Roaming South America

The towns of Mocoa and Pasto, Colombia

November 8, 2022

I was in Mocoa for 2 nights and enjoyed the visit. It's a nice little pueblo in a small valley at about 600 meters (about 1968 feet). When I first arrived in town I also recieved a message from a friend in Barranquilla telling me to be careful because Mocoa is in a "Red Zone". Here in Colombia there are red zones - areas where any of the various narcotrafico groups/illegal armed groups/guerrilla groups are located. So, when I was out exploring the town I went by the police station and spoke to two officers and they told me the town is fine, the armed groups are all out in the mountain jungles and don't come into the towns. I also spoke to the hostess at the hotel and she told me basically the same thing. And again, I spoke to a man I met when out walking and he, too, said the same thing. So, nothing to worry about walking around in town.

Pitalito, Huila, Colombia

November 5, 2022

My previous blog was about Popayán, this is the next town on my journey - Pitalito.

The distance to drive from Popayán to Pitalito is about 160 kilometers (100 miles). Not far, and if there were a freeway or open highway between the two towns the trip would be a couple of hours, tops. But no, there's no freeway (they don't exist in Colombia), and the 'highway' is, well, not much of a highway. Before the 'bus' (a 9-passenger van) left town I had been told the road was quite rough and the trip would take about 6 hours. Yeah, it was rough! And, yes, it took at least 6 hours.

An update

October 2, 2022

It's been a while since my last update. First, all is well here in Roldanillo, the weather is as close to perfect as one could expect anywhere, and it's considered by many, including at least one newspaper article, to be one of the safest places in Colombia. I go for bike rides once or twice a week, you can see those in the little right-side app thing - "Chip's Activity." That takes you to my Strava profile.

Bike ride to two more

July 2, 2022

This morning I rode my bike out to visit two places, not really towns (pueblos), but rather, communities. To get to them meant riding on dirt/mud roads that were incredibly rough.

My toughest bike ride, yet.

March 10, 2022

The route: Roladnillo (my home), to Toro (1-hour bike ride north), then return and pass through La Union. In La Union, there is a dirt road that leads up into the mountains (the Andes west range). That route is tough! Going from La Union up into the mountains, the road leads into an area called "La Despensa". It is a very, very long uphill slog, and my bike gears just can't be pedaled up that incline. In fact, it is 8.61 kilometers of steady incline. The average gradient is 9.4%, with the max incline apparently 25.6%. I think I walked more than I rode. Then, the road basically ends at a fence.