Colombia

Cartagena

15-22 October 2012

The Struggle

Everyone who tried it says that it is both expensive, stressfull and hard work to ship a car across the Darien Gap. And they are absolutely right. The procedure in Panama actually went quite smooth and relatively easy. The hardest part was to get the car out of the port in Cartagena. If you want to do it alone (without an agent) and in one day, you have to run fast!

Here is a couple of pictures from Cartagena, Monday 22 October, the day we finally got Frida back.

Breaking the seal to our container for the customs inspection.

The cars are still there! Here Thomas checking out his Land Rover.

Taking the cars our of the container.

Frida and Thomas’s Land Rover, finally outside again, but still inside the port!

Seven o’clock in the night: The cars have been released from the port and we are ready to go!

The first night we just drove about an hour outside Cartagena. There we found the Ristorante-Pizzeria La Fattoria, run by Salvatore from Italy and his lovely wife from Colombia. We had a pizza and slept outside the restaurant in our cars. The next morning at 04.30, Salvatore and his wife came out with coffee, hot chocolate and sandwiches for us! It was fantastic!!

Salvatore with our pizzas, fresh out of the oven!

We knew that it would be a long way from Cartagena to Medellin but we did not realise it was THAT long. After 16 hours we finally arrived to Medellin and were welcomed into the incredibly guestfree home of Jorge and Mechas. After a good chat, a lot of laughs and a very good glass of Argentinian Shiraz, we crashed on our air mattresses and slept.

Thomas making the last effort with the air mattress after a very very long day!

Medellin

24-25 October 2012

Medellin by night                      

Plaza Botero in front of the Museum of Antioquia

The Museum of Antioquia           

 

The Coffee Triangle of Colombia

26 October 2012