Panamericana Norte | 2slowspeeds

Although Karen and Jos have very kindly invited to stay with them as long as we like, we feel we should move on. It is not that we want to leave Ecuador in a hurry, but spending more time in Quito which is huge has no appeal and we need to give ourselves a buffer if time to sort out how we will get out of Colombia (the ferry service to Panama having been terminated this week). Before we leave, Jos and Karen, who have lived 18 years in Colombia before moving to Ecuador, give us some safety tips on security in Colombia which we will be sure to follow: we should not stop between Pasto and Cali and definitely not ride there at night.

Ready to leave Jos and Karen’s in Quito

What a ride out of Quito!!! How they managed to construct so many buildings and suburbs in this landscape, clinging to sheer cliffs, is incredible. You have to stay alert while driving around Quito as there are so many ramps and overpasses that go in opposite directions to where you are aiming, to get around cliffs or creeks and rivers. A bit of a maze. Luckily getting out of the city from Karen and Jos is a breeze and we are out into the beautiful countryside in no time.

Entrepreneur in Ecuador

On the equator in Ecuador

We ride up and up again, up to 3,600 metres before going down again. Glorious roads and countryside.

Cayambe, Ecuador

Heading to Otavalo, Ecuador

Otavalo is renowned for one of its markets where people are dressed in traditional costumes and selling various clothes, shawls, ponchos, jewellery, most goods we are told resembling Peruvian goods – sounded way too touristy for us so Jos and Karen mentioned a route that took us near a lake on the outskirts of Otavalo and into tiny villages. We stop at a food market there and enjoy a quiet stroll and chat with an old lady. We chat, not quite understanding each other so hold hands and everything is clear. This is the side of travel we love. We started riding up towards a nature reserve, but after 3kms of pebbles up a narrow windy road, we turned back when it started raining, still going for the safe option as you see…

Pivarinshe, Ecuador

Outside Otavalo, Ecuador

While Anthony rests at the hotel, I enjoy walking around the local market, watching a lady sewing, sitting in the main square watching people. Eventually, I make my way to the touristy market as many are packing up. What was interesting to see was that ladies there wear their traditional clothes everywhere. It is not just for tourists at the touristy market.

Otavalo, Ecuador

Inca warrior Rumiñawi, Otavalo, Ecuador

Local market in Otavalo, Ecuador

Otavalo lady

Traditional blouses in Otavalo, Ecuador

Otavalo, Ecuador

One of several music stores in Otavalo, Ecuador

Otavalo, Ecuador

Ice cream seller in Otavalo, Ecuador

Otavalo, Ecuador

Lovely market seller in Otavalo, Ecuador

We get ready to leave Otavalo early as we will be crossing the border into Colombia today and want to make it to Pasto well before dark, and we have 227kms to cover plus an unknown amount of time at the border. We meet up with the hotel owner again as we are packing the bikes: did we find the stickers at the place he mentioned to us last night? No luck. So he decides to go off to the store himself and look for us. He has no luck either but how lovely of him!!

We enjoy our ride up to the border:

Ibarra, Ecuador

Flower greenhouses in Ecuador

Bolivar county, Ecuador

Tulcan, Ecuador

We arrive at the Rumichaca border at 10.30. The immigration processing office is so full that a security guard holds people back from entering. It takes us 2 hours to get the immigration exit stamp. Before going onto the Colombian border, we have a quick snack sitting on the side of the road – a can of salmon and dry biscuits – our favorite staple traveling diet. On we drive to the Colombian side which is very close, and up we walk to the immigration office which takes a couple of minutes and then onto the customs office. A gentleman in a crisp black suit greets us as we’re walking up to the office, and tells us in English that the office is closed but he’ll get someone to see us anyway. Very nice. They unlock the door and in we go. Unfortunately, the lady there is leaving her shift and her colleague who should be processing us is nowhere to be found. Just go and have lunch and come back she says. As we’ve had lunch, we decide it is best to ‘save’ our place in the queue, ie sitting at the desk waiting for someone to come back from lunch. We use that time for one of us to get the required photocopy of our passports with our immigration stamp (luckily, for once Kristjan had gone through the border before us, so we knew the process) and get our road insurance. An hour later, a customs guy arrives. It takes another hour for him to enter all the vehicule information into his computer, while about 20 people still wait outside the locked office. What delayed us a little more was the requirement to take a carbon rubbing of our chassis number – not easy when it is printed on a label, not engraved but they got enough and we were finally stamped into Colombia 4 hours after arriving at the border.

Our first priority is to drive into Ipiales to get our SOAT road insurance as the border office computer was down!! You can buy your SOAT at at supermarket but where is that supermarket? Once in the centre, I suggest that Anthony stays with bikes while I hop into a taxi there and back. I take a quick photo of where we are so I can find my way back!!

Parque San Felipe, Ipiales, Colombia

Finally, we are off. We are in Colombia!! Wow, I have butterflies of excitement.

Our road insurance complete, we finally head out of Ipiales and start our journey towards Pasto. The scenery is so gorgeous, once again, every new bend surprising us even more. As a bike rider, the road is paradise. Gentle bends, perfectly cambered road, vistas as far as the eye can see of beautifully green rolling hills, then suddenly cliffs and deep green gorges. Here is how the scenery changed within 15′ (luckily my Lumix camera records the time as I would never remember such details):

North of Ipiales, Colombia

We get to our hotel in Pasto around 5pm – Hotel Frances La Maison which Anthony spotted online. It is owned by a Frenchman, Patrice, who has been living in Colombia for 20 years. It is good to speak French!! We have dinner at a little pizza place 5′ walk down the road: I can say it was the best pizza I have ever had and the owner of Alina was such a wonderful and gentle guy. Colombia has a great feel so far and we are enjoying being here.

– Anne

‘On the road again!’ as the song goes, the bikes serviced, beautifully cleaned (we should have left the panniers on and maybe they would have washed those too!), Anthony has a new chain and sprockets so the constant rattling is gone and we are good to go. We are lucky to be leaving on Sunday, without the weekday traffic. We have, unusually for us, planned an early pre 08:00 departure. We are away and within one minute, Anthony’s carefully chosen route is abandoned, roads we planned to use blocked off for some sporting event.

Still, a quick redirection and twe are away in very light traffic. A quick stop by traffic police for using a motorbike free underpass. Who knows why… A friendly exchange and we are away on again and finally on the three lane expressway, accelerate to overtake a truck and STOP! Who put a set of faded, barely visible, traffic lights on our side only? Who knows, yet again… The freeway is dotted with bus stops as it passes through some of the working class districts of Lima. We have spent our time in Miraflores, an affluent seaside suburb, and not seen this side of Lima close up. This is the reality for many of the people drawn to Lima for the opportunities that a big city can provide.

Panamericana Norte leads us out of Lima and back to the desert landscape we have become so familiar with. We have noticed that, in towns and cities along the way in Peru, traffic volume falls dramatically at the edge of town. The majority of traffic stays within the town limits with mostly trucks and busses making the long haul journeys.

We are definitely out of Lima now

Towns are slow, with traffic calming humps sometimes every few hundred metres – most are very noticeable, painted with large yellow stripes, others we only know because the traffic in front of us suddenly slows down dramatically. We have grown to love those humps as they have been very useful, giving us the opportunity to either over or undertake slow vehicles.

Outside the villages, we mostly see trucks and busses, a few cars and the odd mototaxi (tuk tuk in Asia) or motorcart, carrying incredible loads.

Typical traffic on the Panamericana Norte

I thought we had seen every combination of pastel colours in the mountain ranges, but we are once again treated to the most subtle and gentle shade of red, beige, grey and brown. Each turn revealing a different hue and mountain shape. It is calming and serene, it seems like there is only us. No other life. No scrubby bush or bird. Just a glorious winding road and us.

Our first fog encounter on the Panamericana Norte

Panamericana Norte half way between Lima and Trujillo

Then suddenly, after one last bend, the vibrant green jumps out, shouting life at us. We see rice, sugar cane, corn, chilli bushes and fruit trees. Wow, I love that green!!! It is amazing how life giving those meandering rivers are.

Another lush valley

Panamericana Norte half way between Lima and Trujillo

Wind and sand dunes on the Panamericana Norte

So many shades of grey!

After a most glorious ride, we finally reach the outskirts of Trujillo. We had no idea we would get that far today. Anthony checks hotels in his GPS and picks a nice sounding named hotel , the Libertador, on the Plaza de Armas, so off we set for a final stretch. We arrive around 5.30pm having ridden 580kms. What a gorgeous square and hotel. That will more than do thank you very much!!!!

We have just arrived at Trujillo Plaza de Armas

Trujillo cathedral

Trujillo Plaza de Armas

Trujillo typical courtyard

We quickly decide we’ll spend 2 nights there Ss there is so much to see here.

– AnnE

2slowspeeds

Loving life – Turning Dreams into Memories

Tag Archives: Panamericana Norte

Stunning scenery from Quito to Pasto

Another glorious ride – Lima to Trujillo

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: