HelenWe’re heading into the coffee axis and I’m excited! I’d been wanting to get to this part of Colombia for ages, this is the area where most of Colombias coffee comes from, and I was excited to explore it.
The first part of the day was tough, we had to cycle from 2100m up to 2500m before descending back down to 1500m. I noticed the altitude and I was quickly out of breath climbing uphill. Back down at 1500m though it was back to the intense heat and the noise of the busy city of Medellin, there was no avoiding it! We soon escaped and climbed back up to 2000m, stopping overnight at a small town called Caldas before continuing to climb and then dropping all the way back down to 550m at Bolombolo – here it was incredibly hot and I craved for the cooler temperatures once again. The descent was beautiful, passing Cerro Tusa, a perfect pyramidal shaped mountain towering into the sky. We glided downhill for miles, bit in the back of my mind I knew we’d have to climb back up at some point!
We stopped alongside a river and had a quick swim before finding a great camping spot for the night. We headed two miles down the road to a nearby town for supplies, and as it was only 3pm and we thought we were doing good we decided to sit and have a beer in the sun. It was warm and the breeze picked up which was nice. We noticed motorbikes and mopeds arriving fully dressed in their waterproof ponchos but we didn’t really think anything of it. We headed off back towards our camping spot and within ten minutes there was a huge clap of thunder followed by lightening and then the heavens really opened. Within minutes we were soaked, taking cover under the trees was pointless, we turned back and headed for the cafe where we’d drank our beer in the sun 30 minutes previous. The two girls serving us took one look at us and laughed. I made a mental note to take more notice what the locals were doing next time!
Forty five minutes later the storm had passed, the locals were heading off on their bikes again and we decided it was safe to do the same. It was now starting to go dark and once again within ten minutes of cycling the rain came down. In desperation, I stopped at what looked like a garden centre, and asked a man at the gate if we could camp there for the night. The next minute the owner Luis was chatting to us, welcoming us onto his balcony, giving us beer and showing us to a bedroom with an en-suite. We ended up having dinner with him, and also breakfast the next day, before heading off! This level of kindness has become the norm now in Colombia. We carried on, and from here we had a 20 mile climb up to a hilltop town called Cuidad Bolivar. Here we met Juan David (Luis son) and his cousin, Lucyanna, who had come over for two nights to their family home. The home was on the main plaza and was stunning. Set on two floors, the ground floor was set around a beautiful courtyard garden, full of succulents and hanging plants. The second floor was all open plan with huge wooden doors which opened onto a balcony overlooking the plaza. Juan David once again completely welcomed us into his family home and left us to explore.
We wandered around the small town, sampling the various coffees on offer. We were back up at 1200m high and it’s was a nice temperature. The village, once again with its central plaza, had a good feel to it, traditional colourful buildings, graffitied colourful walls, music and markets in the square. It was good to have a day off wandering and relaxing. Later on we met Juan David and Lucyanna for dinner. Juan David took us to a local cafe on the square where the owner roasts his own coffee, we sampled the coffee and he took us for a tour of his warehouse, going through the coffee making process, we came away with some a coffee beans and packets of hand made dark chocolate!! I could have stayed forever.
We carried on the next day, dropping back down the valley we’d climbed, then heading south again. It was Sunday and also Colombian Mothering Sunday so the roads were incredibly quiet, so we made the most of the quiet main roads and gained some easy miles. After 70 miles we found a good camping spot by the side of the Rio Cauca. There was a huge storm during the night and I lay awake listening to the huge claps of thunder and the rain hammering on the tent. We followed the Rio Caucasus for the next few days, cross crossing until we reached Santa Rosa de Cabal, a beautiful town 1800m high. It had been a hot and hilly day, cycling through coffee plantations which actually smelt more of cocoa. We stopped on the outskirts of the town at a bakery and I ate cake! Fairly healthy back in the UK, cake isn’t something that would normally interest me, but in this intense heat burning calories cycling up all the hills I find myself craving more sugary foods! It tastes good anyway, and we head uphill into town and then follow signs for a Mirador hotel which winds of course up hill after hill. Eventually we reach the ‘hotel’ with no sign of anyone in, eventually the owner appears, the hotel is over our budget but there’s no way I’m going back downhill on the bike in search of another one, so we unpack our bags, shower, and walk into town in search of food. We find a cool Moroccan restaurant serving amazing tasting chai tea and finally some vegetarian food.
The next day we carry on south, through Pereira, and then follow the Rio Otun to La Florida, a small pretty village at the head of the valley. After lunch we climb up and over the valley, of course we’ve been caught in the mid day heat again and the road is incredibly steep, I have to pedal then stop every hundred metres or so to catch my breath! The views are incredibly though, as is the smell of coriander and spring onions growing in the surrounding fields. After a few hours of climbing we start to descend the rocky road, and we find a quiet space not far from the main road and close to a river to camp. The sunset that night is beautiful, and we sit with our bowls of rice and veg watching the sky slowly change colour and set.
The following day we got the main road again after a slight diversion we thought we could skip the main road but it turned into a narrow path, so we re-traced our steps! After an ascent and descent, we stated our final winding ascent (in the mid day heat of course!) up to Salento, a colourful hillside town 2000m high. Salento is the starting point for tourists to get jeeps into the Cocora valley, where the famous Quindio wax palms are. The wax palms are native to this area of Colombia, and prefer humid high altitude conditions. They can grow up to 60m tall.
We’ll spend a day or so relaxing in Salento before heading off in a slightly different direction to the tourists, in the hope to see these famous wax palms in a slightly less tourist area. We’ve researched a 66 mile route on a dirt track where we’ll climb up to over 3300m high and then drop down in Toche valley, where we’ve been told we can see hundreds of these beautiful wax palms, but also where we’ll barely see anyone else, something that always makes it more for memorable for me.
