It's been a couple of epic days. Leaving Popayan we climbed over a 10,800ft pass. It was a really beautiful ride of waterfalls and lush jungle ridges. About an hour into the ride the skies started looking a little ominous and we could see lighting in the distance. Fat drops of rain spotted my visor and the roads quickly sheeted with water. We pulled over under some trees so Tameka could put on her rain gear. About another mile and the pavement ended. We made our way slowly upward through heavy rain and fog, weaving around flooded potholes and keeping an eye out for incoming vehicles on the narrow road.

The road wasn't particularly difficult but the environmental conditions made it suitably challenging as rain slowly soaked through our protection and the temperature fell to 52º. It took about two hours to clear the pass and reach a paved section on the other side. We dove into a roadside restaurant and indulged in fried chicken, rice and coffee. We ended our day in a very beautiful hotel that was remotely situated in the jungle outside of San Agustine.

This morning we deiced to follow a thin gray line on the map that connected several small towns. We were not too sure what the road condition would be but thought we would give it a try. The paved road quickly gave way to a single lane rocky path that wove its way through several coffee plantations. As we gained elevation the plantations became jungle and the road became more remote. Again it started to rain heavily making our progress slow as we navigated the steep hairpins and several water crossings.

When we finally made it down to a sizable town, we thought we were home free to make a run for La Plata where we planned to stay the night. The first obstacle was a bridge that was under repair. While we were looking for alternative routes to get around this bridge a couple local men approached us saying that we could ride through the river to get around the bridge. I was a little skeptical but the men were so enthusiastic I thought, "why not?". We edges the bike around a construction barrier and then down a steep road and gravel slope. One of the men was on a small 125cc bike and he said "watch what I do and follow me". He putted down the slope dropped into the water and bounced his way across no problem. Tameka edged down to the water but as her front tire dropped into the river, she lost her footing and toppled forward and went for an unexpected swim. Several people immediately went to help her lift the bike. A man asked her if he could ride her bike up the far bank and she agreed. My turn. The first part wasn't too difficult as I edged down into the river and bounced my way over the first crossing. From there I could see that I would need to ride up the river about 100 meters to get to a bank that I could climb. I started to think about my poor clutch that is on its last leg. I started working my way up the river. With the significant weight of the luggage, the bike did not want to climb up on the river rocks but rather wanted to dig into them. Two men came to assist me. Again, the man that had ridden Tameka's bike asked if he could ride mine. I thought about it for a minute but agreed because I knew he was more familiar with the path to take up the river and up the far bank. We exchanged places and he fired up the bike. It was a team effort and two of us lifted and pushed the rear end as the other man was merciless on my clutch as the rear tire spun, grabbed and lurched for traction. It took about ten minutes and it wasn't pretty but we managed to get across. The man riding Tiggrr dismounted and gave me a firm handshake exclaiming "that bike is a beast!".

That obstacle down we were certainly home free. Nope. About 3 miles ahead the road was blocked for construction and there was a huge line of cars, trucks and motorbikes waiting to pass. We had to wait here for over an hour before they let us go. When they lowered the rope blocking the road it was like the start of the Dakar Rally. All the motorbike including us scrambled to get out in front because there was so much dust. About 3 more miles and again the road was closed for construction. All of the bike we had just passed collected once again around us. It had started to sprinkle again and the daylight was fading. Fortunately we were only held here for about 15 minutes and then the Dakar started again. Tameka and I with our powerful bikes and off road tires quickly found our way to the front this time making it all the way into the town of La Plata. We found a hotel, parked the bikes and went in search of food. What a day!

I'll try to post some videos of this in the next day or two.