Settling in – 26 January 2018

26 January 2018 – This morning I ate a hearty continental breakfast, loaded my bike, had the cleaning lady check the room, and checked out of the hotel. I didn’t get some kind of paper from reception to clear out of the secure parking area. Security had to call and get clearance to let me out of the secure parking area. It was a simple route out of the city but I must have missed a turn and Blanche took me over hill and dale. Even the people on the sidewalks were wondering what heck is that guy doing in this neighborhood. After many U-turns I finally got on the correct road out of the city heading toward Pasto.

I drove the route I planned right into Pasto. The hotel I selected was relative easy to find on paper but when the driving was over I was right downtown amongst heavy car traffic and pedestrians. Everybody was walking home from work. I drove up on the sidewalk and parked in front of the hotel door. I received a lot of strange looks from many inquisitive onlookers. I went upstairs and checked in. They weren’t booked up which was good. 

The hotel's name was Hotel Loft. It looked like an old warehouse renovated into a hotel. I had to carry all my baggage up to the 3th floor. The hotel staff were laughing about all my stuff. They even laughed more when I slipped on one of the steps.  But the hotel was nice. Everything worked nicely along with hot water. I planned my route out of the city and went shopping that night. It was kind of interesting looking around the town. Tomorrow will be a short trip to the border town of Ipiales.