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Re: Tripping Around The World, Envy Me But Wish Me Luck

Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 1:02 am
by Graham
Now i'm a big lad thankfully, although many who know me will be surprised because i've lost two stone on this trip and have packed the ciggies in and started running. I needed it for this bit because everyone else was well, a tad weedy!

Yep the bikes had to go into dugout canoes to be taken out across the sea to the waiting boat!
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Sweet and off we go down river
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Re: Tripping Around The World, Envy Me But Wish Me Luck

Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 1:13 am
by Graham
Getting them off very nearly became a comedy sketch, how to get the bikes up and onto the boat. Answer use the sailing boom as a sling and get the 'big fella' on deck heaving as hard as possible. Worked a treat but that first dive in for a swim felt wonderful!
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Up we go!
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Lovely, that'll do for now later we'd strap them down but a storm almost cost us one of the bikes, have a guess whose almost slid off......

Re: Tripping Around The World, Envy Me But Wish Me Luck

Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 1:20 am
by Graham
The boat trip was scheduled for five days, the first three were in the san blaas islands off the coast of panama. Fantastic small desert islands with marine life everywhere. We were free to dive, snorkel and fish on the various reefs and use the coveted spear guns with whatever we caught being for dinner. I only caught one thing with the gun but it resembled something out of an alien film, no idea what it was but it tasted okay.
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Saw a toucan too....
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Re: Tripping Around The World, Envy Me But Wish Me Luck

Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 1:30 am
by Graham
It was a great way to travel really, i've been on a few yachts and boats so have no problem with sickness. The tour of the islands was great and generally when we got out to sea i stayed above deck the whole time. Many of the others were ill so up top smelt the best anyway, lazy days sunbathing or just sitting dangling my feet in with a beer and book lovely. Then at night climb ontop of the wheelhouse and bed down looking up at the stars in my sleeping bag.

Until the last night that was. We had been going through swells all day so you can imagine the stench of sick below was awful I was woken when a wave broke over the boat and buried me in water, considering i'm at the back of the boat thats some wave!!

As i'm wet now i help the captain, a mad austrian guy named fritz lower the sails and we also strap my bike as best we can which has had its roped broken by the breaking waves. We cant stand it up but at least lash it to stop it sliding any further. The storm continues all night and i spend it soaking, sleeping behind the wheel house getting soaked by splash every few minutes until we reach cartagena in colombia and the sun comes up and the damage is observed,.
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What you cant see is the front of the boat, the nets strung between most catamarans had been ripped off and the whole supports were twisted to pieces. Still i capped an amazing few days off with a cheesy photo!
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Re: Tripping Around The World, Envy Me But Wish Me Luck

Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 1:31 am
by Graham
Just going for beer, and food dont reply until after i've finished !!!!!!!

Re: Tripping Around The World, Envy Me But Wish Me Luck

Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 4:41 am
by Graham
Okay so into columbia it was then, obviously i had some trepitations about coming here but the potential far outweighed the initial discomfort. The bikes were unloaded off the boat and we rolled into cartagena, a city surrounded by walls and the old town is virtually unchanged since the 1500's.

Getting the salt off the bikes was critical though first and then a day was wasted again sorting import documents. :blah:
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A really brilliant city. For hsitroians there are castles and some beautiful architecture to see and the weather was simply gorgeous. Of course the nights are superb too! Rum and beer was plenty and party buses and salsa dancing were superb, it took a while but my two left feet can manage a basic rumba too now. We found this fella dozing in the bar and had to get a photo too

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When it does rain though my word, you have never been so wet in twenty seconds as this i can assure you!

Re: Tripping Around The World, Envy Me But Wish Me Luck

Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 4:52 am
by Graham
Notice how the sloth has a happy stoned grin on his face, my cheesy expression results from too much sun and beers too!

Back on the road again then, i had a gorgeous few days winding through various valleys and great hospitality in the small towns too. The bike broke down when the salt got into the electrics and dissolved the feed to the regulator and so my whole charging circuit went. Luckily i carry cable so remade the connection, bumped the bike and got going again but sadly my heated grips are fried from the current surges!
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I arrived in medellin for a heavy weekend. It was the festival de florres when i was there so the whole weekend was spent having street parties and watching car and police parades throught the streets
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I've never seen a ktm quad so had to snap one of that! Now the following critter woke me up and almost made me scream the next morning so i was up and went sightseeing. Most people go to museums or churches, not me i went and paid my respects to snr pablo escobar to be different and because he is a modern character of for right or wrong importance

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Re: Tripping Around The World, Envy Me But Wish Me Luck

Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 5:05 am
by Graham
Writing this up is a tad annoying because i have so many brilliant and bad photos of nights out that just cannot be posted because they'd make me look like a complete wreck or get me in trouble beacuse my pretty girly is still patiently waiting for me at home :spank: :spank:

But for a mental picture imagine doing the macarena in a columbian bar with a cute peruvian girl, ssome lebanese backpackers and an argentinian girl who still had her own wedding tackle . Random nights come no better.

Anyway i got going again because, well i missed riding off to somehwre new again! I said my goodbyes and headed off alone into columbia, i was off on more trails heading towards the amazon basin and then looping back on tarmac to cali (home of pioneering breast enhancement surgery and my my my what a super job they do!) On the way i met an brazilian on an africa twin, saw more great scenery an amazing catherdral, more beer and even a klu klux klan parade. Yep i was in columbia alone and loved every minute. I was almost sad to leave but four weeks showed me alot of the country and what a lovely place.

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Re: Tripping Around The World, Envy Me But Wish Me Luck

Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 5:22 am
by Graham
Crossing into ecuador and it had alot to do if it was going to match the lat few months, it was a tad dreary but saw a nice market town and crossed a famous line on the way down to the capital too don't ya know....
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These guys fascinated because even they didnt know where the jackets came from!
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Re: Tripping Around The World, Envy Me But Wish Me Luck

Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 5:26 am
by Graham
Quito the capital was pretty nice, staying in the heart of the old town, saw some lovely buildings and hopped right up a cathedral where you could stand around the top of the spire. Also took a cable car ride and hike up into the hills around town which was nice but really did make you light headed from the altitude!
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