Advertisement
Published: November 24th 2016
Having been on the road for nearly 3 years, we crossed over the border from Ecuador to Columbia. Our final destination, we'd soon be packing up our bicycles and returning home to the UK to some stability and normality. The formalities crossing the border for both my Iranian partner and I were very straight forward and we then cycled a further 2 Km into the Town of Ipiales, famously known for its 'Las Lajas' Basilica, built on top of a bridge spanning a beautiful river in a gorge.
Prior to entering Columbia and despite having experience of travelling through 38 other countries during the preceding 3 years, I had conjured up all sorts of ideas about this South American country. I was primarily thinking about our safety.
Is Columbia a dangerous country? Having both cycled and taken public transport around Columbia, it felt the safest country in South America in my opinion. With peace negotiations taking place between the Columbian Government and FARC and a heavily military and police presence on all the roads and in the major tourist spots, I felt safer here than I did in Peru, Bolivia and Chile. Also, the drivers in Columbia were much
more respectful to other road users and there is a a real cycling culture evident throughout the country. In some cities, they even shut the major roads in the historical parts on Sunday mornings to allow people to cycle, skate or run through the streets. Only in Ecuador did I feel equally safe, despite two young Argentinian female backpackers being murdered a couple of weeks after I had left the country. Whilst not oblivious to the fact that there are certain no go areas, if you are contemplating visiting Columbia and stick to the tourist routes, you will have an amazing time in this beautiful country.
With only 3.5 weeks of our trip remaining, we had to carefully choose which route we'd be cycling to allow us to see all the sights and whence we chose Cali to Medellin via Manizales, a distance of just 533 km. That said, we were still in South America amongst the Andes and as it turned out, this short stretch was some of the hardest cycling I had encountered during the whole of my journey.
We stayed just one night in the San Antonio district of Cali, the third most populated city
in Columbia, renown for its Salsa dancing.
Leaving Cali behind, my first stop was Buga, just 74 km to the north. En route, I was passed by several road trains, with trucks impressively towing 5 trailers behind them, all carrying sugar cane.
Buga is a pilgrimage city. Each year over 3 million tourists and Columbians visit this city to see the 'Lord of Miracles' statue of Christ within the Basilica. Whilst here I stayed in a famous micro brewery and met up with the Mother and Father-in-law of a friend of mine, whom I haven't seen for over 26 years. It was fascinating being invited into the home of an elderly Columbian couple and finding out about their culture and country as well as meeting their 80 year old parrot!
From Buga, my journey continued towards Sevilla and Salento. High up in the mountains, Salento is a quaint little village in a coffee plantation area. It's also famous for its Quindio Wax palm trees, which is the national tree and symbol of Columbia. A beautiful trek in the Cocora valley allowed me to see these wax palm tree plantations close up. During the trek, we also arrived
at a small cafe high up in the mountains, where we also saw the wonderful spectacle of hundreds of humming birds feeding from birdfeeders.
A tour of the coffee plantation was fascinating, with individuals all being given a small basket to go out and pick ripe beans before being shown the entire coffee making process until the final end product and of course tasting a delicious cup of Columbian coffee.
After Salento my route went via Manizales to La Pintada, Santa Barbara and finally Medellin. I rode through small villages where the men were listening to loud and vibrant Columbian music whilst enjoying their bottles of beer at 10 o'clock in the morning. With temperatures high up in the thirties and with a constant climb, it was one of the toughest routes I had scaled in a long time. What made me laugh, were some of the young teenagers riding on BMX bikes who were holding onto the back of lorries as they slowly ascended the mountains.
I finally made it into Medellin where I booked into a Greek owned Hostel. Up until 6 years ago, Medellin was one of the most dangerous cities in the world.
Renown for the Columbian Drug Cartels and Pablo Escobar, the city is estimated to have lost 50000 people through murder and disappearances. Not safe to wander the streets in fear of being blown up or kidnapped, the recent peace negotiations have turned this city around and previous 'no-go' areas are now being artistically developed into places where people can relax, or libraries where people can study or join personal development courses. Medellin has become a global model for successful transformation.
For anybody thinking of visiting Medellin, the Real Walking tour was a definite highlight. A free walking tour based on tips, the guides were professional, enthusiastic and upbeat about their country and were particularly proud of being Paisas (Paisas are people who live in a certain region of Columbia which encompasses Medellin. The ancestors of the Paisas came from Spain and were predominantly of Jewish/Basque region background).
Of particular interest on the tour was seeing all the Columbian prostitutes prying for business outside of all the major churches in Medellin. According to our tour guide, the prostitutes feel that they are vindicated from what they are doing, if they do their business outside a church.
Unfortunately, the
equally famous Pablo Escobar tour we conducted was disappointing, however we did see where he controlled his drug empire from, the place where he was finally killed and his burial place. Interestingly, it's reputed that the drug lord himself never dabbled in cocaine, but instead used marijuana.
A short visit to the gigantic rock at Guatape 2 hours east of Medellin followed, as well as a Cable Car ride over the 'comunas' of the second largest City in Columbia. It's incredible how many people live in such a small area; houses stacked on top of one another, with the occasional concrete football pitch squeezed in between. Here you really see life as it is, with kids impervious to their surroundings on mini-scooters, skipping, playing games or riding their bicycles.
Finally, we managed to catch up with a Columbian friend and stand-up Comedian Alejandro who kindly took us out for a great meal overlooking the city.
In Medellin, our bike journey came to an official end and so we packed up our bicycles and despatched them to Bogota. We continued by aeroplane to Cartagena on the Caribbean coast. Cartagena is an old and beautiful colonial city and my
favourite city in South America. Packed with good restaurants, bars and cafes you can't fail to enjoy the wonderful atmosphere of the city.
Just 45 minutes away, is a small volcano next to a beach, where for a small sum of money, you can jump into the volcano and immerse yourself in thick mud, together with up to 40 other tourists. A strange experience, but unique nonetheless, you also help the local community, by paying tips to the masseurs who rub you up and down for a couple of minutes, the photographers who take care of your equipment and take the occasional snap and last but not least the village women who spend around 10 minutes washing the mud off you.
From Cartagena we continued by bus towards Santa Marta. En route, our 7 hour bus journey was delayed by a further 3 hours when we came to an abrupt stop close to a village, where the people were protesting that they did not have any water. Unfortunately scenes turned ugly and riot police were drafted in from Cartagena to quell the uprising and stop the violence and damage against passing trucks. As we finally continued on our
journey, we drove past an impoverished village, where the roads were covered in tons of rubbish and so different to the tourist destination of Cartagena. When I think of my privileged life in the UK and then witness how some people haven't even got the basic necessities, it really makes you think about life...... and this is in 2016!
In Santa Marta, we spent two days relaxing on the beach before we headed to San Gil, the adventure capital of Columbia. Here my partner enjoyed her first paragliding flight, but was unfortunately sick all over her pilot and hence the flight was curtailed.
Our penultimate destiny was Villa de Levya, another old colonial town with the largest cobbled town square in the whole of South America. Full of charm, a beautiful memory I will retain forever is hearing the monks chanting in the monastery.
Our final journey took us to the Capital, where we took the Cable Car to Monserrate, a mountain of 3152m altitude overlooking the whole of Bogota, as well as visiting the Gold museum. The previous evening we were entertained by a lovely Columbian couple, Bobby and Ragnhild who treated us to a delicious
meal in a top French restaurant. We learnt so much from them about their culture and the reasons why they adore Columbia.
And so it was time to board the flight back to the UK. As we took off from Bogota, I reminisced about my personal journey. With 30420 km covered, I didn't quite get all the way around the world, but managed to achieve at least three quarters (circumference is 40075 km). I didn't end up going where I originally planned to, but ended up deviating from the plan and seeing other sights which I otherwise would have missed out on. I have met my beautiful Iranian partner along the way and have managed to get safely back to my country. I have satisfied my wanderlust for now and am really pleased to be back in the UK. Sleeping in one bed without having to carry my panniers up another flight of stairs or sitting on a comfortable settee in front of the TV, without the constant noise of horns beeping at me or drivers trying to kill me. The timing was right to finish this journey. How long for....who knows? I already have ideas conjuring up of
riding a 125cc motorbike around the African continent, but for the moment I'm enjoying the unpredictable weather of the British Isles and Waitrose Malaysian Coconut and Lime ice cream.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.153s; Tpl: 0.017s; cc: 9; qc: 64; dbt: 0.1038s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Adrian Fryer
non-member comment
Incredible journey
An incredible journey Clive and thank you for sharing a small portion of it with us. Rest those tired legs at home while you plan your next adventure!