What a great way to arrive in South America. Ludwig, our Captain on the Stahlratte and all the crew were totally on it, but the unloading of bikes proved to be the most tricksy, with a halt in proceedings by Combian customs saying no more bikes were to be out on shore. With seven bikes to go including our Africa Twin, it seemed like we may yet have another night on board the boat but after quite a lot of phone calls and gesticulation from Ludwig, the ropes got re-attached and the bikes continued to be swung on to the shore.

A few days R&R in beautiful Cartagena, one of which involved a tropical storm causing floods which made the national news, and we were on our way. We took the 90A towards Barranquilla along the Carribean coast, not stopping at the crazy mud volcano for a dip in 30+ degree heat, deciding instead on a much needed cool off in the sea, possibly our last dip for a while as we head towards the mountains.

Entering Santa Marta was your standard mayhem with roads diverted, so we took the rough dirt track with the tuktuks and a multitude of mopeds over waiting in line with the cars and buses. We bumped into fellow Stahlratte travelling companions Takaya and Mark so fun travelling in a convoy beckoned. Alas Imogen managed to succumb to a dose of dodgy nosebag so a few days were spent slightly on the edge of the bike seat waiting for the next emergency trip to the baño.

Apparently there has been some shenanigans with the government and the gas stations, so we all filled up from black market side of the road kids with containers of cheap Venezuelan petrol inside drinks containers and old oil bottles. A real South American experience!

In Mompox we took a river trip along Rio Magdalena which was wonderful -

finally we see some amazing wildlife with birds aplenty, but what with Colombia having the greatest number of bird species on the planet we had no clue what we were actually seeing, so we enjoyed it for what it was, a glorious trip through excitingly overgrown water channels with friends and a bottle or two of Aguilla cerveza.

One of our most memorable experiences was stopping on in El Banco near a school. As there were now 6 of us in the bike convoy (all fellow Stahlratte travellers) we caused quite a scene whenever we stopped and this was no exception. The kids came out and the street filled with locals on bikes, parents and teachers, all wanting selfies with us and the kids asking for our autographs which duly filled their school workbooks. A fantastic way to meet locals and engage with the kids.

It was super fun riding with a group, we took roads which we may not have normally taken (and great that there were others to help pick up the bike if anyone took a tumble!) Due to some of the rough roads bouncing us about, our Coleman 533 stove decided to leak petrol, and in cleaning that up, we found our rum had also leaked - a PieRats disaster!

There's some cracking riding to be had in Colombia - the road from San Alberto to Zapatoca was particularly memorable, with twists and hairpins with some stunning views. Top tip: if you're in Zapatoca, take the track to Los Guanes mirador which gives you one of the best views in Colombia across the canyons plus BBQ and beers at the top.

We split from Takaya, Mark, Craig and Santiago from the Stahlratte to go via Bogota for needed bike parts at the Honda Service workshop. We stopped en route at Laguna de Guatavita, the lake sacred to the Muisca peoples and home of the legend of El Dorado. The lake turns a spectacular emerald colour when the sun hits it and you can understand why it was seen as a special place.

A few days was spent exploring the capital whilst the bike was being looked after with new chain, sprockets, rear bearings (yes, again!) soldering of our shonky non-Honda indicators, the squeaky rear brake being finally laid to rest, apparently it just needed some serious cleaning, and a general service saw the AT ready to take on South America.

Photos as usual on Imogen Burman-Mitchell's Facebook page.