The start of our motorbike adventure in Colombia - North from Medellin to the Caribbean coast

With our bikes, accessories and gear all ready to go, and having done a few test rides around Medellin, it was time for us to leave the city and start our motorbike adventure around Colombia! 

Our general plan was to head north to the Caribbean coast from Medellin, to make the most of the beaches during the end of the dry season, before the rainy season fully starts.

Comienza el gran viaje!  

Day 1 - Medellin to Liborina.

We had a short distance of 85km for our first day, riding out of the city and into the mountains. We stopped at the lovely towns of San Jerónimo and Sucre on the way for coffees and a stretch. We made it to our hostel in Liborina early afternoon, and we enjoyed the mountain views, and the hostel swimming pool and hot tub - not a bad way to start our trip! 

En route to Necocli:

After a good first day and night, we had an early start to make a detour to visit the wooden suspension bridge at Santa Fe de Antioquia. The bridge was built in the 19th century, and isn’t wide enough for a car - only bikes, tuktuks and pedestrians can cross. 

We had a bit of an issue with a steep hill on the way back to the highway - we had both started up the hill when it was clear, but had to stop abruptly due to a very inconsiderate tul tuk, meaning we had to do a very steep hill start. Neither of us was that well practiced at this point in our journey - so Ash decided to reverse down the hill to get a run up, and I finally managed to get up with the help of a local who went behind and pushed me! We were both a bit embarassed and annoyed, and vowed to do some more hill start practice! 

After crossing the bridge, we drove for 200km through the mountains to Mutata, where we had an overnight stop. There wasn’t much to see or do in Mutata, we had planned to go swimming in the river but weren’t able to as it rained, so we had dinner and got an early night. 

The next day we drive for around 5 hours to get to Necocli, stopping for lunch at a beachside restaurant on the way. Necocli is a small town on the Caribbean coast, with a relaxed vibe and off the usual tourist trail, we really liked it. We stayed at a lovely hostel run by Nancy - who was a great host and really looked after us. We hadn’t thought to book a room with aircon, but luckily when we arrived there was a room with aircon for us - it was so hot and humid! We spent a few days relaxing in Necocli, visiting the beach and swimming in the sea. 

We were planning to go on a boat trip to a beach close to the Panama border - Sapurzo, but when we went to buy a ticket we learned that they were sold out in advance to refugees wanting to flee Colombia. We were saddened to learn that in recent years Necocli has had a huge refugee problem in that thousands of people fleeing countries like Venezuela and Haiti (amongst many others) arrive in Necocli looking to cross the border into Panama and go onto the US. Necocli is very close to the Panama border (just a short boat ride), and people attempt to cross through the Darien gap, across Central America and Mexico and into America. However, not everyone who arrives can afford the boat crossing, or the extortionate fees ‘guides’ charge to cross the Darien gap, leaving thousands of people stranded in Necocli. We saw people sleeping on the beach and in the streets and we were sad to see the desperate situation the people were in. We also learnt that the refugees were negatively impacting local people, not just in terms of safety but also thinks like fresh water - which is scarse in Necocli and stretched to it's limit with the influx of so many people. 

San Bernardo del Viento:

After a few days relaxing in Necocli, we drove 225km along the coast to the small village San Bernardo del Viento (translated as Saint Bernard of the wind!). We stayed in a cabana on the beach for a few days, with a lovely view of the sea. We enjoyed a day relaxing on the beach, and in the swimming pool. 


Rincón del Mar:After a week on the road we made it to our first proper stopping point - Rincon del Mar. Rincon is a small, local, laid back village on the sea, and has yet to be discovered by tourism. We stayed at a lovely hostel close to the beach. We spent a few days in Rincon, and we went on a boat trip  to the San Bernardo archipelago islands, and spent some time on the Rincon beach. 
We also did a bioluminescence tour in a lagoon at night time which was magical - the bioluminescence was bright and abundant, and watching the stars on the return boat journey was an awesome experience. We both really liked Rincon - it had a nice relaxed laid back vibe, and there wasn’t too much to do so we mostly chilled out. Ash missed having a proper coffee shop (we could only get instant coffee in town!)






Camping on Baru:After a fews days in Rincon de Mar, we drove 140km to the island Baru - a small peninsular close to Cartagena. As we had bought camping gear in Medellin and hadn’t had chance to use it we, we decided to camp to test out the gear we had bought (and we’ve really missed camping!). We stayed at a lovely camping/glamming site, and had our own pitch with sun shade, table and chairs, electricity and fans! The campsite had a private beach with a campfire every night. They even organised a cool box with a delivery of ice from the local village to keep our food cool. 


We decided to visit a nearby beach, Agua Azul, which was nice but full of hawkers trying to sell us things. Ash ended up with a massage and I had my hair braided! Though the beach was nice and the water very clear and warm, we didn’t stay long because it was noisy and busy, and not at all relaxing! 

We managed to get our new tents set up in no time, and all the kit we bought worked out well - the new sleeping mats were very comfortable. The only issue we had was the heat - it was 35 degrees in the day and 28 degrees at night, and even with the fans it was too hot and humid to sleep. Though we enjoyed the few days camping we both agreed we wouldn’t do anymore camping on the carribean coast, and we would wait until we were in a cooler climate! 
Overall, we has a really great first two weeks on the bikes. We had no problems or issues, and everywhere we went the Colombian people were friendly, helpful and interested in our trip. A real highlight for us was the bioluminescence tour, it was truly magical. We really enjoyed the freedom of the bikes, going were we want when we want, and be able to get off the usual tourist trail to see more of Colombia. 
Next stop: Cartagena