On the road to Medellin...still

The Andes have arrived. Our cruise through the coastal lowlands came to a screeching halt the day before yesterday when we innocently started up a hill that still hasn’t ended. From about 100 m elevation to a high of 2500 m yesterday, we’ve been pushing and pulling our rigs up through the cloud forests of northern Colombia. After a 30-km day of consistent and somewhat grueling up yesterday, we have come upon the mountain town of Yamural at 2300 m.  Finding a great cheap hotel with a balcony overlooking el centro, we have decided to give our backs and butts a day off and enjoy a day of no physical activity. Un mas tinto por favor. Amy is looking forward to a breakfast of something other than a deep-fried meat-stuffed cornmeal turnover (arepa con carni, one of my favs though).

 Despite the grind, being in the mountains feels fantastic.  The air is fresh and cool with not a hint of humidity. Hard to believe the difference. We knew we were in a different climate zone when our room didn’t have a ceiling fan – a situation that down on the coast would turn a hotel room into an unlivable prison cell.  Asking the Senora about it, she responded “no necesito” (not necessary).  We reluctantly took it, but were pleasantly surprised by cool evening air. First night of no sweating since we got here. In fact, the long-buried merino wool shirts have emerged from our panniers.

The scenery has changed dramatically.  From lowland tropical to steep semi-forested mountain ridgelines.  Kind of like the mountains of the west Kootenays, except they’re green and lush right to the top. Very reminiscent of the mid-elevations in places like Nepal and northern Vietnam. Interestingly though, terracing hasn’t caught on here as in those places. We haven’t figured out exactly what they are doing with the land yet, but we assume cattle grazing and subsistence farming, except that the “houses” in the midst of the hills are very scarce and seem clustered mainly along the road. 

Speaking of houses, one of the best things about cycle touring is seeing everything up front and personal along the way. According to most sources, about a third (+/-) of Colombians live in poverty.  While most towns and cities seem to be vibrant and thriving, we definitely see a lot of what could be called “rural poor”. I believe the technical term is “income inequality” where the rich are extremely rich, and the poor are extremely poor – a problem in most of Latin America.  But a middle class seems to be slowly emerging from what we’re reading and seeing. For now though, there appears to be a lot of people along the way living in near stone-age conditions – i.e., tin/plastic-covered huts, cooking over a fire, washing clothes on a rock beside a creek, and getting around via donkey (lots of donkeys actually, the Juan Valdez stereotype seems true).

Regardless of where we bump into them, Colombians have been wonderful people. Smiley, laughing, good-natured people always willing to help us out with our gringo Spanish and anything else we need. Being in the no-gringo zone (still have yet to see another one since leaving Cartagena), we’re kind of celebrities here, and get a constant barrage of waves, thumbs up (especially popular), and the ubiquitous question “de donde viene”? (where are you from?), followed closely by “a donde vas”? (where are you going?).  Fortunately two questions we can answer with one word each and a smile.

An interesting facet of road travel here is the frequency and regularity of police check points – a group of 10 or so guys every 20 or 30 kms. These are not your pleasantly clad “gidday ma’am” officers checking snow tires, but rather full-on heavily armed, body-armoured, para-military units. I suppose when one realizes that only 10 or 20 years ago, what we’re doing would have been impossible due to the almost certainty of being killed or kidnapped in the various rebellions and drug wars that have ravaged this country in the past century, their presence is welcoming. They don’t bother us, and in fact, often give us the customary thumbs up as we cruise by, so we’re glad to have ‘em if it means safe travels. Other interesting facets of road travel we’ve encountered thus far include seeing our first motorbike accident (thankfully not involving us), and experiencing a highway closure due to nationwide campesino (peasant farmers, for lack of a better definition) protests.  All part of the fun here in Colombia.

So today we relax and enjoy the comforts of a nice hotel on the square, take in the sights, eat the street food, and maybe have a nap in the afternoon. Tomorrow we ride on towards Medellin, and unfortunately, probably a bit more pushing. As someone once said, everywhere is within walking distance, if you have the time...and we have time. Although, we are comforted by the fact that Medellin is below us at 1500 m. We CANNOT WAIT to go downhill. Till then.