Miller, Pablo, and Nancy making Ajiaco soup for Mother's Day (View on flickr)

We stayed at our first "Casa de Ciclistas" (House of Cyclists) in Cali, and it was an incredible experience.

Casas de Ciclistas are a special Latin American institution, probably started by a gentleman in Trujillo, Peru named Lucho. He opened his home to travelers on bicycle years ago and has now hosted hundreds. He has a very humble home, but always makes it available for cyclists, and is one of the best known resources for touring cyclists in Latin America.

Well, other people think it´s a good idea too, and our new friend Miller Hernan in Cali. Miller is interested in touring, and decided to follow Lucho´s example, and what a delightful Casa de Ciclistas he has created. Hernan's family has a very simple house in a calm "tranquilo" neighborhood in southern Cali, and they just invited us in. We put up our tent in their very nice patio and were more comfortable than we've been in 90% of the hotels we've ever stayed in.

But it even went further. We were there for Mother's Day, and Miller invited Nancy to join his mother for the dinner festivities. And they shopped together for the ajiaco soup, then prepared it together and it was a delight.

Thanks so much, Miller, for a wonderful time.

We would encourage anybody to stay at the Casa de Ciclistas in Cali!

Miller's blog (in Spanish) is here.

Here is a link where you can get more information on the various Casas de Cicistas in Latin America.

To offer less ambitious hospitality to touring cyclists through Warmshowers.org, just create an account at warmshowers.org. (Full disclosure: Randy is the webmaster of Warmshowers.org :-)

Our tent set up in the Casa de Ciclistas at Cali (Miller Hernan's house) (View on flickr)

Leaving Miller's Casa de Ciclistas in Cali (View on flickr)

Miller Hernan eating a Rellena with many special animal organs in it (View on flickr)