From Popayan I got a ride with a trucker towards Pasto. We were about an hour and a half away when the sun began to set and the trucker got told he couldn’t keep driving because there’d been an accident which had blocked part of the road ahead. So I had to get out and quickly find another ride, or else end up stuck on this high plateau in the dark, which wouldn’t have been great. But I was very lucky and got picked up almost immediately by a couple of lovely Russians, Kate and Sla, driving from Alaska to Chile. They ended up giving me a three-day ride, first that night to a high-altitude lake and then all the way into Ecuador. Sometimes life just works out.

Leaving Popayan.

In the truck.

On the plateau…

…under the setting sun.

Then these guys picked me up (picture taken the following morning, when a few mechanical corrections were necessary).

That first night we drove to a high-altitude lake called Laguna La Cocha and found a place to stay. It was bloody freezing, hence all the clothes.

Next morning we went out to look at the lake in the rain.

Canal running out of the lake…

…to the rather strange community of Little Switzerland.

With wooden bridges over the canal.

And little boats everywhere.

Misty mountains in the background.

Another bridge.

Pleasant hills.

Colombia’s interpretation of Swiss music.

Crazy paving.

Crazy balancing.

And that’s all you’re getting.

Total distance hitchhiked: 62,313 km.
Total number of rides: 448.