Colombia Trike Tour - Bucaramanga to San Alberto

Garmin Info and Maps

Bucaramanga to Rionegro

Rionegro to El Playón

El Playón to San Alberto

If possible, I really like entering and leaving big cities on Sunday. After being in Bucaramanga for 8 days, I was ready to push on. I had many things to take care of here I got it all done. My visa was extended for 3 months. My hair was cut and colored and I also had a pedicure. My clothes were professionally cleaned for the 1st time since leaving Bogotá. I also got my blog updated, pictures upload and put together 2 videos for my Youtube channel. After 8 days, I was also much more comfortable with my new eating plan where I'm fasting for 16 hours and eating for 8 hours. I'm very surprised how easy it has been for me to fast for 16 hours. In fact, if I wasn't on a tour, I could probably fast for longer but I feel like I should eat in the morning before I start cycling.

After a good breakfast and getting Myrtle loaded up, the people working at the hotel where I've been staying, Hotel BGA, all came outside to see me off. This was very sweet and unexpected. They were also very concerned about me and gave me many warnings. One guy suggested I stop at the police station to get an escort through to the next town. They all said the next town was very dangerous and if I could, to keep going. This is something people always say about the next town. What they fail to understand is, I've ridden from Bogotá. I really doubt the next town will pose any more of the threat than any other town I've been in. They also said the route was flat which I knew wasn't true. If there had been less climbing for the day I probably could have gone farther than the next town but 2,000 ft of climbing in 20 miles is enough. In order to go to the town beyond the next town I would have to climb about 4,000 ft and that is simply too much. So the next town of Rionegro is where I was headed.

Bucaramanga is a big city of over 1 million people and it took awhile to ride through it. I had heard that Bucaramanga has a Ciclovia where the roads are closed to car traffic every Sunday but, for some reason, it wasn't happening this Sunday. Maybe because of Christmas? Who knows. I had been looking forward to riding in another Ciclovia and was bummed to miss it. But, to be honest, I didn't know where the Ciclovia route went and it is possible the route wouldn't have taken me out of town. There really wasn't much traffic and I had no problems leaving the city. I was almost out of town when a man in a big white car stopped me to give me a stern warning to not use my phone while cycling. He said someone would steal it if the phone was visible and even out of my hands. I use the phone for directions so that wasn't possible. At least not until I was out of town. I don't think I've ever been in a country where I have been warned about my cell phone being stolen more than in Colombia.

I had a big downhill to the bottom of the canyon and then a big uphill to climb back out.  Most of the ride I had a wide shoulder. At about noon, I stopped at a road side restaurant for a bowl of Caldo de Castillo. I love this soup. It is essentially bone broth, potatoes and a couple of beef ribs. If I don't eat the potatoes it works great for my new diet.

Once out of Bucaramanga, the scenery was lovely and it was also very hot. I went through a toll booth and the police asked me to stop so they could give me cold water. I had a father and daughter on a motorbike also give me a bottle of ice cold water. Another family gave me oranges which was very sweet even if I couldn't eat them.

Sweet family I met on the road

Entering Rionegro

This hill into Rionegro was probably 16% - ouch!

Myrtle parked the courtyard

I had some nice climbs and eventually made it Rionegro. For all the climbing I did today, the hill into Rionegro was, by far, the steepest. This town is up a hill that is at least a 16% grade. It was a long hill too but, huffing and puffing, I made it. I found a sweet hotel, Hotel la Fuente. The hotel is very clean with lots of sunshine and flowering plants everywhere. I got a room with a fan for $14.  It didn't have hot water but the water wasn't as freezing cold as usual. I think the water must be stored on the roof and in the sun. I really appreciated this. After the warnings I got from the hotel people in Bucaramanga I was quite surprised that Rionegro has a nice feel to it. I decided to stay another day to check it out more. Tomorrow is also Christmas Eve.

Hotel Cat - 'Gato'

Christmas Eve Mass

I had a nice day in Rionegro visiting with the hotel family and walking around. I tried to fly my drone but couldn't get enough satellites. Maybe in the morning. 

Sometimes, it seems like holidays are just an excuse for people to get drunk. All the bars were full of people drinking beer and many were already drunk early in the morning. I always feel less safe around drunk people.

I'm continuing to do the 16:8 fasting while following a Keto diet. It is very interesting. The 16:8 fasting is easy. In fact, if I wasn't cycling I think I could extend the fasting window to 20 hours fairly easily. Something like 20 years ago I did an Atkins diet and I didn't like it at all. For me, the Atkins diet has too much meat. I've never been big into bacon. All that fat grosses me out especially thinking about eating it every day. Even though Atkins calls itself a Keto diet, it really isn't. Atkins is a very high protein, moderate fat and low carb diet where as Keto is very high-fat, moderate protein and low carb. This is a subtle but important difference. It is possible to do Keto and be vegan which is important to me. Over the summers in Portland I mostly follow a vegan diet. I would never call myself vegan because when I'm traveling I eat the local foods or when I'm invited to someone's home I gratefully eat whatever is served. But, for myself, at home, I eat vegan. 

The idea of eating bacon everyday sounds awful but you give me a diet where I can eat practically unlimited amounts of avocado, oh yeah, I'm totally ok with that. And the avocados in Colombia are huge and super cheap. They are probably 3 times the size of an American avocado. They are everywhere and are just as delicious as the little ones. I also found organic coconut oil to add to food I buy in restaurants. Even though I have around 20 lbs of weight I could lose, the real reason I'm doing this is bring down chronic inflammation. For years, almost every time I eat, my feet and ankles swell up terribly. So far, after 10 days, I have had no inflammation after eating. I guess I am someone who can't eat sugar and sugar forming carbohydrates. There are 2 other welcome changes. I'm sleeping easier and deeper and I'm not hungry. I think about food all the time. I'm planning my next meal before I've finished the one I'm eating. Usually I snack on nuts and fruit while riding and I haven't needed to. I am quite hungry in the morning when I wake up but after breakfast I haven't been hungry for the rest of the day. I eat another meal around 3 even though I don't have a lot of hunger. Mostly because I'm worried about being hungry in the night. For me, not being hungry is a very strange experience. One nice thing about doing this diet/fast while traveling solo is I don't have any temptations. I'm not out with friends or family thinking 'oh, what's one beer or one sweet dessert?' I can do this diet and no one has to know why I'm asking questions about the menu. I'll be reporting on this regularly. About the changes I see, if it is working and if I think it is something I'll continue doing.

Drone shot of Rionegro plaza

Before leaving Rionegro, I decided to try flying my drone again in the morning. It took a long time to get enough satellites but I did get to fly. I'm always nervous when I fly and really like to have 12 satellites. Sometimes, if I can get 8 and have an open spot to take-off from I'll take-off expecting that when the drone is in the air it will lock onto a few more satellites. Luckily, that is what happened today. I really wanted to get pictures of the church on the main square. I haven't looked at the footage but the town didn't look as nice while I was flying as I expected. But I did get some good photos. I still, after almost a year, feel much more comfortable taking photos than video with my drone.  It's easier for me to see how the shot will look.

Saying 'goodbye' to Marina and Luis

I got a much later start than usual. Today is Christmas. I didn't have far to go and expected there to be much less traffic. Certainly, much less truck traffic. This turned out to be true but, wow, it was really hot. I only had 1100 ft of climbing but it felt like much more. The scenery was nice and many people talked to me from their cars as I was riding. It seems in Colombia I'm either barely moving or flying down hill. There are very little flat areas. I'm starting to see more colorful birds and plants and lizards. It is definitely feeling more tropical.

Fruit stand

View from the road

Just a pipe coming out of the wall

I pulled into El Playón and found a very basic hotel room for the usual $14. The hotel family in Rionegro said the 1st hotel I would come to would be safe and cheap. This is a town that caters to the truckers. I think on most days this hotel would be very busy and noisy but, lucky for me, truckers take Christmas off. The room was fine but the shower didn't have any water. I went to complain and was given another room. This room had shower water for about a minute and that was all. I ended up washing using the sink water. Very strange. Later, the hotel manager explained that a pipe had come apart. He said the shower water should be working again. I didn't have the energy to take another shower.

Making a milk delivery

Top of the last climb

Wanting to get to a real town and knowing there were going to be big climbs, I got up a 5 am. Since El Playón caters to truckers, the restaurants open early. Today would be the last day riding in the mountains. It really felt like a milestone. I had been riding in the mountains for almost a month and I was ready for easier riding. Google showed 2700 ft of climbing but it turned out to be less. The last climb of the day was the hardest. It was very hot too. I stopped at a restaurant and the top for a bowl of soup. The restaurant had a good breeze blowing through it which really felt nice. From there I had a twisting turning downhill and then some small rollers into San Alberto. San Alberto is in the department of Cesar, it's like being in a new state. From here, the whole way to the coast is flat or, at least, much flatter than what I've been experiencing since leaving Bogotá. I'm ready for some flat riding.

Last view in the mountains

Swimming hole coming into San Alberto

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Colombia Trike Tour - San Gil to Bucaramanga

I had a wonderful time in San Gil. When I 1st arrived, the town appeared to be very noisy, dusty and busy - and that it is. But, as usual, it's always the people I meet that make a town special.

Corner church in San Gil

Video of 4 days in San Gil

Crossing the Rio Fonce into San Gil

Christmas lights in San Gil

Dia de las Velitas

Christmas stairs

Dia de la Virgen

San Gil is a very famous town that Colombians love. I don't really think it is the town that

Christmas lights in the main plaza, San Gil

Colombians love but the surrounding area that is gorgeous. The family that owns the Hotel Esmeralda where I stayed were so sweet, generous and helpful that I completely forgave the hotel for being too noisy. I enjoyed 2 fiestas taking place in the main plaza; Dia de las Velitas (day of the small candles) and Dia de la Virgen. I took a small bus twice. Once to Curatí and another to beautiful Barichara. Two towns that are close enough to San Gil to explore in a day.  I also met some young guys on the way into town that stopped me to find out what I was doing. We exchanged contact info and they invited me to a picnic on a river in a gorgeous canyon. I took a bus to Curatí and then a tuk-tuk to the canyon following Pierre and Shaggy on a motor bike. These guys were terrific. When we arrived in the canyon there were many more young people who were going to camp for the night. They had a fire going with potatoes, corn and yucca cooking in pots. There was a variety of meats cooking on the grill and they had all kinds of drinks as well. This spot was at a deep watering hole where there were rocks to dive from. The weather was perfect and I really enjoyed meeting all these young people.

With Shaggy, in the canyon

Curatí canyon panorama

In a tuk-tuk on the way to the Curatí canyon

Canyon river view

With the youngsters at the watering hole

The next day I took another bus to a gorgeous town high in the mountains called Barichara. This is a real tourist town. The town sits on a plateau overlooking a big canyon. All the buildings are painted white with red tile roofs and cobblestone streets. It was also very clean, quiet and touristic. I really enjoyed being somewhere touristic, beautiful and quiet.

View of a canyon from Barichara

Barichara with view of the mountains

Quiet and touristic Barichara

Looking at the map, I noticed the next town, from San Gil that had a hotel, Aratoca, required a lot of climbing. The most climbing I've ever done in a day is 4,000 ft. It took 10 hours and a couple of days to recover. I really like to keep my daily climbing to less than 3,000 ft. Google maps and Komoot estimated 3,700 ft of climbing to Aratoca. Google maps also only showed 1 hotel, the Casablanca HostelSpa. I called to make sure they were open and had a vacancy. The manager asked me to make a reservation as well. 

Myrtle waiting at the bus terminal

I decided this was a good opportunity to try and take a bus in Colombia.  I went to the bus terminal to see about my options. There were many companies with busses that travel back and forth from Bogotá to Bucaramanga. Some of the busses were too small. One company said the bus would stop in Aratoca but I had to pay for a ticket to Bucaramanga. Another company didn't leave until 7 pm and after arriving in Aratoca I still need to ride another 8 miles to the hotel. I think riding at night is very dangerous especially on a winding, narrow mountain road. I also found a company, Omega,  that would stop in Aratoca and leaves every day at noon. A ticket was $2 and the agent said I would be charged extra for the trike but he couldn't say how much. It was about 11:30 am when I there and decided to wait to see what the bus looked like and if the luggage hold under the bus would be big enough for the trike. Sure enough, the bus arrived at noon and it was a regular big bus. When the driver opened the cargo hold I could see there was plenty of room for the trike. I left feeling very confident that taking the bus was would be an easy trip to Aratoca.

1st canyon view

A couple of days later, I loaded up Myrtle and rode, again, to the bus terminal giving myself plenty of time. I bought a ticket for $2 and was charged $7 for the trike. Unfortunately, when the bus arrived it was completely full and there was no room for Myrtle. I waited for a few more busses that were also full. By 3 pm, it was clear I was going to need to stay in San Gil and try again tomorrow.  I called the hotel manager where I made a reservation and he said he would come to the bus station and to stay put. He was there in 10 minutes. At first, he didn't understand why I couldn't take a small bus and then a small bus arrived and I showed him there wasn't a place to put the trike. He talked to the bus people and realized that I was stuck. Then he called some friends that have a delivery business and they arrived at the bus station very quickly. I said I would be happy to pay to have my trike and bags delivered. They quickly loaded up Myrtle and the bags and explained they had some other deliveries to make but they would be at the hotel before 7 pm. They seemed like very nice and responsible guys and I immediately trusted them. 

Myrtle being loaded in a delivery truck at the bus terminal

Myrtle being delivered a the 'hotel'

Canyon view from the 'hotel'

I followed the hotel manager on a smaller bus and we started up the narrow, winding and twisting road to Aratoca. About half-way, I suddenly realized that I didn't know these guys and I also didn't know the hotel manager. Did I just make a huge mistake?  Would I ever see my trike and bags again? The manager, Nestor,  just laughed. We arrived at the hotel which was much more rustic and basic than I was expecting, especially for the price. I was shown to a decent room but most of the 'hotel' was unfinished. The views of the Canyon de Chicamocha from the hotel were outstanding. The waiting was hard but my trike and bags were finally delivered. Wow, was I relieved. I felt like everything was right with the world again. I ended up paying the guys exactly the same amount as it would have cost to take the bus. 

Showing a young girl at the 'hotel', Nicole, the drone

Beautiful Canyon de Chicamocha

For a long time now, as I have been traveling, the wifi has been so weak that I haven't been able to upload photos, make my videos and update my blog. This hotel didn't have wifi at all and I decided to push on. It wasn't until the next morning when I realized I wasn't at the hotel where I made a reservation. This hotel was called the Parador de Santander. The whole situation was a bit confusing. I didn't understand why I wasn't taken to the hotel where I made the reservation. It was another 5 miles down the same road  which wouldn't have been a big deal for the guys in the delivery truck. When I was packed up and ready to leave I discovered the manager wasn't there and I had no idea how much to pay. I had been quoted 100 million pesos ($30) when I made a reservation at the Casablanca HotelSpa but this 'Parador' was not a spa, not even close. I called the manager and he said the price was the same. This was very surprising. In the US, $30 for a hotel room is unheard of. But, here in Colombia, most of the hotels I've stayed at have been in the $12-15 range. All of those hotels were much nicer than this one. But, sometimes, things cost more than you want and I left the money.

View of the 'hotel' from the air

The ride through the canyon was simply amazing. I dropped at least 4,000 ft on a hairpin twisting road down to the Rio Umpala and then I had a 2500 ft climb back out. On the way up, it was hot. At one point, I passed a truck cleaning business where guys were on ladders hosing down semis.  I asked them to hose me down as well and it felt great.

Drone selfie

The way down

Piedecuesta church

Eventually, I crested and had another nice downhill to where I thought there would be a couple of hotel options. I didn't see any hotels and ended up continue further than I planned to the town of Piedecuesta. This is a suburb of Bucaramanga and a big town. I found a nice hotel which, of course, didn't have hot water but was, otherwise, very comfortable. The next day I had a shorter ride on a very busy highway to Bucaramanga. I have a lot of things to take care in Bucaramanga and wanted to find a nice hotel with good wifi so I can get everything updated. I decided to splurge stopping at a Holiday Inn for 2-nights. My room had an amazing view of Bucaramanga, a city of over 1 million people. There was also a rooftop terrace with a pool and bar that had an even better view, especially at night. The next day I took a taxi to a colonial pueblo called Girón. Another lovely town with a beautiful historic area. The Holiday Inn was in an area that was hard to walk in and after 2 nights I changed to a hotel just a couple of miles away in the center of town.

Main plaza in Girón

A woman on her knees crawling to the alter, Girón.

View of Bucaramanga from my hotel room

Holiday Inn rooftop pool

Myrtle was kept safe in the Holiday Inn employee locker room

Video of my rides from San Gil to Bucaramanga

Bucaramanga is a big destination for me. When I left Bogotá this is the city I have been aiming for. It feels like I've achieved my 1st big goal of the trip which is exciting. After Bucaramanga there will be only a couple of more rides in the mountains and then the terrain will change dramatically. The roads will be much flatter and then I think the temperatures will also be much hotter. While in Bucaramanga, I need to take care of many things. I want to upload all my pictures online, make a couple of videos and get my blog updated. I desperately need to do laundry as I've been only able to hand wash my clothes since leaving Bogotá. I also want to see about getting my visa extended. When I arrived in Colombia I was given 3 months to stay and I would like to get another 3-months. There is an immigration office here and I'll see what they say. I also need to get my hair cut and colored and I'd also like to get a pedicure. Getting my hair cut and colored while traveling is one of my biggest challenges. Wish me luck!

As a side note, I've also recently made a big change to my diet. This is not something I ever expected to do while on tour. When I was in Bogotá, I watched a 9-part Youtube docu-series on type-2 diabetes. Unfortunately, at the moment, I can't remember the name of it. The docu-series followed a film maker on a journey through the US healthcare system. He was very, very sick but by the end of the series he had reversed his diabetes and become healthy. I don't have diabetes or even pre-diabetes but have been fascinated by the sudden increase in type-2 diabetes cases not only in the US but all over the world. What is happening that so many people are becoming type-2 diabetics? As I watched the series, I recognized symptoms of diabetes in myself such as lots of inflammation, brain fog, flabby skin, a big belly, poor vision and sleep. Maybe I don't have type-2 diabetes or even pre-diabetes but it occurred to me that I might be on my way to a diagnosis. At the end of the series, the film maker discusses how fasting is being used to reverse diabetes particularly in conjunction with a diet that almost eliminates all sugar and sugar forming carbohydrates. It seems to be very clear that type-2 diabetes is a result of too much insulin from eating too many sugar forming carbohydrates. The body only requires 1 teaspoon of sugar a day and the average sugar in-take for Americans is closer to 31 teaspoons every day. All that extra sugar gets converted to fat and has resulted in a healthcare crisis. As I watched, I became more and more interested. He had many interviews with doctors that I follow who very clearly explained the science behind fasting and eliminating sugar. There was one fasting technique, in particular, that I felt I could do, even now while on tour. I've been doing a 16:8 fast everyday - where I fast for 16 hours and only eat during an 8 hour window. Today, after 6 days, I feel like my belly isn't as big and I'm probably losing some weight. I do need to lose some weight but my real motivation for doing this is to bring down inflammation. I have had an serious issue with inflammation for a long time and, we'll see, if this way of eating/fasting will help. I'll be writing about this more as I see results, or no results.

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Colombia Trike Tour - Barbosa to San Gil

Garmin info and maps

Barbosa to Vado Real

Vado Real to Confines

Confines to San Gil

Looking ahead at the map, I noticed there was a lot of climbing. Even more than what I had done so far. I also noticed that the towns were very small with few options. The next 2 towns only offered 1 hotel each, at least on Google maps. My biggest concern for this tour has been the climbing. I'm so slow that I need to be fairly certain that the elevation profile is correct. I've been using Google maps and another app on my phone called Komoot. These 2 programs rarely agree but Komoot appears to be more accurate which is good because Google maps was showing profiles of over 3500 ft of climbing each day for the next 3 days. For me, that is a lot. Almost too much. I think the most climbing I've ever done in a day is just over 4,000 ft and it took over 10 hours - too much! 

I left the dusty, loud town of Barbosa and the riding was nice. There were some fantastic views. After about an hour I stopped at a restaurant that had a fabulous view. Mostly I stopped because I needed to use the bathroom. I typically order a coffee as well. The view was so nice I decided to stop, take some pictures and fly the drone for a bit. And then I had a terrific downhill. Unfortunately, I got caught behind a truck that was going slowly. I had to wait a long time before I felt safe passing and could let my speed rip. And then I had a 20 mile uphill. It was gradual but took forever for me to crest.  A couple of times during the day I passed groups of mules loaded down with sugar cane from the fields. They were walking to a nearby factory where the sugar cane is turned into panella (a special Colombian brown sugar). The mules were working hard and they didn't look very happy. I loved seeing them all though. There were many men on horse back directing traffic to provide safe passage. The mules didn't have far to walk and I really enjoyed watching the procession.

Mule walking to the panela factory

At the factory

When I got to my destination for the day, Vado Real, I was surprised by how unattractive the town was. The scenery had been outstanding all day and this town seemed only to cater to truck traffic. All the businesses looked oily and poor. There were lots of mechanics and tire repair shops. There were also a couple of really gross looking hotels. I was very relieved to find the hotel I had picked out was normal. It was right on the highway which was very noisy but the room was comfortable.  The front desk woman showed me a room and when I asked about hot water she pointed to a hot water on-demand shower head. These usually work great. In fact, they are quite efficient. This one, not so much. I turned on the shower and most of the lights in the bathroom and half the lights in the room went out. I turned the water off and the lights came back on. Clearly this water heater wasn't wired correctly. This as my 1st time having a cold water shower in Colombia. All the journals I had read when researching the trip talked about the lack of hot water showers. I'm probably lucky this didn't happen sooner. It is really hard for me to wash my hair in cold water but I managed. I think this is something I'm just going to have to get used to. Especially as I continue to descent towards the coast where it will be much warmer.

View from above

Passing motorist stopped to give me mandarins

This would also be the 1st hotel I spent only 1 night at. The wifi wasn't very good, the town was unattractive, there wasn't any hot water and the hotel didn't have a restaurant. I couldn't think of a good reason to stay and got backed up. I found a family run restaurant for breakfast within a couple of miles. Some young kids there were really interested in the trike and I had fun practicing Spanish with them.  I continued on struggling with a lot of climbing. Google maps and Komoot had calculated 27 miles with almost 3,000 ft of climbing. It turned out to be a 32 mile day. Again, the scenery was outstanding.  Towards the end of the day, I pulled into another restaurant and shared a table with a father and his 2 young girls. They loved the trike and my story. I exchanged whatsapp info and the father sent a message later to make sure I made it ok. My destination was Confines. There was a gas station and a hotel and nothing else. The hotel didn't have a phone number listed so I couldn't call to make sure it was open. This was my only hotel option and finding out it was closed would be a real bummer. The people at the restaurant assured me it was open ...  and it was. This hotel was owned and run by a group of women. They were all very nice. The 1st room they showed me was closer to the street and didn't have hot water. I asked about hot water and was shown a room upstairs and further back. I was quieter but, unfortunately, just like the last hotel, the on-demand hot water shower head didn't work so it was another cold shower. 

Motel in Confines behind the gas station.
That's all there was for miles around.

In the morning, again, I couldn't think of a good reason to stay and got packed up. I love it when the morning starts with a good downhill. The mountains of Colombia are gorgeous. I stopped to fly the drone over the switchbacks and continued on to the sweet, sweet town of Socorro. It was only 11 am when I arrived otherwise I probably would have stayed. It was very beautiful, colonial and charming. I flew the drone over the main square and made friends with a young man letting him see the drone view from the ipad mini 4 screen. He loved it. 

Everyday, the views are outstanding.

Socorro Basilica and Plaza

From Socorro, I had a good climb and there was also a lot of loud traffic on the way into San Gil. I find the traffic noise to be exhausting. Going in the other direction, a couple of young guys on a motorbike saw me and made a u-turn to find out what I was doing. One guy was local and the other guy was French. The French guy spoke English. They were on their way to a construction job where they are building a house out of local materials, like the old days, with no store bought building materials. We exchanged Whatsapp info.

Family with a clothing store in their car

Coming into San Gil, I was surprised that the town wasn't more touristic. San Gil is considered one of the most touristic cities in Colombia. Usually, tourist towns have a section in the historic area with nicer hotels and restaurants that caters to tourists. San Gil was a bigger version of so many dusty, dirty, loud towns that I have been in. There are a ton of hostels and many hotels. I find that hostels are a great way to meet other travelers but they are often loud and uncomfortable. Especially when you share a room with a lot of strangers. I have enough trouble sleeping without dealing with other people coming and going or snoring all night.

Video of ride from Barbosa to San Gil

I could tell I was very tired from the last 3 days riding, the climbing, the traffic noise and the heat. I was ready for a break. I looked for the nicest hotel and found the Hotel Esmeralda. It is family run and they were very excited for me to stay.  This hotel is rated 4.5 out of the 5 stars with over 40 reviews. Everything in my room was new with ok wifi but no hot water. I paid $12 including breakfast which is my cheapest price, so far. Aside from no water the hotel was nice but noisy. I could hear everything that was going on with the family. They laughed a lot and really enjoyed each other. There was also a baby. And the noise from the street, fireworks and even roosters. I was afraid this was not going to be a very restful stay.

Myrtle, tucked away safe in the families room at the hotel in San gil

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