Chat Zone for The Big Big Trip Journal!

[HobbesOnTour]

. . . from a pretty barista

Colombia is renowned for its pretty ladies. And I see evidence for that renown every single day......
But there's a problem. Most of them don't smile
There's very little prettier than a smile.

And no. If I'd ordered a café con leche she could have curdled the milk!

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Q1. A. Dismount and walk around it

Q2. C. Latino horses <<< sounds like it will cover either of the other possibilities

Q3. B. Go and get a coffee from pretty barista <<< sounds like it is a good choice for many questions!

Q1 ❌
Stay (in Morelia) or ride happily into it.
Riding happily into it lets us see a repair in action in a little backstreet shop and later introduces us to great service!

Q2 ❌
Remember the horse festival?😉

Q3 ✅

 

[cwskas]

Oh no! I must be the worst cycle tourist blog reader in the world! I only got 1 of 3 correct!

 

[cwskas]

I talked this lot into posing for me

How kind of them! Those caterpillars or grasshoppers and beautiful!

It was a lovely day for cycling but I wasn't even thinking about that. In fact, I wasn't thinking much at all. There was something so calm, so comfy that I left my head empty and just felt.

Special places should be treated specially. I took another day.

Sounds reasonable to me/

I went back to the Plaza simply because it feels so comfortable and had more coffee.

Charging your internal batteries, I suppose.

When am I ever going to be back here again? What's my rush?

I'd love to say that I did loads, discovered more walks or hikes. But I didn't.
I soaked. I absorbed. I wandered from coffee place to coffee place. I read. I wrote. What's really strange, to me anyway, is despite all the coffee I'm imbibing I'm incredibly relaxed! Magic coffee perhaps?

Magic coffee! Yeah, that's the ticket! Maybe while you are there, you can organize their next advertising campaign.

 

[CharlesF]

The last two posts about Jardin are magic, and extra special photos.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Oh no! I must be the worst cycle tourist blog reader in the world! I only got 1 of 3 correct!

Do I know the trees that I like?
Can I tell one bird from another?
I don't even know what road I'm on half the time......
It's not about the knowing....... It's about the feeling

And at least you gave it a shot!

 

[Scoosh]

I talked this lot into posing for me

Great observation to have seen them ... but I suppose they do stand out somewhat !

Amazing the difference one feels when, after rain and road 'stress' ... the sun comes out, warmth returns ... and suddenly the world looks a much more benign place – not out to 'get' you but to show itself to you and let you enjoy it.

This is a place with no urgency. At all.

this !
One of most under-rated things – time. Time to explore, time to relax, time (as you might say) to be.

Christ the King! It's quite small actually.

One of those tress in front of the statue (immediately right of the flags) almost looks to have the same shape as the statue – with a head and arms outstretched !

Coffee country

... with a well-earned view !

 

[Shadow]

Lots and lots and lots of colour

quote from gogglemaps (my italics obvs):

Jardín is an Andean town in northwest Colombia, known for its brightly painted houses (1), colorful floral displays and milk candies (2). The main plaza, El Libertador Park, features rose gardens, a central fountain and the twin-towered, neo-Gothic Basilica (3) of the Immaculate Conception, with views from its bell tower. The nearby Clara Rojas Peláez House Museum offers art, antiques and a library in a colonial building.

1 - found and noticed; what a wonderful tourist you are!
2 - not found presumably; normal Hobbesian tourist!
3 - I thought we had sorted the church/basilica thing!

Loved your Dr Doolittle skills getting the butterflies and 'hoppers in formation.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

1 - found and noticed; what a wonderful tourist you are!
2 - not found presumably; normal Hobbesian tourist!
3 - I thought we had sorted the church/basilica thing!

1. I didn't realise I was being graded...... And against feckin' Google!!! Google maps is not to be trusted! (Coloured houses are kind of hard to miss)

2. Oh they're found alright! The Latin world has something that goes far beyond a sweet tooth. I can't eat them - they're far, far too sweet for me and that's saying something! Just about every place has their own sweet thing.

3. A church is a church in my world😊.


And the museum was closed for restoration!

 

[cwskas]

looking at a photo is only a tiny proportion of the experience. The smells, the sounds, the wind moving through the leaves are the real experience

I think that is why it takes me so long to catch up on posts when I get behind. I can at least imagine.

If I ever get bored of these views it's time to put me out of my misery. The fact that all the work to get up here was done a few days ago certainly helps

I dont think that will happen, you are far too observant and inquisitive.

This town has an energy and I was plugged in!

Soaking up as much as you can . . .

Aerial view of an aerial town

That picture of the town is one of my favorite so far. The longer distance views are so beautiful, but this one really shows some of the character of the town . . . elongated in between ridges. Really interesting.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I think that is why it takes me so long to catch up on posts when I get behind. I can at least imagine.

Reading slow is the ultimate way to read in my world, especially with an accomplished writer.

I remember hearing an Irish writer reading an excerpt from his book (a book I'd tried and failed to get into) and not understanding why the experience was so much better.
I dug out my copy and tried again, at a much slower pace. All of a sudden the rhythm, the sounds and the story combined.....
A very educational experience.

Take as long as you like!

 

[HobbesOnTour]

@CharlesF
You wanted brake photos.....


The old brakes. The top one is the damaged one. Not a great man for terminology you can see how the silver bar is bent and won't seat properly meaning the brake is operating with hardly any tension

The replacement. You can see where the rack is attached to the brake. I'm thinking constant rattling loosened the attachment to the brake, the brake become loose and that little "tension bar" popped out of its hole. Most likely tightening everything up on the Trampoline I messed up and caused the bend in the "tension bar".

And the other side....

The rubber frame protectors were "lost" by the "mechanic" in Cartagena. A combination of huge quantities of sweat, shorts that hit the cables when I stop and no protectors are causing this.....

And this

Anything else?

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Just a thought in relation to Willie's post above.....

I'd hope that anyone reading the travelogue who's way behind won't be shy about posting a question or comment from any stage. Go slow and try to feel - that's what I'm trying to do.
Using the quote function would be handy though

With thanks to @IaninSheffield

Highlight the text you want to quote, click +Quote in the bottom right of the post, repeat for other texts you want to quote.
Navigate to the box where you want to make the quotes, choose Insert Quotes, and finally Quote Message from the pop up.

 

[CharlesF]

Thanks for brake photos, helped me imagine how many Km’s they covered and the extreme terrain; just makes your trip a bit more “real” seeing wear and tear.

By the by, why did you ditch the trailer? It’s been a recurring thought and then you mentioned it in your post.

 

[CharlesF]

Those last 3 posts, extreme travelling, what a trip! The photos conveyed the terrain you were covering - congratulations!

Loved the R4, one of the best cars ever. I would take one over a super car any day.