What a ride today! Tameka and I both ended the day with huge smiles on our faces. Leaving Ibaque we rode about 60 miles to the north through the Magdalena valley. It was so hot that we were reluctant to stop. When we turned off the main highway towards our destination it was 92º (88% humidity). Riding up to Los Nevados National Park was exhilarating. Over the next 30 miles we climbed from 415 feet to 13,520 feet with the temperature dropping 44 degrees. The road was in pretty good condition though it was narrow and very tight. We ascended through the coffee belt which is at about 5000 feet into the cacao belt at 7500 feet. As we got closer to the summit pass we broke into an unusual alpine zone with types of cactus growing there. Ascending to this altitude so quickly made us both feel a little light headed so we took several breaks to enjoy the landscape. After crossing the summit the road invoked a certain "pucker factor" with precarious exposed drops and poor visibility due to fog. Rugged limestone cliffs soared above us. Each turn revealed new delights. Sulfurous hot springs, hidden waterfalls and jungle covered peaks.

To get to our hotel we had to descend five miles of a steep, rocky, unpaved road. It was hard to believe that a hotel could actually be at the end of a road like this. Not just a hotel but a fancy hot spring spa hotel. The Hotel Termales del Ruiz was originally built as a farm house in 1937 and renovated into a Hotel in 2014. It had three large hot spring pools to soak in and let me tell you. It was soooo nice to sit in the hot mineral pools and look at the mountains in the cool, thin air. Several hummingbirds put on an arial display as we relaxed and recounted the day's epic ride.