11/12 The temperature must not have dropped that much last night because I was nice and toasty. Its sure nice sleeping in my tent. Too bad they didn’t have campgrounds or undeveloped areas in Colombia (except virtually inaccessible jungle/mountain ranges).
At breakfast the lady gave me a scare when she told me the road was closed ahead. Some police showed up pretty late last night so they must have told her. Now I know why the military had blocked off the road in Fresno. Of course the guards at the blockade failed to mention that the road was closed even though I said I was going to Manizales.
Options are pretty limited as far as roads go so I left figuring I’d find a way around whatever it was (she said a bridge was washed out). Sure enough, in 10 miles, after passing a dozen small landslides, I hit the big one. The road was blocked by construction workers and a bulldozer was clearing out a huge landslide (no bridge). After 10 minutes they let me and a couple motorcycles through the path they had cleared. In Manizales, a line of trucks, similar to the one in Fresno, was waiting behind a police barricade to leave.
Finding a place to stay here wasn’t easy. The only hotel I could find was too expensive but a guy there ran out when I was leaving a told me there was a hostel a couple blocks away. This place was called the Pit Stop but they only have dorm rooms available. I brought my stuff in and stared for a long minute at the bunk beds. Visions of hippies started filling my head and I got scared. I told the lady it wasn’t a good fit and asked if she knew somewhere with a private room. She called another hostel and asked them to told a room for me. Wish I could have stayed there because she was so nice (and hot too). Ended up at the Hostel Palogrande (Calle 62 No 23-36). They have private rooms, bathroom (shared) with hot water, wifi (and wired) for 25 mil. Includes breakfast. Best part, I beat the rain by 2 minutes.
One of the bike shops in Manizales is famous among the group of cyclists heading down from Alaska (mostly) to Argentina (mostly). It’s called Bisono Mechanics. Here’s a map. After unpacking I took the bike over with my wish list. The shop is amazing. I’ve never seen so many tools in one place and the owner, Hernando, is extremely friendly. He also speaks English which helped me out a lot. Getting a lot of things done: new front middle/small chain rings, new rear cassette, new chain, new front/rear brake housing, new cables, bottom bracket regreased and the front/rear hub bearings cleaned. Should be ready for Wednesday morning so I’ll be here a little longer than I expected. Monday is a holiday here and they are closed Sunday so I can’t complain really. Might have to ride a little faster to get out of Colombia on time.
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