Cartels and Condors Tour
Join overland adventurer Gerry Mulligan on an epic trip through South America in his 300Tdi Defender 110. This month: Colombia and Ecuador
Overland adventurer embarks on an epic trip through South America in his Defender 110
Iam no stranger to remote mountain roads in far-off places. In 2018 I travelled the ancient Silk Road to Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan and Iran, in my converted 1996 Defender. Regular readers may remember reading about that 'Roof of the World Tour' in the November 2019 edition of LRM. The objective for my next adventure was to go higher still, with a six-month trek down the spine of the Andes in South America — from the very north to the southern tip of the continent and back in time for carnival and Brazil. This latest expedition started in September 2019 in Colombia and finished just after carnival in March 2020, just days before COVID-19 lockdown in Argentina. There’s a lot to tell you about, but, first, let me tell you a bit more about the all-important vehicle for the trip... Nelson started life as a standard farmer’s wagon. I chose it for its low-mileage 300Tdi power and an apparently clean chassis. Sadly for me neither of those things panned out, and it now has a new galvanised chassis, new Ashcroft gearbox and a new engine.
The choice of a 300Tdi was to avoid the complexity of engine electronics and yet have decent torque. The only non-standard part of the drivetrain is a couple of air-activated Ashcroft locking differentials, front and rear. This combination has proved very competent from steep rocky roads to soft sand beaches; so far we have never been stuck in more than two years on some of the toughest terrain in the world.
Modifications to make Nelson a comfortable home for six months at
a time included a pop-top Icarus roof tent from Alucab in South Africa, Tuff Trek awning with sides, a Front Runner opening side window and internal cupboards, sink, stove and fridge by Coastline Campers.
Underslung water and long-range fuel tanks keep the centre of gravity low and are complemented by side lockers for tools and gas bottles to make a very compact package on the road. The addition of heating, solar panel and triple battery system keeps all the electric gadgets charged.
The set-up expands to a comfortable home, but it is still possible for two adults to sleep through the big winds of Patagonia with the roof down. It was designed to fit into a standard shipping container, making transporting it secure and cost-effective. Packing for a six-month trip is a delicate balance between keeping weight down and having all the critical spares.
I also spent many evenings making up a detailed route plan with distances, timing, sightseeing and camping options. The other vital preparation was learning to speak Spanish — which was to prove especially useful in the remote villages, where the people spoke only Spanish and their local language.
Columbia
My adventure began in the sweltering heat of northern Colombia, in the coastal city of Cartagena. There was a scary moment when they could not find the container in one port, but finally it was located in the city’s other port. I recovered Nelson from his container and drove off in the middle of a tropical rainstorm.
I spent the next few days camped on a sandy beach, unpacking the Landy and getting organised for the sixmonth trip. In the heat of the tropics, the three Bora boat fans created a welcome cooling breeze all night, with the combination of the solar panel and high-capacity Lithium battery system well up to the task of running both them and the fridge.
Eventually, I set off into the interior of Colombia along mud-crusted roads, climbing ever upward into the Andes. The roads were not well used, and I had to clear a few fallen trees to make progress. Gauchos and their horses made for some unusual traffic hazards and amusing scenes along the way.
Clinging to the sides of the hills were cobbled villages, each with an almost-identical village square, church, police station and council office. They were the best places to find empanadas for lunch, while I practised my Spanish skills on the locals. It was lovely to end the day with a sunset at high altitude, looking down on the clouds from above.
In the capital city of Bogota, I was joined by the first of my five co-pilots for the trip — my friend Errol Wright, who two years earlier had converted Nelson by adding the Alu-cab
"One of the advantages of the overlanding community is the excellent support we give to each other while travelling"
roof and interior cupboards. Now we were setting about crossing the Andes to Medellin on narrow roads that would be considered farm tracks in the UK — with the considerable difference of driving up above the clouds and the hazard of cowboys in the mist. Along the way, we were able to find lots of beautiful wild camps and friendly villages.
The contrast between the little roads crossing the mountains and the massive graffiti-covered cities was extreme. Everywhere was buzzing with life and good humour. Colombia has done a great job of rejuvenation; the drug trade and the violence of the past are very much behind it. We felt very safe everywhere, and the people were friendly.
In Colombia, most of the roads away from the main highways would qualify in the UK as greenlanes, which you can drive for days on end. Many were very narrow, small rivers flowed over them, and often they were so rutted that we engaged low ratio to make progress.
It took ten days to make our way down to the border with Ecuador. The roads were slow but with amazing views and 3000m climbs some days. We developed a very cautious driving style, keeping the revs around 2500 rpm and boost down about 0.5 bar to ensure that the engine was operating in its sweet spot. With this technique on the steeper hills, we just had to grind it out uphill at 25 km/h, with breaks every couple of hours to let everything cool down. This protective driving was supported by regular maintenance checks to keep Nelson running smoothly despite the punishment.
Just a day later we drove past vast lakes, then found ourselves in the heat of the Tatacoa Desert, weaving in deep ravines in a strange, water-worn landscape — an almost unbelievable change in climate and landscape in only 100 miles.
Ecuador
We were heading towards Ecuador with trepidation. The country was in the middle of violent anti-government protests and all the main cities had been closed down by barricades.
Our friends on the road ahead were all holed up in safe campgrounds; a few that tried moving had their tyres slashed or were pelted with rocks. In one of those great bits of luck and timing, that became a signature of this trip, the protesters and the government came to a peace settlement just four
"The contrast between the little roads crossing the mountains and the massive graffiti-covered cities was extreme"
days before we arrived and we were able to make our way into Ecuador without problem. Even the famous market in Otavalo was open for business.
Ecuador proved to be a land of fantastic colour and contrasts, from steamy jungle rivers feeding the mighty Amazon at only 400m above sea level to the snow-covered 5897m Cotopaxi volcano. Extreme changes in temperature, vegetation and road conditions were encountered almost every day.
On our way to the jungle the main road bridge was blocked and we ended up making a 500km detour to get around the broken bridge, which took us to a camp at the base of the volcano at 4000m. In the morning by the bridge we had been in a humid 35 degrees C jungle heat; at night we were just below the snow line with the onboard diesel heater needed as the temperature dipped below zero.
We drove up to 4644 m to the snow line of the volcano the next day and spent a day traversing the volcanic wilderness. Over the next few days, we continued our volcano tour by completing the tough Quiloita Loop, which included camping on the edge of a flooded volcano at 4300 m.
Finally, back in the jungle, we took a boat ride up the Amazon, learned to make chocolate, saw parrots and warmed up after the cold of the high altitude.
If you are looking for days of unspoilt wild trails, incredible variety of weather and vegetation, city culture and stunning natural sights, then Colombia and Ecuador should be high on your list. We spent our final days in Ecuador in the capital, Cuenca, before heading for the Pacific coast and the mountain wilderness of Peru. I’ll tell you all about it next month.