I said goodbye to Mike and Andy at 6am. Got myself ready and ate breakfast at the hotel. Afterward, Filipe drove me into town and flagged down the bus to Popayan. I think there was only room if I did not go all the way. I'm not exactly sure what the discussion was. The bus driver hopped on top of the bus and passed up my bike which he tied down. He charged me 60000 which I thought might be a bit high but it is still small amount. (My last bus was only 25000 to Pitalito) I got the front seat and was thinking I might not be so cramped this ride. Right out of town we stopped and picked up a girl who I think was going back to university in Popayan. She sat between me and the driver with the large bag of boxes that had occupied the seat on her lap. I ended up handing that bag out the window to a pharamistist at a drugstore in Isnos.
Just after we passed Mike and Andy - they were making pretty good time - the pavement ended. The bus was going pretty slow and the pot holes were enormous. The same traffic was on the road which was a lot for the surface.
There were random guys filling pot holes for tips in several places. The truckers and bus drivers were handing out a few 1000 as they went by.
It was slow hard going. At Puente Mazamorras, about 10km before the top I exited the bus. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't a bad as I'd expected. You could pick a path that avoided the worst holes and biggest rocks. I'm sure this was much easier because I was fresh - tired, I probably would have hit a lot of rocks and fallen in a lot of holes.
The ride through the National Preserve was kind a dud. The brush was so thick it was like riding up a green alley. You could see nothing further away than about 10m. Usually on the big clims huge vistas open up.
Just over the top it opened up to the paramo. It's like a giant sponge. I stepped off the road and my feet got soaked.
After that there were a couple of construction delays. A concrete surface is coming. I only got stuck for a few minutes but Mike and Andy were waiting for 30. Then there was a town and I decided to wait for them there and get some lunch. Just as my very tasty chicken showed up they rode by and were in no mood to wait. I ate a few bites, paid and we headed down the hill.
Even though there was about 1000m drop to Popayan there was still a lot of uphill. I can't tell you how much because I forgot to charge my computer and it ran out of battery.
Popayan is a pretty big city and it preserves the old colonial look. This looks nice but signs are really small and it is hard to find stuff. I had to look in a lot of shops for some beer.
Our hotel is facing a loud street and the disco a few doors down is shaking the building. I'm tired enough to sleep through it, I hope.
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