I Hate Boats

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So after a few hours of being on a boat that felt a lot like the batman ride con agua, we arrived in the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama. There are over 100 of these tiny sand islands and the one we stayed at was called "Sanidup". It was absolutely stunning and you could literally walk around the island in under five minutes. We also visited four other islands on a day trip and most of our time was spent swimming, reading books, lying in the sun and eating fresh lobster. The huts we stayed in were very basic; they didn't have a door and the floor was just the sand. During the night the cockroaches, crabs and geckos came out to play. If I remember correctly, a couple of geckos fell off the roof and on to Tanz and Sarah (from France) while they were attempting to sleep- hilarious!! After three nights, we took the batman ride back to Panama City and decided to fly to Cartagena, Colombia that evening.

The old town of Cartagena is what draws all its visitors. It is a beautiful colonial city surrounded by a wall, filled with colourful buildings and on the Caribbean Coast. We didn't do all that much here other than eat, get lost a million times, and visit a mud volcano. The mud pit of this volcano is apparently over 1000m deep, but it is impossible to sink- such a weird sensation. We spent a while in the mud, got massages from the locals and went down to the lake where the local ladies gave us a bath (literally).

Next stop- Taganga, a small coastal village also on the Caribbean Coast. Unfortunately we arrived quite late in the afternoon and it was quite hard to find accommodation. We ended up staying in a cabana on top of a hotel. To get to this cabana we climbed three sets of spindly, narrow wooden stairs and crossed a thin wooden platform. The cabana was so small you couldn't stand, stretch out your legs and it didn't have walls. Nevertheless, the view was really pretty which sort of made us forget these inconveniences. That is until the middle of the night when the wind was so strong it was swaying and felt like it was going to fall down. Needless to say, we found alternative accommodation the next day.

After a few nights in Taganga we took another crazy boat ride to the gorgeous Parque Nacional de Tayrona. From this boat ride, i got bruises on both legs, both arms and my back. A great start to Tandi's 22nd birthday! We stayed in a tent here, and as usual spent our time hanging on the beach. I got her a replica of the fat lady statue found in Plaza de Santo Domingo in Cartagena. We only spent a night here, and then took the crazy boat back to Taganga and the overnight bus to Medellin where we are now. We haven't done all that much as Tanz has come down with the sniffles. Hopefully she will recover before the weekend!

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