Cartagena, Colombia 6 - 10 Sep 2011

After what seemed like a never-ending journey, we stepped off the plane to an extremely hot and humid Cartagena! Like Durban on steroids...seriously sweaty stuff!

We managed to find a taxi with relative ease, all of which are yellow, kind of like New York, but not really!! Small yellow hyundai's!

Derek and I so chuffed with ourselves, only to be delivered to an El Viajero Hotel where they had absolutely no knowledge of our booking!! Slightly panicked and in broken English, the manager explained that we were in fact looking for the El Viajero Hostel. Fortunately they were only a ten minute walk apart! So pleased were we to find our own room, with blasting aircon .. a step closer to bed after 24hrs awake!

Day one's mission was to find a place to learn Spanish. After only a couple hours it became so apparent that without learning Spanish, the next 3 months would not be as enjoyable (think japanese tourists, looking confused and trying to copy what other people are doing in a foreign city... that was Derek and I!!).

Along with finding the best school, we spent the day wondering around the Old Town of Cartagena. Cobbled streets, narrow roads bustling with activity, old delapidated buildings alongside brightly painted, beautiful houses... Cartagena has this charm about it. All of this at the sea's edge.

Derek and I have been enjoying some of the local tastes, fresh fruit juice squeezed in front of you - all different types. Totally what you need on a boiling day - all iced and ready to go.

Talking of drinks... the local Club Colombia beer went down a treat too!

We started our Spanish classes - luckily just the two of us in a class, and Orfarit our teacher was patient enough whilst we got to grips with the basics! The 3 day course was rather expensive, but a worthwhile investment for our trip!

One of the more touristy things we did, was visit the Castillo San Felipe De Barajas, built in 1657 - which was an old castle used to defend Cartagena back in the day. Because of it's position, gave us a good view of the whole of Cartagena and how the city is laid out. (Below is a view of Bocagrande, a suburb of Cartagena, from the top of the Castle)

One thing that hasn't gone unnoticed are the torrential downpours and thunder and lightning! So much so that one night, that has had our fellow backpackers waterskiing on their slops down the paved back yard - after a couple of drinks of course!

Talking about backpackers....hmmm.. am taking a bit of time getting used to the weird and wonderful backpacking folk! You'd laugh at the sights and sounds that we've experienced - if only cameras had caught these moments!


Gosh, another thing having to get used to paying and working out costs .. all in the thousands! you know me and my maths!! Current exchange rate of 1800 colombian pesos to the dollar has had me totally confused and of course had Derek having to explain and work out things for me twice!

Left: A view from the Old Town walls.

Right: Derek in front of the Torre De Roloj - Clock Tower





To end our Cartagena experience on a high note and undoubtedly the highlight for both Derek and I whilst here, was getting to go to the Volcan du Totumo (Mud Volcano)! A steep climb up some steps, with a warm-ish pool of mud welcoming us!
The mud is so thick that you float on top of it and locals massage you with the mud!Being in the mud is the weirdest feeling - you can't touch the bottom, you are just suspended in it!We floated around for a bit, whilst taking in the most incredible views of the surrounding Totumo Lake! Afterwhich we washed ourselves in the Lake. The photos probably best describe it.