Slowly, slowly

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The place we stayed in was an extensive place with several cabins, a pool, a tower to climb to look out over the view,.a large restaurant etc. We were the only people there and it was a mix of feeling very peaceful and feeling quite odd!

We woke in the morning to find we were in the clouds but climbed the tower to look down on our cabin as it was the furthest we could see. 

The whole area is incredibly lush with amazing displays of plants. Every time we stop, we have a look around us and there are innumerable species of plants. This shot gives an idea of the variety and colour we see on a regular basis.

We continued climbing into the cloud on our way to Aguadas. Very atmospheric.

By the time we reached Aguadas, the clouds had cleared and we found ourselves in a great little Andean town high on a hill side. The highlight of the town was the hat museum - brilliant. Over 300 different hats and it was free to enter. 

There were sections on hats around the world, hats in art and literature etc but the main feature were the woven Iraca hats that are similar to what we would know as Panama hats. There was information about the different qualities of these hats based on how fine the straw that is used to create them. 

There were also hats on strings hanging down which gave us fun photo opportunities.

We had a coffee in the town square. We are loving the Colombian coffee and we are right in the heart of coffee country. The locals all love coffee and we see them drinking 'tinto' at all hours of the day. 

While we were having our coffee, the bike was leaned up against the central park it quickly gathered an interested crowd. This happens regularly and it was fun to observe from a distance how they examined different bits of the bike, pointed at stuff and earnestly discussed it.

We passed a collection point for coffee beans and were invited in for a look around. It was full of 50kg bags of beans. These were destined to end up in Nespresso pods. 

There are coffee plants everywhere. If you zoom in, you will spot the beans growing in it - clearly a bit longer before they ripen to red ready for harvest.

The afternoon was taken by the climb up to Pácora. By the time we stopped we had not ridden far but we had realised that all towns were really interesting and we didn't want to rush through them without having time to appreciate them. 

Hotel Real was great. Right in the centre, really clean and with a complimentary breakfast. We had to get the bike up two flights of stairs to store it in the central courtyard but it was worth the effort. 

We had spotted a pizza place in the town square and decided that it would be a nice treat. We had only just sat down when we were warmly greeted by folk from the adjacent table. It turns out they run the community social group. They then showed us the 300 seat theatre behind the pizza place where they put on plays, music, dancing and films. They also organise sporting events. While our pizza was cooking they took us out into the park and did a video interview of us asking where we were from, how we were travelling, what we thought of Colombia etc. No idea where it will end up...

While we were eating our pizza, we were presented with a gift from them. Two packets of local biscuits and a local delicacy (more on this later). We find these random encounters really stimulating and rewarding and this made us glad of our decision to have a short day and enjoy the town.

The next day was lovely and clear. It began with a bit of a climb up from town to the col down into the next valley. There wasn't much traffic.

Just before the top we had an incredibly coincidental meeting. The guy on the mountain bike stopped to chat. While we were talking the guy on the moto passed and stopped as well. It turns out they were the guys who worked on the pizza place from the night before. We had a good chat about the road ahead and what descending / climbing we would have ahead of us. 

We could not believe our eyes when we crested the summit. We were looking down on cloud shrouded mountains. The sense of elevation was very real. 

Then we encountered the road works. Several people had warned us about them. The road clearly suffers from a lot of subsidence / land slips and there was some significant work under way to improve it. We had to walk down through some of the muddier sections but mostly it was rideable. The roadworks went on for 8km.

As we had been leaving Pácora we tried to buy bananas to no avail. A bloke had witnessed this. While we were riding along, he came past on his moto and handed us this huge bunch. Once again we were overwhelmed by the generosity of strangers.

After the roadworks, the road turned to tarmac and we dropped down, down, down. All the while passing through lush vegetation. 

When we reached the bottom we stopped for food to fortify ourselves for the next climb. First off: two slices of cold pizza. Next: some huge slabs of the local delicacy we had been given the night before. It is a cake roll filled with caramel and candied figs. The whole thing weighs about 700g and feels like a brick. It is delicious and energy packed. 

Rachel enjoying her slice in the shade by a river.

We were in raptures over the view in the valley bottom. It was incredible.

To end our day we had a climb up to Salamina where we planned to stay. The climb wound its way up from the valley bottom. If you look closely you will spot the road down below.

We opted for another short day in order not to miss any of these wonderful mountain towns. We found a hotel with only 3 steps to get the bike in. (It also had a washing machine that they let us use).

We then went for a wander to the square. It seems like every parque principal in this area is named after Símon Bolivár. This one had a great fountain in the middle with huge trees set against the white church. We had food in a cafe on the edge of the plaza and wandered the tiny streets marvelling at the colourful paintwork on all the houses. 

Google photos https://photos.app.goo.gl/p8J9ERd7iN2bGiZy9

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