Barbosa – Oiba: 67 kms. Total ascent 899 mtrs. Temp. 32 C. Though we are 170 mtrs lower in the end of the day this was a real mountain stage. Ondolante, up and down, each time again you come flying down a hill and then you have to switch into the smallest gear within 2 or 3 pedal strokes and push hard to go to the next highest point, only to repeat the same procedure time after time. Eats a lot of energy. Lowest point in the route was 1370, highest 1682. We found lodging in aHotel Buganvillia, very simple rooms behind a historic front with arcades in the historic centre of Oiba, real cute. Run by a very friendly and helpful family with roots in the town for over 140 years, so they told us. Their prices couldn´t be friendlier.

Oiba  – San Gil

54,3 kms. Total ascent 692 mtrs. So unless we’re going down steadily and gradually leaving the Andes mountain range we are climbing a lot and we have a real mountain stage each day. The scenery was beautiful again with wide views and temperatures reached as high as 36 ˚C. These conditions made 54 kms long enough for us for one day.

San Gil is a hectic place, where tourism is rapidly developing. Activities offered here are rafting, canoing, canyoning, caving and parapente. There is a small national park on an island in the river passing the town that offers a tropical botanical experience as well as bars, restaurants, ice cream and cool drink vendors and a children’s playground. In addition to that dense traffic, many big American type lorries with long hoods and high exhaust pipes, wind through all this. So for a quiet and peaceful stay one can better go elsewhere.

There are many hotels, at least establishments that offer a place to stay the night. But many look so delapidated, that it took us quite some time before we had found one that suited us. We criss crossed the town a couple of times, checking various accommodations and it took so long that we had to interrupt our efforts for a cold drink. Now we’re in Hotel Riposo, not bad, clean, a bit expensive and hot. Fortunately there is a fan. I guess riposo means rest, and that’s what we need again now.

We were lucky concerning our evening meal. We found Restaurante El Mano in the same street as where we live, Calle 10, that offers an “almuerzo” (a full meal) for 9000 pesos a person. This is more expensive than in non touristic places, but what pleased us most is the quality and the taste of the food. It was good, even compared to European standards. The tables were laid out beautifully and the food was well presented on beautiful plates. The regular dishes in this country are not very tasteful. Big portions , a lot of meat, especially pollo (chicken), served on a wooden board (a la plancha) or tin platter, with a bit of vegetables and rice or french fries or cooked potatoes or yuca and beans. Heavy stuff, and the taste seems to be less important than the quantity. In Barbosa we were confined to eat at “Super Pollo”, which says it all I would say. But tonight found ourselves very lucky.

the tracks: Download 20100108_barbosa_oiba.gpx

Download 20100108_oiba_sangil.gpx

Barbosa-Oiba:

Profile Barbosa-Oiba:

Oiba-San Gil

Profile Oiba – San Gil: