Manizales to Cali - Pereira, Armenia and Buga

The bulk of the ride from Manizales to Cali could be described as downhill or low grade uphill in a valley between two ranges of the Andes mountains. The scene pictured above was reminiscent of the foothills of California only with wet land.

Pereira – No Need to Stop

I decided to stop for a day in Pereira since it is one of the larger cities in the Café region. Pereira seemed like a decent city; better than I had expected. I had been warned by several people that Pereira is a dangerous city. I did not feel that it was so dangerous, but it may have been more dangerous than I felt as more than one person warned me not to go in certain directions. Pereira is a working town and does not have many tourist destinations. This taught me a simple lesson: I do not need to stop in every town. I should really only be stopping if there is something known to see in that town.

I learned another lesson in Pereira: pay very close attention to your things. I got my bike shoes stolen, meaning I was going to have to ride from Pereira to Cali without bike shoes. I was getting ready early on Sunday morning to leave. I thought I had an eye on all of my stuff, but I had some difficulty getting my geared tied onto my bike. During those few seconds, a homeless guy snagged the shoes. The lesson: some people are not just homeless; they are working. Their job is to steal your stuff. My job was to not let him steal my stuff. On this day, he outperformed me.

Armenia – Passed Through

When I arrived in Armenia, it was cold and raining. It was also Sunday, so most businesses were closed. Armenia seemed like a nice town, but I did not have any real reason to stop. So, I continued on about 15km out of town where I stopped for the night.

Buga – The Basílica de Milagros (Miracles)

I am either getting stronger as a rider or the lower altitude / flatter is ride is helping out a lot. From a performance standpoint, I felt stronger on this ride since starting this journey. That is good sign. I made it past my intended stop of Tuluá to Buga.
Buga is town known for its church. In the 1570’s, numerous people claimed to see the image of Christ in a nearby river. The Bishop from Popoyan sent emissaries to investigate these claims; ultimately declaring these sightings to be miracles; hence the name Basílica de Milagros. Buga is nice town. I would not consider it a primary destination. If you are passing nearby or looking for a day trip from Cali, however, it is worth a visit.


In Pereira, I found this cemetery interesting:

Also in Pereira, the shoe shiners union:

The rest are from the basilica in Buga: