Into the hills

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We left Medellín after a really great few days exploring the city. We had planned for a very short day. In our bags were some bike spares and we were heading for a well known casa de la ciclistas. 

Manuel runs this casa and it exists to provide a place for touring cyclists to stay for as long as they want as well as offering a well equipped workshop. We were keen to experience the casa as well as to take advantage to the workshop to fit the spares we were carrying. 

Manuel is one of the world's good guys. He survived some terrible experiences in the violence in Colombia in the 80s and his entire outlook is based on helping people. 

While there I changed the bottom brackets (which necessitated a trip to the nearby bike shop for a specific tool - Manuel drove me there), the front disk rotor and the front brake pads. 


The casa has grown organically over the years and many previous visitors have helped with its development. Note the old wheel and disk rotors used as the base for the sink. 


We were incredibly glad to have detoured to stay there. I hope that Manuel continues to be able to host cyclists for many years to come. 


Our route south took us up to the top of Alto de Minas (high mines) 2545m. There was a cafe beside the sign where we stopped for a bowl of hot chocolate. While there we got chatting to the group on the adjacent table. When a woman in the group heard we were from England she dashed to our table and and delighted in showing us photos and videos from her trip to the UK the year before. 


After cresting the summit we had a descent. Not just an ordinary descent but a 40km descent. Wow. I was glad of the improved braking following the repairs at Manuel's. We were treated to amazing views down into the valley bottom with vistas of mountains stretching off into the distance. Because of the scale of it, it was hard to capture in a photo. This shows the distant hills but not the long range views into the valley below. 


The descent ended when we crossed the Cauca River again (we had followed it upstream in our way to Medellín). It was still huge, brown and fast flowing. Many of the hotels in La Pintada were on the first floor and we didn't have the energy to drag the bike up stairs so we paid a bit extra for a fancy place that didn't have stairs. We slept very soundly.


The next day we knew what we were letting ourselves in for: more climbing. We wanted to get off the main road and experience some quieter routes. Our chosen route had been recommended by Manuel, and Mark and Nicolette (a pair of tandemers we have forged a WhatsApp friendship with).

It began by following a tributary of the Cauca for 10km or so before heading uphill. 


We found the gradients hard on the lower slopes and, despite the shade from trees, it was very hot. However, the road is really quiet and the views are spectacular.


I'd picked this up in town before leaving and it helped sustain us until we reached Arma where we stopped for some food. It is a fudge base topped with caramel that is topped with guava jelly. Oh my - so many calories in such a small package. 



While in Arma it began to rain and we checked out the only hotel in town. Even after 9 months on the road we still have some standards and the hotel did not meet them so we carried on.

More uphill though misty, green hills. Just amazing. 


At one point a moto rider stopped, handed us some water and a bag of sweets and then zoomed off. We only just had time to thank him before he went. 


Did I mention just how quiet and green the road was? We got to within 100m of the summit and spotted a hotel that looked several leagues nicer than the one in Arma.  Few minutes later and we were checked and relaxing after a tough day in the saddle. 




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