South America in Versys 650 – Latin America on a motorcycle (17): arrival in Colombia –

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Latin America by motorcycle (17): arrival in Colombia

South America in Versys 650 - Latin America on a motorcycle (17): arrival in Colombia -

After breakfast at the restaurant where I spent the night suspended in my hammock, I get back in the saddle for Riobamba where I will take a walk to the market, then for the small town of Candelaria where I test the football field.

After breakfast at the restaurant where I spent the night suspended in my hammock, I get back in the saddle for Riobamba where I will take a walk to the market, then for the small town of Candelaria where I test the football field.

The next day, I go to the huge hacienda of several hundred hectares where the hike begins to see the Altar volcano. The owner who regularly takes tourists allows me to leave the motorcycle in safety under the lean-to. Go hop, on the way for a little two-day hike.

A small 2-day hike

Departure at an altitude of 2900 m on a muddy path that will remain so during the first four hours of walking. A really painful climb, but once in the pastures, what landscapes !

The refuge is in sight and I approach the edge of the hacienda where it is allowed to camp. I must now be close to 4000m. I cross the river then the wet valley to the foot of the waterfall. I have less than an hour of walking left but I have to hurry because it is already 5 p.m..

At 6 p.m. I am at an altitude of 4200 m at the edge of the lagoon which has made its bed in the Altares crater. Magnificent ! The place is too beautiful and luckily I find a place to camp. A little night listening to the cracks of the glaciers, solo in my volcano.

What could I have frozen … One of the coldest nights I spent outside, but waking up what a sight! I stay there to contemplate the landscape for at least two hours before deciding to go back down. At the beginning I thought to continue a little further but the time is blocked, it is safer to turn around.

I hit the descent in four hours in this mud where I miss several times to sprawl. In the middle of the afternoon, I pick up my motorbike and meet up with my friends for a snack a little later. Tonight I will sleep in Banos.

The rest of the trip makes me leave the valley of volcanoes for the Quillotoa lagoon, in the hollow of the crater of the volcano of the same name. I arrive at the end of the morning in the village, at 3900 m, in the rain and then the hail … No visibility: I will take shelter in a restaurant, hoping that it will clear.

At 2 p.m., I decide to go around the crater by the crest path. Fortunately, after an hour the sky finally clears. But no time to hang around: the lagoon is 2 km in diameter and 250 m deep, it apparently takes seven hours to cover the 14 km of paths that go around it.

By accelerating a little I finish in 3h50, thank you for acclimatization! I then spend a quiet evening with the owners of the hotel, by candlelight for lack of electricity throughout the village.

Attempted theft

The following day will not be so pleasant … After Quillotoa, I took a nice track towards Isinlivi and then I continue towards the Cotopaxi park. The idea is to spend a night at the refuge because to attempt the summit the guide is mandatory … And me, attempting a summit with a guy that I do not know, it does not connect me !

But the guard at the entrance of the park told me that it is forbidden to enter with a motorcycle. Only a car or a 4X4 is allowed to travel the 29 km of asphalt road to reach the parking lot at the foot of the volcano. He suggests that I come back the next day by taxi…

A little disappointed, I leave Cotopaxi Land: I’m not at all interested in going there and I go to Quito. I quickly find a hotel and reserve a room. 5 minutes later, when I go to get the motorbike, a policeman turns around…

He hands me some burnt DVDs directly and asks me if they are mine. I then see his colleague searching a suspicious guy … Then it clicks! The DVD salesman was caught trying to pry my stuff. The rope that holds the backpack in place on the motorcycle has already been cut and the police intervened just in time.

The next day, the weather is still blocked. It is always the rainy season here in Ecuador. I decide to take the road to the east through Papallacta. Around 4 p.m., I look for a place to picnic and there, stroke of luck: I arrive at the falls of San Rafael. The highest in Ecuador, around 160 m.

At 5 p.m. I hit the road again, but not for long. It’s raining again, I find shelter and stop. 5 minutes later, another biker does the same. He also goes to Lumbaki. We finish the road together and when we go our separate ways I ask him if he knows a place to camp.

Directly he invites me to his house, to eat and then to sleep. During the evening, the father explains to me that he arrived here in the 80s before the road existed. At the time, it took half a day in the boat, the track was only opened in 1995 and recently paved..

Max, breakfast is served! It’s 7am, I jump out of bed and go downstairs to join the others. The opportunity to say goodbye and leave.

In less than two hours I am at the La Punta border post. The entry into Colombia went smoothly, except that the customs officers were not there. I have to go and declare the motorcycle in Puerto Asis, the next town with four hours of track where I arrive around 5 p.m..

Time to do the papers and have a bite to eat in town and presto, first night in Colombia. To be continued: stay connected !

Maxime BARAT

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