Today's day off in Pitalito gave me ample time to reflect on our time in Central and South America thus far. 

So much of what we experience in the hours spent on the saddle has started to feel commonplace, when only a month ago it would have felt like a different reality. Street dogs nipping at our heels down cobbled roads; chickens, roosters, horses, donkeys, goats, and cows munching along the roadsides or being herded down the dirt path in front of you; families of 3-4 shoved on tiny motorcycles sans helmets blasting down sinuous roads; burning piles of trash on the outskirts of towns; makeshift roadside eateries selling all sorts of foods and fruits...you get the picture. In a short amount of time it has all become our norm, and yet from time to time we find ourselves having to stop and just go "wow." Here we are, some four thousand miles from our homes, immersed in a totally different culture and nearing the southern border of Colombia, with nothing but the expanse of South America laying before us. It may feel normal in the moment, but when we step back it really is something spectacular.

While Brian and Girish have a more open-ended itinerary, mine is not. As we near Ecuador, where my trip will be ending, I've started to think about things I would have changed about my setup or the trip in general. While there is very little regarding my setup that I would change, one item I shouls have left at home is my small alcohol stove.  Cheap, delicious food has been available every day along the entirety of the route, even along the most remote sections of backcountry roads. 

Another item that we likely could have done without is our camping gear, although I will say the one night we have used it in Jericó made it worth carrying. We also have several hundred more miles of remote riding where it may very well come in handy. Perhaps this is just my way of looking back and wishing we had camped more often than we did, or perhaps I've just been surprised at how easy it has been to find lodging. When a hotel room only costs a few dollars it's tough to justify spending a night with the mosquitoes.

Outside of reflecting on things, we spent the day lazing around the hotel and plaza. It rained steadily from about 10am, so we prioritized simply resting up. Girish messaged a number of Warmshower hosts along our intended route and acquired some extremely valuable information, including a website with information on Casas de Ciclistas throughout Colombia. How nice this would have been to have earlier on! 

The rains subsided around 3pm and we decided to ride several blocks away to see if we could save some money by staying at the local bomberos (firestation). Bomberos often let cyclists stay in their common spaces, and we had heard that the bomberos in Pitalito had hosted cyclists in the past. Unfortunately after a call to the boss they were unable to take us in, so we found a different hotel a few blocks away from the centro to save some money. We grabbed dinner and meandered around before calling it an early night. Brian would be arriving on a bus tomorrow morning at 7am, and we would have to decide if we forge ahead towards Mocoa or take a short day of riding up to San Augustín. Decisions, decisions!