June 29, 2018 – June 30, 2018

The next day the four of us were up early for a bike tour…some, if not all, with a bit of brain fog from the celebrations of the previous night.  We jumped in the box of a pickup truck and were driven out of town for about an hour, the fresh, crisp mountain air helping to clear away the cobwebs.

At the top of a pass, we got out of the truck for the first down hill ride of the day. We wheeled around corners and through mud puddles, following our guide, trying to keep one eye on the road as the other took in the views. Soon the wax palms began to appear. These trees, now protected by the government of Colombia, can grow up to 60 metres in height, and are the tallest palms in the world.

The photos do not do this place justice. It was stunning.

We pulled our bikes off of the road and were taken by our guide on a small hike through the fields to see the palms.  We then enjoyed a picnic lunch with an incredible view.

We did see some blue sky that day.

Back in the truck, we returned to the pass, where we jumped on our bikes for the 22 km downhill ride back to town. Just as we were getting going it started to rain. We would pull over occasionally for a rest break, to check out the view and to clean the mud off of our glasses.  This also allowed me to catch up with the speed demons I was cycling with….going super fast downhill, whether on a bike or on skis freaks me out.  I have a lot of respect for the combined effects of gravity and hard surfaces.  The full suspension bikes were amazing though, and by the end of the ride I was letting the wheels roll a lot more.

We were completely covered in mud by the time we got back to town. I felt like a serious, hardcore mountain biker as I noticed the towns people turn to watch our muddy procession through the streets.  We probably looked more hardcore than the ride deserved, but what a fun day!

We hosed off (literally), were back at camp in the early afternoon, and then the four of us enjoyed another dinner out on the town. We decided that the hike to the Valle de Cocora where you only see a few wax palms was going to be a disappointment after seeing thousands of them the day before.  A new plan was hatched.  The owner of Salento Cycling had told us that you could continue on the road that we had biked along, all the way to the town of Ibague, which was on the way to our next destination. He said the road was rough in places but doable. And so, we left early the next morning to convoy with Doug and Lindsey about 80 or 90 kilometres and 8 plus hours through the mountains of Colombia.

Lindsey hosing me off…the water was cold!