Medellin

Pronounced Medi' jean by the locals.  We left Sincelejo headed for Medellin.  We didn't realize the terrain we were crossing was as difficult as it was.  We thought we had plenty of time to make Medellin before dark.  It turned out the road was nothing but switchbacks for miles.  Those of you that know the "tail of the dragon" in NC/TN, this made that look tame.  To make matters worse, it is a main thorough fare with trucks everywhere.  It climbed from around 5000 feet to over 9600 feet.  At the top, someone saw fit to throw in some dense, dense fog.  The temperature dropped from 70's in Medellin to 50's at the top of the pass and didn't get much better.

The downhill side of the pass wasn't much better.  The trucks went a little faster but it made the passing more difficult.  We mostly sat back and waited until we got to some semi-split highway and was able to make it to the hotel around 7:30p or so.  This was after getting a little lost and ending up on a road that looked like Lombard street in San Francisco.  Medellin is built on hills and valleys cut by the many rivers and streams that run together.  It is beautiful unless you are trying to find your way and have to operate a 600 or 700 pound motorcycle.

Daysayuno on the 21st floor of our hotel, open air view.

Another view from the 21st floor

We decided that while Medellin is very beautiful and somewhere we could stay for a long time to see, we were more interested in the more country areas.  So we only stayed the night and we were off to Manizales, in the heart of the coffee region.  We did have very nice accommodations as did our bikes.