77.5 kms. 500 vertical meters. We started just after 07.00 with a stunning and break-burning descent. The low morning sun added to the amazing beauty of the scenery. 24 kms further we were 1000 meters lower and we entered the valley of the river Cauca again. Still a big river, which we followed for another 50 kms, till where we are now. The road was flat, just a bit undulating and we stayed at an altitude of app. 700 mtrs. We had not counted on the high temperatures, we scored 41 ˚C maximum. Made us long for the altitudes of the days before.

We were a bit confused, as both our Reise KnowHow map (which is usually correct) and my gps depicted a map that did not correspond with reality. But asking a couple of times helped us out. Anyway, there are not many possiblities, there are not so many roads and going wrong is very difficult. It’s only annoying when you don’t know precisely enough where you are. We decided to stop at a hotel with a restaurant along the road, just after the bridge and junction where the road coming from Medellin forks, one way to Manizales (ours) and the other to Cali via Cartago. The hotel is called La Esctacion Tipica, and outside the two buildings of the restaurant and the apart hotel, as they call it, there is nothing. An islolated place along the road, but the rooms are astonishingly beautiful, spacious, clean and comfortable and we have a window and balcony with a direct view on the river below. Our plan is to reach Salento in 2 days from now, a historic little town which seems to be nice place to stay for a day or 2.

The track: Download 20100212stbarbara_estaciontipica.gpx