Tracks of the guerrillas, tolls and uniforms

As tourist already legal we continued course to the south in bicycle. The shaken adventure smuggler which we lived in the Cork on Darien had done us per moments for forgetting that the guerrilla also watched to us in this zone of Colombia.

The inhabitants of the region, noncustomary to the tourists, were completely devoted in gentilities. We were welcome although the highway showed the other side to us of the currency; many cars were appraised that few days before had burned the guerrilla detachments.

Still it costs to understand to me who is the one who: police, army, paramilitary, guerrillas; too many uniforms for a wonderful country surrounded in an incomprehensible chaos. Once in a while we were stopped for the payment of a "toll", my papis showed their but likeable and friendly face obtaining to convince the collectors who let to us continue. My heart strongly annoyed when feeling the danger.

A friend truck driver and a cyclist with mazamorras

Jorge, a gentile truck driver I take to us until Medellín, 2 days we accompanied ourselves in that dangerous route. I invite to us to have lunch in restaurants and I pay one night to us in hotel. We did not want to abuse its gentility, but it insisted little explaining the advisable thing to us that was to encamp in that zone.

Again in bicis, the Valley of the Cauca was our route. We changed our clothes and leaves of our equipment and this form to collect the sufficient thing to eat. In this level region we did not count on the wished aid of transport and had to pedalear hundreds of km Our luck I improve near Cali, when several vehiculos took to us in a while very needed since the south of Colombia is very mountainous.

Our stomachs dreamed about food. In a small town my papi had the ingenious and determined idea to ask to him a villager. -"Que takes in its bicycle" - "mazamorra friend the a probado?”Contestaba; "No" we talked back - "because they remove a plate" - said to us. Me my papito coat the great plate but that could find, "mine" and the generous gentleman auspice our great one and needed lunch.

The "mysterious Kid" and the narcotics traffickers

The satisfied stomachs we faced difficult hills; bicis complained to shouts. During a short rest, we were able to stop a "kid" (open bus) who peculiarly traveled empty. My papi offered a jacket in return and the driver and his companions acceded to take to us. Happy we raised our 100 kilos of load and continued the trip establishing pleasant and an entertainment conversation. It was strange to us that they did not raise but fleeting and that we traveled at high speeds. That type of bus is this? my parents asked themselves.

In the city of Grass where we had to lower according to the agreed thing, they changed of idea, (already they knew us better and they had listened to our history interesadamente during the passage) they offered to take us to us to the border. A lunch to which we were invited was interrupted repeatedly by mysterious calls to the cellular telephone of our conductor. We continued with the adrenalin to top and without knowing with certainty in that rare situation we had become jumbled again.

To few km for the border with Ecuador, a police stopped to the vehicles for inspection. When the uniformed patrol craft negligence for a moment, our driver agilely I speed up and by the back of the neglected one representing of the law, without it saw us. Now we did not have left doubts, our hospitable fellow travellers are narcotics traffickers. With the heart trying to escape of our bodies, we were left with a terrible anguish when imagining to us our future in a Colombian jail. Although thinking it well, I do not believe that they have prison for dogs.

In the first crossroad that we found, a sudden shutdown indicated to us that the trip in this vehicle had finished. With a brief but warm goodbye on the part of the conductor "this your jacket you are going it here to need, that has luck friends" - we lowered of the "furtive kid" who raudamente I evaporate by a dirt road in the direction of Ecuador.

According to pedaleábamos towards the near official border with the arterial tension already in its normal level, we thought about this last incident and its repercussions in case of having been prisoners, with the security of which we were not "the only load of that particular kid".

Fulfilled objective - To cross one of the dangerous countries but of the world without money

Ours it completes night in Colombia was in Pedregal, to the following day we sealed our passports and we entered equator.

And we felt but near house and we realized that the dangerous part but until now, we had surpassed it. Those that they warned to us of the danger to cross Colombia during our trip not had mistaken. Smugglers, guerrillas, paramilitary and narcotics traffickers were our interesting, dangerous and until pleasing one (in certain cases) company.

Colombia good bye, I hope that a day we visit to you without the fear and the anguish that we suffered and constantly lives your cosy population.