Rain in Chingaza, a tamal in La Calera and a final soaking on Patios
· 57 km · 1,283 m+
All that was left was the last day to get back to Bogotá. With coffee, fruit and biscuits… what could go wrong?
I set off towards Guasca again to pick up, shortly after, the so-called Ruta Chingaza.
This route crosses Chingaza National Natural Park, which lies close to Bogotá. The park has magnificent vegetation and gorgeous views.
Or so I believe, since the rain that keeps the vegetation in bloom didn’t leave me for the whole park.
After putting up with the drizzle for a good few hours, I reached La Calera, right at the spot where I’d stopped for coffee on the first stage.
And if I’d liked the place so much, why not go back? But this time I was hungry: it had been quite a few kilometres and I fancied something more filling.
A superb hot tamal to fill my belly and chase away the day’s cold.
Although, to be fair, there was no need to chase away the cold, because as soon as I left La Calera I started climbing, climbing and climbing. It’s exactly what I did on the first day, but the other way round, and I didn’t remember having gone down so much. Descents and climbs just feel different.
After all that climbing, I reached the Alto de Patios again, and this time I barely stopped, because rain was looming over Bogotá.
I thought I’d get away with it. Well, no, I didn’t. The rain caught me hard on the way down. I don’t know if I was getting wetter from the rain falling from the sky or from the spray off my wheels, but the truth is I got soaked.
The ride to the hotel was quite something. But still, it wasn’t very cold, so it wasn’t all that bad. Mind you, I had to take a photo in the hotel lift to capture the moment.
What a shame, the route is over. But hey, next week I have another one, and an even longer one. I can’t wait to keep pedalling around Colombia!
