Colombia, safe and sound!

Well, we made it to Colombia after some craziness at the airport in LA- they wanted proof that we were going to leave Colombia- our bikes weren´t enough! So we had to run around the airport searching for a refundable ticket out of Colombia. We made it back to check-in with a minute to spare, got ushered through security and x-ray to our gate. Felt like we were in Race Around the World!
After 11 hours we arrived in Armenia. The day was clear, the views were lovely. Very tropical, lush and green. Everyone clapped when the plane landed and the kids were waving at the plane through the fence. I´ve got a good feeling. Made it through customs relatively unscathed- they made us open one of the bike boxes, but we didn´t have to take anything out. As we left the airport we were greeted by Mauricio. He lives on a beautiful finca (farm) with plantains, coffee, guava and avocado. We experienced a light drizzle at 4pm and then the skies opened up with thunder, lightning and consistant rain! Amazing views from his house. We put our bikes together and were suprised at how quickly we managed to do them. The next day we slept in until 11.30 and then packed, organised gear and hung out with Mauricio.
We left Mauricio´s on Thursday morning at 9am, made it to the first town by 10am, which was a very pleasant ride. We were on secondary roads which are quieter, very scenic, but no shoulder. We stopped for avocado, limes, cucumbers, tomatoes and arepas. Marco had to do a roadside repair on one of his panniers. Then we had a MASSIVE climb to Sevilla- 3 hours and it KICKED OUR BUTTS! Me especially, I had to stop 3 times. We lunched at the top just as the road entered town and then grabbed a fresh OJ. Didn´t stop in Sevilla, had a lovely downhill (which without disc brakes is also quite the workout- for the fingers!), then another more gradual climb, more downhill, then a flat tyre! (But it wasn´t our invincible Schwalbe Marathons, it was the dodgy tube). We made it to the intersection of the PAN AM HWY and decided to stop (20km short of our intended destination). Stayed at a truck hotel- very noisy, not the best sleep.
Thoughts for the first day- I was very nervous at the beginning and felt the adrenaline, but after a short time was feeling more comfortable. Love my rear vision mirror! Not excited about future mountain passes, but the views were lovely- mountains, bamboo forests and friendly people.
The second day of riding was all on the Pan Am. Loud, busy, truckes, buses, motorbikes, cars, BUT a wide shoulder. This is the trade off- oh, and it´s FLAT too!! I think I have a bit of bursitis in my achilles. We made it to Tulua in an hour, big city. Found a market and bought supplies. Started looking for a hotel and these young people came up to chat, they ended up taking us to a nice Residencia right in the heart of town. It´s safe- locked gate and our bikes are safe too. Rested the ankle. Made dinner with our new stoves- got some fresh Talapia and veggies. Marco couldn´t get the jetboil to work. I got the Trangia going just fine, but when I went to check the flame and lifted the pan, fuel or oil must have spilled and we started a little fire in front of our room!!! Ahhh!! Lucky we had water nearby and dinner wasn´t ruined, just a couple of melted spice bags. Got a suprise visit from Carlos our warm showers connection in Tulua, so we hung out and had a couple of Club Colombias.
Today we worked on our bikes in the morning and then Carlos picked us up and took us to his parents house where we all had lunch together and then we drove a car around for the Mayor elections. I think we are going to the family farm tonight. Carlos is great. He´s an engineering student and speaks very good english, so we´ve been getting much information from him. Tomorrow we will either try to make it to Cali or stop somewhere along the way- depending on how my bursitis feels.