Day 104 - Marko Round The World

Day 104 2/7/2022

Odometer 34,404 – 34,620 —– 216 Miles (11,920 Miles Total

Padua, Colombia – Medellín, Colombia

I had a rough night of sleep. Dagos house is under construction and all he has protecting us from the elements is a thin piece of sheet metal roof with some holes here and there. Well it was a downpour all night and the rain hitting the metal roof was so loud with water leaking through the roof landing on me. I was eager to get out and get on the road. Dago made us a nice simple breakfast and we loaded up the bikes to hit the road.

Our plan was to go to a town called Honda along with another one nearby to try to get some paragliding in if the weather was ok and after that we were supposed to ride to Guatape to spend a night or two there setting up a ramp on the edge of the Penol rock to BASE jump it. We left Padua and first headed the other way out of town than we came in from. He was selling three cows from his farm and they needed to get weighed for the sale. We met the truck at a weighing station for the cows which took about 30 minutes for the whole process.

We hit the road afterwards and had a lovely ride towards Honda where we stopped for some roadside sweets which I already forgot the name of. It was a cup of mixed fruit which was so delicious with some sort of juice in the cup as well. It was so good I had two of them. We had a nice 2 hour ride to Honda where we rode through the town and tried to continue up onto a mountain for a paragliding spot but it soon started to rain on our way up so we decided to turn around and bail on that. We started our ride up to Guatape which was a place I’ve already been with the big rock on a reservoir.

I typed in the destination on the GPS and it was a quick 5.5 hours away. Well we started to ride hard to get there before sunset. Dago pulled over shortly thereafter and started speaking to a woman on a roadside shop. Next thing I know I’m drinking palm tree wine. It’s a specialty they only make in this part of Colombia. Kind of illegal to make, he said as well. A Lot of Colombians supposedly don’t even know about it. Back on the road and we had to ride a long boring stretch of highway where we were just being idiots riding with our feet up on the crash bars trying to stretch. It was pretty hot out and we were getting really bored just riding straight.

In no time we were turning up into the mountains. Dago has been up this way before to go paragliding. Right before we started to ride up into the mountains Dago wanted to pull over for a little smoke break. It’s legal here in Colombia to carry weed and cocaine, he told me. As long as you don’t have it in separate bags which means you’re probably selling it then it’s legal. Pretty wild I never knew about this rule. Legal to have a small amount of cocaine on you….that’s insane! So we pulled over for a little smoke break and then Dago pulled out the palm tree wine. What a fun little roadside pit stop! As Dago was finishing up his smoke two cops on motorcycles drove by. They started talking to me like I was the culprit and told me I’m not allowed to smoke weed and ride a bike. Dago told them I didnt smoke anything. They were just trying to be funny and scare me. Asshats.

A minute later they were asking how we knew each other since I’m from the US and he’s a local here and we were riding together. He told them we skydive together for work in the US. A minute later they recognized Dago from being on TV here in Colombia. Dago took the Colombian presidents brother on a skydive and he was on tv. Next thing I know the guys asking Dago for his cell number so they can go skydiving with him. The cops gave us a fist bump and they left. What a ridiculous situation. hah

Minutes later we were riding up into the mountains.Once again we had a wild ride on twisty mountain roads for hours. The weather was pretty good with just a bit of fog here and there with some rain. I ended up harassing him to stop for a little river shower since I was sweating in all my gear from the afternoon. We eventually found a nice strong flowing river and we made our way down a dirt road to park our bikes. I stripped down and went for a nice little dip to cool me off and wash some clothes. Dago brought me to a amazing viewpoint where they actually have a huge paragliding launch point. We stopped there for a ton of fried food and snacks. We couldn’t fly because of the fog right above our heads but I’m happy we took this route to check out this view.

Im really happy I got to meet up with Dago he’s such a good spirited positive person and he can ride a bike! We continued our way through the mountains to go to his friends house in Rio Negro near Guatape. We decided to spend the night there and go to Guatape the next morning. We got to Rio Negro and rode out of town into the rolling hills behind the small city. God damn I was in heaven this place was paradise. Small houses on the hillsides with so much property to each house. We met his friend who inherited the house after his father passed away. Dagho knew him through paragliding. He gave us a tour of his little farm with mini horses and a bunch of dogs. I sat in front of his golden berry tree for a while eating all the fruit. He showed me his weed garden. In Colombia you’re allowed to own up to 19 weed plants. Such a weird number.

I think the reason for this is to take away business from the drug cartels. Why buy the stuff from them and supply them with money if you can just grow it yourself right? Makes sense. We hung out there for a while and shortly thereafter I found out his friend is also there since they are going on a bike hike for the next few days. There was literally nowhere for me to sleep so I decided to head to Medellin since I had to start my salsa classes soon anyway with all the hours I had left on my account. I said my goodbyes and Dago said he would swim by Medellin in a few days to see some family. I packed up my stuff and had about a 1:15 ride to Medellin where I settled into my hostel and called it a night.

Dagos friends backyard