10.26.10 Day 2 Dirt Biking

I had such a fun day yesterday dirt biking here in Villa de Leyva that I decided to go again.

Par to the course my guide Fabio pushed me to the limits and took me places that I definitely would NOT of considered doing with a 400 lb dirt bike.

The ride we ended up doing was much more technical than yesterday, It had single track, steep hills, pseudo obstacle courses and LOTS of mud.I ended up falling 4 times!

Fabio took me to places that he had only heard about. We ended up searching for a cave that was a natural kiln a few thousand years ago and also went to a Cave that was retrofitted into literally and figuratively an underground bar. It had burning man party written ALL over it!

So much fun I could NOT get enough! It was a freakin blast.

Here is a link of where I rode

10.25.10 Villa de Leyva, Dirt biking, day 1

I went out today with intentions of just exploring this really cute town of Villa de Leyva and take some nice photos but then I got side tracked when I saw a place that gives tours for Quads normally. (4tri tours in Villa de Leyva)

I asked whether I could hire someone as a guide to show me on my bike the trails in the area and they were more than happy too.

When I returned with my motorcycle the guide that said he could take me was told that he had to fix another bike. One of his co-workers felt bad about this and ended up taking me in his polo shirt, nice shoes and jeans as well. The guide's name name was Fabio and he was a solid Kat. We explored a lot of the "circuitos"(tourist spots) their and he ended up getting us into most of them for free.

This was the first time that I took my KTM 990 adventure out dirt biking and Fabio was there to ensure that I would make the most of it. We ended up riding through river beds, technical hills and so many other terrains it was AWESOME. I am hoping to do it again tomorrow as well!!!

Here  is the link of where I rode

10.24.10 museo de carmen

My first ride.

This is from Bogota to Villa de Leyva a GORGEOUS town that has cobble stone roads and almost like traveling back in time


Here is the link to the Route I took.

10.22.10 Getting bike!

After 2 weeks of staying in Bogota (a week longer that was planned) and my great friends patiently letting me stay at their place, I am FINALLY getting the bike! The bike was delayed in Miami due to some paperwork issues but after getting that resolved the bike has finally arrived!

I set off to Tampa Cargo, which is near the Bogota Airport and after arriving there I am told that I have to get my paperwork processed with DIAN, which is basically Colombia's Customs. Fortunately the DIAN is walking distance so it's NO big deal to get there. Once there I am promptly attended to and the guy that is filling out my paperwork starts asking my opinion on legalizing marijuana, since I'm from California and California has on their ballot a proposal to legalize it. Obviously regardless of my political stance on this I would have to tell him that I am opposed to it otherwise I feel like it is a pseudo entrapment.

Regardless of this, the guy does seem like he is genuinely trying to make small talk but never the less I find it weird that he wants to discuss this at a customs office. After getting my paperwork finished here I end up going back to Tamp Cargo where they are trying to figure out to unload my bike to the ground level which is about 3 feet high from the warehouse floor. They are normally used to having cargo trucks come by to pick up packages and NOT a private owner that plans on riding their motorcycle from their parking lot. I am NOT allowed to document this with my camera, but the first time they try lowering my motorcycle they tie a strap to the top of my motorcycle crate and when the forklift picks it up the metal bows in ie failure. (Thank goodness that is all that happens!. Next they retry it with the straps on the bottom of the crate and there is success with lifting the bike and lowering it to the ground level!

During this time a crowd starts forming and starts checking out the bike. In the meantime I am removing the wrap that is along the outer portion of the metal crate that is holding the bike. Although I am excited about finally getting the bike I am also a little leery because I want to make sure that no one messes with me and/or the bike. After a few minute I realize people are just curious and they mean no harm at all. In fact people start helping me remove the dismantled crate out of the way so that I can discard the remains of the crate.

After taking the bike out of the crate I plug the battery cable back in then put the keys in the ignition and start the bike up.

SUCCESS, Off to my motorcycle adventure in South America!!!

10.12.10 Museo del oro

Rainy day here in Bogota and decided to go to the highly acclaimed Museo del Oro (Museum of Gold). Although it WAS a nice museum in the sense of well laid out and English Friendly, I frankly though it was boring. It was like having a great museum about cheese cake. Who know? Maybe that would even be better because hopefully you could at least partake in eating?

But the highlight of the museum for me was the coffee shop on the basement level that had the best Cappuccino that I have had here in Colombia.

10.10.10 Bogota, Colombia the start of my South American trip

This is a series of photos from the beginning of my trip when I arrived in Bogota. The South American portion of my trip started off with me arriving in Bogota, Colombia. A good friend that I hadn't seen in nearly 20 years was going to be picking me up from the airport.

It was great because it felt like we started from where we left off. He took me to the Candeleria and we off exploring. We ended up walking near the Plaza Bolivar checked out the Catedral Primada (The cathedral that is on the cover of the Lonely Planet) and then walking to the Police Museum where we got free a private tour from one of the police that were working there. The highlight of the police museum was Pablo Escovar's Harley Davidson that had gold plated details on the bike.

The following days we ended up going to the Ciclovia, which a weekly bike ride that happens throughout Bogota where the city shuts down main thorough fairs on Sundays for cyclists, Skateboarders, and other miscellaneous type of sports like workout merengue.

After the Cyclovia, Aaron's friend was supposed to have a birthday party at a bowling alley but he did NOT reserve any lanes so no one was able to celebrate his birthday. Aaron's family and I ended up going to the Botanical gardens that were nearby and had a great time with the kids.