The hurried shuffle, a staple of a lifestyle so familiar, takes a back seat to experience here; a place where time seems to slow to a quiet pace.

What begins as a quick morning coffee break with friends often turns to brunch and a stop into the local panadería on the way home just before a late lunch.

In keeping, we set off from Bogota around 5:30 this evening hoping our progress would stay the glancing sun, our bearings toward a town named by its original inhabitant’s, the Muisca, for their moon deity, Chiá.

Felipe joined us for this leg of the journey on a borrowed bike with a bit of a faulty chain complex. This proved unfortunate for Felipe, but selfishly fortunate for the two of us as it allowed a few much appreciated stops to catch our breath along the way.

Bike lanes carried us through a diversity of barrios to the outskirts of town and the height of the city where we charted our course abruptly right, away from the comfort of the street lights and into the darkness of a narrow byway lacking a shoulder. The three of us pedaled single file praying for the turn that would offer relief from the exhaust belching busses and freight carriers scarcely missing us on the harrowing stretch.

The much anticipated right revealed a gravel road riddled with craters; a rough ride for our heavily laden carriages. Shortly after the pavement returned we came to a stranded motorist who’s tire gave way to the relentless beating. Felipe immediately leapt to the ground to assess the situation and Mel used her charm to flag down a passerby with the necessary tools to complete the job. After a few handshakes and mucho gustos we were on our way again guided by the soft light of a waning moon to Chiá.

We rode through a quaint town center lined with ubiquitous cafes and panaderías, across the autopista, and into the open arms of Felipe’s aunt and uncle who offered warm smiles, conversation, and their home for the night. It was a great day 1.

Click below to check out our photos from the first leg of the journey.