Cycling Colombia Part 3: Medellín to Ibagué
26 May - 1 July 2024
26 May - Medellín to La Pintada (45.2 mi, 72.7 km)
27 May - Rest Day in La Pintada
28 May - La Pintada to La Felisa (29.7 mi, 47.8 km)
29 May - La Felisa to La Estrella (15.0 mi, 24.1 km)
30 May - La Estrella to Chinchiná (21.6 mi, 34.8 km)
31 May - Chinchiná to Pereira (17.6 mi, 28.3 km)
1-3 June - Layover in Pereira
4 June - Pereira to Salento (23.3 mi, 37.5 km)
5-7 June - Layover in Salento
8 June - Salento to Toche (30.7 mi, 49.4 km)
9 June - Rest Day in Toche
10 June - Toche to Cajamarca (14.8 mi, 23.8 km)
11 June - Cajamarca to Ibagué (20.4 mi, 32.8 km)
12 June-1 July - Festival Layover in Ibagué
Where do all the Colombian cyclists go?
During our stay in Medellín we had participated in Ciclovía - a weekly event held in many Colombian cities where roads are closed to traffic on Sunday mornings, so people can get out and ride bikes, walk and get other forms of exercise. As the name implies, the ciclovías got their start as a way to offer people a car-free space for cycling. So we were somewhat surprised that 90% of the people we saw on the Medellín ciclovía were not cyclists. The vast majority were strolling, running, and walking their dogs. In a country that is famous for its bicycle-crazy population, where were all the cyclists?
Apparently the ciclovía, at least in Medellín, is a little bit too tame for Colombia’s serious cycling enthusiasts. Instead, they are on the open roads outside of town, tackling mountains that would put cyclists from many other countries to shame.
We discovered this on our departure from Medellín. Scarred by the trauma of the insane traffic we had battled when we entered the city, we made the sensible decision to depart on a Sunday morning. That way we could take advantage of the roads closed for ciclovía, as well as the lighter Sunday traffic, to have a more enjoyable exit from the city.
We had a very big day of cycling planned - especially since we had been off the bikes for more than a week (which meant we had lost some of the conditioning we gained climbing the mountains to get to Medellín). During the first 18 miles (29 km) we would steadily climb 4,000 ft (1,220 m) out of the valley. To us, it seemed like a major undertaking. But for many of Medellín’s cyclists, it was just another Sunday.
As we departed our hotel, we once again noticed that there were only a few cyclists on the ciclovía. But as we got closer to the edge of the city, we encountered more and more cyclists. Pretty soon we were traveling in a small river of bicycles. Like us, they used the ciclovía to ride out of the city, where the real cycling action took place on the steep mountain roads.
It was amazing. We had never seen so many cyclists on one road, outside of organized events. There were literally hundreds of people cycling up the 18 mile, 4,000 foot mountain like it was just another weekend ride. Many of them went all the way to the top of the ridge, before turning around and heading back down to the city. With these high mountains to ride, it’s no wonder Columbia has been making such large contributions to pro cycling, especially for the size of the country. A surprising number of vendors - ranging from small, temporary fruit stands to bigger restaurants - had set up shop along the route to cater to the steady stream of cycling customers.
Of course, the Colombian cyclists were mostly on ultralight road and mountain bikes, as opposed to our heavy expedition bikes with 50 lbs (23 kg) of gear. So most of them zipped past us with cheerful shouts of “buenos días!” For us, however, it was a much longer duration climb. At one point we took a break on the side of the road, and PedalingGal sat down to rest and catch her breath. She must have looked like she could use a boost, because a local cyclist went up the road and bought a couple of bananas from a little fruit stand, then brought them back to us. It was a very welcome gift, and helped give us the energy to continue.
It took us five hours to finally reach the top of the ridge, called Alto de Minas. At the summit, we stopped for an extended break at a small restaurant frequented by other cyclists. It was awesome to sit in the shade, rehydrate, and recover from the effort of the climb. The folks who ran the shop - Emanuel and Marta - were incredibly sweet, and chatted with us about our trip. One of their nieces was visiting, and they were very proud of the fact that she was taking English in school. They encouraged her to try to speak with us, but she was pretty shy and we didn’t get too far past, “hello, how are you?” Even so, her aunt and uncle beamed when she spoke.
The 27 mile descent (43.5 km) on the far side of the ridge was a nice reprieve, with some gorgeous views of the mountains and valleys. It took a bit longer than expected, though. Our pace was slowed by the fact that the road was quite narrow, with hardly any shoulder, and a lot of heavy truck traffic had started up in the afternoon. We frequently pulled over to let our brakes cool, to let trucks pass, or to let the air clear from slow-moving vehicles spouting black fumes. It took us another 2.5 hours to finally arrive in La Pintada (pop. 7,000).
The main road through town was quite lively with businesses that catered to travelers passing through - including a very high proportion of restaurants and bakeries. Other than that, La Pintada felt like a small, rural town. The main square was fairly quiet. And a large corral that looked like the site of a pretty big cattle auction sat quiet on a Monday morning.
Reunion with the Cauca River
The Cauca is an ancient river, pre-dating the geologic rise of the Andes Mountains. As tectonic forces slowly buckled the earth along the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Cauca River continued to flow, cutting a narrow gap through the mountains as they pushed ever higher. As a result, for several hundred miles the Cauca River flows through a deep canyon that doesn’t contain any large human settlements. The Cauca Canyon remains one of the more sparsely-inhabited regions in Colombia.
On our way to Medellín, we had cycled along the banks of the Cauca River, before beginning our big ascent into the mountains. But we had turned away from the river as it entered the most remote, forbidding and unrideable part of the canyon.
Now, in the town of La Pintada, we were reunited with the upper reaches of the Cauca River. La Pintada sits on the banks of the river just above where it enters the deep canyon. Upstream from here, the mountains melted away into a more mellow, highland valley.
We arrived in the small settlement of La Felisa around noon, and debated whether or not to continue further up the road, since the terrain was pretty mellow. But the deciding factor was that the day had gotten very hot (90F/32C), and another couple of hours of cycling in the heat and humidity didn’t sound like fun. The roadside hotel in La Felisa had air conditioning, so we decided to stay. The rooms were tiny, but they were made of brick which kept them nice and cool (like a little cave). After a big lunch, we went back to the room and promptly fell asleep. Cycling in the heat takes a lot out of you.
The next day we awoke to overcast skies and heavy rain, which delayed our departure while we waited for the skies to clear. With a 9am departure we decided to keep the ride short. That allowed us to take it easy and enjoy the scenery.
Over the years we’ve gotten a kick out of the various animal crossing signs that get posted along highways. This part of Colombia was particularly rich in road-crossing sign diversity. We were impressed that many of the signs included both the scientific and common names (in Spanish) of the animals - something we had never seen before. Others showed multiple species, including some interesting images of rare, wild felines. Below is a selection of some of the signs we encountered (over the course of several days of cycling).
About an hour and a half into the ride, we finally said, ‘goodbye’ to the Cauca River for the last time. From there, the river would head southwest towards the metropolis of Calí, while we would turn southeastward, towards another encounter with the mountains.
The Hotel Botija was another, low budget, roadside accommodation. And even by budget hotel standards it was pretty basic. The rooms were some of the tiniest we’d ever seen. There was no way to fit two bikes in one room, no matter how creative we tried to be. So we ended up getting separate rooms. Even with just one bike per room, there was barely enough space to squeeze by and access the bathrooms (which didn’t have toilet seats). On the bright side, this little hotel actually had wifi (many of them do not). That made passing the time a lot easier and more productive.
Our dinner in the restaurant was very simple - just grilled meat and homemade fries. Part of their sales pitch was that the meat was prepared a la llanera - a slow-roasting method considered traditional in Colombia. Large cuts of meat are cooked very slowly on a spit, over charcoal, in a brick or clay oven. At the hotel restaurant, the oven was located right out front, with glass doors so that you could see the meat roasting. In the end the meat and fries were quite tasty, but the portions were small and it would have been nice to have some kind of vegetable to go with it. It didn’t feel like a very good value.
As we left the Cauca River Valley behind, it was back to cycling uphill. Between La Estrella and the town of Chinchiná we would gain back more than 3,000 ft (915 m) of the elevation we had recently lost. Fortunately, the uphill gradient wasn’t that bad. So while the climb was long, it wasn’t punishing. We actually were quite happy that the weather was overcast with a little bit of a drizzle for most of the day. It felt pleasant as we labored back up into the mountains.
On the Colombian Coffee Route
Even though we had cycled near the homeland of ‘Juan Valdez’ a couple of days prior, it was only after passing through La Felisa that we officially joined the Ruta del Café (the ‘coffee route’) that goes through Colombia’s most productive coffee regions. Over the next several days of cycling we would see a lot of indications that we were in coffee country.
While most of the day’s ride had been fairly easy, our route saved the hardest part for last. The final mile into town was a slow grind up a 15% gradient. It seemed to last forever. This was certainly not the first time we’d had that happen - and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Some towns are just perched on the top of steep hills.
When we finally checked into a hotel near the central plaza, we were treated to something special - a hot shower! This was the first time we’d had hot water since leaving Medellín, and it was very welcome.
As a hub along the Ruta del Café, Chinchiná (pop. 48,000) is all about coffee. In the central plaza, coffee themed artwork abounds. An essential photo is the World’s Largest Coffee Cup - as certified by Guinness World Records in 2019. It took 50 people to build and fill this giant cup with 22,739 liters of coffee - that’s more than 96,000 regular cups!
The next morning as we cycled out of town, we were treated to a spectacular site - a whole row of buildings that lined the road were painted with gorgeous murals. In 2022, the city of Chinchiná invited 50 mural artists from around the country (and one from Peru) to paint murals in several parts of the city, including along the road we were traveling. It was a feast for the eyes, and a great way to remember this charming city in coffee country.
The day’s ride went fairly quickly. We climbed steadily upwards through hillsides covered with coffee bushes for about 2.5 hours, then descended into a big metropolitan area.
Halfway Across Colombia
Our hotel in Pereira (pop. 385,850) had a cool, 3-D relief map of Colombia hanging on the wall. On that map, it was easy to see how the Andes Mountains split into three different ranges in Colombia - like a giant bird’s foot with three toes facing northward. Our route had taken us across the flat northern plains, and then up through the high valleys that lie between the western and central ridges of mountains. From Pereira, we would cut eastward across the central range.
Ciclovía in Pereira
One morning when we headed out for a walk, we noticed that the big avenue we had used to cycle into town was closed, and packed with lots of runners, walkers and cyclists. It was Sunday, and that meant it was ciclovía day. We changed our plans, and walked for a couple of hours along the ciclovía. It turned out to be our favorite day in Pereira. Tons of people were out on the road enjoying a beautiful morning, including plenty of cyclists this time. We had a wonderful time participating in the communal fun.
Besides walking along the ciclovía, we had the opportunity to visit the city center. The city’s cathedral was interesting because it had a base made of brick, topped by a wooden roof and towers. The original, brick structure was severely damaged by earthquakes in 1906 and 1999. So the most recent reconstruction abandoned bricks in favor of a lighter, more flexible roof held up by 13,000 individual wooden beams.
Back into the Mountains
Although Pereira is nearly 5,000 ft above sea level (1,500 m), it still sits in a valley that is bordered by the western and central ridges of the Andes Mountains. Our route took us eastward, onto the central ridge. Right out of the gate, we were once again in the familiar mode of slowly cycling our way uphill.
Before we even left town the climbing began, and for the next four hours we ascended a ridge along the side of a fairly big highway. The weather was overcast with an intermittent drizzle. But that was perfect because it made the uphill effort much more comfortable.
Near the summit at Alto del Roble, we caught sight of another coffee-country icon - an oversized coffee mug set at the entrance to a highway rest stop. In fact, at first glance it appeared to be even bigger than the ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Cup’ in Chinchiná. But if you look closely, it doesn’t actually have a bottom. So it isn’t really a functioning mug. That probably explains why it doesn’t hold the world’s record.
After reaching the summit, we enjoyed an awesome, 20 minute downhill ride that felt wonderful after the big ascent. Flying down, we nearly missed our turn off of the highway towards the mountain town of Salento. Thankfully, we spotted it just in time, and didn’t have to backtrack far uphill to make the turn.
Unfortunately, the lovely downhill came to a screeching halt in the bottom of a narrow, mountain valley. The final 2.5 miles (4 km) into town were the steepest we had ridden all day. It took us another hour to finally reach Salento, as we crawled along in our lowest gears.
Painted Doors and Beloved Jeeps
The climb was worth it. Salento is a delightful mountain town that has maintained a lot of its historic character.
Salento was first settled in the 1830s by former prisoners, whose sentence included building the ‘national road’ across the Central Andes between Calí and Bogotá. Prisoners who survived their time in road construction were granted farmland near Salento. For about 100 years the town prospered because of its strategic location along this important transportation route. Well-to-do citizens built lovely homes and storefronts in the style that was popular in coffee-country during that era. And then things changed.
In the 1930s the government decided to invest in a new, more modern road between Calí and Bogotá that followed a different path (now Route 40, which crosses the mountains further south). Suddenly, Salento became a mountain backwater, and not much happened for the next 50 years. This is a key reason why Salento is said to have some of the best-preserved, 19th century architecture in the region. It was only in the late 20th century that Salento was ‘rediscovered’ and became a popular tourist destination. These days, it is one of the top vacation spots for native Colombians, and a hugely popular stop along the Ruta del Café for international visitors.
One of the things that Salento is most famous for is its architecture. The main roads and plaza are lined with tightly-packed, two-story buildings that are made of white stucco, with flamboyantly-painted wooden doors, windows, and trim.
The ‘rules’ seem to be that any given building can use only two or three colors of paint, and they should be as bright and contrasting with each other as possible. There are no fancy designs or murals. Instead, the painted elements have a base color, then raised lines and trim are painted in the alternate colors. No two buildings are alike. And when seen all together, the effect is a riot of colors - sometimes enhanced by rows of blooming flowers on balconies. Here is a photographic feast of Salento architecture:
One of the other ‘icons’ of Salento is the Jeep Willy. In the late 1940s (after WWII) the United States Army had a surplus of Jeeps and started exporting Willys to countries like Colombia. At first they were sold to the military. But folks who lived in mountainous regions - like coffee country - immediately embraced these ‘mechanical mules’ for their combination of being very light when empty, yet able to carry surprisingly heavy payloads. It also helped that they were extremely maneuverable on rugged, mountain roads and relatively easy to repair.
Before long, Jeep Willys became an integral part of Colombian mountain culture. To this day Jeeps are ubiquitous on the dirt roads that connect mountain towns - hauling bags of agricultural produce, serving as public transportation, and carrying tourists to their mountain adventures. There are town monuments dedicated to the Jeeps, small replicas of the Jeeps you can buy in stores, and the pristine condition of the old Jeeps on the road all show the deep respect people here have for this icon of the mountains.
In Salento, one side of the central plaza is essentially a ‘taxi stand’ for a fleet of Jeeps that carry passengers between towns and trekking destinations for a low, fixed fee. Each one is outfitted with bench seats that hold 10 people inside, with room for three more to stand on the back bumper (hanging on to the metal roof). Jeeps leave the plaza for their destination as soon as they are full with at least 10 passengers. If you are familiar with the size of Jeeps, getting 10-13 passengers plus a driver into one is a very tight fit. Some of the Jeeps are even original Willy’s from the 1940’s. But many are more modern and “only” date back 30-40 years. There must be some good mechanics around to keep these vehicles running, given the wear and tear they get on the steep mountain roads.
There are a couple of excellent overlooks right on the edge of town, and we walked up to their heights a couple of times during our visit. One of the overlooks faces westward, giving a panoramic view of the town. A short walk along a ridge takes you to the other overlook, which provides a spectacular view across the Quindío River Valley, with the mountains of Los Nevados National Park fading away into the distance.
A forest path led from the overlook down the far side of the mountain. One day we spent several hours exploring the unmarked, interlocking paths that wound through thick, wet woodlands and along the edges of steep pastures inhabited by a few horses. There was hardly anyone else on the trails, which made for a much nicer walk than on the more crowded tourist trails farther up the canyon. We almost made it to the road that winds through the bottom of the valley. But with only about 150 ft (45 m) to go, our trail devolved into a small, muddy stream with steep walls, so we turned around and hiked back up the mountain.
Cycling Across the Central Andean Ridge
Ordinarily, when faced with long route segments on rural, gravel roads through high steep mountains, we prefer to break the cycling into smaller chunks. This allows us to take our time, enjoy the natural landscapes, and have plenty of time to deal with any difficulties that might arise.
However, our journey across the Central Andean Ridge in Colombia did not allow for that. Until recently there had been a remote hostel that provided food and a bed along the way. But we knew before we departed that it was closed. The other option would be to wild camp. For people unfamiliar with travel in these mountains, that may seem like a good option. But unfortunately there are very few flat places to camp that are more than a few inches from the dirt road. So we knew that the ride over the Andes central mountain ridge on a rough dirt road was likely to be a long and challenging one. We had heard rumors of one, remote restaurant. But with scant information, we decided not to rely on it.
The morning of our departure from Salento we woke up at 5am, and were out the door soon after dawn. That’s when our first problem arose. There were very dark, rain clouds looming in the direction we were going. A quick check of the weather app showed that the chance of rain had increased substantially overnight. It didn’t look good.
At that moment, we actually thought it might be better to postpone for a day. Rain and mud would just make the long and challenging dirt road more difficult at best. At worst, flooding could be an issue. In addition, some rural roads become impassable as the dirt turns into mud that sticks to bicycle tires like peanut butter. We got out our phone to try to make a reservation for another night in our hotel. But we were out of luck. The hotel where we had been staying in Salento was fully booked. So we bit the bullet, and cycled down the road towards the dark clouds, as rain started to fall. It felt ominous.
Surprisingly, the first few miles of cycling out of Salento were actually pretty good. The condition of the dirt road was fine, and there was hardly any traffic. While the uphill gradient was tough, it was certainly rideable. Pretty soon we were feeling good about our prospects, although we were still headed toward that big bank of storm clouds.
Slowly, however, the road surface began to deteriorate. Several weeks of significant rainfall had taken its toll. Approximately three miles (5 km) into the ride, we passed an unnerving sign stretched across the road. It warned of road construction ahead, and basically said to travel at your own risk. Of course, any seasoned traveler knows that sometimes these signs are overkill, and the road conditions may be perfectly fine. But in this part of the world, where warning signs are very rare, it made us wonder.
Sure enough, just up the road, we encountered a construction crew that appeared to be shoring up a section of the road that had slumped. Water seeping off the steep mountain slope, combined with rain had turned the road into a muddy mess. Our progress slowed accordingly. Cycling though deep mud can be tricky. You need enough momentum to not get bogged down, while at the same time not going so fast that you lose control and end up with a messy, wet landing.
As the road became steeper and more slippery, we felt worn out from the long, relentless climb. We started to engage in some wishful thinking that the hostel that had reportedly closed operation, which was located just before the top of the ridge, might actually be open. When we were overtaken by a couple of local cyclists who stopped to chat, we asked if they knew whether the hostel was still taking guests. Diego, who spoke some English, said he thought it was open, and that gave us some hope as we pushed onward.
When we were just a couple of hundred yards from the hostel, we saw Diego and his friend heading back down the hill. They had stopped to talk with someone at the hostel, who said we might be able to get a room, “if we asked the owner.” That sounded very promising, and we really started to think that this could be just what we needed.
But when we finally arrived, it was clear the situation was not nearly as rosy as we had hoped. The guy who spoke with Diego was a ranch hand who was busy unloading milk from big canisters carried by a horse, onto a truck that would haul it down the road to town. When we inquired about the hostel, what he really said was that he didn’t know if the hostel was open, and that we would have to ask the owner. That was a lot less reassuring.
Furthermore, the hostel itself was perched a couple of hundred feet higher than the road, on top of a cliff. It was now obvious to us why the hostel was known as The Eagle’s Nest. To get there, we would have had to trudge up a very muddy, absurdly steep pathway - with a low probability that there would actually be accommodations at the top. Getting the loaded bikes up that hill seemed like an almost impossible task.
PedalingGal briefly considered hiking up while PedalingGuy stayed below with the bikes, just to check on availability. But given that the hike up would take a whole lot of energy, and the answer to a request for lodging would most likely be ‘no,’ we decided to keep going.
Before heading out, we gave ourselves a very special treat. PedalingGuy had been carrying two, precious Clif Bars - a type of energy bar popular in North America - since our stay in Guatemala City. They’re probably our favorite, go-to road food because they’re packed full of energy, and actually taste pretty good. A Clif Bar was just the thing to help fuel our ride to the top of the ridge.
The final three miles (5 km) to the top of the ridge - known as the Alto de La Línea - were surprisingly difficult. The slope had gotten steeper, the road was rockier and muddier, and we were very tired. With frequent stops and a fair amount of hike-a-bike, we finally made it to the top of the ridge at 11,083 ft in elevation (3,378 m). It was an awesome feeling to reach the summit.
By that time we had been cycling uphill for seven hours, and we were sooooo ready for a downhill.
The descent from Alto de La Línea was the most enjoyable part of the day. The road was rocky, but not too bad. The weather had cleared, giving us spectacular views of the valley below. And pretty soon we saw the most fascinating and unique feature of the ride - the world’s largest forests of Colombia’s rare national tree, the Quindío wax palm.
The palm forests were really fascinating to see. Typically palms are associated with costal lowlands and beaches rather than mountains. There are very few species of palms that grow at high elevations like this. In fact, these palms were so high in the Andes that they were often in the clouds. But that’s not all. Quindío wax palms also hold the record for being the world’s tallest palms. They can live for 100 years and reach nearly 200 ft in height (60 m). If you’ve read about our travels through the redwood forests of California, you know we love the tall trees.
For an hour and a half we bounced down the steep, eastern side of the ridge. At the bottom we entered a narrow ravine, occupied by a small, family-run restaurant. This was another place where we had hoped, maybe, we could spend the night. Back in the fall of 2023, another cyclist posted online that he had slept on their porch while passing through. But to us, it didn’t look like a great place to stay. There were at least a dozen people hanging around, plus lots of animals (dogs, horses, chickens, pigs, etc.) wandering freely. It seemed unlikely we would get much sleep there.
However, it was late afternoon and we were ready for a much-needed break. We parked our bikes, grabbed a couple snacks, and relaxed for a couple minutes on the restaurant’s benches. But we still had 10 miles (16 km) to go to reach the town of Toche, with more mountains in between. We couldn’t delay for long, since darkness was rapidly approaching.
We crossed our fingers, hoping that we could make better time on the final leg of the ride. For one thing, there would be a lot more downhills than uphills. But luck was not with us. As we were leaving the restaurant, we realized that the sky had darkened considerably in the direction we would travel. And within a few minutes, it began to rain pretty hard - as in torrential downpour.
We stopped and took shelter under the overhang of an old farm building but it only partially sheltered us from the rain. While we were waiting, a girl riding bareback on a horse came barreling downhill on the steep road in the heavy rain, jumped off her horse and joined us in what little shelter we had. Her horse, unfazed by the rain, munched happily on the grass nearby as we waited for the storm to pass.
When the rain died down to a drizzle, we hit the road again. But now the surface was a seriously muddy mess. Some of the puddles were quite deep. PedalingGuy attempted too ride through one that turned out to be over a foot deep - with water up over his wheel hubs. The water was a dark brown, so we never knew how deep the puddles really were until we were in them. Luckily, PedalingGuy made it to the other side without falling into the murky water, but his bike and legs ended up with a coating of mud
At first we tried to work our way around the puddles, but it soon proved fruitless since most of them completely crossed the road. Our bikes, shoes and legs became caked with mud. The effort of dismounting from the bikes to negotiate around the wet spots - trying not to slip and fall - slowed us down a lot and drained our energy even more. The thing that kept our spirits up was that the valley continued to offer up incredible scenery. The Quindío wax palms, in particular, looked beautiful in the mist and clouds.
Around 6:30pm we reached a grassy pull-out next to the road. The sun had disappeared behind the mountains, and pretty soon darkness would envelop us. We still had about five miles (8 km) of cycling to go before reaching the town of Toche. It was time to decide if we would set up a wild camp, or continue cycling down the steep, rocky, wet, muddy road in the dark.
Neither option was particularly good. The only spots to camp were only a couple feet from the edge of the road and were so filthy we would likely get our sleeping gear all muddy. Plus, there was a good chance it would rain even more during the night. On the other hand, the road was in terrible condition and rather treacherous for cycling in the dark.
After talking it over, we agreed that we would both prefer to make it to town where we could get cleaned up and sleep with a roof over our heads. We knew it would be a little dangerous, so we made a pact that we would go as slowly as necessary to ride safely. With night falling, we got out our headlights, attached them to our bikes and pushed on.
The descent into Toche was a hair-raising adventure. Instead of improving as we got close to town, the road became even more slippery, rocky and steep. The downhill was strewn with ruts, tight turns and cliffs. Our bike headlights illuminated the path just ahead, but they weren’t much use as we curved back and forth down sharp hairpin turns. As cyclists know, your bike light continues to shine forward when you need to see around the corner of a sharp turn. Half the time it was an act of pure faith to keep cycling when we couldn’t see the road ahead around a curve. Several times PedalingGal gave up in fear, and pushed her bike down the sketchier sections. Somehow, PedalingGuy managed to cycle all the way down.
We finally reached the small, mountain village of Toche after 14 hours of almost constant travel, totally exhausted.
But we couldn’t stop to rest. The businesses in small, mountain villages don’t stay open late, and we were already pushing our luck by arriving after 8pm. When we couldn’t immediately locate a hotel or hostel, we asked a lady in a small tienda about lodging options in town. It turned out that there was a hostel right next door. But it was pretty rundown, and we would have had to take a room with a shared bathroom and cold water. We were ready for a bit more pampering than that, so we asked her if there were any other hotels that would, at least, have a private bathroom.
She thought about it for a moment, then said there might be another option. With that, we followed her all the way to the far side of town. The lady had to bang on the metal door to rouse the owner, but once we were inside it was clear we had found the perfect place. Not only could we have a private bathroom, but for a total of US$20, we could even have hot water. It was heaven.
The one restaurant in town that served dinner was closed, so we bought a simple meal of bread, tuna and cheese from the lady’s little store. After dinner, we barely found the strength to shower - which took an extra long time as we scrubbed off all of the mud encrusted on our legs. By then it was 11pm, and we went straight to bed.
During the night, we could hear lots of rain pounding down upon the aluminum roof. From the comfort of our warm, dry rooms, we basked in the thought of not having toughed it out by camping on the cold rainy mountainside. Simple things like staying warm and dry can sometimes provide so much pleasure.
In the end we had cycled more than 30 miles (48 km), with more than 5,000 ft (1,525 m) of climbing on a rough dirt road with lots of challenging weather, to make it across a significant portion of Columbian Central Andes mountains. It was definitely an adventure.
Hanging out in Toche
We were not particularly interested in cycling out the next morning. We therefore spent a nice, relaxing rest day in the village of Toche (pop. 91). The town only had two, short streets perpendicular to each other. So we took our time walking through the town, enjoying all the little details of mountain village life.
That afternoon we had more heavy rain. It came down for several hours. That didn’t bode well for our ride out the next day. Around 6pm the restaurant in town where we’d had a nice lunch was already closed. We ended up buying some drinks at a tienda, and a bag full of enpañadas from a lady selling them from a table set up outside.
Back Down to the Pavement
Following a now familiar pattern, we were up at 5am the next day. But just as we were getting ready to depart, it started to rain. Hard. Again. We aborted our departure and went back to bed. It rained pretty steadily for the next several hours. Whenever the rain grew light, the local roosters would start crowing. Then, when the rain picked up again, that shut them up.
Finally, after 8am, the rain ended and the sun even came out. It was time to go.
Happily, our worst fears about the road being full of ruts and mud were not realized. Sure, there were a few sloppy sections and puddles. But there was much less mud than we expected - and a whole lot less than what we had encountered on the ride between Salento and Toche.
Toche is in a valley, so of course we had to climb another ridge to exit town. There were gorgeous vistas all morning, as we cycled past farms growing beans, potatoes and coffee. We continued to be amazed by how people were able to make a living in such remote areas, farming on incredibly steep mountainsides. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any good looks at the nearby Machín Volcano - which was hidden among the low-hanging clouds.
After cresting the summit, we sailed down the far side of the ridge. It was quite steep, but so much easier to ride in daylight than at night.
It had been weighing on our minds how filthy our bikes had become. They were crusted with mud from the ride between Salento and Toche. Hotel owners sometimes give a long look at the bikes if they are really dirty. Then we have to have a delicate conversation about how we really don’t want to keep them outside because of the risk of theft. It is easier to just clean them off once in a while to avoid as many of those discussions as possible. When we started crossing a number of small, clear streams on the way down the mountain, we had an idea. We decided to wash our bikes in one of the streams along the route.
About four miles (6.5 km) before reaching our destination for the day, we stopped at one of the stream crossings, took out some rags that we carried for cleaning our chains, and gave our bikes a good bath. It took an hour to finally get the bikes reasonably clean, but it was worth it. The bikes looked a lot better, and we didn’t have to worry nearly as much about getting the icky dirt on other things. Leaving a trail of dirt as you cross a hotel lobby is aways a bit embarrassing and doesn’t bode well for our cycling ambassadorships. We were happy.
Ironically, just a bit farther down the road, we passed a small truck stopped by another stream. Two guys were busily washing the muck off of their truck in that stream. We waved as we cycled by.
In less than an hour we completed the descent to Route 40, the major highway connector between Bogotá, the largest city in Columbia, and the two big cities on the western side of the mountains, Medellín and Calí.
When we arrived at the paved road, the change was sudden and dramatic. We emerged from the quiet, traffic-free mountains onto a very busy, high-speed road. Fortunately, it was an easy, 1.5 mile (2.5 km) bike ride into the heart of town. We followed along behind a group of pack horses that was also traveling down the highway, led by a guy on a motorbike.
Cajamarca (pop. 9,500) is a crowded, bustling town. The major highway runs right through the center, and is lined with businesses that cater to people needing agricultural supplies, people bringing their products to market, as well as travelers like us. In one area there was a row of little empañada shops. Each one had a lady out in front, standing along the side of the highway, gesturing with her hands to encourage travelers to stop and buy a few of the meat-filled pastries for the road. Of all the countries in Latin America we had traveled through so far, Columbia seemed to be the most enthusiastic about empanadas. They were much more common in Columbia than elsewhere.
The central plaza was filled with dozens of kids climbing on the equipment at a playground, as well as playing frisbee or soccer in the open area. Adults snacked on food they bought from the numerous street vendors. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.
The next day’s departure from Cajamarca was pretty hectic, because we rode on the big highway and there was very little shoulder. There were quite a lot of uphills considering we were supposedly “descending” out of the mountains. The hills were surprisingly steep as well, sending us down into first or second gear as we crawled to the top of each one.
When we reached a toll plaza after about 1.5 hours of cycling, we were ready for a break. We pulled into a large, dirt parking area just before the toll plaza to take a few minutes to recharge. While there, we noticed a raptor perched on a utility pole nearby. It turned out to be a bat falcon, which was really cool. Yes, in case you were wondering, bat falcons do catch and eat bats. They will often wait at the entrance of a cave and catch bats in the air as they exit the cave in the evening.
Fortunately, as soon as we passed through the toll booth the road became much more modern. This section of the highway had a very wide shoulder, which we really appreciated. It also had a nice, easy gradient for climbing over the next big ridge. We rolled along through a broad valley with banana trees on a hillside, feeling much more relaxed.
The Music Capital of Colombia
We ended up spending much longer than anticipated in the regional capital of Ibagué (pop. 500,000) because, as we were getting ready to leave town, we realized that Columbia’s biggest folk festival would be held there over the coming weeks. That’s right - it seemed like we had stumbled upon another festival. Over the months we have spent in Latin America we have managed to take in a surprising number of festivals. It didn’t take us long to decide to extend our stay. (Another factor was that, on the final weekend, towns throughout the region were celebrating the Festival of San Pedro, and all hotels were full well in advance. We were lucky to secure a room, even in a city the size of Ibagué.)
In addition to hosting the Colombian National Folk Festival, Ibagué is home to the Conservatory of Tolima, Colombia’s most prestigious music school. So it’s no surprise that the city’s nickname is ‘The Music Capital of Colombia.’
With our long stay, we had plenty of time to get to know the city. We took lots of long walks along the city streets, particularly in the historic center. The municipal market was one of the best we had visited since leaving Mexico - covering many city blocks, with vendors selling piles of wonderfully fresh produce, and anything else you might want to buy.
Nature Near the City
We enjoyed several trips to the city’s renowned San Jorge Botanic Garden, which covers 150 acres (60 ha) of dense forest in the mountains on the edge of town. There are a few acres of plantings but for the most part the “botanic garden” consists of wonderful hiking trails in dense tropical forest, on a mountainside with several overlooks.
Colombia is renowned for its diversity of hummingbirds. In fact, with 165 recorded species, Colombia has the most species of hummingbirds of any country in the world. We saw three different species of the little forest jewels at the botanic gardens.
Several Weeks of Festivals
However, the reason we lingered in Ibagué so long was so that we could enjoy the 50th Annual Colombian Folk Festival. The event officially spans three weeks in June, with activities building in size and extravagance each week. During the first weekend, we observed a couple of low-key events, including a parade for school groups and a children’s parade.
A Fiesta for Pets
One Saturday morning we stumbled upon a parade for pets and their owners. At first we saw just a few people walking their dogs down the middle of the pedestrian street - but we couldn’t help notice that all of the dogs were dressed up in outfits - the lady dogs had frilly skirts and straw hats with flowers, and the gentlemen dogs had white shirts and red scarves. As we watched, they kept coming, until it was obvious this was more than just a couple of folks out for a walk with their pets. Pretty soon we were passed by several hundred people marching with their pets (mostly dogs, but also a few cats and the occasional pig). The national police even came out with their service dogs.
The Grand Parade of San Juan
On the second weekend, Ibagué hosted a big parade to celebrate the Festival of San Juan. Dating back to the era before the arrival of the Spanish, the festival was originally a celebration of the summer solstice, with games, feasting, and rituals to chase away evil spirits. Later, Christian missionaries layered the birth of St. John the Baptist onto the existing rituals, resulting in new traditions like dances that depict indigenous matachine spirits protecting the Virgin Mary from the Devil.
However, by far the three most ubiquitous components of the parade were (1) couples dancing either the Cumbia or Bambuco (both Colombian folk dances), (2) groups dressed like Native South American warriors, and (3) princesses waving to the crowd from floats. Every town in the region and many other parts of the country were represented in the parade by a group of performers. And all of the local neighborhoods had elected a ‘princess’ as their ambassador to the parade. That assured that people from all over the region and the country would have a reason to come to Ibagué to celebrate and watch the parade.
The parade itself was an impressive event, with thousands of participants and lasting more than three hours. Even a steady (but mostly light) rain didn’t dampen the spirits of the performers.
Here are a few more of our favorite images from the San Juan Parade:
The Festival of San Pedro
As grand as it was, the Parade of San Juan was not the biggest event of this holiday season. The very next weekend Ibagué was home to one of the most lavish parties of the year - the Festival of San Pedro. This festival is celebrated throughout Colombia, and is especially important in the south-central part of the country where Ibagué sits. Our first indication that this was a massive celebration came when we realized we wouldn’t be able to get hotel reservations on short notice anywhere in the region on that weekend. So we stayed put in Ibagué, where a last-minute hotel cancellation at the place where we were staying allowed us to remain. Then we waited to see what would happen.
The day before the big parade, transportation enthusiasts got out their vintage bicycles, motorbikes and cars to promenade through the streets in period costume. It was fun to see all the old bikes with features like sissy bars and banana saddles.
The day of the big parade, the city was absolutely packed with throngs of visitors. The crowds were so huge that we had trouble even walking down the road, let alone finding a spot along the 2.5 mile (4 km) parade route to get a good view. We ended up walking all the way to the end, where we found a spot along the ‘cool down’ area past the end of the official parade route. The performers were clearly tired, but many of them continued to dance and wave for the crowd gathered there. We enjoyed seeing this slightly more personal side of the parade.
From the Mountains to the Desert
After the big parties in Ibagué, we were ready to get back on our bicycles. We would leave our high-altitude, mountain adventures behind, and drop down another 3,000+ feet (1,000 m) into the Magdalena River Valley - an ancient route from the Caribbean into the heart of the South American continent. The Andes Mountains border the valley on both the east and west, wringing moisture from the air. That makes the Magdalena River Valley one of the drier parts of Colombia. Before long we might even see some cacti. After several soggy weeks in the Andes mountains, that sounded like something we would enjoy.