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| 3 day solo trip on the back roads further behind (south and west) Volcan Galeras. Pasto to El Tambo, Linares, Samaniego, Tuquerres, Guaitarilla, Ancuya. It´s either down..... |
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| or up....huge drops and climbs on quiet, narrow roads. |
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| Spot the Pasto air strip heading into the clouds from the edge of the cliff. |
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| And the side view of the airstrip....not much of a choice for location in this terrain! That´s a huge canyon in front of it. |
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| Sunlight highlighting the town of Chachagui. |
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| El Tambo |
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| ? |
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| smooth cycling... |
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| Some graphic religious art |
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| Typical Colombian town centre plaza: Linares |
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| The south side of Volcan Galeras |
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| ...land of the clouds |
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| ....and coffee....which was offered to me while he sharpened his machete and the women sorted the bad beans below. So sharp he could cut a hair in the air in half he says! |
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| What a beaut.....yes there is still room for Maria in our bed :) |
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| Yup...they are still around.....but no worries say the locals. |
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| ......down, down, down to Samaniego |
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| Guayaba tree farm or farm of the hangover ??? |
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| A Canadian development agency providing funding for clean water and sanitation in a rural area known for its poverty. With another guerilla group, the ELN painting their slogan over top. Had a long visit at this school of 100 kids and a good chat with the principal. Perhaps Dalhousie school can partner up to provide some support? |
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| Action against hunger. Water filter |
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| Get out frogs, your cars suck. A cute reference to the source of the car.....Renault/France |
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| Military is often seen doing public works, rather than just standing around glued to their smart phones as they usually do, not noticing me when I ride by their checkpoints. |
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| Coffee plant seedlings.... |
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| ....and the lovely aroma of flowering coffee |
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| Green Gold brand claims they produce the purest Colombian coffee. Colombians real ´'drug' of choice. |
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| ....or is it a smile...as per below? (Your smile is my drug) |
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| Es una hiena....llena de pulgas pero..... |
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| Climbing back up.... |
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| This cyclist helped me up the last few km of a long afternoon climb from 1700m to 3200m. At age 63, he ride up 4km from Tuquerres where he lives and down 6-7 km to work in agricultural fields....and then rides back home! He lead me to a good hotel and restraunt. |
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| Sunrise |
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| Going down from Guaitarilla |
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| Wheat or Barley?? Wheat- el trigo dice mi socio |
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| La parba de trigo listo para trillar. Piles of wheat reading to be trashed :) |
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| Harvesting wheat...cortando el trigo ....dry corn in the background |
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| La Hoz....sickle |
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| West and lush side of Volcan Galeras. Dry corn in the foreground |
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| ...and down further to passion fruit and sugar cane country |
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| A 7,000 peso hat |
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| Tejiendo los sombreros. Weaving sombreros. A 20,000 peso hat....made from the material below |
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| La paja |
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| El gatito mugre |
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| La Granadilla-passion fruit. About 5 cents each in Colombia. In Canada? 2-3 dollars each |
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| Hope the farmers get a good share of that markup! Although the cynic in me doesn´t think so. |
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| A typical horse will make 4 trips of sugar cane per day. Which gets the farmer about 15-20 CAD dollars per day. |
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| El jefe....the boss offering me a cup of jugo de cana....sugar can juice |
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| reducing the juice to make solid blocks of panela...almost like fudge without the milk. |
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| the finished product...about $ 1.50 CAD |
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| Ancuya....and a truck back home...1.5 hours....as I didn´t want to do another huge climb in the 40 degree heat from the river down below. |
5 comments:
Lovely fotos, Steve. Must have been a singular experience - solo in those wonderful places. Obviously happy with the Specialised. What next?
Amazing how people live and the differences. Everyday pretty much the same. In Canada we can put away the garden tools and take a nice winter hibernation. And the Garden is a mere hobby, not absolute subsistense. This is hard work. You likely made their day. And vice versa. Heard the weather changed from El Nino (drought) to La Nina ( super wet) affecting wild swings in coffee production.
Thanks for the report Steve.
Amazing how people live and the differences. Everyday pretty much the same. In Canada we can put away the garden tools and take a nice winter hibernation. And the Garden is a mere hobby, not absolute subsistense. This is hard work. You likely made their day. And vice versa. Heard the weather changed from El Nino (drought) to La Nina ( super wet) affecting wild swings in coffee production.
Thanks for the report Steve.
Thanks for sharing Steve . Looks amazing and love all your comments.
Chevere mi patria chica, feliz de estar aqui con mi familia!
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