Today was a great day on the bike. Mountains and valleys, winding all the way through. Beautiful vistas, neat little towns, full navigational capability has been restored, just a nice day in the saddle...with one exception.
Early in the ride, not even out of Ibague, I was pulled over by the police. This time was for illegal passing. Lane splitting/sharing is legal in this country, and I was being passed by other motorcycles, so I knew there was a corruption a brewing. They demanded 645,000 pesos ($220), payable immediately. I am sure the government collects all their fees this way. I ran through my usual anti-corruption approaches. refusal to pay, "go-ahead and arrest me," accused them of picking me out because I was a gringo, yelled at them so they knew their intimidation game was not working, etc, nothing was working. They then asked what I did for a living, and I told them I design airports and had spent 4 years in war zones. Two minutes later, they shook my hand, and I was released and on my way. Apparently corruption does have it bounds.
Pulled into Cali around 2:00pm and booked into a hostel, not an accommodation I usually sign up for. It was clean, they had a garage for my bike, and a private room goes for $16 a night. Not too shabby for Ken. From my understanding, hostels are a nice way to go in South America. I just stay out of the "party" and age restricted facilities. They are nice place to meet fellow English speaking travelers. Most are from Europe, which is nice change of pace. The one question I always get though, "so are you gonna vote for Trump?" Surprising, everyone who has asked that question prefers him.
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| Cali at Night |
Hanging tight in Cali tomorrow, having some work done on the bike, see if I can get my back-up Garmin repaired, then I head out on Friday morning.
Trip Summary
Today's Leg: 169 miles
Total Distance Traveled: 6,104 miles
Total Borders Crossed: 8
Total Countries Visited: 9
Total Times Stopped by the Police/Tickets Issued: 8/0
Shaken Down by the Police/Police Success Rate: 3/0
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