On Sunday I was brimming with pride with this major milestone reached. I don´t normally keep a running tally of miles, I just do an end of month count, but I knew I was nearing the 10,000 mile mark. A quick milegae check told me that 14 miles into my Sunday ride I´d be hitting 10,000 miles. It felt great!
Picking up from the previous blog things had not gtone well with my stay in Buga. Another debillitating bout of food poisoning left me weak and enfeebled, it was all I could do to post on social media to share my misery and hopr for messages of support. Thanks for delivering on this!
Nevertheless, in a miserable days riding I rode on Cali. Unlike some mininbuses I´ve driven I found I could get quite far running on empty and 45 thoroughly unenjoyable miles later I made it to Cali, Colombia´s third largest city.
The only bright moment of the day was arriving in the barrio of my host Ernesto and bumping into him by chance in the street. Sometimes that last step in the homestay arrangements, finding the house or host, is the hardest. He was deocrating his flat in Cali ready for rental, I kipped on the floor of one of the empty rooms. I told Ernesto I was tired and needed a little siesta before we went out for dinner. 13 hours later I woke up well on the road to recovery.
Wow, Ernesto, what an incredible guy. A great host and a wonderful human being. I spent four days in his company and enjoyed every minute. His cheerful disposition and relentlessly positive outlook on life made a real impression on me. For all the goofing about in the photos below the surface lies a very serious and principled person who is passionate about travelling and treating people in the right way.
We spent a couple of days at his flat in Cali, taking it easy so I could recuperate from the food poisoning and visiting various restuarnants and street stalls in the barrio.
I also ventured into the city centre, about 5 miles from Ernesto´s flat.
Street stall selling sugar cane juice. The fruit juices in Colombia are even tastier and the range of climates found across the country supports a wide variety of fruits, some you´ll never see in a UK supermarket.
Downtown Cali.
To be honest, in recent weeks my appetitie for sightseeing has diminshed slightly. The beauty of this trip for me is firstly the ride. To be out on the bike riding through villages, passing through the countryside, enjoying the downhills, attacking the climbs, that is when I find myself ín the moment´ appreciating the trip the most. The second most important element is the contact with people, very easy in Colombia. And then sometimes, as in this picture, it´s just nice to find a quiet moment in a cafe and catch up on some reading. Sightseeing gets pushed down in the list of priorities.
With the flat spruced up Ernesto freed up some time to visit his hometown of Jamundi. So, in the evening rush hour, I biked the 12 miles south following Ernesto on his motorbike. Don´t try this at home kids, but once we´d left the city limits and the horrendous traffic, I got a turbo boost by hanging onto the back of his motorbike. We were in Jamundi in no time at all! 
The evening rush hour. Time for some assertive cycling.
Ernesto´s home in Jamundi adorned with stickers and flags of all the places he´s visited. On his motorbike and as a backpacker he´s travlled across most of South America and Mexico. Lots of sharing of travel stories during my stay. 
The central plaza in Jamundi.
Ernesto´s partner, Beatrice. Another wonderful person! She works in the nursery I´m visiting in the picture. We talked late into the night about the challenges of education in our respective countries.
The entrance to the nursery.
Moving on from Jamundi I decided to take the minor roads towards Popayan, avoiding the heavier traffic of the Panamerican Highway. Fantastic scenery along the way and I had the pleasure of Ernesto´s company for the day. Emboldened by the success of the previous days assisted journey, I spent much of this day desperately handging onto the back of Ernesto´s motorbike! It was surprisingly tiring, like being tortured on a rack. My arm was to ache for days afterwards.
River Cauca
Views of the reservoir from high up the valley side. Although the dragging from the motorbike was agony at times, Ernesto helped me cover 60 miles and 3000ft of climbing.
Lunch stop - soup and main course for $1.50.
And the farewell moment as I rode on to Popayan, pictured below, and Ernesto returned to Cali to meet prospective clients for his flat. An incredibly rich four days of sharing stories, sharing food and simply sharing each others´company. Ernesto´s next adventure is a trip to Europe, I hope to see him in Oxford. 
I stayed in Popayan for one night with Sergio, a friend of Ernesto´s. I arrived in the pouring rain but was immediately warmed up with a tasty dinner. The next day I embarked on a three day journey to the next major town, Pasto.
More help from Ernesto, he reommended a restaurant with wonderful views and free camping. Below was my home for the night, a roof over my head, water source, electricity, I was as happy as a pig in a pigsty.
Again branching off from the Panamerican Highway I took the longer, tougher route to Pasto through the mountains. Not many cyclists make it this way so every time I stopped inquisitive people would approach me asking about my journey. To be honest, sometimes you just want to sit down and take a breather and have some time to yourself. Fat chance! But, be a good ambassador and give people the time of the day an you´re treated handsomely. This day riding through villages I was given free bread, a free lunch, free coffee, a free beer. Some guys even tried to drag me to a bar to watch the football in the evening but I was exhausted and had to take a breather, Shockingly I actually had to pay for a hotel on Sunday night, all of $4. However, coming up to three weeks in Colombia and I´ve only paid for accommodation three times, $16 in total. This is why I can afford to sponsor myself!
Mountain views over La Union, a major coffee producing region.
Friendly folk who invited me in for lunch and a chat.
Early morning vista, riding above San Pedro de Cartago. The picture below shows a frequent problem on the roads in these parts, a landslip. Somehow I´ve managed to dodge the rain in recent days.
Can you make out the road cut into the hillside above? That´s where I was headed. In theory this could have been a tough ride, I don´t know how many thousand feet of climbing but plenty. However, the scenery, the people, the hospitality have imbued my trip with such positivity that the journey flew by.
Month #8 is up, a measly 810 miles covered (I had a week off the bike while in Panama and Bogota), the grand total is 10,081 miles. I´m now in Pasto, in theory just one days ride from Ecuador. However, I´m looking to stay on a few days extra here in Colombia, mostly because I´m enjoying my time here so much but also to give more time for a pair of tyres I´ve ordered to turn up in Quito, Ecuador.
All in all, I am living the dream!
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