Normal Service has been suspended ...

Sorry to anyone following me on my blog. I am still alive and well and in Cusco. Google (who own the Blogger site I use) have made it almost impossible to post blogs from a phone. It was taking me hours to put up each one and I don’t have time between riding, sightseeing, servicing the bike and domestic chores.

I will try to retell the story on the blog once I get home but for now my daily Facebook post is all I can manage.

Farewell to Colombia

Eight years ago the guides on my Patagonia trip, Micho and Danny, raved about their home country. Colombia, they said, had it all; a Caribbean coast and a Pacific. Amazonian jungle, hills full of coffee and banana, modern cities, fine people and great food. There were political issues but the country was getting safer to travel through.

They were right on all counts. A stunningly beautiful country with a huge variety of landscape. Beautiful people: the Curva Peligrosa girls and the boys with check bones to cut paper with and gym bunny bodies. A huge mix of different  peoples: indigenous, European and African and all combinations in between. There is great wealth and poverty (rural and urban) cheek by cheek.

It feels to me like a country going through rapid change. The government has established security in most areas. Police and army are very visible everywhere reassuring the population. The infrastructure is being improved. The big cities are being modernised with metro systems and cable cars. It’s the little things  too. Construction sites have strict rules on worker protection. Coffee plantations pay workers a fair wage and are sensitive to environmental impact.

A few of the group have had flu but no stomach problems. Good local beer. Good local and international food in enormous portions.

Mind you. The driving leaves a lot to be desired. It isn’t aggressive like London. Or careless like China. But it it is chaotic. You have to have your wits about you all the time. Which is one reason there aren’t that many photos of the tour. Stopping safely is often impossible.

I’ve loved my time in Colombia. I’m not sure I’d come back but I’d recommend it to anyone wanting an off the beaten track adventure.

Running for the border

From Medellin we rode south down the Panamerican Highway to the Ecuadorian border. Overnight stops in Salento to learn about coffee, Popayán for vintage Tango music and Ipiales for the border.

The roads south are quieter but there is a lot of road building going on. New bridges, cuttings through the hillsides and stretches of dual carriage ways mixed with the twisting old roads. Through the roadworks the roads are often slippery with mud. Traffic is controlled through one-way sections with Pare and Siga (stop and go) signs. The local scooters ignore these with the risk they meet a truck coming the other way.

The climate is becoming more mountain tropical with massive storms in the late afternoon reducing visibility to 10 meters or so.

Eventually we make the border. Over the last few years 2.5 million Venezuelans have fled poverty at home into neighbouring Colombia and Brazil. They are heading south for work in Chile and Argentina. The border into Ecuador is processing thousands a day with Red Cross providing shelter and food.

An advance group of 5 bikes crossed the night before. Their rides were there to help us cross. Together with an early start and good organisation we got 15 bikes through in two hours. Leaving two bikes and a van to cross this afternoon for reasons too complicated to go into just now.

And with that, we are in Ecuador. My second country. Number ten for the end-to-enders.

Sick Transit Gloria Monday

Cartagena was the furthest north we go on this trip. It’s all going south from here on (no jokes please). A day along the Caribbean coast and then inland in 38C heat to the “stopover” town of Montaria. Then 175 miles through the rain and into the mountains to Medellin.

Time to talk a bit about the group. There are 20 bikes with a mix of end-to-end riders heading for Tierra del Fuego and four of us just riding the Andes section to Santiago. Keeping us all in order are Globebusters’ owners Kevin & Julia riding twin Triumph 1200 XCs. Back up is Alan (Wy Aye) and Peter (Tintin) in a pair of Transit vans. Kevin, Al and Pete were the crew for my trip and to China.

The travel is starting to take its toll. Tony’s Triumph has had no rear suspension since Bogota and Trevor & Audrey’s 1200GS collapsed on the road to Montaria. Khalid’s new BMW won’t start. Tim1 and Richard have both been really unwell with a virus which is now going round the group. Chris, Nicole and Tiffany have all succumbed so far.

This is where the Transits come in. The sick bike / rider is loaded into the van and moves with the group until they get better or we reach a mechanic who can fix the problem. No one is left behind but the group keeps moving.

Leaving Medellin tomorrow we have all the bikes fixed and every rider ready to go except poor Tim1 whose virus has progressed to pneumonia and is taking 3 or 4 days to rest in the van.

Out of the hills into the frying pan

After two days riding through the beautiful hills we descended to the valley of the Magdalena River. This runs north through most of the length of Colombia to the Caribbean. It is a broad, brown, fast flowing river carrying silt, tree trunks and who knows what else. Along its banks there are extensive swamps full of egrets and (allegedly) iguana, alligators and snakes

As we got down toward sea level the temperature and humidity went up and the he roads got worse. Biking in full protective gear (a concept unknown to Colombians) is OK in cool weather or when you are moving. On mud roads or heavy traffic, the air flow stops and things get s bit sweaty.



We stayed a night in Mompox. This was a major river port in colonial times and boasts a fine set of churches and old houses. Eventually the river silted up and the town fell into decline. Today it is being developed as a tourist destination and the road is being upgraded with new bridges to connect it to the rest of the country.

A second day took us away from the river to the coastal port of Cartagena. This was the major  Spanish imperial port in South America and the point of departure of the Spanish treasure fleets. A strongly fortified city, it was attacked by Drake (who was paid a ransom to go away), Hawkins and the British fleet under Vernon. The French had a couple of goes as well but none succeeded in taking the town. Today it is a large container port atgnd is on the Caribbean cruising circuit. You couldn’t move without being offered a Panama hat or cigar.

The excellent Naval Museum told the story of the city and the Colombian navy. They sent ships and infantry to fight in the Korean War. Who knew?