Colombia

Colombia is hot. But if you're ready for the heat, there's lots to explore. Gorgeous colonial cities, huge snowy mountains, and spectacular green valleys are just a few of the things you'll find. Our favorite roads were less-traveled tracks in the mountains, often with poor surfaces but beautiful scenery. Despite safety concerns, our interactions with locals were all positive or neutral and we had no issues. Food is simple and standard throughout the country, and we found that there was always a small restaurant or hospedaje waiting when we needed a break from the bike.

Our Route

Colombia has three chains of mountains, and it seems that most cyclists on longer trips bike through the cordillera occidental, the range on the west side of the country, in order to get to the cycling playground of Ecuador. We spent most of our time in the cordillera oriental on the east side of the country, and were very happy to have explored a lesser-traveled region. 

From Cartagena we cycled south, heading east through Mompox on dirt roads and with the help of some boats. The 45, a bigger road, brought us to Bucaramanga and the mountains. Northern Colombia is pretty much flat, and we found more traffic than we are comfortable with on many roads, even the smaller ones. The heat was also a challenge.

Still on the flats but with mountains ahead!

But... waiting for us just out of Bucaramanga were the Andes! Remote dirt roads and big mountains abound throughout the whole region north of Bogota. The highlight for us was El Cocuy, huge snowcapped peaks with hiking trails and gorgeous wild camping in cool weather. South of Bogota, the roads in the mountains disappeared, and we cycled through the Desierto de la Tatacoa to Neiva. From there Neiva we headed west over the cordillera central to Popayan, where we caught a bus to the border with Ecuador.

At the end of most of our blog posts from Colombia, we included route and area notes. Check out specific posts for much more detailed information.

The Basics: Food, Water and Shelter

Food
A blog we read described the Colombian diet as a cross between that of a monkey and that of a fairgoer: lots of bland nuts, roots, and fruit, and everything else fried. We found this to be true with very little variation throughout the country. A typical meal at a restaurant includes a fruit juice or coffee, depending on the time of day; a soup; rice; meat; and a side of potato fries, yucca, fried plantains, or something related to salad. All of this for COP$3,000-8,000 (US$2-4). Usually everyone gets the comida corriente, the set meal, so a menu isn't necessary; unless you're in a city or at a really fancy place, don't bother asking for one.

Arepas are a Colombian classic.

As vegetarians we had a lot of trouble getting people to understand that we didn't eat beef, chicken, pork, or fish, so after a while we started asking for just plain rice and scrambled eggs, staples anywhere, and added our own vegetables and seasonings. Huevos pericos, scrambled eggs with tomato and onion, is also a good choice.

Shops selling fruits, veggies, cheese, and bread are easily found in any small town. Avocado, tomato, and cheese sandwiches were our go-to lunch. Be sure to ask for non-sweet bread (pan salado) if you're not going for an intense sugar high.

Water
Our SteriPen broke while in Colombia, so we had to get creative. In areas with undrinkable tap water, we would buy big bags or ask restaurants if they have a filter or garrafon (a big jug) we could fill our bottles from. In all big cities and almost everywhere in the mountains, the locals drink the tap water, so we did too after asking numerous times if it's potable and if they would drink this water. Danny didn't have any GI issues, and Tam had a few intermittent issues that may or may not have been due to the water.

In areas with good tap water, the locals don't buy water so it's harder to find larger sizes of bottles and bags for sale. Hence, if you don't have a purification device and you don't want to drink the tap water, you may have to resort to buying tons of tiny bags or bottles. Trying to avoid throwing away huge amounts of plastic was one reason we risked drinking tap water, partly because of the overall environmental impact and partly because of convenience. Outside of cities, trash cans can be a big challenge to find, and you know it's all going to be burnt in the back yard anyway.
Streams and rivers are abundant in the highlands, but they are sometimes turbid and drain through farmland.

Shelter
Wild camping is tough because of private property (farms) everywhere, but most people were very accommodating when we asked to camp in their field. We ran into gender issues sometimes in very rural areas; if the señor or dueño wasn't around, the woman of the house was often unwilling or unable to give permission. Rather than waiting for the señor to return, we usually just moved on and found somewhere else.
In cities there are numerous options. Warmshowers and couchsurfing hosts are sometimes available. Urban camping is an option at the Defensa Civil or Bomberos.
In the north we often couldn't bear sleeping outside because it was simply too hot (see above), so there we stayed in hotels. Even the smallest towns have hospedajes. The average price was COP$30,000 to $35,000 (roughly US$13-$16), which included A/C in many parts.

 

Camped in a cow pasture just southeast of Bucaramanga

Weather
The heat was definitely the biggest challenge we faced while biking in Colombia. Simply walking outside in Cartagena will leave you drenched in sweat. If you're not a hot-weather person, northern Colombia might not be for you. That being said, it is possible to bike your way through the heat--even if you, like us, prefer chillier climates. Here are a few basic strategies we employed.
1) Wear loose, long-sleeved clothing for sun protection, and use plenty of sunscreen on exposed skin.
2) Hydrate excessively. Where we couldn´t drink the tap water, we bought the "family size" bags, six liters per person per day. Even when starting the day with ice, a few hours in the oven and the contents of our bottles would reach scalding temperatures. We tried to trick ourselves into thinking it was bland tea, and that kind of worked.
3) Anything cold is good. Ice cream is available at every small store, and though it's usually not great, even freezer-burnt rum raisin still tastes like heaven when the pavement is melting. Also take advantage of fresh fruit juices; they're the best.

The Magdalena River on a steamy morning in northern Colombia

4) Bike in the morning. On the hottest days we woke up super early and biked as far as we could before 1 pm or so. The afternoons were so hot that it didn't seem worth it to us to suffer through them.
5) Don't camp. Even in our all-mesh tent, we would spend the night sweating and maybe sneak a few hours of shut-eye in the early morning. Not worth it. After attempting to camp a few times, we gave up and started finding hotels. Almost all of them have air conditioning, and all have cold showers.
6) While cycling, stick to well-surfaced roads to maintain some speed. Gotta keep a breeze going!
7) Go up in elevation. We headed for the mountains as soon as possible, finding camping much more pleasurable around 10,000 feet. You may still find yourself at high altitude in shorts and a t-shirt, but you won't be sweating as much.

There is much more humidity along the northern coast, and while the southern valleys are still hot, they are much drier and thus more bearable. We didn't visit the Pacific Coast or the Amazon, but I imagine those regions would be scorching as well.


Animals and Insects

Dogs
Although dogs are abundant throughout Mexico and Central America, nowhere had we seen more of them than in Colombia. Every farmhouse has numerous guard dogs that love to bark and chase, and some cities had stray packs wandering around (though the free dogs are usually not aggressive). Our strategies for dealing with them remained the same as always.
- If the dog is small and chasing, keep riding and, if it gets too close, attempt to kick it. The side kick can throw you off balance, so practice before you need it!
- If the dog is big and barking but not chasing, keep riding and try to get out of its territory before it starts chasing or another dog comes out and instigates aggressive behavior.
- If the dog is big and chasing, stop riding and appear aggressive (yell, throw rocks, pretend to pick up and throw rocks, whip around a stick, squirt it with a water bottle, etc). If it retreats, ride away. If it continues to chase, dismount, keeping the bike between you and it, and slowly walk out of its territory while continuing your aggressive actions.

Don't expect the owners to be of any help in ridding their pesky pets from your heels. Even when they try and take action, their dogs aren't trained and usually don't respond. The more helpful owners would come out waving a stick or sometimes even join us in throwing rocks at their dogs. Yes, that's right, people throwing rocks at their own dogs.

Though dogs can be intimidating, don´t let their presence scare you away from riding through a certain area. If we've learned anything about ¨man´s best friend,¨ it's that they are huge scaredy-cats (scaredy-dogs?). If you're still in doubt, just wait for the first time you squirt a ferocious rottweiler with your water bottle and watch it slink away, terrified. It's empowering. The steps above are precautions just in case we encounter that rare dog that actually would bite us if we ignored it.

Farm Animals
We often camped in fields, which in many cases meant we were competing with other farm animals for the space. Here are a few pieces of advice.
1) Cows do not necessarily sleep at night. Don't be surprised to wake up and find them munching next to your tent. Cows never stepped on our bikes, but it's worth putting the bikes upright against a fence if you have the option.
2) Roosters are everywhere. Get used to them or bring earplugs. They'll start serenading you long before the sun rises.
3) Dogs hate tents possibly as much as they hate cyclists. Try to put your tent out of view of the dogs if you don't want them barking at you all night.

Ants
Although we have seen various species of ants throughout Central America, it was only in Colombia that we encountered a species that was determined enough to eat through our tent to get to the bread we had. This could be random bad luck, but after that we kept all food outside the tent and in ant-proof bags.

Mosquitos
We visited at the beginning of the rainy season and, other than a few bites here and there, had no issues with bugs. The U.S. Center for Disease Control reports malaria to be present in all areas below 1,700 meters (5,600 feet) except Cartagena, so we took once-a-week malaria pills when we were in the north.


Safety and Security
Colombia's rather violent history should not deter you from visiting; the country has made huge improvements in recent years. We biked on deserted back roads and on main highways with zero safety issues.
Some travel guides recommend that you don't share your itinerary with anyone, presumably because they will then follow you and do horrible things. As cyclists, it has served us well to do the opposite, to share our route with numerous people and ask them what they think. Most of what we hear is totally useless -- many people rarely leave their home town -- but if we start to recognize some patterns (such-and-such area has great cheese, such-and-such area is dangerous, etc), there may be some truth behind it.

Traffic
Colombians love motorcycles. This is rather nice on main roads, since there are fewer cars, but things can get a bit crazy in cities. Don't expect them to obey the laws or give you any space.


Road Choice
Most roads we found in Colombia were in poor shape. Main roads were usually paved but often had rough sections. Construction was widespread, so in just a few years, I would expect all main roads and some back roads to be paved. Hopefully with the road work comes more gradual road grading, as many mountain roads are very steep.

Toll Roads
Usually paved, sometimes with a good shoulder. Toll booths always have a side lane for motorbikes and bicycles. Ride on through!

Other Roads
Variable surface, guaranteed adventure.

This road, near Arcabuco, filled our adventure quota for the day