I returned to Colombia on April 25th. Arriving at the airport, I found Hank in good shape. I think he was smiling at me when I arrived. 😊
I spent a couple nights at the hotel near the airport getting organized and figuring out where I was heading. Decided to head to southwest Colombia to get ready to enter Ecuador. The first night on the road I headed to Sonarte Eco-Hotel and Camping near Cordoba south of Armenia. It was a long drive and I arrived after dark, mostly as a result of getting a flat tire on my way our of Bogota. Luckily, I was able to pull over quickly at a gas station and there was a tire repair shop there. Unluckily, I think they took advantage of me, charged me way too much, took way too long, and may have damaged my tire by grinding the sidewall and putting on unnecessary patches. I ended up with a slow leak that was tolerable, but frustrating. I would be able to get it fixed a couple days later by some very nice, honest tire guys.
Sonarte was a nice place to stay. The owner, Patricia, was very nice. Another couple from Cali, Henry and Maria, were staying there and I enjoyed visiting with them. They live on an organic farm west of Cali. They are long-time friends of Patricia and were visiting while Henry was working in a city to the north. Henry is a surgeon and had some surgeries there, but that morning he was heading off to a soccer match with some doctors from another town. Maria is a retired nurse and also worked for a ecologist for a while, which is where she met Patricia. I enjoyed breakfast with them, then spent some time with Maria and Patricia birdwatching. Lots of beautiful birds. They are good people. Maria was telling me that they used to do volunteer medical trips to communities on the Pacific Coast. They invited me to their farm, but I needed to keep heading south.
