It had been a long 5 day journey from the Spanish Island off the coast of Africa and back to Cali. When I arrived after the final 12 hour bus ride from Bogota, my friends were sitting in the same Arepa restaurant as when I left two weeks earlier. Cali feels like home by now!
What followed was a couple of eventful days. First I went to the local university to give a talk in Spanish about the trip. The photo session afterwards made me feel like a VIP 🙂
I then spent a night cycling around Cali with hundred other cycling enthusiasts, and finally I gave another presentation at a glocalminds event. At first I was rather nervous about giving these presentations in Spanish, but I think it worked out OK in the end.
Thanks to Inge, Adriana, Juliana, and Jaime, the Globalmind dream team of Cali, for arranging everything!
After the busy days it was time to relax a little. Together with Paola I went to visit Laguna de la Cocha close to Pasto. At 2800 meters of altitude it was a lot colder than the tropical heat down in Cali.
And so after almost two months in Cali I’m packing my cycling bags once again. I’m still a little unsure of the plans for the next months, but I have decided to cycle up to Cartagena on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. That will conclude the South American part of the adventure.
Hi Thomas,
You deserve all the attention that you received in not only in Cali but at every little town or city that appreciated all your efforts.
I had been following your cycling odyssey since August last year and I’m always looking forward for every new posting.
It’s the nice pictures and simple descriptions in your blog that make it all a worthwhile.
You had also inspired me to do a month-long trip across South America in the near future – most likely by local transportation as I’ve been road biking on just my trainer now due to a permanent ankle injury that I suffered.
If you happen to change your mind and include the San Francisco Bay Area in the North American leg of your trip, you’re most welcome to drop-by.
As always, be safe and keep on cranking those wheels.
All the best to you.
Thomas, I thought you were never going to leave. I am wondering if there is something you are not telling us? You didn’t get married in secret in Cali or something similar?
Haha Tony… it was indeed very hard for me to leave Cali, but I finally did a few days ago 🙂