Mention Colombia to anyone and more likely than not, they will think of the TV show Narcos, Pablo Escobar, cocaine, drug trafficking, or armed conflict. Well, here’s some news for you: those preconceptions are far-removed from the Colombia of today. Everyone we met who had been to Colombia prior to our visit raved about the […]
Our initially planned two-week stay in Medellín got extended by an additional two weeks because of some bike repairs that needed to be to be taken care of before they became hazardous. One of these repairs was to the clutch which required a part to be shipped in from the USA. The part was stuck in […]
After a mini celebration at finding the misplaced spare keys in the morning, we took a ride about two hours out of Medellín to climb a giant rock located close to the towns of Guatapé and El Peñol. The two towns have had a long-standing dispute over who owns this rock so it is currently known by two […]
We left Cartagena on Tuesday, June 19, and started our journey towards Medellín. Since the fastest route is around 12 hours, we stopped along the way in Sincelejo, Caucasia, and Santa Rosa de Osos before reaching our destination on Friday. Medellín is Colombia’s second largest city and a rather beautiful one at that. It is located […]
On Friday, we headed towards Cartagena, taking the road going through Barranquilla. Shakira fans who don’t know where she’s from, Barranquilla is the singer’s hometown and there is a statue of her there. The traffic in the city was chaotic and getting out of there was an absolute nightmare so no selfies of us with […]
We left Sachica after a hearty breakfast on the morning of Wednesday, June 6, and headed north. Our plan was to make our way to Cartagena using highway 45 that ran fairly close to the Venezuelan border and then down to Medellin using a different route. About midway to our next stop in San Gil, […]
We would like to wish all our fellow maple syrup-loving, moose-dodging, toque-wearing dwellers of the best country to be a citizen of a HAPPY CANADA DAY! While travelling exposes us to many wonderful places, it also makes us realize what a privilege it is to call ourselves Canadians, especially as immigrants and me as a […]
On Tuesday, May 29, we rode for about an hour from Bogotá to the town of Zipaquirá. The town is primarily known for the Catedral de Sal (Salt Cathedral), an underground church built within the tunnels of a salt mine. The town itself is quite nice, but the cathedral was our main reason for visiting Zipaquirá so, that is […]
The rest of our week was pretty low-key. We spent most of our second Wednesday in Bogotá searching in vain for a place that would insure our bike. This proved to be a surprisingly more difficult feat than expected, especially considering that vehicle insurance is mandatory in Colombia. Luckily, on Thursday morning, we were finally able […]
For our first Saturday in Bogotá, the plan was to explore La Candelaria, the historic neighbourhood of the city’s downtown area where the country’s capital was founded in 1538. The neighbourhood is very popular with local and foreign tourists due to its colourful colonial architecture, cobblestone streets, and numerous attractions. Our first stop was Plaza Bolívar, […]
