this one. But, sometimes, things cost more than you want and I left the money.

View of the 'hotel' from the air

The ride through the canyon was simply amazing. I dropped at least 4,000 ft on a hairpin twisting road down to the Rio Umpala and then I had a 2500 ft climb back out. On the way up, it was hot. At one point, I passed a truck cleaning business where guys were on ladders hosing down semis.  I asked them to hose me down as well and it felt great.

Drone selfie

The way down

Piedecuesta church

Eventually, I crested and had another nice downhill to where I thought there would be a couple of hotel options. I didn't see any hotels and ended up continue further than I planned to the town of Piedecuesta. This is a suburb of Bucaramanga and a big town. I found a nice hotel which, of course, didn't have hot water but was, otherwise, very comfortable. The next day I had a shorter ride on a very busy highway to Bucaramanga. I have a lot of things to take care in Bucaramanga and wanted to find a nice hotel with good wifi so I can get everything updated. I decided to splurge stopping at a Holiday Inn for 2-nights. My room had an amazing view of Bucaramanga, a city of over 1 million people. There was also a rooftop terrace with a pool and bar that had an even better view, especially at night. The next day I took a taxi to a colonial pueblo called Girón. Another lovely town with a beautiful historic area. The Holiday Inn was in an area that was hard to walk in and after 2 nights I changed to a hotel just a couple of miles away in the center of town.

Main plaza in Girón

A woman on her knees crawling to the alter, Girón.

View of Bucaramanga from my hotel room

Holiday Inn rooftop pool

Myrtle was kept safe in the Holiday Inn employee locker room

Video of my rides from San Gil to Bucaramanga

Bucaramanga is a big destination for me. When I left Bogotá this is the city I have been aiming for. It feels like I've achieved my 1st big goal of the trip which is exciting. After Bucaramanga there will be only a couple of more rides in the mountains and then the terrain will change dramatically. The roads will be much flatter and then I think the temperatures will also be much hotter. While in Bucaramanga, I need to take care of many things. I want to upload all my pictures online, make a couple of videos and get my blog updated. I desperately need to do laundry as I've been only able to hand wash my clothes since leaving Bogotá. I also want to see about getting my visa extended. When I arrived in Colombia I was given 3 months to stay and I would like to get another 3-months. There is an immigration office here and I'll see what they say. I also need to get my hair cut and colored and I'd also like to get a pedicure. Getting my hair cut and colored while traveling is one of my biggest challenges. Wish me luck!

As a side note, I've also recently made a big change to my diet. This is not something I ever expected to do while on tour. When I was in Bogotá, I watched a 9-part Youtube docu-series on type-2 diabetes. Unfortunately, at the moment, I can't remember the name of it. The docu-series followed a film maker on a journey through the US healthcare system. He was very, very sick but by the end of the series he had reversed his diabetes and become healthy. I don't have diabetes or even pre-diabetes but have been fascinated by the sudden increase in type-2 diabetes cases not only in the US but all over the world. What is happening that so many people are becoming type-2 diabetics? As I watched the series, I recognized symptoms of diabetes in myself such as lots of inflammation, brain fog, flabby skin, a big belly, poor vision and sleep. Maybe I don't have type-2 diabetes or even pre-diabetes but it occurred to me that I might be on my way to a diagnosis. At the end of the series, the film maker discusses how fasting is being used to reverse diabetes particularly in conjunction with a diet that almost eliminates all sugar and sugar forming carbohydrates. It seems to be very clear that type-2 diabetes is a result of too much insulin from eating too many sugar forming carbohydrates. The body only requires 1 teaspoon of sugar a day and the average sugar in-take for Americans is closer to 31 teaspoons every day. All that extra sugar gets converted to fat and has resulted in a healthcare crisis. As I watched, I became more and more interested. He had many interviews with doctors that I follow who very clearly explained the science behind fasting and eliminating sugar. There was one fasting technique, in particular, that I felt I could do, even now while on tour. I've been doing a 16:8 fast everyday - where I fast for 16 hours and only eat during an 8 hour window. Today, after 6 days, I feel like my belly isn't as big and I'm probably losing some weight. I do need to lose some weight but my real motivation for doing this is to bring down inflammation. I have had an serious issue with inflammation for a long time and, we'll see, if this way of eating/fasting will help. I'll be writing about this more as I see results, or no results.

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