July 5: Jericó to Jardín

July 5, 2022

The night was crisp and cool, with a thick blanket of clouds descending over our tents. The cloud layer slowly dissipated as the sun rose over the mountains, and we were greeted to a beautiful morning overlooking the Río Cauca.

César, one of the paragliding pilots, arrived shortly after 8am eager to get us all up in the air. After a short safety briefing, we each donned our own harnesses and took flight. Now, I've been paragliding once before in San Diego, and yet that was no comparison to just how magical this flight was. We launched over coffee fields and began a gradual 1,300 meter descent down to the river. We glided over and through Pixar-worthy clouds, overlooking the vast fincas that we had passed the day prior on our bikes. We could see far below the sinuous road weave a path through the trees and fields, ascending ever-upwards into the sky. After 20 minutes we landed not far from where we had begun our arduous ascent. I couldn't help but think how much easier it was to fly down than it was to bike up.

With our flights behind us, we took a taxi back up the mountain and packed up our camping gear and rode into town. We had gotten a much later start than usual, and as such would have to be careful with our time.

Jericó is a beautiful little mountain town. I'd love to spend more time there.

We fueled up at the panaderia before heading out of town towards Buenos Aires. As we left Jericó, the road quickly turned to dirt and we soon found ourselves again in the Colombian countryside. It was truly sublime riding, taking us through rural pastures and along a small river.

Idaho? Colorado? Montana? Did I accidentally transport myself to the Great Divide?

At one point while we were pedaling and taking in the view, we passed by a farm named Hacienda Cielito Lindo. I couldn't help but think of the traditional Mexican song with the same name, and how fitting its lyrics were for the joyous day that we were having:

Ay, ay, ay, ay

Canta y no llores

Porque cantando se alegran

Cielito lindo, los corazones.

When translated literally, "cielito lindo" means "little heaven." In the context of the song though, it takes on more of an endearing meaning such as "darling."

Oh, oh, oh, oh,

Sing and do not cry

Because singing cheers up,

Pretty little darling, our hearts.

There was certainly a lot to sing about today in this little heaven of ours. Our hearts were full.

We soon made our way into Buenos Aires, a delightfully rural mountain town. We stopped for a coffee and snack break under the shadow of the cathedral in the center plaza. Kids were playing basketball, an older lady was smoking under a gazebo, and a group of older men were convened at the corner tienda. Everything about it was just too serene.

Buenos Aires, only accessible on rough dirt roads.

Keen to make it to Jardín before dark, we soon left the peaceful serenity of Buenos Aires and headed onto a shortcut recommended to us by César. The road cut through vast swaths of banana and coffee orchards, ascending and descending over creek crossings. We frequently had passing locals offering us directions and words of encouragement, as well as countless chickens, cows, and dogs as roadside company. As we steadily made our way towards Jardín, the road became increasingly muddy, until it became just straight-up chorro (break out your Spanish dictionary for that one!). It was slow going, and we frequently found ourselves stopping in creek crossings to wash the mud off of our tires. Girish and I often found ourselves riding slow, carefully trying to avoid having mud fling up from our tires and onto our gear and clothes. We were only slightly successful.

I couldn't help but think of a Sesame Street song I'd heard as a kid: "Tell me my friend did you ever see, bananas growing on banana tree? Well you may see seven or you may see three, but you'll never see one alone. One banana, two banana, one for me and one for you banana. Count three or four, or even more banana 'cause banana can't grow alone.

One of the muddy washouts we had along the way to Jardín.

After several hours riding and trudging through the mud, we descended in the dark and rode into Jardín, content with the extraordinary day we had all just had. We found an awesome hotel only one block from the centro and enjoyed a late meal from the street vendors before calling it a night.

Today's ride: 39 km (24 miles)
Total: 983 km (610 miles)

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