Julio, my host in Honda, saying goodbye as I rode on last Wednesday. His colonial home was a 5 star Warm Showers experience. I knew I had a tough day ahead of me but had tried not to overthink it nor over research it. If I had this is what I would have found... 
...a profile of supposedly one of the toughest climbs in the world! I didn't know this until the next day when I'd completed the climb and descended when a Colombian cyclist congratulated me on achieving this demanding feat. 
Ignorance is bliss, I just took my time with the ride and tried to enjoy it. I've done plenty of 'glory rides' in this trip and invariably I end up at my destination exhausted, kind of frothing at the mouth, semi-hallucinating. I didn't want this experience today so paced myself, took hourly breaks and paused for photo stops when the scenery called for it. 
I was frequently passed by road bikers tearing up the hills. Come on guys it's a marathon not a sprint. Clearly they've not heard the fable of the hare and the tortoise...
Magnificent views were afforded with breaks in the cloud. 
It was pretty misty and a little chilly as I approached the summit. 
I ended the day a few miles short of the top of the climb and with light fading I decided to call it a day. Although I'd not reached the summit I was glad to end the day in a lucid and coherent state and was able to negotiate a $3 room from this guy.
It was a record breaking day for me with a cumulative ascent of 10,935ft or 3333m or just over 2 miles.
This is what $3 gets you, a very basic room but a heavenly refuge when you're tired. I rolled out my sleeping bag, lay back and drifted off into a deep and contented sleep. 
The next day I made it to the top near Letras, after two hours riding. This was a new highest elevation for me, just below 4000m. 
Geography teachers of a certain vintage will know all about Nevado del Ruiz which erupted in 1985. If my memory serves me correctly it led to around 30,000 deaths as lahars swept into the valleys below.
At this point I could have chosen to sweep down the main road into Manizales, find a nice cafe and enjoy a well earned coffee and lunch.
So of course I took the side road back up the valley to explore the highlands around the volcano. In the process I reached a new high, this equates to just over 4000m. 
A wonderfully natural and wild place, I saw few other people up here but did encounter hummingbirds and plovers flying overhead. 
As I started the descent the mist and upland landscapes reminded me of the Lake District and Snowdonia before... 
...the dirt track led me through dense jungle with towering palms and enormous ferns. It was like a scene from Jurassic Park. 
The day ended in Chinchina, deep in the valley , how I enjoyed the roads that swept down to my final destination for the day! I stayed in a bikers house with three other British bikers also on their way south to Peru. We had great conversations, mostly in Spanish out of politeness for our Colombian host Hernando. One of the lads cooked a spag bol and a convivial evening was enjoyed by all! 
The road out of Chinchina, leading into the heart of Colombia's coffee producing region. In truth this was not the best day in the saddle, I got a soaking! It was raining heavily so I had to wear waterproofs but the humidity meant I was getting drenched from the inside too by sweating so much. Yuck!
Passing through Pereira, a large town, heavy traffic, heavy rain, lane changes, poor visibility, was not pleasant. I got through in the end albeit with frayed nerves.
All the rain does wonders for the coffee plantations which line the western slopes of the Cordillera Central, the mountain range which I'd climbed over. 
My next Warm Showers stay was at another Hernando's place, this time I stayed in a cosy room in a house constructed of guadua and bamboo. After five days of pretty tough riding I was really grateful to be granted an extra night at Hernando's and a Saturday rest day. 
Hernando is a very creative guy and his home is full of his artwork. On top of that he is a great cook and runs a restaurant next door to the house. Though he was clearly very busy during my stay he made time to chat with me and prepared delicious coffee and breakfasts. 
On Sunday morning Hernando and his wife Eliza joined me for the first ten miles of my ride towards Sevilla. Great hosts, two of the coolest, most laid back Colombians you could hope to meet. 
I was staggered by the number of cyclists on the road on Sunday morning. Hundreds of bikes passed me as I rode on to Sevilla. 
Would this happen in the UK? Halfway to Sevilla I stopped in Caicedonia and looked at my map to find the town centre. A guy on a motorbike stopped and asked me, "Where are you going? What are you looking for?". "Coffee and Wifi!" I replied. "Follow me..."
So Hector led me to a cafe, I got my caffeine and social media fix and had a great chat in the process. Of course Hector wouldn't let me pay for the coffees it was clearly very important for him to be a good ambassador for his town. Incredible hospitality is the norm in Colombia.
I made it to Sevilla mid-afternoon and hooked up with my next host, Mauro. Another fantastic person! He's a young guy, still working out what his future will be and he's got some great ideas. 
Mauro's Pedalling Coffee project involves him riding from finca to finca (coffee farm) trying different coffees, roasting, branding and selling the best ones. I bought a bag of this coffee grown in Filandia. It will be sent home ready to be sampled at the end of June.
My brakes have been getting a bit loose and the pads needed replacing. Me and Mauro had a go at fixing them but really they needed stripping and re-greasing so we took the bike to a local shop for some professional attention. 
The brakes are now as good as new and the mechanic charged 2000 pesos for his time, about 60p! And I couldn't even pay that, before I'd got my wallet out Mauro had paid. Again, the kindness and hospitality I'm receiving is almost overwhelming. 
Riding on this morning. What a beautiful sight, washed socks drying on the bike! I've now dropped down on to the plains in the background of this picture. A few days riding on the flat is most welcome. 
Low flat ground and warmer climes means sugar cane cultivation not coffee.
Tonight I'm resting up in Buga, a small town with some impressive colonial architecture. I've decided to stay in a hostel tonight because, quite frankly, I'm exhausted by all this socialising and hospitality! It's lovely to receive and great for my Spanish but some time to do this, the blog and just to read is overdue. However, tomorrow night I'll be hosted again, in Cali.
Fundraising update, I'm just £61 short of my £2000 target and two weeks short of my 40th birthday (not a target). Remember my pledge, if you help me to hit the target by my birthday I'll donate £200 of my travel budget to OXFAM. With the famine and starvation crises in Africa and Asia our help couldn't be more timely.
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