HelenFrom Ibague we descend from 1300m all the way back down to 350m, and back into the heat! It’s a beautiful descent and for about 15 miles I barely touch the pedals. It’s great to have some ‘easy’ cycling for a change, and although we’re on main roads, they’re not busy at all.
We’re heading south to the Desierto de La Tatacoa, Colombias desert, which is actually a dried up rainforest apparently. We make good progress on the main road and after 73 miles we reach a small town next to the Rio Magdalena called Natagaima. It’s been a long day and rather than try to find somewhere to camp we opt for a motel room just out of town. At £10 a night you can’t complain!
About 30 minutes later we’re very grateful we’re in the motel room and not our tent, the dark cloud that had been following us had suddenly turned into a huge storm which lasted for at least two hours, strong winds came from nowhere and the rain continued pounding on the tin roof all night. Another reminder to be prepared in the Andes!
I’m the morning it’s cloudy but the rain has stopped. We head through Natagaima and down to the river for our first river boat crossing. We could stay on this side of the river on the main road but on the other side it looks a lot quieter and more fun so we’ve opted for the dirt road, which will take longer but it’s always a more peaceful and interesting ride.
This one certainly was interesting! Following a short concrete road for about 500m after we got off the boat, the road ended and turned into a cobbled dirt track – it undulated steeply and of course the sun decided to come out! It was so hot and hard work but the scenery was stunning. We started to see cactus everywhere, we crossed many streams which were probably slightly higher than normal due to the previous nights storm. One crossing I had to ease through up to my knees, hoping my waterproof bags were actually doing their job!
It turned out to be a longer day than we’d thought because of the terrain and heat. But it was a beautiful ride with stunning views of the mountains, and interesting seeing the scenery change the further we went towards the desert. We managed 27 miles until we reached Potosi, a small sleepy village alongside the river. We were hot and exhausted, we stopped outside the old railway station which was now a Tienda, and the owner said we could camp outside under the roof – perfect. It was fairly quiet apart from the barking midnight dogs!
We carried on the next day towards the Tatacoa, it had rained during the night and so it was humid and buggy, but the track was better to cycle on. We stopped at the next village for coffee just as it started to rain. An hour later, after our second coffee waiting for the rain to stop, we decided to go back to the main road as we didn’t know if the tracks would be passable if it carried on raining. We got another boat back over the Rio Magdalena and hit the main road again.
We reached Aipe, and then one more boat crossing and we were in Villa Vieja, the town most people stay in to visit the Tatacoa. We found a cheap hotel in a quiet part of town, the owner and her daughter were lovely, there was a swimming pool at the back, and as the hotel was empty we basically had our own private swimming pool and room for £12! Perfect.
The following morning we left our bags at the hotel and cycled into the Tatacoa to see the famous Roja (red) desert. It was fairly quiet, and it felt so good to be cycling without any weight on the bikes, it was pretty hilly too – this desert definitely isn’t flat! The Tatacoa was actually quite impressive and the contrasting colours between the blue sky and the various reds of the sandy desert mixed in with the green cacti and yellow birds was beautiful. We were cycling back towards the town when the hoards of buses started to pass us in the opposite direction; we were grateful we’d made the effort to get up early and visit!
That afternoon we headed to Neiva, a large town in the Huila district, it was incredibly hot there and there was a rally going on in the plaza, the combination of loud music and intense heat made me want to hide or escape!
We were heading to San Augustin, a town 1700m high and close to the famous archaeological park which was home to hundreds of pre-Colombian stone carvings. But first we had 3 full days on the main road – there was no escaping it! It turned out to be fairly quiet in terms of main roads, but on the third day the space in the road narrowed significantly and it was a day of weaving in between fast artic lorries and various thorns, glass and nails on the road which inevitably punctured our tyres!
From Pitalito just off the main road, we headed west for 20 miles, and finished our journey to San Augustin with a long 4 mile climb, of course in the mid day heat! But oI didn’t mind as we’d booked a beautiful bamboo cabin just out of town to enjoy a few days rest. Ten minutes from reaching the cabin the heavens opened and by the time we found it we were drenched!
The cabin is beautiful, up a dirt track on a coffee farm, the Cabin is surrounded by fruit trees and has stunning views of the valley. I feel very lucky, and having worked so hard over the past 8 days am really grateful for a break. The rain continues that night but we don’t mind, we’re happy to relax.
The next few days are pure bliss. It’s amazing how you appreciate such small things out here. This whole area is stunning, it’s peaceful; I sit on the balcony listening to nature. I watch hummingbirds busy in the trees, butterflies floating by, and the odd sound of fruit falling off the trees. It’s so relaxing we decide to take another day here. We’re slowly realising that once we hit Ecuador we’ll spend most of our time over 3000m high, in colder climates and potentially lots of rain!
We spend a day wandering around the archaeological park and it’s fascinating. Hundreds of Pre-Colombian stone carvings that have been excavated are on display. What I like most is the fact they’re displayed around a huge park, in nature and not stuck in a dark museum somewhere. Considering it’s a UNESCO world heritage site it’s surprisingly quiet. The walk around is beautiful, again full of nature, and we’re incredibly lucky to come across a tiny Ocelot sleeping under a tree. We think it’s a cat at first, but on closer inspection it’s definitely wild, with spots like a leopard and a long tail. It opens it’s sleepy eyes to look at us and I take a quick picture, before walking away, not wanting to disturb it.
Tomorrow we’ll head back towards Pitalito and then continue south to Mocoa, back down to a hot 600m, before heading west back up to 3300m over the Andes once more into Pasto. From here we’ll head south To Ipiales and finally into Ecuador.
A note on the dogs around here. If you walk past one they’re your best friend and want nothing more than a bit of love and attention. Cycle past that same dog and you’ve suddenly become its worst enemy! It wants to chase you and eat your ankles! A few days ago on the main road we almost had an accident where 5 snarling dogs came from nowhere and chased us barking and snapping at our ankles whilst there was an artic lorry trying to pass us and another coming towards it – I didn’t know if it was best to get bitten or run over! The day after, another dog came from nowhere and actually managed to bite Chris’ ankle. Fortunately he didn’t break the skin otherwise we’d be searching for a hospital for a rabies booster!
