Surprisingly, it continues after the end of the world. In the nearby town of Mocoa we have to withdraw money, get water and buy insurance for the car. It’s going on forever because they can’t get along with my passport number as identification. The South American ID cards only contain a unique combination of numbers, while in the passport there is a combination of numbers and letters.

It will be later in the afternoon before they can draw up a valid insurance policy for me. I use some time to create a power of attorney for Esteban so that he can drive the car back from Paraguay and sell it there in peace and quiet. It’s surprisingly quick. I quickly found a notary and he is also quick with his work.

Unfortunately, the morning is over quickly and then we have to eat something. Only in the late afternoon do we leave Mocoa and the Putamayo region and laboriously climb up the mountains.

I’m a little too enthusiastic, which is why we have to wait another half hour just outside the city limits for the engine to cool down again.

Dark clouds gather and bring rain. As we slowly but steadily climb the mountains, we pass the cloud line and drive through the haze with full illumination.

Only after nightfall do we reach a pass at an altitude of 1700 meters, where there is a restaurant where we can spend the night with the car and get something to eat.

The kitchen of the “Raices” is fired up again especially for us. There’s trout with gallons of Hollandaise sauce. I would not have expected the combination in Colombia. We also meet a family from France who are traveling through South America with their camper and two children.

The clouds hang in veils over the trees and envelop the mountains. The morning offers an idyllic picture of tropical freshness. It’s raining lightly, but we don’t mind.

We hike down a small path to the river before continuing the journey by wagon.

We finally cover some distance while Leon sleeps. It goes high over the mountains. Many military checkpoints check the vehicles, but the soldiers let us pass unmolested.

Just this month, tensions between the government and fragmented guerrilla groups have risen again, I learn later on the news.