Honda, Tolima [Colombia]

The heat continues... It's so hot that I have to stop riding and cool down before I can begin to sweat.  I'm now sure how that happens...

I've starting biking on one of the major highway routes of Colombia.  It's one of two north-south routes.  Several times a day, people pull-over to ask me for directions.  I'm not quite sure why they think that I, an obvious foreigner, would know how to get places... but they do.  Then, I'm asked why I don't know.... not much to say other than, "I'm not from here."  That response always elicits a few giggles from the passengers and a strange look from the driver.

La Danta, Antioquia [Colombia]

"Well, I'm running down the road, tryin' to loosen my load..." when I hear a shout from a roadside hotel.  I turn to find three cyclists hollering at me from the second floor room.

They turn out to be three Colombian dudes that are doing a bike tour for a few days during Easter holiday.  We start to chat and they invite me to join them for a few days.

"Why not?"  I think to myself.

So, we join forces and start pedaling to a little town at the end of a brutal 20 km dirt road.  We bounce along, through the heat and dust, until one of the bikes break down... the rear derailleur moves too far over and gets caught in the rear wheel, putting an end to the bike.

No worries, we continue walking and coasting the bikes through the heat of the day until we reach town.  Then we order a new part and hire a motorcycle for the owner of the fallen bike to reach a gorgeous little swimming hole outside town for a lovely evening swim and home-cooked soup over an open campfire = life is good!

San Luis, Antioquia [Colombia]

Ever wonder what it's like to go screaming down 1,500 meters of vertical over 60 km in the Colombia jungle?  Let me tell you, it's a lot of fun!

All the climbing over the last several days has finally come to an end.  Now, it's time to get a free ride!  I owned the highway for a good 1.5 hours as descended as fast as possible.  I don't get to use those high gears very often and I made up for lost time, pedaling as fast as I could and still not having to put in hardly any effort.  Awesome!

Guatapé, Antioquia [Colombia]

I hated to leave Medellín.  There's something about the city that is amazing.  Maybe it's the location, sandwiched in between two mountains, or maybe it's that the entire city is built of colorful red bricks, or maybe it's the vibrancy and soul and arts of the city.

Either way, I started early to begin the massive 1,200 meter climb out of the city to the high-mountain plateau.  I reached the top in less than two hours and was cold for the first time in weeks.  Actually cold!

From there, I enjoyed the rolling flats all the way to Guatapé.  This is a giant lake that has hundreds of little islands and peninsulas and inlets.   It's simply an amazing place!!!

Medellín, Antioquia [Colombia]

It's been too long since I've been on a bike and I'm not in top-notch bike shape.  My legs are tired and my butt is incredibly sore...  It's only been since I arrived to Medellín that I've started to feel my strength again.

I arrived to Medellín around noon and found a cheap hotel.  I didn't want to waste any time, so I took a midday "escape-the-heat" nap and then started towards Arví National Park.  Most people access this park by taking a series of gondolas, or as the locals call them, "cable metros", to the top of the mountains surrounding Medellín.

Alas, I arrived too late in the day... the daily quota for allowed people had already been met.  So, I decided to take matters into my own hands... I thought I would just hike up the steep valley walls and get there on foot... well....

I began hiking the 3,500 total vertical distance by going through some of the "not-so-good" areas" of the city.  The city is arranged in barrios, with the less-wealthy areas "higher on the hill".  This translates as me walking through worse and worse areas as I got closer to the top of the mountain.  In so doing, I saw less and less desirable things... like a fairly major drug deal.  Luckily, me and the spotter both decided to just play it cool... by the time both of us realized what was actually going on, we both decided it was best to just act like we didn't know what was going on.  Absolutely nobody was expecting a tall gringo to show-up in the middle of the proceedings.  Well, that was one disaster avoided...

After another hot hour of hiking, I made it to the top.  After wandering around a bit, I ran into the Colombian police force.  Again, they didn't fully expect to see a tall gringo to show-up in on the top of a mountain.  They questioned me for quite a while.  I told them that I had hiked up the mountain, something they just couldn't believe, but they didn't have much choice.... there wasn't any other way for me to have arrived there.  They eventually let me go, warning me that I should be safe.  Ya....