Time to leave and get back on the road.

Friday Nov 8th

Well like everyone else that stays here at Finca La Bonanza we have ended staying a extra day.  We didn't do much other then visit with the other people staying here and getting laundry done.

Wednesday morning I get up and start laundry by 7am. I wanted to make sure there was enough time for the laundry to dry before it clouds over in the afternoon. Because Kika and Anouar home school the kids and I didnt want to interrupt since Kika starts the wash. So got it going and an hour later it was on the line. As it turned out is was a nice breezy sunny morning so everything was dry within 2 hours. Kika has a very large washer so I was able to do everything in one load which included the sheets!

Then in the afternoon a few of us went across the street to see how fresh cheese is made by one of the locals. They do the process in a room just outside their house.  They mostly make cheese for some of the restaurants in Popayán.  Fresh milk is delivered here everyday and in the afternoon the cheese is made and then delivered to the city.

They have big plastic buckets of milk to which they add some powder to make the milk curdle. Once it curdles it gets cut into pieces and the whey is drained off. The cheese is squeezed some more to release the whey and then salt is added to the cheese. Once that is mixed it is placed into molds and pressed some more. After awhile the mold is removed, the cheese is ready, packed into a plastic bag and the process is started again with more milk. I cant remember how many blocks of cheese he and his wife make a day. We all got to buy a block of the cheese - very yummy. It's very similar to the ricotta cheese I made last year when we were in Honduras. Easy process to make fresh cheese. Think I will add some herbs to mine to give it a different flavour and add it to my salads.

We had our 5:30 Moroccan tea meeting with everyone. Kika came up with an idea for pot luck lunch the next day. They would make a lamb tagine and the rest of us would bring something to add to the meal.  Since I had made a big pot of vegetable soup today and said I would bring that.

Thursday morning I looked at maps that Kika and Anouar used when they were travelling so I could get a few ideas of where we should go.  We had also met with another couple that are travelling north and they gave us some tips on what to see in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. We also trade "travel cards" with most of the overlanders so now we can check each other's blogs :)

At 1pm everyone brought their food over to the patio and we all enjoyed a great lunch! We also had wine, which I got a little carried away with so I was in bed by 6pm LOL!!! It was dark, so guess it must have been time to go to bed!! 😂😂

Lamb tagine, and in the pot were potatoes and peas in a yummy sauce

Someone brought melted cheese with tomatoes, bread and my soup

2 couples and their kids missing because they were getting ready to leave

Well of course when I woke up this morning I wasn't feeling great but we had to get going. It is so easy to just stay here and relax and visit, but we have a lot of countries to visit before next June!! So we said our good-byes to everyone. As it turns out, 4 other people are also leaving. 2 are going north and 3 of us are going south. We plan on meeting one couple on Sunday and then crossing the border into Ecuador on Monday.

Leaving the finca was like leaving a family reunion,  pictures of us with the family are taken, then they ring the bell at the entrance as we leave. Others are waving good-bye. Really going to miss this wonderful place! Thanks for a great time Kika and Anouar!

The whole family 😍

One of the daughters (I think Maya) ringing the bell at the entrance gate 😁

We have a lot of running around to do in Popayán. We need to refill our propane, get groceries and get more internet for my phone. Popayán is only about 40 minutes away.

We get the propane first, which didnt take long but the funny thing was that the owner Julio, wanted us to pay him in Canadian dollars!! Guess he must collect money?? So the fill came to $16C but we only had 2 tens, so gave him that - again asking if he was sure he wanted us to pay in Canadian?? Si!!! Ok. Then we also gave him a loonie to show it's our dollar.  Julio is an older guy so think selling propane is just a side business anyways :)

And as we were finished and ready to back out of the Julio's yard the Belgium couple - Marc and Herlinde (who bought their truck and camper in Kelowna) were just coming in to get their propane bottle refilled. We'll meet them in a couple of days again to cross the border. They've been travelling for 4 years now and just started South America. Which might take them 3-4 years!!! Yikes we have a lot to see in the next 7 months!!

We then find a large mall and go in to get groceries and recharge my phone with more internet. And now we can finally get on the road. It's already 1pm. We are stopping to park behind a restaurant for tonight. It shows it should take about an hour. But we know it will be longer!

And sure enough there are lots of trucks on the road and the road is only 2 lanes and goes up and down and curves around and we finally get to the restaurant at 3:30!! Those big trucks just go so slow up the hills! And so few spots that you can actually pass safely.  Once we got to the restaurant we go in and ask if it's ok if we park for the night. Si!  Once parked we go inside and order some chicken wings which will probably end up being supper since its so late.

Tomorrow we are going to head to a lake that is just east of the highway and suppose to be quite nice.  We'll try it out. It's 225km and shows it will take almost 4hrs so I guess closer to 6 hours for us!

Our view tonight