San Jeronimo is a small colonial town that was founded in 1616, making it one of the oldest towns in Colombia. It is located 35km west of Medellin. Thirty five kilometers may not sound like much, but you have to cross Alto de Boqueron, at 2500 meters altitude, to get there.
The ride started with a gentle 900 meter climb to the summit of Boqueron. I had good weather and enjoyed the views on the 34km descent down to San Jeronimo.
I grabbed a small lunch in San Jeronimo: rice, beans, fresh mandarin juice and coffee. Mmm...mmm...
I took a different road (the old road) for the return trip to Medellin. San Jeronimo is only at 750 meters altitude, so I had a long 38km climb to summit Boqueron again. It was hot and sunny at the lower altitudes.
In contrast to the weekend, I didn't see any cyclists today after leaving Medellin in the morning. But climbing to Boqueron, I passed three cyclists, so I said 'hola.' I could tell by their meek replies that they didn't speak Spanish. As it turns out, they were from Colorado and came down here to ride for a week.
It began raining halfway up the climb. I didn't want to get wet, so I chose to take cover in the hope that the rain would quickly pass. Unfortunately, it didn't. After an hour of waiting, I had to get back in the saddle knowing that I had a three hour ride home and Medellin is dark by 6pm. Finishing the climb was ok, but the cold descent from 2500 meters was not much fun (and it can be very dangerous if the temperate plummets).
Anyways, I got home safely (but cold and dirty) after negotiating ~10km of Medellin's high-speed, rush-hour traffic.
Very colorful photos. Interesting that Colorado dude's would head down there this time of year. With names like "Alto" and "Jeronimo" it sounds HILLY.
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