Day 833
Hats and Hills
We decided to take a day off at the hotel with the mirador. We had loads of space to relax in, views aplenty, and Tom could get on with editing the first few days of filming. The following morning we continued upwards, with over 1,200 feet of the hill still to do. It was steep and tough and we were both glad we hadn’t tried to continue onto the next town.
At the top of the climb, we reached Aguadas. It is famous for its hats, renowned throughout South America. They are very similar to the Panama hat but come in so many different designs, depending on the region. We decided to have a look at the museum which is dedicated to them. We left our bikes in the care of the police, and with two local students acting as guides we had a guided tour. The hats were awesome, handmade and taking many hours to complete. Local grasses, palms and other plants are dried stretched and woven, but they also use other materials available locally. Tom was particularly taken by the ones made of tobacco leaves. I was much taken by how similar life in Colombia and the UK could be. The women in photos from the 1930s were wearing the same outfits my grandmothers did. I peered extra close to check it wasn’t them! The displays of household equipment was what they used too. A world away yet so similar.
Then we had a fantastic downhill with just a small climb (well by Colombia’s standards) to Pacora, another busy town and our base for the night. We stayed in a hotel some fellow tourers had used, hoping access for the bikes would be easy. It wasn’t, a flight of stairs to carry everything up, but we’re quite practiced and at least we’d stopped cycling uphill. When I say busy it’s quite an experience to wander around these hill-top towns. The streets are packed, people stroll about, seeming to know everyone. The popular places to chill, are cake shops or small bars. We loved the bars, where it is as common for people to drink coffee as beer, but wine and G&T don’t appear to be available, ah well!
The next morning, fuelled with yet another traditional Colombian breakfast (scrambled eggs, local bread and cheese) we were off. Today was going to be tough. We had two massive hills to tackle and both Tom and I were starting to suffer with what I shall describe as tummy issues. The views were thankfully as good as ever, we bought bread and tomatoes so we could make our own lunch and pushed on. Hill number one in the bag we looked forward to a 10 mile downhill, unfortunately the tarmac disappeared and we descended mostly on steep rough gravel. It was painful on our hands, holding the brakes for as long as we could. Then we stopped for a breather whilst our hands stopped throbbing and the brakes cooled. It was almost a relief to start the climb, but oh boy it was hot and steep. I looked on in envy at the passengers on the buses as they whizzed by. Still with Tom’s encouragement we finally reached the town of Salamina, perched atop of the mountain!
Being a Saturday it was crazily busy, there are elections due to take place soon, and the candidates’ supporters marched through the town, banners waving, all singing away. A local offered to lead us to a cheap hotel, I think he took us to one of the most expensive in Colombia, so we opted for the spot next door, still more than we usually pay at £20, but it had a courtyard so no need to carry the bikes upstairs. By now both of us needed a break from meat and rice so looked around for food options. Not only did we find a pizza restaurant, but it served probably the best pizza we’ve ever eaten, sorry Julian!
We both really wanted a rest day, and perhaps pizza again for tea but we dug deep and pushed on. We were so glad we did, as we immediately spotted fellow tourers, Julianna and Aaron from the US. We cycled off together. They were both a lifetime younger than us, on a lighter set up, but were cheerfully patient to ride at my pace. Mentally it really helped me tackle yet another 2,000 foot plus climb. We stopped for the most expensive fresh orange juice I’ve come across, but it did include special vitamins, and if they cure our tummy issues it will be money well spent. After just 12 miles and one big hill Tom and I decided to stop. We needed to do laundry, Tom’s shirt looked full of starch but it was salt, and I won’t mention our shorts. We said our goodbyes to J and A, and hoped we might meet then again on our travels, safe cycling!
