Colombian lovers of vintage cars are able to get a rare glimpse of the most sought after beasts on four wheels as 20 classic automobiles are weaving their way through the country on a 7,000-mile odyssey to Tierra del Fuego.
A classic 1953 Bentley, a 1958 Aston Martin and a variety of other beautiful specimens including Mercedes Benz, Porsches, Jaguars and even an old Ford Escort took the walled city of Cartagena de Indias by storm upon their arrival early last week.
Shipped over from the U.K. for “La Gira Andina,” the cars are part of a tour that follows the Andes to Ushuaia, Argentina taking in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.
It’s the latest adventure organized by Global Rally, a U.K.-based organization that has organized similar tours navigating the Mediterranean and a voyage from China to Paris.
In Colombia, the exclusive group’s 7000-mile journey started in Cartagena de Indias against the picturesque backdrop of the famous 1810-built Clock Tower before taking in Aracataca, the sleepy village close to Santa Marta that inspired Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez to write “100 Years of Solitude.”
The Colombian leg of the tour also takes in the colonial towns of Barichara in Santander, Bogota, Popayan and Pasto before heading in to Ecuador.
La Gira Andina is due to finish in Ushuaia in Argentine Patagonia on December 2.