Day 865
Trampolin de la Muerte
We had two nights in Mocoa to rest our legs ready for the Trampolin. Only 47 miles but over 11,000 feet of climbing on dirt roads, the descents were going to be tough too. Not fun without suspension!
On our last night we went met up with Tobias, a young Belgium guy working with local farmers on sustainable cocoa production, combining tree planting with this important crop to help partly restore the rainforest. We were also joined by Robert, a fellow cycle tourer who we had been in touch with via Instagram. Tobias suggested we eat at a local restaurant specialising in food from the Amazon. It was more expensive than what we normally treat ourselves to but the food was fantastic. Robert suggested we try the wine, again this came from fruits grown in the Amazon, hard to describe the taste, a bit like a dry port, red, served chilled, and again it was awesome. We also tried ants (!) and very rare white cocoa, both delicious. Dining with these two guys was so interesting, they both have jobs that work to help their fellow man and planet, it felt like a normal night out and we relished the experience. It also stopped us thinking about tomorrow!
Day follows night and so at 6am we were off. Within 2 miles we were on the dirt track and the hard work began. The humidity was brutal, so though not particularly hot we were both soon soaked to the skin with sweat. It was a constant battle to keep going, finding a line through the rocky road, keeping away from the certain death drop and avoiding the trucks. Not an easy task! Just short of 21 miles done but over 6,500ft of climbing we decided to call it a day. Home for the night was an abandoned building. Part of the roof has gone but half remains and that meant we could just pop up our inner tent, set up our chairs and cook out of the wind and rain. Even better the toilet block was still open and there was actually a shower, seriously this was a cycle tourers dream wild camp!
7am the following morning we were back at it to finish off the climbing. With tired legs it felt just as hard today even though we had a third less to ascend. The weather was worst too. We had rain the first day, loosing a lot of the views as we were immersed in the clouds, but today we had monsoon type rain. At one point Tom dropped his arms down and about a pint of rain water escaped from his sleeves. It was part cycle part swim!
Despite the weather, the mist, the climbing, and the rough track, we were both glad we had made the decision to ride this way. The views were awesome at times and the satisfaction of completing this challenge immense.
It’s a day off today to rest our legs yet again, fit new brake pads, look around the town of Sibundoy with its colourful murals, and get ready for tomorrow with more hills and most likely more rain!
