South America Fall 2019 - Spring 2020

After a refreshing trip back 'home' we were eager to get back to our journey.  Our first goal: to get the rig (and ourselves) shipped from Panama to Cartagena, Colombia, our port of choice for the South American phase of our plan.  We had created a detailed schedule to chase the best weather possible, through as many countries as possible, over the next two years. It was time to Go Big or Go Home.

Trip Details
From
Panama City, Panama
To
La Union, Valle de Cauca, Colombia
Start Date
Saturday, October 12, 2019
End Date
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Trip Reports

Colorful Cartagena

Date
Saturday. October 12, 2019
From
Colon, Panama
To
Cartagena, Colombia
Welcome to Colombia

After over a year of overland travel through the US, Mexico and Central America, we were now ready for phase two of our most excellent adventure: South...

Santa Marta and the Caribbean Coast

Date
Thursday. October 17, 2019
From
Cartagena, Colombia
To
Palomino, Magdalena, Colombia
Santa Marta

I had long dreamed of visiting northern Colombia's Santa Marta mountains. Its two primary peaks, the snow-capped Pico Bolivar and Pico Colon, reach over 19,000 feet only 34...

La Guajira

Date
Sunday. October 27, 2019
From
Palomino, Magdalena, Colombia
To
Casa Grande Surf Resort, Magdalena, Colombia
Salinas of Manaure

North of Riohacha, the Guajira Peninsula juts like a big fat thumb into the Caribbean sea. It's almost as if Colombia had said, "Enough!" and decided to...

Colonial Colombia, Part One

Date
Sunday. November 03, 2019
From
Casa Grande, Magdalena, Colombia
To
Guatupe, Antioquia, Colombia
Stepping Back in Time

Colombia's long history of colonial occupation dates back to the earliest days of the Spanish exploration of the New World. Although Columbus never set foot on...

Magical Medellin

Date
Monday. November 18, 2019
From
Guatupe, Antioquia, Colombia
To
Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia

Living Large in Laureles

Whenever we visit a bigger city or town, finding a place to camp can be a challenge. We're not really interested in parking on some dead-end...

Colonial Colombia, Part Two

Date
Thursday. December 05, 2019
From
Jardin, Antioquia
To
Salamina, Quindio
Santa Fe de Antioquia

Three hundred years of Spanish occupation endowed Colombia with numerous colonial cities and towns, many of which still retain much of their original character. The Colombian...

The Eje Cafetero

Date
Saturday. December 14, 2019
From
Filandia, Quindio, Colombia
To
La Union, Valle de Cauca
Phenomenal Filandia

Ever since arriving in Colombia, folks had been recommending we visit the Eje Cafetero. And what might that be? Colombia's "Coffee Axis." Akin to California's "Wine Region,"...

Pretty, Peaceful Pijao

Date
Thursday. January 02, 2020
From
La Union, Valle de Cauca
To
Pijao, Quindio
A Surprise Discovery

Usually, the destinations we aim for are fairly well known--a famous city or archeological site, a national park or nature reserve, an historical town (or ten)--and these...

Tolima, Cundinamarca and Santander

Date
Friday. January 10, 2020
From
Pijao, Quindio
To
San Gil, Santander

Over the Hills and Far Away

On our way south to Medellin and then on to Jardin, Jerico, and Finlandia, our original plan had been to continue on to Ecuador...

Colonial Colombia, Part Three

Date
Friday. January 17, 2020
From
San Gil, Santander
To
Socota, Boyoca
Cordillera Oriental

As you no doubt can tell, I really like to drive the back roads. The combination of remote countryside, minimal traffic, and beautiful vistas call to me. I'd...

The Eastern Plains

Date
Tuesday. January 28, 2020
From
Laguna de Venados, Chita, Boyoca
To
San Vincente de Cauguan
Over the Hills and Far Away

When we were considering our route through Boyoca, we had set it up so we could drop to Colombia's vast, eastern plains at a...

South to Ecuador

Date
Friday. February 07, 2020
From
San Vincente de Caguan, Meta
To
Riohacha
Tatacoa Desert

Ever since we arrived in Colombia we'd been hearing about the Tatacoa desert, with its convoluted and eroded landscape, star-filled night skies, and (as we would soon confirm)...

Ecuador

Date
Saturday. February 15, 2020
From
Ipiales
To
Canoa
Into Ecuador

After surviving the Trampolin del Diablo, Colombia's "death road", we were keen to cross into Ecuador. Forty years earlier, I had spent a wonderful three weeks hanging out...