Party Again?

We began our ride back from the flatlands of the North to the high mountain ranges of central Colombia. We rode through a vast area where farming and cattle ranching are the main activities. Very prosperous, very hot and humid, lots of water everywhere ... with the ethnicity of people beginning to change as well ... more of a mix and less African.

We left Cartagena in the morning traffic, saw a fort up in the hill, crossed a few bridges ... and had our first motorcycle failure of the trip ... not really, just a loose battery cable : ) On the way down south, we ran into an army post with some cool hardware so we stopped to take a picture with them ... Colombia continues to maintain military checkpoints in all roads throughout the country. Last time I was here 6-7 years ago, showing papers and passport and getting sniffed by bomb detecting dogs was the norm ... today, they mostly watch, wave when we go by, and give us the thumbs up ... a remnant of the Uribe days when they wanted to reassure the population that they were there to protect them. BTW - the army down here has some great toys (weapons/equipment) ... wonder where the got them from : )

We finally arrived to Caucasia for a nice overnight stop before we do our final push to Medellin tomorrow. A mid-sized city at the foothills of the central mountain ranges with a great vibe.

Because Colombia was playing their final qualifying soccer game (not that it matters since Colombia already qualified) at 6pm, we decided to go the "Zona Rosa" were all the bars, restaurants, and shops are and were everybody was supposed to go to watch the game. A great way to end a long ride. Colombians seem to always find an excuse to party. It is Wednesday night and the whole town is out celebrating life ... again!  Damn, I am beginning to suspect we work too much in the US ... or take things too seriously ... or something ... this way looks more fun : )

Colombia won again ... the crowds, the noise, the friendliness, the arepas con carne y queso ... just fun. We even bought official Colombian team shirts to wear to really get in the spirit ... and try to blend in a bit. 

Tomorrow, we go to beautiful Medellin.