Distance to Date: 10,535 km, 6,532 mi

We have been moving north through Colombia these past couple of days. In Cali, we decided to take a detour and head for the Pacific Ocean in search of a boat to take us across the Darien Gap to Panama.

The Darien Gap Dilemma
The area connecting South America and North America is called the Darien Gap. The dense jungles and drug trafficking in the area make it difficult to control and so there is currently no road to cross it. One must either fly over it or skirt it by sea. There are two common options to cross from Colomobia to Panama or vice versa without flying - via lanchas (small motorized boats) from Turbo, Colombia to Panama and via sailboats from Cartagena, Colombia to Panama. Both options are on the Atlantic side.

There may be another option - by a series of cargo boats and lanchas on the Pacific side from Buenaventura, Colombia. Cyclists we have talked to are not familiar with this option, but we are curious to check it out. Afterall, unknowns tend to itch the mind.

We are currently in Buenaventura and have found a cargo boat that will take us up north to Bahia (Bay) Solano, a 26-hr ride out in the open sea. There´s a reason why the boat will go out into the open sea rather than skim along the coast - we´ll tell you why later. Stay tuned.

This is one of the hotels we stayed at along our route to Cali. Notice the hearts and the privacy. Yelp, it´s a Love Hotel! Hahaha! Not all couples have privacy at home with the extended family, so these love hotels help out. You can rent them by the hour or overnight. We arrived at this love hotel late in the afternoon. With no other hotel option, and 20 minutes left of daylight, and a cheap price, and a silly experience, we took at room. Fruit drink stands along the way provide a refreshing relief to a long day on the saddle. Christi sips on a Guanabana drink. Description? Ummm, green outer, fiberous ...ummmm, just plain delicious. Colombia´s Ruta 25. The shoulder is actually really nice! The fruit stand lady gives us a mango as a gift. Colombians are super awesome people! And this is pretty much the consensus from a bunch of other cyclists we´ve met. Yeah, ...ummmm... this is one of those terrible sights on the road. A hueco, or pot-hole. This particular one near Buga got us. It was hiding under in the shade of a tree and Tauru didn´t see it. So we went-a´fallin´. Fall number 6 to date. Tauru hurt his right wrist again while christi got some scratches and bruises. But both uf us are okay and still rollin´. Here, Tauru checks the pulse of the bike. She´s okay, too. It takes some time to shake off the trauma of a fall. These are the moments that do keep us going. Here´s a gas station hotel for $7 per night. There´s even a TV, too, and so we catch up with news on CNN. Unfortunately, the bike sleeps outside since there´s not enough room. Near Buenaventura, we experience tropical Colombia. During a day´s ride, we get rained on four times. We take caution and hide under a bridge as the rain pases. Riding alongside trucks splashing us with water is not such a good idea. Buenaventura! Upon arriving in the city center, and with 15 minutes of daylight left, we meet Ramiro, a fellow cyclist. He invites us to stay with his family. ¿Porque no? Seafront boardwalk. And there is this walkway... ...without railing, and so Tauru has to be really careful. He pilots the tandem, but can he walk this walk? Slowly, slowly, as Ramiro guides him verbally with information about how far or close he is to the edge. This may be easy for the sighted, but not for us.