Mud Volcanoes, Bike Problems and the Stunning Country that is Colombia

So we finally made it Medellin today after a couple of challenging days on the road which included a beautiful ride into the mountains as well as motorcycles strapped into the backs of trucks. The main issue has been our bikes. The KLR´s were running like gems the entire trip with no problems until we blasted them with saltwater for 4 days straight on the sailboat. This was the beginning of our (mainly Kyle´s) mechanical/electrical problems. The second we pulled the bikes off the boat in Cartagena, Kyle´s green machine started having problems. We pulled the tank and unclogged the fuel valve, and after a couple attempts at a bumpstart we got it fired up. My bike has been a little pestering as well, but it always ends up firing up while Kyle seems to have gotten the short end of the stick bikewise. The rest of the story is in the pictures below. They say a picture´s worth a thousand words....enjoy!

First some fun before we get into the bike problems. Before we left Cartagena I joined our group of friends from the boat for a trip out to Volcan de Lodo El Totumo. It´s a naturally occurring mud volcano that is shaped like a large molehill and spews a lukewarm mud that has the viscosity of a thick cream. They´ve built stairways up to the top and you can take dip in the mud. This was definitely one one the coolest experiences I´ve had yet on the trip. The mud is so thick that it basically supports your entire bodyweight and suspends you in any position that you choose. Pretty crazy sensation. Not to mention its great for your skin, or so they say...

After we got out the local villagers took us down to the lagoon you see in the background. These women literally lead you by hand in to the water and start bathing you in the water to get the mud off. They scrub your hair, ears and whatever other bodypart may be hiding mud. They even told us guys to take our shorts off in the water, we did the scrubbing ourselves for that part of course... By the way the guy standing to the right of me in the picture below wasn´t in our group. He was wearing a pretty sweet thong though as you can see. Can´t tell if that´s a sock or he´s just happy to see me....Oh man that´s wrong, I know it, but just can´t help it :)



Now for the bike problems. After spending the majority of the second day in Cartagena at the Vehicle Import office to get our paperwork taken care of, we found a great local bike shop and the fun began. As you see in the picture above, this is the first of four times in the last six days Kyle´s bike has been in pieces. The guys at the shop were awesome though, and we left thinking the problems had been fixed. They also changed our oil, washed our bikes, scrubbed the rust from the saltwater of of all surfaces of the bikes. We hung out with them for a while and had a great time. One of the countless times in Columbia that we found the people to be more than friendly.

While Kyle´s bike was being worked on inside this guy did a great job of washing my bike. It was covered in saltwater before this and looked brand new afterwards.

After leaving Cartagena we got hit by some rain in the countryside. This was the start of the second round of bike problems.

This would be round two for taking Kyle´s bike apart. We were pulled over at a gas station with the bike in pieces when this big group of riders, the Moto Club of Medellin, pulled over to offer their services. We tried diagnosing the problem in several ways. It seemed the spark plug wasn´t firing so we pulled the plug and tested it. I think we´ve finally nailed it down to an electrical problem with the wirning to the spark plug. It´s really weird though because it seems like the bike works fine when it´s dry and hot, but completely shuts down when it hits any water.

The riders´ group was so awesome. They used all their contacts to find us a good mechanic in the small little town nearby and also gave us the name of the best Kawasaki mechanic here in Medellin. Another example of the genuine nature of most all Colombians we´ve met thus far. We hooked up our tow strap to Kyle´s bike and I towed him into the local town to find the mechanice. The Moto Club was even kind enough to go completely out of their way and give us a 6 bike escort the 15 miles back into town while we were towing.

Here´s round three. This guy got the bike running but we´re not sure he fixed the root of the problem. Our goal was to just make it to Medellin to find the Kawasaki dealership.

The above and next few shots are from yesterday´s ride (after the shop) up into the mountains towards the town of Yarumal. Our plan was to be in Medellin yesterday but we got held up and decided to crash in Yarumal for the night. A completely genuine Colombian town, we were the only tourists there. It was a pretty spectacular place set high up in the mountains. We found a great little hotel and had dinner while the town seemed to be partying big time on Saturday night. I had a delicious filet mignon steak for the equivalent of about $4 US Dollars....pretty nice.





Round 4 of the dismantling this morning in the parking garage of the hotel.

Here´s Kyle after we loaded up the bike into the back of this pickup. This guy drove the bike the remaining 70 miles into Medellin. It was a pretty incredible ride for me at least down the mountaing with a bunch of awesome twisties and amazing scenery. Medelling is set in a valley right between a couple of large mountain ranges. Yes, its true that Medellin was once the Cocaine capital of the world, but it seems to have a much different feel these days. It has a bustling city center with large skyrises as well as beautifully maintained neighborhoods on the outskirts of town where we are staying. We found a great little hostel called the Casa Kiwi and are going in search of this renowned mechanic tomorrow. We´ll keep you updated....