playa blanca

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The Carribean sea..blue warm and beautiful...we stayed for one night in an ancient tent, on a beautiful beach. It started to rain about midnight but not enough to drown us. Gavin scampered up a very tall coconut palm and stole a couple for tea when no one was about :> it was very hot there and we both got rather burnt badly, but swimming in the warm turquoise water was joyous.
After a slow boat back to Cartagena, (a good sleep, fan brrring wildly, and 10 cold showers) the next day we took a mini bus to a 25 meter high mud volcano , climbed the rickety stairs and decended into the warm, thick creamy mud. ooo bliss . You cant really move much , you just hang suspended at about shoulder level and cover yourself so just your eyes are visable. The mud shaft is about 250 meters deep!
After about half an hour you heave your mud covered form up the stairs and then walk to the near by tepid lagoon to wash off the evidence.
We stayed another night and Gav went walkabout around the city with some dodgy boys at our hostel to view the interesting night life and drink some cold beer...
Mompos was our next over night stop, still stinking hot, a beautiful old spanish town by a huge river that time forgot, and a cool river boat ride to get there...
And then 24 hours straight , by foot, three wheel motor bike taxi, ute, river boat, mini bus, big coach and then taxi - pheew! to end up in Bogota ( pronounced bog- o- ta!!) Where every thing is expensive!
oh except the Police museum, which was free, with a guided tour in english too! Lots of blood and guts photos, death masks, torture devices, weapons galore (even a selection of muff guns- and I dont mean a muff that keeps your hands warm!!) great relics like blood splashed roof tiles from cartel shoot outs... gav was in gav heaven :>
We must have walked about 10 kms today - arrgh
And Tommorrow.... well we are setting out for the boarder of Ecuador.
Bye for now xxx
Missing everyone very much, love to you all
xxxx Kate and Gav (and squirm monster)

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