We had arrived at the Darien Gap in Panama, where all roads end - requiring travel by air or water to reach Colombia. Our ‘quick, 1-hour flight’ from Panama to Colombia took 19 hours longer than expected, but at least our bicycles survived unscathed. Eventually we arrived in the historic, walled city of Cartagena. From there we cycled across a broad plain whose culture reminded us more of the Caribbean than South America. Airy buildings with thatched roofs lined chocolate-brown waterways and seaside beaches, with vast expanses of green savanna in between. Soaked in sweat from the heat and humidity, we looked forward to the higher elevations and cooler temperatures of the Andes Mountains which lay in our path to the south.