RTW the Jamie Z Way: Medellín (2024)

Sábado el 23 de marzo 2024

Hands!

My location: https://new.spotwalla.com/trip/fad5-5fe4c-4716/view

Ok, today I was going to get going, for real. I sent a message to Jake as I was packing up and we agreed to meet at the grocery store outside town at 10am. I got there first and went inside to buy a few things.

I repeat myself, but this is straight from the Canadian Arctic, a prefab warehouse-style grocery store outside a small town in the middle of nowhere.

With Canadian prices for exotic goods.

Jake showed up, and we chatted for a while outside the store for too long before getting on the road.

Early in the day we passed a couple with their thumbs out. I saw Jake flash his brake lights.

Five hundred meters down the road, he pulled to the side; I stopped next to him. He pointed back toward the two hitchhikers, “You want to go pick them up?”

I laughed. Ha! That would be funny. Good joke.

Only a little while later did I realize that I think Jake had been serious. That would have been awesome. I like how this guy rolls, though I’m still not sure I’d want to carry a passenger with even more luggage.

Randomly, Jake pulled to the side again. “You want to try the Africa Twin?”

Yes!

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Jake's bike is the DCT model. I’ve never ridden one of those, though I’ve ridden my cousin’s Africa Twin back in Arizona a couple years ago.

Jake showed me how to work the DCT. It has a few modes. Regular, Sport, and “manual.” I told him just to put it in whatever mode where I don’t have to touch anything.

It’s not like I thought. For some reason I thought the DCT was a CVT, but it’s not. It’s like the automatic transmission in your car, as it shifts up and down. It’s a weird feeling at first, but I quickly got accustomed to it.

It’s got great wind protection and provides a quiet ride compared to my bike.

Jake pulled over when he saw a couple flamingos.

We got back on our own bikes and rode on.

We passed a handful of northbound adventure bikes, notably this sidecar. (Future Jamie note: That's Berend and Jeannette.)

And we stopped for these guys (and their friends).

We weren’t sure what they were. I guessed alpaca.

Jake got a great shot of me riding across the steppe.

Just a little farther on came my turnoff. Jake was on his way south to Gobernador Gregores, a long one-day ride. I wanted to stop at Cueva de las manos.

We pulled over for a handshake and farewell.

From here my road was bumpy gravel.

For the first few kilometers it was awful and I almost turned around. Too many washboards shaking my bike to pieces. A good test for the welding job.

Eventually the road got a bit better.

I got to the visitor center and parked my bike. Entry is by guided tour, and the next tour starts at 4pm. I’d just missed the 3pm tour. I was getting a little concerned about the time. It’s already well into the afternoon.

The tour descends along a well constructed path into the canyon. We all had to wear hard hats.

Our guide explained (in Spanish) the history of this site. The early people drew figures of guanacos, an important part of their existence in this barren land.

Guanacos! That’s what Jake and I had seen!

Later people made impressions of their hands by blowing mineral-based paint from their mouth.

It’s not what I expected. There are hundreds and hundreds of hands painted on the cliff wall. It’s far more extensive than I imagined. The paintings date from as far back as 8000 years ago.

But there’s no “cave.” Well… there's a cave, but the tour doesn’t go inside. All the paintings we saw are on the face of the cliff.

Fortunately I met a couple from DC, traveling through Argentina in a rental RV. Bobbi speaks Spanish and was able to translate the parts of the tour I missed. Her partner John doesn’t speak any Spanish.

I had to hurry to find modern civilization before dark.

I found it in the town of Bajo Caracoles, just a tiny outpost reminiscent of Chicken, Alaska.

I found a small hostel a few streets over, and though it took some wandering around before I found the owner, she had a room available for a whopping ARS$25,000 and the wifi didn’t work.

I sighed. Maybe I could camp somewhere. Like an indecisive dog, I went outside, then back inside. It was windy, but not too windy. Cold, but not too cold. But where would I put my tent? The sun was setting. I didn’t have many options, so I told the lady I’d take the room.

It’s a super simple place. She heats with wood and provided an electric heater to put in my room. I walked over to the restaurant where I found Bobbie and John eating dinner. I sat with them and got an expensive and delicious plate of chicken.

Jake messaged me, "Those animals we saw were guanacos."