Welcome to The Andes

After much thought, debate and careful calculations we decided we would take a bus from Cartagena to Medellin. We would not make it to Lima in the allotted time without superhuman effort. Taking a bus with bikes is not necessarily a simple process, the frantic ride to the bus station in Cartagena made us realise that South America is a whole new level of chaos when it comes to city traffic. Motorbikes and scooters were weaving in and out of cars, hopping onto the pavement if necessary. Buses and taxis were looking for fares and paying little or no attention to others…we had no option but to follow suit and delve into the chaos. The bus took 15hours instead of 12 and we arrived bleary eyed in the morning in the middle of another scary Latin American city. We were not filled with enthusiasm for the ride to the hostel having seen several accidents from the window of the bus on the way into the city. But we were in luck, it was Sunday and ciclovia…which meant that one of the main roads was shut to traffic and open for bikes and pedestrians…and a wonderful experience it was too.

Medellin was spectacular and enormous in a huge Andean valley. We had deposited ourselves into one of the biggest mountain ranges in the world and the only way was up!

We left Medellin for the countryside and climbed out of the city, we turned onto a quiet country road and were grappling with the vertical incline when a mountain biker came down the hill, asked where we were heading and said the route that we were taking was impassable by bike. Ricardo was very friendly and we were inclined to trust him and his local knowledge so retraced our steps down the steep hill we had just struggled up. Ricardo then invited us to his house for second breakfast, which of course we accepted. We were struggling a little with the language barrier so he rang his son who rang his mate Carlos and we all went to a bar down the road for some translation!! More friendly Colombians to point us in the right direction and send us on our way.

We cycled up a spectacular valley and when we got tired and it got late we stopped at a restaurant and asked if we could sleep there, the rain arrived just in time for some sympathy and we slept on the floor of the restaurant in the dry. We left early the next morning for a day of uphill…and it really was up, we climbed 5800ft in 35miles and were both exhausted by the time we arrived in the picturesque town of Jardín. The ride was really beautiful and the higher we climbed the more spectacular the view became as we pedalled our way through verdant countryside with endless rows of coffee plants dotting the steep slopes.

A day off in Jardín consisted of hopping from cafe to cafe and enjoying the good coffee and spectacular surroundings. The Andes are not for the faint hearted and we left Jardín to climb up again, stopping at a passion fruit factory for an impromptu tour on the way. They supply passion fruits to Sainsburys! After stocking up on free tropical fruit the paved road ended and gave way to gravel and stones, it was incredibly quiet and breathtakingly beautiful but very hard. For me it was the biggest test so far with 7000ft of climbing on unpaved road…the day was full of tears and smiles, and a lot of gritty determination. We entered Rio Sucio as it got dark, descending towards the twinkling lights of the town and the hope of a hot shower and a warm bed.

So far Colombia has been something else. The people are incredibly friendly and welcoming, the views have been awe inspiring and the riding has been tough. After Rio Sucio we had another long day to Pereira, a long downhill allowed us to cover over 70miles but by the time we arrived in the torrential rain we were done. And we are still here…I couldn’t face getting on the bike today to pedal up more hills so a day off was called. The Andes are not to be under estimated!!