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I begin the day with a 7:30 AM minibus from San Agustín to Pitalito.
The good news is that I find a bus leaving 1/2 hour later for Pasto (my flight leaves from Pasto tomorrow). The bad news is that it is a bus ride via the Trampolina de la Muerte. My guidebook says:
“From Mocoa you can head to Pasto (COP$35,000, six hours) on the Trampolin de la Muerte (Trampoline of Death) – one of the most dangerous and spectacular roads on the continent. It is an unpaved, single-carriage road with sheer 400m drops into rocky ravines the entire way. When you meet oncoming traffic you often have to navigate this treacherous track in reverse! It is considered safer to travel in a pickup than by bus.”.
Of course, No pickup is available - I am on a bus. And sitting in close confinement with 7 other passengers: not a great way to fight the coronavirus. But with a description like the above, who can resist? And anyway, I don’t really have a choice.
Here’s what the Trampolina de la Muerte looks like on my map app:
The driving time estimate of 3 hours, 52 minutes turned out to be much too optimistic.
First a police stop, then a sanitary stop, where our hands were sprayed with disinfectant. (I’ve tried to get some hand sanitizer several times without success). A few people are wearing masks (the first I’ve seen). The women in front of me in the bus wiped down the area around their seats with wipes. At least this coronavirus is being taken seriously by some.
After a few more miles, the driver stops to let air out of the tires - oh my! The road becomes unsurfaced, rough, steep,
narrow. But the scenery is magnificent.
Trampolina de la Muerte, inside bus.MOVAt times we have to back up a bit to let an oncoming truck pass. We are bouncing along on the side of a deep and narrow canyon.
Did you see the waterfall towards the end?). The road is flooded at one point.
Some fog begins to appear, and the guard rail is replaced by yellow tape.
Trampolina de ka Muerte, along the road.MOVThe fog thickens as we climb from 600 meters to over 2,000.
Certainly the coolest bus ride yet. And this is the last photo I took in Colombia.
My hotel, The Kola Inn, is great. But lockdowns are happening as I write. Nobody can enter Colombia, Panama, Ecuador. Caren managed to break through and reach Serenity, but it was a heck of an adventure. And I’m praying that I can enter Mexico tomorrow night. If not, I’ll be really stuck.
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