to Cartago: quick ride, last day in the flat Cauca valley

April 21, 2017

"Anyone watching me cycle would think I was drunk the way I'm weaving to avoid the caterpillars" Rachel says. There are so many caterpillars crossing the shoulder, but why does a caterpillar cross a road?

We get an early start, just because our alarm woke us and we might as well get there. There is coffee in the lobby, so we take the time to have a cup. It is another overcast and cool day, we have appreciated the break from the heat. Back on the main road we pound out the miles rather quickly. One stop for a drink and some snacks is all it takes. We have been seeing road signs for the town of Manizales. We saw on the news today there was another mudslide disaster. The poorest people always seem to live on the worst pieces of land, often in stilted shacks on steep slopes.

There are a few more hills today, but the scenery is nice with rolling hills, horses and cows in pastures. There are huge trees in the fields, not very tall, but with big branches spanning a long way. At 10:30 we arrive at the Hotel Don Gregorio, a nice place with real reception staff and a guy who helps us carry the bikes inside and lock them in a store room. We are too early, the room still needs cleaning, so we are directed to the restaurant by the pool for a cup of coffee.

The room has faded a bit from when the place was new, but it is still a pleasant place to spend the afternoon. We have good WiFi and use it to make some general plans for the rest of our trip. Patrick making maps of the potential route in the USA. We have a target goal of August 12 to be in Carbondale, Illinois to visit our friend Anita. Things might still change as we get further down the road, but we have an outline of taking the Natchez Trace up to Tennessee then Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky, to Illinois, across on part of the Lewis and Clark Trail, across Missouri on the Katy Trail cutting up to the Cowboy Trail in Nebraska.

Our only problem is time, we will have to do some "skipping" in Central America to get to the US and home "before the snow flies".

Huge trees have been left in the fields providing shade on a hot day.

We leave the flat valley floor and follow the meandering highway up into drier foothills.

Plenty of trees along the road to provide shade.

It is another overcast and cool day. We love it.

Nice wrought iron deadbolt and lock plate.

We pass a small settlement that advertises itself as "Cruce d'Amor" and they sell an elixir that helps with that.

The Hotel Don Gregorio looks like the fanciest place in town. We booked it on Booking.com for a reasonable price, but that was before they added taxes and a city per-person fee. Still though, it is only 10:30 and we have a nice room, good WiFi, hot water, TV and a swimming pool, all for about $30.

More fruit sellers on the streets of Cartago.

Today's ride: 49 km (30 miles)
Total: 30,771 km (19,109 miles)

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