Steve and the Tiger Riding the Americas by Steve Stewart

Author:Steve Stewart
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781785450778
Publisher: Brown Dog Books

The only fake Irish bar in Medellin, Columbia, with Sam (the Texan anaesthetist), Oz and Albert, the owner and fellow Scot.

At the Hacienda Nápoles. The picture behind has Pablo Escobar dressed as a Mexican bandit and lying dead on the rooftop after he was shot by the police.

Piedra del Peñol at Guatapé, Columbia. The 740 stairs can be seen on the face of the rock.

Arriving at Guatapé I parked the Tiger and had a wander around the shops and restaurants at the base of the rock before having something to eat. The ‘Peñol Rock’ (La piedra del Peñol) is a rock formation, that formed along the Antioquia Rock Base (batolito de antioquia) 70 million years ago and is estimated to weigh 10 million tons. With two thirds of its mass below ground, the exposed vertical face juts up over 200 metres from the surrounding plain and is visible from miles around. The rock is almost entirely smooth except for one long crack running top to bottom on one of the faces.

I had now been on the road for four months and the longest period I think I have ever gone without doing any physical training of any sort. With my torn calf muscles now healed and my broken ribs still hurting but not quite as painful, I decided to test myself ascending the staircase (740 steps) that is built into the rock face as quickly as I could. The temperature was around 25 degrees celsius and wearing motorcycle boots and trousers I set off to try and get to the top without stopping. I have to admit that I did stop briefly on a couple of occasions but only to admire the view (honest). On reaching the top I took my pulse and it was roughly 165 bpm which is only four below my theoretical maximum.

I spent a fair bit of time admiring the views (and recovering from the climb) and I have to say they were spectacular. I then had the prospect of going back down and as I had now come to realise going down was more painful for my arthritic knee. And so it turned out; it seemed to take for ever and my right knee was killing me. On reaching the bottom I had a severe case of disco legs as my thigh muscles quivered uncontrollably. I definitely had some work to do regaining my fitness levels after this trip was over.

Back on the bike I had a relaxing ride to the town of Doradal and the infamous drug cartel boss Pablo Escobar’s hacienda. This is where he lived during his reign and it is located a few kilometres outside the town. The whole estate has been turned into a safari park and his house, Hacienda Nápoles, is now a macabre memorial, not just to him but to the hundreds of people killed during his time as the biggest drug boss in Colombia, if not the world. All that’s left of the actual hacienda is a shell with a canvas roof erected over the top to keep out the elements.

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