Where's Andrew

CARTAGENA & SANTA MARTA, COLOMBIA - JUL 16 - JUL 27




Mitch, Andrew, Carolina, Thierry & Ian in the Old City

When Corto arrived in Cartagena on Monday the 16th, we were not able to clear customs because it was so late and Sebastian keeps our passports to bring to customs in the morning. So, the next day, all of us passengers spend the morning exploring the old part of Cartagena within the old city walls. Then we meet Sebastian and Angelica in the afternoon at the customs office to get our passports back. Max is staying at a different hotel and we don't see him again after we leave customs.

That evening, Carolina, Mitch, Thierry, Radek, Ian and I meet up with Angelica and Sebastian for drinks. They are both so relaxed when they are not working and it was nice that they also enjoyed our company after our 5 day sailing adventure.

Thierry, Carolina and Mitch Heading to the Beach

On Wednesday July 18th, Carolina, Mitch, Thierry and I head to the local beaches of Cartagena. It is so hot and humid here; during the day the temperature gets into the mid to high 30ies (Celsius) and at night it only cools down a few degrees. If the breeze stops, the humidity just makes you sweat even if you are just sitting doing nothing. So, a few hours at the beach is great however we are constantly harassed by venders on the beach. The worst are women wanting to give you a massage. They will just start putting lotion on you and start massaging no matter how many times you say no. Eventually they stop the message but there is a non-stop stream of them every 10 minutes or so which gets pretty annoying.

Castillo San Felipe de Barajas

In the mid afternoon, Mitch and I decide to go explore the Spanish fort called Castillo San Felipe de Barajas. It is the largest Spanish fort in the Americas and is very well preserved. Cartagena had quite an interesting past. It was basically destroyed twice by attacking forces including once by Sir Francis Drake in 1586. The largest attack was by Sir Edward Vernon in 1741. He besieged Catagena for over 5 months before the invaders finally gave up and left. The leader of the Spanish was Blas de Lezo who only had 1 leg and 1 arm and is famous for rallying the Spanish defenders.

That evening, we meet up at our hostel, Mamallenas, for drinks after dinner. Everyone is there including Sebastian and Angelica. The hostel next door, Media Luna, has a live band playing in the bar and it is supposed to be the best party in town on Wednesday's. At first we are just drinking beer but the dark rum soon comes out and we quickly polish down a couple of bottles. It's a big night for our last night in Cartagena. I almost sleep through the check-out time of 11:00AM which is by far the latest I have slept in the morning on this whole trip. I'm not really sure what time I got to bed the night before.

Santa Marta Sea Walk

Carolina is staying in Cartagena as she is flying to Brazil in a few days but Mitch, Thierry, Radek, Ian and I are all catching a bus to Santa Marta. Santa Marta is the 3rd largest port in Colombia and is about 4 hours east of Cartagena. We are planning to stay the night then head to Tayrona National Park just an hour away on the coast. We have to take a taxi from the hostel to the bus terminal. It ends up being a 50 minute drive and the taxi driver drives as if he is a rally driver. We narrowly miss wagons being pulled by donkeys, motorcycles, scooters, other taxis, buses, trucks and cars not to mention pedestrians. Our driver was constantly passing anything that was going slower than us which was basically everything. Often he was passing even though there really was no room to pass and his horn was almost constantly being honked. It was like being in some crazy video game. Somehow we get to the bus station in one piece and buy what we believe are direct tickets to Santa Marta but about 3 hours into our ride, we are suddenly dumped of the bus in some small town and told we need to catch a different bus from here to Sanata Marta. This type of thing is a common occurrence when travelling but luckily the Santa Marta bus comes within a few minutes and we get there just before dark.

During our bus ride from Caratgena, we drove on a new narrow highway along the coast with the ocean on one side and a large estuary on the other. This estuary is huge, it goes on for 15kms or so and it heads inland many kms. When the road was built a few years ago, they completely cut off the estuary from the ocean which had devastating effects on the wildlife and marine life in the estuary. The government is now raising part of the highway to reconnect the ocean to the estuary in an attempt to repair the damage done to the estuary. 

Thierry, Ian and Radek on the Tayrona Trails

Tayrona Park is only accessible by foot and you either camp there or sleep in a hammock available at the campsites. We are warned that food is expensive, so we buy some groceries that evening. I buy food for lunches, breakfast and 1 dinner, it's hard to buy much when there is no refrigeration or coolers. We are up early the next day to catch the 7:00AM bus to the park. We want to get there early to ensure we get a hammock and it is Friday and this weekend is a long weekend because it is Colombia's Independence Day on Monday. We have all left our main packs at the hostel and have only brought our day packs with just enough clothes for 2 days.

Start of Trail to Tayrona Park

Thierry, Radek and Ian and catch the 7:00AM bus to the park. Mitch is with a girl from Germany, another girl from Switzerland and a guy from England but they miss the early bus. The bus drops us off at the park entrance. There is already a short lineup at the park's ticket booths. We are 4th in line but we wait over 40 minutes to get to the front of the line. It takes the park staff so long to process each group of park visitor's. I'm finding out that the pace of getting things done is the same in South America as it was in Central America. The entrance fee is about $20US and by the time we leave, the line-up behind us stretches far back to the road. I can't imagine how long the wait is from the back of the line, it must be hours. It's about a 3 hour walk to get to the beaches and campsites. The first 5kms is along a dirt road and then we come to a parking area where the trail begins and it's another 7 or 8kms to the beaches. Many people will opt to hire a horse to take them to the beach but we walk.

Beach Near oOur Campsite

It's sunny, hot and humid but at least the trail is in the shade. It's a nice hike to the the beach. The trail goes up over a small ridge before slowing descending to the beach. We finally get to a large campsite and we are all hot and sweaty and just want to find us place to stay so we go and reserve our hammocks ($6US per night). Thierry and I head down to the Playa Arrecifes which is 500m down the trail. This beach is beautiful but treacherous, over 100 people have died here swimming and I can see why. There is a large surf with a severe break very close to shore. There is supposed to be a bad riptide as well so the beach is closed to swimming. We head back to the campsite and find Ian and Radek napping in the hammocks which seems like a great idea and I have a nice nap too.

Sunset at Tayrona

Later that afternoon, we head back to the beach and head west along the shore. We come to Playa La Piscina (The Pool) which is an awesome beach protected by reefs and is perfect for swimming. We head back to the campsite just before sunset hoping to see Mitch and his friends but there is no sign of them. We have dinner around 6:30PM as it gets dark. The campsite is very busy, mostly with Colombians, many in large groups. After dinner we head to the main eating area for a few beers but they are expensive so we only have a couple. I decide to go read a book in my hammock. So, I climb in and put on my headlamp. Within a minute I am being attacked by huge moths attracted to my light and they basically fly right into my face and are 10 to 12cms wide. I quickly realize reading is not an option and turn off my light. There is a breeze blowing that night and it is surprisingly cold. The only thing I have to keep me warm is my beach towel. This is the first time I've been anywhere close to cold on my whole trip.

Our Accommodations at Tayrona

At first, the hammock seem very comfortable but a night in a hammock is very uncomfortable and I am happy to get up at sunrise. The boys are up a couple hours later and we decide to head farther down the coast to where some more beaches and campsites are located. After about an hour hike, we come across a large campsite right beside the beach. There is even a soccer field there right beside the beach. There is a building built on top of a rocky point that has hammocks and the view of the ocean is incredible. There are also a series of beautiful beaches that are all good for swimming. We spend a nice day relaxing on the beach and soon find Mitch and his friends.

They like the campsite location but it is so crowded that you need to line up for everything including the bathrooms. The price is also double the cost of our site so they end up coming back with us to our campsite just before sunset. I spoil myself that night and buy a nice dinner at the restaurant and we hang out that evening having a few beers.

Beach at Tayrona

Again I'm up early the next morning even though some of the parties in the campsite lasted pretty late. By 9:00AM we are hiking back out of the park and then catch a bus back to Santa Marta and the hostel where are big packs are. We are there by 2:00PM and I spend the afternoon exploring Santa Marta. The promenade along the ocean front is packed with Colombians enjoying the long weekend. But, the town is a typical port town and after being propositioned by local prostitutes about 5 times, I head back to the hostel just as Ian and Radek are leaving to go to a small town an hour from Santa Marta in the foothills called Minca.

The next day, Thierry, Mitch and I catch a bus back to Catagena. We plan to stay for a few days the before going to Medellin and we stay in El Viajero Hostel right in the old town. When we arrive, Thierry sends Carolina an e-mail and we hook up with her and Angelica for dinner. The timing is perfect as Carolina is flying to Brazil that evening and it's nice to see her once more before she leaves. I am hoping to meet up with her again in Buenos Aries or Brazil if her job interview goes well. We book flights to Medellin for Friday which means we don't have a 16 hour bus ride but the funny thing is that the flight costs $28US and the bus costs about $40US so its cheaper to fly.

Nothing Like a Mud Bath

On Wednesday the 25th, Thierry, Mitch and I go on a tour to the Volcan del Totumo. This really is not a traditional volcano but is a volcanic mud bath. The top of the crater is about 20m high and is 10m across but is supposed to be 500m deep. We climb to the top of the crater and get in and guys quickly cover us in mud. The mud is amazingly buoyant and if you remain upright, the mud only comes up to your mid chest. The mud bath is kind of a weird experience but I really liked it and I paid a guy to take some pictures. We all got a message in the crater and some Colombian women were waiting for us once we got out to help clean off the thick mud in the lake next to the mud bath.

Cartagena

That evening, we once again go to the big weekly party at Media Luna Hostel. I finally run out of gas about 1:30AM while Mitch and Thierry have their sites set on a couple of Swiss girls and stay. It's a short walk back to the hostel but I finally run out of luck and get robbed. I'm crossing a main road a couple blocks from the hostel when 2 cops on motorcycles pull up. They want to search me and ask me to empty my pockets. As one of the cops keeps me busy talking, I turn just as the other cop is taking a 50,000 Peso bill out of my wallet and slips it in his pocket. It's only worth about $25US and what am I supposed to do, call for the cops? So, I just pretend I did not see him take it and they give me my stuff back and I go to the hostel. The next day, the hostel is full of stories of about 6 or 7 other people getting robbed by the same 2 cops.

On our last full day in Cartagena, it is even hotter than usual so we head to the beach. Once again, there is a non-stop barrage of vendors selling everything imaginable including Colombia's #1 crop. Mitch and I make the mistake of getting a massage, it's very good but the volume of vendors that come by us just increases. We have all learned that the most important thing to be able to say in Spanish is "No Gracias."

I've really enjoyed my first 10 days in Colombia. The country is beautiful and it is so much cleaner here than almost all of Central America. You can even drink the water in most parts of the country. Tourism is just starting to return to Colombia after the turmoil associated with the Pablo Escobar era and the robbery aside (which could of easily happened anywhere on my travels), I find it very safe. The locals are still excited to see tourists especially as you get out of the city and it is not unusual for a stranger to come approach you and strike up a conversation. I was considering to stay in Cartagena to take some Spanish lessons but it is just to hot and I will try and find a nice town in the highlands somewhere cooler with no humidity, maybe near Medellin. Other than the beach, aggressive vendors have not been a problem. People we meet in the hostel tell us Medellin is very nice for a large city so I'm excited to finally leave the hot coast behind for a while. The next day we catch a 10:00AM taxi to the airport. It is only a 10 minute drive and we are happy to find that there are not any surprise charges at the airport and our plane leaves at noon and it's just an hour to flight to Medellin. Sure beats the 16 hour bus ride. More on Medellin next time.