{"id":31322,"date":"2018-04-15T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-04-15T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.besabine.com\/honda-cruise-the-rio-magdalena-and-discover-colombia-from-the-water\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T14:45:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T19:45:53","slug":"honda-cruise-the-rio-magdalena-and-discover-colombia-from-the-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.besabine.com\/en\/honda-cruise-the-rio-magdalena-and-discover-colombia-from-the-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Honda: cruise the R\u00edo Magdalena and discover Colombia from the water"},"content":{"rendered":"

My Colombia wishlist always included that hot city in the middle of the country. That city where almost no foreign tourist comes, but which should be very special. I’m talking about Honda: the transportation hub of Colombia. Together with my parents, I step in Zipaquir\u00e1<\/strong><\/a> on the bus to arrive 5 hours later and nauseated from the terrible hairpin route in the totally unknown Honda. Soon we find out how special this town really is. Not only that: in fact, it is also fantastically beautiful. The surprise of Colombia and an absolute must-see if you want to travel off the beaten path!<\/strong> In this series, I will take you through Honda and introduce you to a downtown that is not inferior to Cartagena, walk through the ghost part of the city and visit interesting museums. But first, we sail down Colombia’s main river. The mother of the country. I am talking, of course, about the R\u00edo Magdalena. Like us, hop in a rickety little boat and discover Colombia from the water! <\/p>\n

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The R\u00edo Magdalena<\/h2>\n
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Colombia’s main river is 1540 kilometers long and runs through as many as 11 of the country’s departments. Namely Magdalena, Atl\u00e1ntico, Bol\u00edvar, Cesar, Antioquia<\/strong><\/a>, Santander<\/strong><\/a>, Boyac\u00e1<\/strong><\/a>, Cundinamarca<\/strong><\/a>, Caldas, Tolima and Huila<\/strong><\/a>. The river begins in the Andean mountains of Huila and empties into the Caribbean Sea near Barranquilla. As far as Honda, the river is navigable by large ships, but the river continues past San Agust\u00edn<\/strong><\/a>. Its main tributary is the R\u00edo Cauca and its total basin covers 24% of the country. The areas along the river are home to 80% of Colombia’s population. Something that already indicates how important this river is to the country. <\/p>\n\n\t\t