David not like you to give up felize navidad when you wake up time zone etc !
Dennis
You are right Dennis but I hate making a mess and when the problem is computers I’m stuffed. Now if it had been a diesel pump or brakes or something I would have been right in but with this, no.
Take care matey.
David
Thanks to my good friend Oily the problem is resolved.
Your never too old to learn a new trick, they say.
David
This is one beautiful Country.
Add to that friendly, happy people and everything as cheap as chips and that is why I want to come and live here.
David
Leaving the City of Manizales the road goes steeply downhill for about 5 miles. Suddenly the traffic stopped and I feared that there had been an accident but no. A gang of old boys had managed to drop a tree right across the Dual Carriageway and were having to cut it up to get it moved. This was going forward with great good humour but not a lot of application. Of course their earning level did not let them run to a chain saw but they were doing everything with big Machetes that looked sharp enough to shave with. During the whole process there was no sign of the Traffic Police!
What did appear, though, were blokes selling snacks. Where they appeared from I have no idea because there was not a house in sight.
Not really. It was a White GMC which was the Company that Volvo purchased to get them into the American market and that badge on a couple of these trucks was the only sign that European manufacturers existed. No Volvos, no Scanias, no nothing except old Ivecos, Pegasos and an occasional Mercedes.
Another Transport café. No need for walls, windows, heating or air-conditioning. Temperature only changes according to altitude - on the coast it is horrible hot but up here in the mountains it is like an English Summer every day.
But wherever you go you can never escape the rubber chicken!
And just so we remember Christmas. These boys are the World Champions at reusing stuff!
Thanks for sharing, David. Happy New Year! Love the green dalek in the last pic 
. Robert
Here we are at the peaje. They don’t pay road tax directly but pay it as tolls on the mail roads. Keep off the main roads there is nothing to pay. Good place to spot trucks anyway.
A bit of history,
The famous Colombian busses, called Chivatos, that used to haul all the freight and passengers in a local area are becoming rare but some still exist. This one belongs to the village of Cairo and is seen loading the freight outside Cartago market. They come in in the mornings loaded with fruit, vegetables, coffee and animals and go back with whatever the village needs. I spoke to thee driver of this one and he told me that he brought the vehicle new in 1965 and had run it ever since.
Cheers for posting David!
Seems a nice place to settle down eh 
And with prices like that, one is still able to enjoy the pensioners life…
About those lorries though, I was under the (false it seems) impression that the market was somewhat dominated by Volvo and Scania…?
Cheers, Patrick
It’s surprising that the US hasn’t gone for the same 3 + 3 configuration for interstate operations by now.
I expected it Patrick because Brazil, which is only next door, is the biggest market Scania have outside Europe and they have a huge factory there. But nothing whatever except the odd very old European bits and pieces.
It may be that because Kenworth have such a strangle-hold on the full-weight market there that nobody else is really trying. Under 16 tonnes it seems to be going to Chinese manufacturers.
Rolly heard that there were some old Scanias there but I saw no sign of anything.
All he best,
David
pv83:
About those lorries though, I was under the (false it seems) impression that the market was somewhat dominated by Volvo and Scania…?Cheers, Patrick
Probably more Brazil where I think they have strict import controls to protect the domestic production of Euro types.But given a free market Kenworth among other US types are often the first choice in many places around the world such as NZ or Australia. 
So now it’s Christmas Eve and a perfect time to catch the boys parked up. In the local truck stop, which is also an open-air workshop, there were both local vehicles and those from far away that had not made it home. A good thing for truck spotters is that their transport licence, a white sticker on both doors, shows the vehicles operating base.
The Colombians, accustomed for many years to having nothing, throw nothing away. In my travels I did not see a sign of a scrap yard but yet there are vehicles only just post war that are still working every day. The Chinese are making inroads with new under 16 tonners but there are still plenty of working classics.
You might be interested to look at the Colombian Kenworth dealers website