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Monpox
This morning we take our time and continue our journey towards Monpox.
Traffic is heavy, many trucks use this road and the speed is reduced. The landscapes we cross make us think of Normandy.(large meadows and herds of cows)
We leave this main road to take a winding road that criss-crosses marshes or lagoons.
The region is completely flooded. A large part of the land is covered with water, which forces the many herds of cows to take refuge on the road which, fortunately, is overgrown. We have to go around them because they do not move!!!
For the past two years, the islands that make up the lagoons have been connected by huge bridges, which allows us to avoid taking a ferry ... which would have had trouble navigating because of the strong current of the river.
On the other hand the road network of the region is uneven, many sections are not maintained but this does not prevent the authorities from installing tolls, even on departmental roads!!!
We arrive in Monpox in the middle of the afternoon. Express refueling then we try to reach the selected bivouac ... The city is under construction and many streets are destroyed or closed. Much of the city is under mud.
After several attempts, we call on the national police to tell us a safe and easy place to access... No problem, we are escorted to the "Plaza Santa Barbara" by the river.
At this location it says: "Do not park"!!!
Located on the banks of the Magdalena River, "Mompox" was declared a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995.
Founded in 1540 by the Spaniards, the village retains a beautiful colonial architecture including its houses and churches.
It was a hub where all the river traffic converged thanks to the Magdalena River.
We stay there two days to enjoy the delights of this atmosphere.
* Iglesia Santa Barbara: This church dates from 1613, it is distinguished by its tower with strange architecture with Moorish air that contrasts with the traditional colonial style.
* Iglesia San Francisco: Built in 1580, it is the oldest church. Majestic and elegant, it is distinguished by its red and white colours.
* Small cruise in the Cienaga de Pijiño: The Pijiño marsh is a migratory bird sanctuary that we see but have trouble photographing.
San Juan de Nepomuceno
The GPS shows us a travel time of 35 minutes to reach the DIAN offices.
Aware of the traffic, traffic jams and driving in Cartagena, we take the road at 8am to avoid stress.
All in all the traffic is dense but not blocked, which allows us to arrive at 8:50 am , about 1h10 in advance.
That’s not too much ... We don’t know exactly where the vehicle is checked and the guards at the entrance refuse to let us through
.
A call to Ana for the exact location ... It’s in an alley outside the DIAN offices.
The direction of the traffic is very often one-way lanes, so we do a complete tour of the neighborhood and finally arrive at the meeting place.
No space is available .... We get help from the National Marine who frees up a parking space.
9h10 Ana’s whatsapp: the detective is out on the street and Ana is on her way.
9H30 Inpection of the motorhome: verification of the serial number and taking of photos.
Christophe, Ana and the inspector join the offices.... Jean-Pierre remains on site.
And from that moment the long waiting begins.
Christophe signs the official document which must then be countersigned by the inspector.
The waiting room gets less crowded little by little ... so do the offices ... it’s lunch time…
Ana offers to wait for us and to send us by email the famous document ... Christophe prefers to wait.
He joins Jean-Pierre for lunch in a small restaurant just in front of the camper, then returns to the waiting room ...
He goes to the right desk to ask where our file was ... It’s is just sitting on the desk!!!
The inspector checks it, signs it and gives it to him...
After verification the document is reviewed ... Passport number and date of entry into Colombia ...
It becomes a habit, at every border crossing we had to ask to redo the document.
Modification of the elements and reprint of the famous TIP .... Starting date :August 18th and valid untill November 18th (prologation of the 1st TIP ending august 18th)
It took us six hours to get the certificate .
Colombian efficiency: all people sitting in offices have their eyes on smartphones ... Before and after two hours of lunch break!!!
We leave Cartagena to finally continue our journey.
But that’s not the end of it ... We receive an automatic email telling us that the extension will end on ... August 18th ... and this is not a joke.
We get back to Ana who confirms what we already knew: that it is impossible to change the information in the system, but that the most important thing is the paper document we have.
If we take stock of our transition from Central America to South America we waited almost 3 weeks in Panama ... 2 weeks in Colombia before returning to France and 2 weeks when we return .... seven weeks!!
Cartagena of the Indies
It’s Monday and we should hear from DIAN.
We contact Ana who confirms that she is waiting for an appointment and that the extension is in principle accepted...
We are blocked ... The appointment can be any day of the week, we can not plan anything.
So we stay 190 km from Cartagena at Betty’s. We take advantage of this forced stop to maintain the motorhome that suffers a lot on the roads. (small repairs, cleaning of mosquito nets, washing of curtains...)
At 4 pm, Ana informs us that we have to report to DIAN at 10 am the next morning.
We quickly put our things away, say a warm goodbye to Betty, very nice and helpful host, then we take the road to Cartagena.
We have a 3h30 drive to reach the suburbs of the city because it is impossible to spend the night there.
The road is clear, few traffic and the weather is nice.
We arrive at nightfall in the parking lot we spotted.
ROAD BOOK 117
MAVROS ODYSSEE