Cycling Colombia 

Why Colombia? 

We were both excited by the idea of pedalling in Colombia, but felt uncertain about safety.

For many outsiders, Colombia is synonymous with drug-related crime. There were reports of violent robberies and ATM kidnappings. The UK government website advised against all non-essential travel to certain regions.

But other areas of the country looked stunning for road riding. The costs of travelling in Colombia were definitely going to be cheaper. The pull of good coffee, fresh fruit and Medellin's Pablo Escobar Museum clinched it.

So from sleepy Uruguay we booked a flight to big, bad Bogotá !

Colombia, here we come! 

We had no idea what to expect from Colombia .....

Cycling Colombia: Our Route 

We biked 1600 miles around Colombia (highlighted in green on the map): 

From Bogotá, over the Andes mountains to Medellín; then up to the Caribbean coast and remote La Guajira desert; finally looping back cross-country to end in Cartagena.

Cycling Colombia: The Journey

Bogotá was big, bustling, and colourful. The roads were a chaotic mix of trucks, cars, mopeds and cycles.

Seeing armed guards at every ATM and supermarket took some getting used to, and reminded us to be careful. 

No photos to post, as it was early days and we were feeling uptight about phone snatchers !!

Leaving Bogotá: we pedalled northwest, towards Medellín. This would involve crossing the Andes mountains !

During the first couple of days, we encountered extremely busy and sometimes dangerous roads.

Self-doubt about our chosen route crept in.

We dug deep and continued, hoping as usual that things would work out.

You know how it goes "you gotta take the rough, to earn the smooth"! Or something like that 🤔

Above: Climbing out of Bogotá, cycling space was tight beside the trucks.

En route to La Dorada, we came across people literally "mango fishing" with a net !

Charlie couldn't resist giving it a go. Much harder than it looks !

Above: Not a pole vault, but a mango catcher !

Below: A sidestreet decorated for Christmas in La Dorada.

Then we spotted an alternative route to Medellín on the map: Highway 56. This would keep us off the main highways. But was not a fully paved or tarmacked road!

Doubtful, we stopped at a bike shop to seek advice about tackling this route with loaded gravel bikes.

The shop was closed but as if by magic, a lady appeared who knew the road and confirmed it was doable.

Below: Highway 56. It got much rougher than this in places.

Highway 56 turned out to be a great choice: EXTREMELY rough and tough in parts, but taking us through remote villages and stunning scenery.

Nothing we have done since touches it.

Above & below: Just another day on Highway 56 !

Molly was knackered and fell ill, so we had to stop for a few nights in the mountain village of Florencia de la Selva (below).

Above: The misty, untouristed village of Florencia.

The friendly locals shared their memories of the cartel-related violence that turned their streets into a war zone. Thankfully, recent years had been more peaceful for them.

We enjoyed watching village life from Florencia's main square. One day, the local church held an open-air service in the street and all sang along to the tune of The Beatles' "Hey Jude" - SPINE-TINGLING MAGIC 😊

Above: Local old boys chatting across the street in Florencia

Even in these remote areas, we came across colourful "chiva" buses that somehow navigate the rough roads to transport villagers and all kinds of cargo.

Brightly-painted small dwellings playing VERY loud, happy music always raised a smile.

Although our legs and minds were burning, as the road pushed our bike handling to the limit, the cheerful music and surroundings made it all worthwhile.

Above: A crazy, colourful "chiva" bus taking on Highway 56.

Medellín is surrounded by towering mountains, so it was a brake-scorching descent into the city.

As the road became near-vertical, we had to accept a lift in a pickup-truck down that section for our own safety !

Above: The view over Comuna 13 from a local café, with Medellin's ring of mountains in the background.

We had a great stopover in this vibrant city.

Pablo Escobar's Museum was intriguing BUT horribly overpriced, and definitely not for everyone. It has since been shut down by the Colombian government, in a drive to reduce "narcotourism". 

The former slum of Comuna 13 was a surprise highlight. 

The area's transformation into a popular tourist attraction started thanks to its striking murals (below).

The drug cartels ran Comuna 13 in the 1990s, when the area was so dangerous that even the police and army stayed away.

Enterprising locals have since reinvented their 'hood as a bustling tourist attraction with an array of stalls, cafés, street dancers and bright artwork.

Colombia was terrorised by Pablo Escobar's drug cartel in the 1990s, but he kept some of Medellín on side by funding social housing and sports facilities.

Local opinion remains polarised to this day - some people don't even want to hear his name.

Above: Pablo Escobar's old family home in Medellín. The guy in the green shirt is a real live armed guard ! Pablo (white shirt) "really is a dummy" !! 

Pablo even paid Maradona and Renee "Scorpion Save" Higuita to play against his team in a charity football match.

This took place at the 5-star "prison" he built for himself (!!), as part of a short-lived peace deal with the government.

Above: Pablo's celebrity footballing antics, on show at his family's museum.

Heading out of Medellín was an epic day of climbing, cheered on by local cyclists doing it as a New Year's challenge !

Above: Exhausted but exhilarated after a punishing climb out of Medellín - we earned our "tinto" that day 👍

We took a much-needed stopover in pretty Guatapé, famous for the views from its giant granite rock. There are hundreds of steps to the top.

So the challenge had to be taken on. Some rest day that was ! But more than worth it

By chance, we caught a tiny touring circus in Guatapé that evening. Their acrobatic performances were breathtaking.

Above: Guatapé and its BIG ROCK, a must-visit 👍👍

Moving north: on our descent out of the Andes in stunning Caucasia, we encountered a road closure.

There had been a fatal accident and the road was covered in slippery oil (below).

For safety, we had to jump onto a coach once the road re-opened.

After that, it was steady pedalling all the way to the Caribbean coast.

On this steady pedal ! 🤦🤦🚴🚴

We encountered a BOA CONSTRICTOR on the hard shoulder !

Errmm yep that's right a very BIG snake ! (below)

Locals also stopped to look and warned us to keep our distance - a debate as to whether ALIVE or DEAD ensued.

Charlie wanted to poke it with a stick, but wisely decided against this just in case it was hungry. A large boa can take down livestock !

We were a LOT more wary with our "wild toilet" stops going forwards.

We reached the Caribbean coast unscathed at Barranquilla, just before their massive annual carnival - second only to Rio de Janeiro's. 

Heading east out of Barranquilla, we contended with heavy traffic and slums (below).

Above: It was shocking to see children scavenging in the rubbish around these roadside slums.

The busy seaside town of Santa Marta was nice enough. We preferred the quieter areas of jungle (home to howler monkeys) and mountains just inland.

Further east: the lush coastline became more peaceful, but then eerily quiet. Later, we learned that violent criminal gangs were extorting "protection" money from locals, and killing more than just the tourism in this area.

Above & below: Colombia's Caribbean coast❤️ a mix of the beautiful and the harsh realities for people living in very difficult conditions (as seen throughout the world) 

Curiosity drew us even further east, into the barren desert area of La Guajira (below).

This very poor indigenous region had a completely different feel.

Its fierce headwinds soon forced us to retreat south.....

....BUT not before we had been overtaken and then flagged down, on a very quiet stretch, by 4 burly guys in a truck.

"This is it," we both thought, "Get ready with the dummy purse!!". (Early in the trip we had planned what to do if we got mugged, and had a dummy purse ready to hand over with a small amount of cash and an expired credit card.)

No photo of this moment due to being totally blown away when "El Jefe" ("The Boss") instructed his men to give us chilled Coca Cola to drink, asked if we were ok and then drove off !!

Phew 🫡

Talk about misreading the situation ! 🤦🤦‍♀️

Above: A typical rural grocery store, open for business !

The small stores in this area had permanent "prison bars" to protect the goods and the takings.

You aren't allowed inside. Just point or explain what you want to buy.

We turned inland, pedalling parallel to the Venuezuelan border (a country considered so dangerous, it was the only Latin American place our travel insurance wouldn't cover).

Charlie's overloaded back wheel finally started to crack in Valledupar. This was no problem for Super Serafín (below) !

Above: Bike shop owner Serafín and his mechanic got Charlie's wheel rebuilt within the hour for £21, including the local protection racket's fee !

On Serafín's recommendation, we turned west towards Mompox.

Passing through Bosconia, we chanced upon a massive festival for "caballeros" (horsemen, and women). 

We were the only foreigners in town.

The party atmosphere was electric.

Everyone was parading their horsemanship. Some riders even stood on top of the saddle and took a drink (below) !

Above: The incredible "caballeros" (horsemen) of Bosconia. 

After some unexpectedly rough trails (below), we crossed the Magdalena river into Mompox on a tiny gondola ferry (no photo, as the crossing was slightly fraught !)💦

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Mompox's old colonial riverside (below) was a little touristy, but still charming.

Below: Hefty iguanas patrol the Mompox riverside

Authentic local life was just a short stroll away from Mompox's main drag.

One lovely lady invited us into her riverside home (below), where she made a living selling tinto and repairing clothes.

At the local market in Mompox (below): this meat was being preserved old-style in salt, without the need for refrigeration.

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We continued north back to the Caribbean coast, passing through some lovely seaside areas where we enjoyed fresh ceviche and dolphin-spotting.

Below: "Raspao" (shaved ice) van on the beachfront in Santiago de Tolú

Our Colombian journey ended, reluctantly, in Cartagena (we needed to head north to catch a total solar eclipse !).

Crossing overland into Panama was essentially impossible, and there was no easy sea transport, so we boxed the bikes and took a flight.

Above: You think you can ride a bike, then these guys fly past!! 

Cycling Colombia:

Food & Accommodation

We soon grew to love the national brew, "tinto": shots of punchy black coffee, usually served from a roadside thermos (above) with a shedload of sugar. (Surely the best invention ever 🤔 Sugar that is!!)

Cost: around 20p.

Delicious tropical fruit was cheap and plentiful.

Fresh juices (jugos) were sold at the roadside, blended with milk and even more sugar !

The standard fare was bland, but worked ok for hungry cyclists: chicken or fish, rice & beans, and salad (below).

Breakfasts were blander still: cornbread "arepas", tasteless white "cheese" and scrambled eggs.

No sauces or seasoning involved.

Below: If in doubt, we follow the truckers to some cheap'n' cheerful truck stop grub ! 

Budget accommodation was decent, ubiquitous, and very cheap (never more than £30, and often much less).

Our finest bargain was the clean double room with private bathroom in Florencia for 25,000 pesos (£5) per night ! And even at that price, a helpful neighbour told us we could have negotiated a better deal !!

Above: We were the only guests at this remote riverside hotel on Highway 56 ... the staff went home overnight and locked us inside !! 🔒

Showers were usually unheated, but this wasn't an issue in the tropical temperatures.

Google Maps and Airbnb worked well in Colombia.

We never had to camp 🤗

Cycling Colombia: Ups & Downs

We absolutely LOVED cycle touring in Colombia.

It was the most colourful, diverse and affordable country we have visited to date.

People were kind and friendly, seeming to smile through life's hardships.

Upbeat music was everywhere.

For sunshine lovers, the weather was great.

Cycling in Colombia just about hit every note for us.

Ooh la la was it fantastic !

Mountains, coastline, desert, cities, villages, bustling, noisy, serene, peaceful, scenic, rustic, raw. 

Above: Beautiful Colombia 

Over 2 months of pedalling through different urban and rural areas: we didn't have a single bad experience. 

Maybe we just got lucky.

Having said that: we did stay indoors after dark in some places. Our scruffy appearance probably helped us to stay safe too !

We also heeded gov.uk advice to avoid known high-risk regions, and any warnings from locals.

The roads felt generally safe, even in busy urban areas (once we learned to "flow" with the traffic). Cyclist/moped awareness was good, and there was no aggression.

Below: Mesmerising "pelican pelotons" patrolling the coast 

In the interests of balance, we have tried very hard to think of some negative aspects to the trip. This bit is short !

🤦‍♀️ For Molly: it was the particularly vicious dawn attack by biting midges at a coastal truck stop. Luckily, this was a one-off !

🤦‍♂️ For Charlie: it was the inevitable tension around personal safety, especially as he felt responsible for keeping Molly safe.

Above: Colombia, the land of colour and music !

Normally, by the end of a good tour we feel ready to move on. But not from Colombia.

There was so much of it that we didn't get to see. Over a year later, remembering it makes us feel wistful. 

If we had to name our favourite tour, this grand adventure in Colombia would be it.

We would recommend it to anyone.

¡ GRACIAS A COLOMBIA !  🚴👍🚴👌

Cycling Colombia:

Practical pointers

* Bogotá airport pedal-out rating: ⭐.

Arrivals was bustling, with little space to build the bikes (but at least the airport security guards were friendly, hence one star!).

Pedalling out of the airport by road felt suicidal, due to crazy-busy merging lanes. We were "stranded" for quite a while trying to make the crossing on foot !

Shortly afterwards we reached a cycle lane, and things improved a lot.

* We carried a "dummy purse" with a small amount of money and an expired credit card (good practice wherever you visit), ready to hand over to robbers. Rucksacks on our front when walking.