After spending a couple days in Pasto we took a 6 hour bus to Popayan. The city is 150 miles away and winds around the mountains, which provides some beautiful scenery but also a bumpy and at times terrifying drive, if you're watching the driving.
When we first arrived in Popayan it was about 2pm, so after checking into our hostel we decided to go wandering around. Of course we had no idea where we were walking and ended up in the local shopping area with tons of clothing stores and a giant food market. By this point we were getting really hungry and trying to find this Italian restaurant our friend has recommended (you know how I love my pasta :). Turns out we were on the complete opposite side of town and the restaurant we wanted was located in the historical area. This part of town was really nice, covered in beautiful Spanish-colonial architecture and quite a contrast from the area we had just been walking through. One of the first things we noticed upon arriving in Colombia was that everything is more expensive then Ecuador. We pretty much had to double the price we were paying for everything from food to transportation. So one of the great tips we received from a friend was to request the "menu del dia", it would never be advertised but costs half the price of anything on the menu and included soup, salad, a beverage, main course and sometimes even desert.
On our second day in Popayan our plan was to visit the hot springs and than mountain bike 30km from the hot springs back to our hostel. A truck drove us to the hot springs along, the same road we would be biking (50 minute drive) and dropped us off at the hot springs. These hot springs were a lot more like I expected to see in Banos. They had six different pools and even a water slide. Trevor's favorite pool was the main one which had little fishes in it, I however was quite intrigued by the mud pool which actually wasn't as gross as it sounds and was suppose to have therapeutic properties. While we were at the hot springs it started to rain which wasn't a big deal since we were enjoying the water however the road we had to bike back on was a mix of gravel, cement and construction. So needless to say we were in for a muddy ride home.
Along the way we also had to bike through 5 construction sites because they are working on paving the road. And at every single construction site, as soon as I would bike through, I'd get whistles. This was one thing I definitely noticed in Colombia, that being with my brothers didn't deter any of the male attention. In Ecuador I would get some male attention if I was by myself but when with my brother they would leave me alone. In Colombia on the other hand even when walking beside my brother, I would have guys coming up and saying "muy bonita" (very beautiful), whistling and trying to talk to me. So they are differently more aggressive but still harmless.
It wasn't till we were getting close to home that we had an issue. It was actually kind of ironic because I had just asked my brother minutes earlier to stop cutting me off. But of course my brother saw a great photo opportunity and immediately started braking while cutting in front of me for the photo. The worse part was I could see the accident happening right before it happened and had one of two choices 1) try maneuvering to the left of him beside the unguarded cliff or 2) go to the left of him where I know I would end up hitting his back tire. I thought the second option might be safer. I don't know exactly how I fell but my brother said I went over the handlebars, landing on the left side of my body. I hit my head pretty bad and ended up smashing the helmet in three pieces. I must say I'm now a strong believer in the value of a helmets because I probably would have ended up in the hospital otherwise. I'm also glad it happened to me instead of Trevor because he probably would have gotten his fourth concussion which I'm trying to avoid on this trip. Thankfully I wasn't hurt too badly, just a little bruised, winded and scrapped up. Our original plan had been to visit a local cafe to have chocolate santafereno on our way back. So with me still foggy and seeing stars from the fall, we went to one of the roadside restaurants to have chocolate santafereno which is hot chocolate with a piece of traditional bread and and cheese that you put into the hot chocolate, and was actually quite good. While at this restaurant we ended up making friends will the bored Military guards that were suppose to be guarding the road or something. Apparently they had been talking about us being a couple and we both started laughing when the guarded started yelling to his two companions outside that we are "herrmanos" (siblings) not "novios" (bf/gf). Whenever people first see us they usually think we are a couple although a lot of people keep asking if we are twins as well.
Biking back through the city was actually the most terrify part for me. They don't actually have traffic lights and stop sign at busy corners, so the most aggressive driver usually wins. Which isn't comforting when on a bike with a busted helmet.All and all - with the accident, mud and rain - it was a pretty amazing ride and I'd recommend it to anyone visiting. ps- Trevor felt so guilty about causing my fall, that he was the nicest I've ever seen him be, for the next 2 days :)
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