Colombia 21 March – 18 August 2024

Days: 114*
Travel days: 52 / 46%
Non-travel days: 62 / 54%
Total kms: 8108 km
Avg km/day: 71 km
Travel day kms: 7668 km
Avg km/travel day: 147 km
Fuel used: 261.9 L (Michael)
Fuel economy: 3.23 L/100km (Michael started seeing issues with his bike, resulting in poorer fuel economy)
* We left Colombia and returned to Canada to visit our kids 21 Apr-19 May, and we visited Venezuela 18 – 25 Jun.

Average cost / day:
Angela: CAD$72.23
Michael: CAD$75.20 (Michael eats more food, burns more fuel.)

Where we slept:
Airbnb – 10%
Friend – 11%
Hotel – 74%
Orphanage – 3%
Stranger – 2%

Weather:
Cold/dry – 0%
Cold/wet – 1%
Cool/dry – 9%
Cool/wet – 1%
Warm/dry – 46%
Warm/wet – 5%
Hot/dry – 33%
Hot/wet – 5%
(Wet defined as riding in rain enough to have put on rain gear; if it rained and we weren’t riding in it, the day is listed as dry)

Road surface:
Paved – 97.9%
Rock – 0.3%
Dirt/gravel – 1.6%
Sand – 0.2%

Things we enjoyed:

Bogota – La Candalaria neighbourhood
– Gold museum has a fantastic collection of pre-hispanic artifacts
– International Emerald Museum was only fair
– Calle Real (long pedestrian street with street vendors)
– La Puerta Falsa (long history; hot chocolate with cheese)
– Plaza de Bolivar (cathedral, street food)
– Santuario Nuestra Señora del Carmen (unique church)
– Monserrate (cable car/funicular up the mountain; lots of street food vendors)
– If you want to buy emeralds, Bogota is the place to do it
Medellin
– Pablo Escobar’s grave – tell people you’re going here and you will probably get some negative feedback; we found it interesting from the perspective that others still revere the man, and we found the grave to be decorated with fresh flowers
– La Casa De Las Piedritas – tour a unique home expanded and modified by Santiago over decades for his wife; Gloria only speaks Spanish (free with tips)
– Tour of Comuna 13 – Zippy Tours does a great 3 hour walking tour in English; free but accepts tips
– Plaza Botero (Botero sculptures, Palace of Culture)
– Green Bike Tours offers bicycle tour of town (rent the e-bike, as the last part of the tour goes up a steep hill; do tour later in the day to enjoy the sunset)
Manizales
– Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Manizales is the tallest cathedral in Colombia; tour the building, including up to the Polish Corridor for great views both inside of the church and of the city
– the Chipre neighbourhood is where ones goes to people watch and enjoy street food and amazing views
Road from Libano to Manizales passes by Nevado del Ruiz; goes up to 4150m and is chilly and has stunning views; plan for a multiple hour trip as you will stop to take many pictures; large vehicles are prohibited on this road, which is in great condition; don’t forget to visit Armero and learn about the tragedy that occurred there
– Route 1 (all paved):
Libano
4.919593, -75.077316
4.873998, -75.175086
4.924086, -75.294900
4.968672, -75.351644
5.014672, -75.340828
Manizales
– Route 2 (some rough dirt; no personal experience):
Libano
4.919593, -75.077316
4.873998, -75.175086
4.924086, -75.294900
4.968672, -75.351644
4.970551, -75.378516 (dirt starts near here)
5.007695, -75.439686 (dirt ends near here)
Manizales
Guatape
– Climb La Piedra del Peñol – 708 steps will take you to the top of this rock and give you some great views of the surrounding area
– Visit Zocalrolls for cinnamon rolls; if the owner is around he can explain “zocalos” to you and introduce you to his semi-famous dog
– Walk the town and enjoy the art; there is a malecon with street food
Otanche – tour of emerald mining area (contact Dydyer via Whatsapp +57 313 3330424); 220000 COP/person; included transportation from Otanche, guide through mining area to see mines and miners, actually search for emeralds; saw largest emerald market in the world; lunch and beverages included; be prepared to get a little dirty; if you want to go into a mine tunnel, be aware it is very hot/humid, and can be wet/muddy especially if it’s been raining recently
Ventanas de Tisquizoque – roads to/from are reputed to be a little challenging, and there may be significant delays due to construction (2024)
Villa de Leyva
– Casa Terracota – this is the largest terracotta creation in the world; a little Dr Seuss-like in appearance; how it was made is also interesting
– Fossil museum – the history of this place and how the community built and manages the museum is almost as interesting as the massive fossil itself
– Largest paved square in the Americas – not as exciting as it sounds; few vendors and less life than we expected
Zipaquira
– Parque Jaime Duque – an interesting collection of animals, aircraft and artwork
– Catedral de Sal – this massive salt mine captured our attention for over five hours
Santa Marta – scuba diving in Tayrona; unique coral, but no large creatures
Puente Pueblo Viejo – the road from here west has a bad reputation for motorists being robbed; passes by some very poor neighbourhoods
Baranquilla – where the Magdalena River meets the sea; the road turns into a narrow dirt path; nice ride until it gets too narrow to continue
Mar Rosado – access from the south was fenced closed; access from east the road was in very poor condition and we did not ride through
Volcan de Lodo – bathe in mud at the top of a mini-volcano; we didn’t do this as it felt like too much of an expensive tourist trap
Cartagena
– San Felipe de Barajas Fort is worth exploring; we didn’t take a guide as we thought the cost was ridiculous
– Emeralds – don’t buy them here, as they are 400% higher than in Bogota, and are priced high for the tourists
– We did a great walking tour through the historic part of town
Salento – Valle de Corcora is where you can see the tallest palm trees in the world; it is a beautiful ride through the valley to end of road
Guadalupe – Las Ganchas were not that impressive, and not (in our opinion) worth the time or effort; if you choose to visit, approach from the north, as the road from the south is quite challenging
Puente de Boyacá – if you’re into historic sites then stop and see the bridge and the site of a major battle that played a major role in Colombia’s independence
Aguachica – hiking in Los Estoraques made us feel like we were on an old Star Trek set, exploring a strange, new world
Cucuta – there’s a Venezuelan Consulate where you can go to get a visa if you need one; they turnaround your application quickly
Mompox – is a popular location to source gold and silver filigree jewelry
Bioparque Los Ocarros – better than average collection of animals; if you’re into zoos you can see some creatures you may not have seen elsewhere
Tatacoa Desert – you can approach the desert from the north through two tunnels and bridge; the desert loop starts here, the road is sandy until here, 17 km later; the views in the desert are awesome; continuing to here and then west to Villavieja the awesome views continue; there are a few observatories here where you can stargaze, but we missed doing this as it was cloudy the night we stayed here
La Mano de Gigante – an interesting little park that has great views and opportunities for good photos; you can paraglide here; not a must-do, but if you do decide to visit here you’ll want to pay the money for the ride up and the ride back (which they charge separately for!)
San Agustin – this is a bit of a tourist town, and there are a few expats living in this area; there are several archeological sites here you can visit, and nearby is where the Magdalena River narrows to just a couple meters
Mocoa – heading west from here to Pasto you will ride the famous Trampoline of Death; only about 60 km of this route from here to here is unpaved; the conditions of the road itself are fairly decent (if it’s been raining there are a couple short sections that are slick, and only one small water crossing that you might find a bit challenging); the biggest danger is that many sections of this road are barely wide enough for one vehicle, and there are many blind corners
Ipiales – the Santuario de Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Las Lajas is a fantastic site to visit, both during the day and after the sun sets and the church is lit up; lots of street food (including cuy) and souvenirs; the cable car doesn’t give a great view of the church; if you’re going to stay late, make sure you’ve arranged a ride back to town if you didn’t bring your own vehicle; if you ride there, you can park with some confidence
Miscellaneous
– Tequendama Falls Museum (didn’t get in the museum, but the view of the waterfall is awesome, though the water is horribly polluted; street food vendors here too)
– Donkey Sunrise – a popular mototraveller hostel; they can arrange a paragliding experience where the world championships are held
– Cafetero region – triangle formed by Manizales, Cartago, Filandia (coffee growing region is hilly with many beautiful roads to ride and great scenery)
– Barichara to Bucaramanga – road includes Chicamocha Canyon – incredible scenery
– Bucaramanga to Pamplona – this ride is incredible, but watch as the trucks constantly cut the corner