Dec 31st (New Years Eve), Cartegena, Colombia to Medellin, Colombia – 800km on route 25

Neither Isaac nor I thought much of New Years Eve, or celebrating it. We decided to say goodbye to the English dudes and head for Medellin (the cocaine capital of the world when Pablo Escobar ruled the global cocaine industry). If we made it out that night, okay, if not, no big deal.

We ended up getting out of the hostel around 7am. There were a ton of check points right out of the gates. At one of them an older guy with horrible teeth and a dodgy uniform tried to make us pay for vehicle insurance. One of the younger guys took pity on us and let us go. Other people asked for it but no tickets were issued.

The military presence on the road was amazing. This was very comforting yet alarming at the same time. Why did they need such a strong military presence?

My family wasn’t exactly excited about me visiting Colombia. I was confident that if all the other travelers that we met had made it through this country with nothing but good things to say then we would be able to do the same. I did visit the US State Department website after a tearful relative urged me not to go to Colombia. Colombia is the only country on my trip that made it on the State Departments travel advisory list. Needless to say the State Department does not encourage travel to Colombia. I saw absolutely no recent activity in the kidnapping department, only unorganized crimes that are prevalent in most large cities around the world.

That being said, Isaac and I had an amazing ride. Beautiful country side, roads, and signs. Everything was just as nice as the States. There was perfectly manicured farmland, brand new fencing, great restaurants on the side of the road, state of the art gas stations. Not at all what I expected.

Isaac and I on the road in Colombia

Road

We made it into Medellin just before dark. I wanted to stay at a place a buddy of mine recommended called Casa Kiwi, supposedly very biker friendly. Unfortunately I didn’t have a phone number or an address, dufus. So Isaac and I parked our bikes in a business district sort of area, and started the search. Isaac was on the phone trying to get some info and I was hailing cabs to see if they had heard of the hostel.

After about an hour of this a car pulled over to me as I was still hailing cabs. An attractive Colombian woman rolled down the passenger side window and asked me in Spanish if we needed any help. Before I could respond she asked again in English! I was dumfounded by our good luck! Natalie and her Husband hector had bikes like ours and wanted to help us find the hostel we were looking for. We were in the parking of Casa Kiwi in after about twenty minutes. It would have taken us hours to find it. It was nowhere near where we were and it would have been very tricky translating directions. Buenos suerte!

Hector and Natty drop us off and asked us to call them in the morning for a motorcycle ride.

At Casa Kiwi they are in full on New Years Eve festivities mode. My friend Steve recommended this place because he actually logged a ton of miles with the owner Paul. Paul is a young American motorcyclist that loved Colombia, more specifically Medellin, so much that he moved here and opened up a hostel. He is super busy with the New Years plans but takes the time to have a chat and get us a cool apartment for the price of the dorms (there was reservations mix up). Paul and Casa Kiwi are great. With a garage and fun atmosphere I would definitely recommend it to motorcycle travelers and backpackers alike.

Isaac took a nap and didn’t wake up until the next day. I went to investigate the New Years buffet. I ate, had a beer and went to bed. Happy New Year! It was a long day on the road.

Welcome beers at Casa Kiwi in Medellin

Jan 1 st, MedellinColombia

We called Natty and Hector in the late morning and made plans to meet at Casa Kiwi. Hector and Natty came with their friends Luis and Natty. All four bikes and six people got some gas and took off on a tour of Medellin.

These two couples were great! Isaac and I had a blast riding with them. They took us all over the amazing countryside. Stopping for little food treats all over the place. The running joke for the day was that everything was free for gringos! They wouldn’t let Isaac or I pay for anything!

Our first stop was an overlook of this bustling city.

Isaac, Hector, Natalie, Luis, and myself overlooking the city of Medellin

Next we went to a cool house up in the mountainous farmlands. It was a gathering of family and friends complete with kids, dogs, and a soccer ball. It was just what we needed without knowing it.

Having no family or friends around really dampens the holidays, at least for me. I would rather the holiday just go away for the sheer inconvenience of trying to get things done when I am traveling.

We played with the dogs and hung out with everyone. It was a lot of fun, great food, fun company. Isaac and I were definitely in the “holy shit this is perfect”, kind of mind frame.

After that we got some frozen yogurt (free for gringos) and hung out for awhile. There we met Jorge on another BMW. Now there were five bikes and seven people.

Backyard BBQ for New Years Day

For dinner we stopped at a pretty normal looking restaurant. The food, however, was out of this world and very reasonably priced. It really helps when in foreign lands to have locals get you going in the right direction!

Everything was great. But the Arepas, sliced open with some fresh farm cheese and a shallot hot sauce was unbelievable. Again free for gringos! I ate them until my esophagus was full. I will return to Medellin for many reasons. And the Arepas are one of them.

Absolutely stuffing my face with the best arepas I have ever had

A Pile of helmets

We made our way back down into the city to check out the Christmas lights that they hang up over the river. It’s tough to get a good feeling of what this looks like by the pictures but it is really impressive. A river runs along the base of the valley that the city is built in. The lights are strung up over the water as far as you can see in both directions. Apparently it is done from scratch every year and they sell/donate the lights to another city the following year.

The Christmas lights of Medellin

Clockwise – Luis, Natty, Jorge, Isaac, Hector, Natty, and me

We stop at a bar one block from the hostel for a beer. Café Amazonia. We make plans with Luis and Natty the next day. Luis wants to help Isaac and I get some service and parts for our bikes.