The Mighty Colombia...Part Three....

Today the sun is again 'cracking the flagstones' as we leave Cartagena and start making our way to Turbo. We've opted to break it down into two days. There's no rush.

The road touched along the coast and the whole day was an enjoyable ride, some of it reminding us of being in the countryside back home. First stop was a pleasant 'just off the road' hotel in Monteria. Unpack, eat, sleep, eat, repack, on the road again 'stuffage'.

The next section of road returned to follow the coastline of the Caribbean Sea. The road was ok, a few rough patches here and there, a few kids and the odd rope tope strewn across the road, hoping for a fast buck if anybody cared to stop.....It's such a shame... It's impossible to stop for them all.

Of course everybody will have different views on this... to stop or not to stop and it's open to debate.Poverty is something we've seen quite a lot of on this trip and something to despair of.

Nobody pulled any ropes up in front of us and the kids waved as we went past.

We soon arrived at our next stop just short of Turbo. A place called Punta de Piedra, a little Colombian seaside place with cabinas to rent. We were quite excited about this one. Once checked in we discovered our cabina had a beck in front of it and there were caiman in it. Lots of different birds about, as well as iguanas, lizards, red squirrels, oh, and a sloth. In fact the area was teeming in wildlife. On the shore of the Caribbean Sea, this bit, also classed as the Golfo del Darien, we looked across towards the area where the Spanish first landed in the 1500's and founded their first town, Santa Maria La Antigua del Darien,Colombia which was in Panama at the time. Also know many years ago as Dariena. but later abandoned after the establishment of Panama City. After that it was destroyed by the indigenous people of the area. Despite being abandoned and a gap of at least 500 years, Santa Maria is once again occupied and is still of great archeological interest.

As the evening wore on we went to sleep to the soft chirping of geckos and cicadas......I love that sound, press hear to get an idea of what I'm talking about -> 🦎

Our short stay at Punta de Piedra had been interesting to say the least but the road beckoned and we needed to call in at Turbo, only a few miles down the road.

Turbo was busy... and 'dug up' when we got there, a thriving little port town with links to Panama....not 'touristy' at all, more of a passing through place, which is such a pity. It could be made so much more of.

The reason for visiting......This is the 'Third point' of the Pan-American Highway....as we see it. We had been to the top or 'start' of it in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and we had ridden down it in Panama to 'the end of of it' or 'paused for now' to Yaviza. Because of the Darien Gap and a multitude of issues as to 'why the road cannot be continued' ….it begins again in Turbo, Colombia. There's not much clue really to say 'Hey....start of the Pan Am in South America' but they are there.....

So mission accomplished, guess we'll 'head on down the highway'...ha,ha…..along the 62 ...a paved road all the way from Turbo to Medellin. It wasn't long before we met some more peeps along the way, stopping wagons for money on the bends (they try to help them get round when they have to go on the other side of the road)....a few rope topes but all flat on the ground and roadworks....oh joy...all over the world we're all queueing somewhere. Much of the time we find we have had to wait in these queues for a while. It's very often due to the road collapsing or a landslide which the workmen or locals are actually very efficient at clearing away......and it's always good to talk and practice Spanish. Many peeps whom we've overtaken catch up on their smaller bikes and tuk tuks…..and we end up chatting....a lot of them are always interested in the bikes and want to know where we're from.

Eh up....flagman's moved the cones...best get on. We rode straight to Medellin with no more hitches and arrived there early evening. The city was heaving and the sat nav threw it's usual 'wobbly' of not knowing which streets were one way etc....solution.... in the dark....flag a taxi down off the bike and follow him to the hotel, works every time and takes the stress out of trying to find somewhere. A 'cop out'.....no I don't think so.... it's dark and busy....let's just keep it simple. Checked in, unpacked, hot shower, food, bed.

We'd booked into the El Poblado area of Medellin not far from the HD dealership. As ever when we visit a city, one of the reasons is to call in for parts/tyres/service etc due to the amount of miles the bikes are being ridden. 'No foot, no horse' mentality.

We enjoyed our 5 day stay in Medellin, it's the second largest city in Colombia and visited most of the suggested attractions, some of them stark reminders of Medellin's turbulent past in the 1990's with the Drug Cartels. It's quite clear the valley Medellin is in, since being discovered by the Spanish in the 1500's has undergone vast changes over the years in size, architecture, culture and reputation. The 90's dubbed Medellin as one of the most dangerous cities in the world but all that's changed, Medellin has moved on and a few years ago was nominated for 'Most Innovated City' because of it's advancement in public transport and new facilities being built. Indeed the whole city has a modern 'arty' vibe running through it and so many sculptures and artwork to see including graffiti it's definitely worth a visit.

Unfortunately slightly undermining Medellin's forward advancement are the new 'Narco Tours' which have been made popular with the Netflix series 'Narcos'. Please don't come here for that. If you do because you want some sort of 'Kudos' for going on a 'drugs tour', you're coming for all the wrong reasons and I urge you to balance your visit with a trip to the 'Museo Casa de La Memoria', a National Monument dedicated to the victims of violence in Medellin and Colombia. The message is clear from Colombia....'NEVER AGAIN'.... and if you're not moved by a visit to this museo and what this country has suffered in the past....I despair of you......this beautiful country has so much more to offer.

Sight seeing almost done and bikes nearly ready we arranged to meet Phil and Sapna for a meal and coffee. They're about to move on and we've got a couple of days left which could involve watching more football....well it is the World Cup and we are in Colombia.....when in Rome and all that....We arranged to meet them at HD Medellin, an easy point to find.....actually it was in an attempt to encourage Phil to buy one 😜......sorry …..only joking Phil and Sapna ❤😂😂

The football celebrations went on, Colombia just keep winning and it's so much fun out here.

And that was that, our time in Medellin had come to an end. Tomorrow we're going to head for El Penon de Guatape and after that Hacienda Napoles but not for the reasons that many 'gringos' go for.

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More photos from Colombia -> 🎞