Around the World in 800 Days

[k9companion]

Originally Posted by lqgsrider

Ed,

I'm not able to view the pics you put in the photobucket link. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Mark

It looks like he has surpassed his allotted bandwidth. You could send him money so he could upgrade his account.

Great RR Ed! Can't wait for more..

[flyingdutchman177]

Originally Posted by lqgsrider

Ed,

I'm not able to view the pics you put in the photobucket link. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Mark

I made a payment to Photobucket.
Everyone should be able to see my pictures again.

[flyingdutchman177]

Originally Posted by k9companion

It looks like he has surpassed his allotted bandwidth. You could send him money so he could upgrade his account.

Great RR Ed! Can't wait for more..

Thanks
With your post, I made it to 100 pages!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And I paid some money to Photobucket so I should be able to keep the pictures coming
Lalo

[flyingdutchman177]

My Russian friend and I went whitewater rafting yesterday in San Gil Colombia. It was nothing too crazy.....class III at best. But it was only 30,000 pesos (about $18).
Then we went out to a bar and everyone was salsa dancing. I can't dance worth shit. I have no rhythm. But I wish I did. It seems like a great way to meet chicks even if I can't speak their language. And not being able to have a conversation with people has really put a damper on my trip. If I spoke Spanish, it would be a completely different trip. But I can get by with my Spanish which is enough. But if I could have been able to effectively speak with that girl at the gas station (for example), who knows where that might have gone........I guess one can dream. My Spanish is getting better every day. By the time I get to Spain, it should be pretty good I hope. But then I won't need Spanish again until I am on my way back. And the possibilities are limitless!

[flyingdutchman177]

I had to post this picture. It was my first night in San Blas when I waged war with the Kuna Indians. This pictures shows the moment before we switched to rum. We were only getting started at this point........

[flyingdutchman177]

Originally Posted by m&p products

That Sanford and Son reference was your best writing yet, Ed. And surprise, i finally got Bryce to get me through to you. Keeping track every day. Especially those visits to everyday places, like the food joints and the cheap rooms and the native people and folks you meet along the way. Landscape, oceans and the mountain, that's the stuff most people see on post cards. It's the up close and personal that grabs us, people you meet and the price of beer and the way the natives live. Ruts and sinkholes and monkeys that swim, that's really good. Not to mention the guy who grabbed your crotch. You mention the wine along the way but are you listening to Richard W.? Some things never change.
You know i won't God bless you are pray for you but I want you to know that i am riding right next to every moment of every day. Good fortune and good hunting, Ed, and enjoy the moment best you can. Know you suffer from time to time but that is exactly what separates you from the rest of us ordinary human types, your willingness to endure. From you know who.....

Welcome to the late 20th century.
There are so many experiences you will never see on my blog unless you do the trip yourself. The sounds, feelings, and the sights that seem insignificant all come together to make this trip extraordinary. Some things just don't translate in to words or capture the moment in a picture......like the time I was in a bar. They were playing music from the internet and asked me what I wan't to hear. Since they were playing silly dance music all night, I decided to up the ante and play some hard rock - finishing with some death metal. I was laughing so hard that they were actually playing it and the music was being piped all over the hotel. They finally stopped when nearly everyone had left the bar and they were getting complaints to cahnge the music!
The other thing about this trip that you probably will never see is how the trip changes but it doesn't feel that way. What I mean is........I enter in to new country and without the stamp on my passport, sometimes I never know exactly where I am. People are all the same where every I go. People are working, rushing around and doing their daily business. Roads and roads. Rivers and rivers. And mountains are mountains. But it is only when you see something like the Matterhorn or the Mona Lisa painting do you realize where you are. But everything else is the same. People have the same fears, feelings and needs where ever I go. And the bigger the city, the more looks I get. My bike looks like a spaceship amongst all the 125 cc bikes out there. And wearing my Rev'it Defender "spacesuit". everyone stares at my like I am an alien. And I guess that I am. I don't really blong there. I stand out in the crowd to say the least. And when you just want to get from point A to point B, it can get annoying. Unfortunately, it is only the guys that really care about my big motorcycle. The girls could care less. But they are attracted to my free spirit. They look at me as a world traveler like Balboa or Cortez. But since I can't effectively communicate with them, the conversation doesn't ge much past where I am going and how long I am traveling for.
I am just kind of rambling this morning. I have some time to kill and the internet connection is slow here so it is hard to upload some pictures here in Colombia. But as soon as I get a good connection, I will post some more stories soon.
Enjoy the ride and hold on tight!!!!!!!

[flyingdutchman177]

Originally Posted by m&p products

That Sanford and Son reference was your best writing yet, Ed. And surprise, i finally got Bryce to get me through to you. Keeping track every day. Especially those visits to everyday places, like the food joints and the cheap rooms and the native people and folks you meet along the way. Landscape, oceans and the mountain, that's the stuff most people see on post cards. It's the up close and personal that grabs us, people you meet and the price of beer and the way the natives live. Ruts and sinkholes and monkeys that swim, that's really good. Not to mention the guy who grabbed your crotch. You mention the wine along the way but are you listening to Richard W.? Some things never change.
You know i won't God bless you are pray for you but I want you to know that i am riding right next to every moment of every day. Good fortune and good hunting, Ed, and enjoy the moment best you can. Know you suffer from time to time but that is exactly what separates you from the rest of us ordinary human types, your willingness to endure. From you know who.....

Welcome to the late 20th century.
There are so many experiences you will never see on my blog unless you do the trip yourself. The sounds, feelings, and the sights that seem insignificant all come together to make this trip extraordinary. Some things just don't translate in to words or capture the moment in a picture......like the time I was in a bar. They were playing music from the internet and asked me what I wan't to hear. Since they were playing silly dance music all night, I decided to up the ante and play some hard rock - finishing with some death metal. I was laughing so hard that they were actually playing it and the music was being piped all over the hotel. They finally stopped when nearly everyone had left the bar and they were getting complaints to cahnge the music!
The other thing about this trip that you probably will never see is how the trip changes but it doesn't feel that way. What I mean is........I enter in to new country and without the stamp on my passport, sometimes I never know exactly where I am. People are all the same where every I go. People are working, rushing around and doing their daily business. Roads and roads. Rivers and rivers. And mountains are mountains. But it is only when you see something like the Matterhorn or the Mona Lisa painting do you realize where you are. But everything else is the same. People have the same fears, feelings and needs where ever I go. And the bigger the city, the more looks I get. My bike looks like a spaceship amongst all the 125 cc bikes out there. And wearing my Rev'it Defender "spacesuit". everyone stares at my like I am an alien. And I guess that I am. I don't really blong there. I stand out in the crowd to say the least. And when you just want to get from point A to point B, it can get annoying. Unfortunately, it is only the guys that really care about my big motorcycle. The girls could care less. But they are attracted to my free spirit. They look at me as a world traveler like Balboa or Cortez. But since I can't effectively communicate with them, the conversation doesn't ge much past where I am going and how long I am traveling for.
I am just kind of rambling this morning. I have some time to kill and the internet connection is slow here so it is hard to upload some pictures here in Colombia. But as soon as I get a good connection, I will post some more stories soon.
Enjoy the ride and hold on tight!!!!!!!

[flyingdutchman177]

It seems every road in Colombia is a toll road. But for motorcycles, the roads are free. And for that reason alone, there are lots of motorcycles here. They have a special lane at each toll both for bikes. And it is small for the small bikes. It is a challenge to squeeze our big bikes thru some of them.

[flyingdutchman177]

Playa Taganga in Tayrona National Park.
This is a pretty spot that I missed.
It is expensive for foreigners to visit.
Like everywhere (except the US), they have a price for nationals and a price for visitors. They wanted something like $50 US for us to get in to the park with our motorcycles and plus they wanted us to leave all of our camping gear at the park entrance to make sure we didn't camp over night there.
So we just said "Adios!"
I am kind of sorry that I missed it.
Guess I need to just cough up the dinero

[flyingdutchman177]

Riding along the road in Northern Colombia, it was over 100 degrees so we stopped every 75 miles or so to get some water. Here we stopped at a road side both selling fresh cheese, milk and some local snacks. I couldn't resist talking a picture with the girl at the booth. She had beautiful green eyes. It seems the further south I go, the better the girls get.

[flyingdutchman177]

At another stop in the mountains, we bought some local sweet bread, fresh milk and cold water. They sell the water in a small plastic bag. It is a less expensive package.
Check out Alex using the toliet. I am glad we didn't have to go Number 2

[flyingdutchman177]

In Bucaramanga, Alex and I got separated for the rest of the day. It was easy to do. Traffic was crazy. There were so many motorcycles racing thru town. Literally, it was like a race. We had the power, but the little bikes were zipping in and out of traffic with greater ease. Any little gap in front of you was filled by a bike or possibly a car so you had to join the race or you would go nowhere.
I was unsure which way to go so I stopped at a gas station and asked for directions. This nice, cute girl told me to just follow her as she was going the same way. So I did. We chatted at each red light. And of course we had a language barrier but I could tell she was so excited to be leading me thru town. And who knows, if I spoke better Spanish, she might have lead me somewhere else..........gotta practice my Spanish more!!!

[flyingdutchman177]

Heading south of Bucaramanga, the road went thru Chicamocha Canyon, which someone said was the largest canyon in the world. I am not sure if that is true or not, but it was a impressive ride. The views were great. The road, went down in to the canyon and then up the other side. The only problem was that the big trucks using this road could only go 5 MPH up the hills. And that meant a big line of cars and trucks to pass. And with so many twists and turns, it was hard to do without resorting to some crazy passing. But the cars and trucks were doing it too. And that made it all the more dangerous. Glad I went that way, but I didn't have time to stop and enjoy the views as that would mean having to pass all the cars and trucks all over again

[flyingdutchman177]

After visiting the San Blas islands, the beaches in Northern Colombia were a bit of a let down. But I am sure there are some good ones.
Here we are at Playa Grande playing in the river with the hot sand under the water

[sonnyboy]

fantastic, really enjoying this