How do you get two motorbikes on a canoe?

In Aipe, I had to follow a footpath through the fields to find the edge of the river where I could catch a canoe across to Villavieja. The footpath kept forking and as the cows weren't much help, I just had to guess. I ended up on the river bank where I found an elderly barefooted man fishing. He told me I'd gone wrong so he walked me back a bit to set me off in the right direction. 

I got back to the river, further up stream, to find a group fishing by dragging nets through the water. They told me I was in the right place for the canoe and, with immense gusto, all yelled and screamed to beckon it from somewhere out of sight.

Three Colombians on motorbikes also appeared. They were very friendly and we established that I could go with them to the Tatacoa desert once we crossed the river. They honked their horns and eventually the canoe arrived. The group who were fishing left, and I realised they had been waiting with me without needing the canoe themselves. How kind!

We loaded two bikes and the two women onto the canoe. I really didn't think it looked possible, but somehow it worked and off they went. The canoe returned and we loaded the final bike on and off we went. The canoe rocked in the fast running river and I couldn't help but envision the three of us, plus the bike, and my bag/life tumbling into the water.

My new friend Luis had a stuffed monkey called Fifi attached to his bike. For those that don't know, I travelled with a stuffed monkey called Norman attached to my rucksack for almost a year. I found him in Black Rock Desert at Burning Man festival, the first place I went to on this trip. One day in Mexico, after hauling my rucksack between pick-ups, cars and lorries, while standing under a bridge on the highway, I looked down at my pack and realised that Norman was nowhere to be seen. Of course, I was upset to have lost my little buddy, but after a year of travelling I was very accustomed to losing things, breaking things and having things stolen. I had been toughened up and hardened to bear this heartbreak with little pain. 

I relaid this story to Luis and he said he wanted to give me Fifi. 'I know you'll look after her well and will take her to all kinds of places.' And so now my rucksack and I have a new pal to bumble around with! 

851 Rides

Three people, two bikes and one canoe