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Timbío -> Popayán (hostel)
Distance (km) : 15
Time on bike : 0h 32m
Brutto time: 10.00 – 10.35
Avg : 27.5 km/h
Max.speed: 62.0
Total (km) : 40.676
Altitude: 1.750 m
Difficulty: ½ of 5

Another marathon night! 12 hours of straight and sound sleep in my little 3.50 USD prison cell room just 20 m from the thundering Panamerican Hwy. God bless my earplugs.

Fictive conversation with myself today:

Someone: So, Nicolai, what did you do in southern Colombia?
Me: Well, I slept and I rode my bike, occasionally interrupted by food and drink intake on the 2nd floor, and subsequently about the equivalent output on the 1st floor.
Someone: Sounds kind of trivial, doesn’t it. Are you enjoying yourself?
Me: Every single minute of it…

At the local bakery/cafeteria in Timbío I instantly feel my inner gear box switch to Fugitive Mode as a guy starts striking up a conversation with me, all smiling and enthusiastic. Most of the other guests in the bakery keep staring at me. But I’m not in the mood for chit-chatting at this pre-coffee and pre-brekkie (or at any other, truth be told) time of the day. I get my stuff from the counter, sit down next to my bike parked outside, and try to look as busy as possible, reading my diary, looking at maps, sipping my coffee.

Today’s ride to Popayán’s an easy one. Even before the sweat, my usual companion, is to be found on my forehead, Popayán’s there. 10.35 AM. I check in at the web-recommended Hostal Trail, where a bunk bed, kitchen facilities, free wifi (a feat I’m going to make huge use of), central location, int’l travellers, and a lovely staff and great atmosphere sets me back 15.000 Colombian pesos, about 7 USD.

Popayán is a beautiful, colonial city (ca. 250.000 inhab.) at 1.560 m.a.s. It’s called The White City due to the colour of most houses in the colonial centre. My first walk around town leaves me with the impression the “I’m going to stay here right until the attraction of the road gets greater than the attraction of the city”. Well, it’s normally like that.

Besides the attraction of the city, the attraction of the contrast between being (or feeling like) a semi-savage, dirty, centre-of-attention, sort of homeless, pedal-pushing vagabond and being a clean, clean-shaven (it doesn’t take a lot, admittedly), more-anonymous citizen with a room for the night, is a great one, and the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde transformation never stops fascinating me.

On this day..

• Day 1.375 - Carte Blanche in Givet, France (UK) Dag 1.375 - Carte blanche i Givet, Frankrig (UK) - 2010
• Sparkling New WT-Video From Spain/France out! Funklende ny WT-video fra Spanien/Frankrig ude! - 2010
• The Art of Catching Up... At indhente det tabte... - 2009
• Day 645 - Lagoons Beach -> Hobart (Tasmania) Dag 645 - Lagoons Beach -> Hobart (Tasmanien) - 2008
• Day 279 - Crazy boat trip in Nha Trang...Dag 279 - Morbærvin i Nha Trang-bugten - 2007
• New updates!Nye opdateringer - 2006

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 at 4.52 pm and is filed under English, Nicolai. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.