Cartagena: Muddy Madness

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After reading so much about the picturesque, multicoloured colonial buildings lining the narrow streets of the old town of Cartagena, we were excited to take a look for ourselves. We arrived in the old town after driving through one of the many arches which are cut into the huge city wall. The wall is decorated with hundreds of cannons which were once used to stave off unwelcome invaders in the 1600's. Once we had managed to battle with the rather rude staff of the hostel we were staying in, we got settled in then set off for a walk around the city. After a quick wander around town and a bite to eat we were back at the hostel to get showered and dressed in preparation for a couple of sundowners at the famous Cafe del Mar (no relation to the Ibiza one as far as we are aware). The bar is situated on top of the old city wall and provides great views of the old town, new city in the far distance and the sun as it sets slowly into the Caribbean. With drinks being about five times the normal local price, we bought a beer each and slowly nursed it to make sure it lasted until sunset. Having been warned about genuine police officers robbing tourists who look a little tipsy at night, we finished our drinks and cautiously made our way back to the hostel and went to bed.

The next morning we were up and about to visit a nearby volcano. As you will most probably know by now, Gem and Sulphur don't go together too well, so she was a little apprehensive. However, there was nothing to worry about as this was no ordinary volcano; instead of plumes of toxic sulphur and needing crampons to climb up, it was full of cool, silky, nutrient rich mud and only required a few steps to get you to the top. After being told of the great things that can come from bathing in the mud, we were looking forward to stripping off, diving in and waiting for the magic to happen.

After arriving at the volcano, we got changed into our swimming cossies, gave our cameras to the 'cameraman' and made our way up the rickety wooden steps which led up to the summit. Four other busses had arrived just before us, so you can probably imagine how crammed this tiny little volcano and mud bath soon became. Being literally the last two people in the queue, we put the thoughts of what the hell might have just been left in the mud to the back of our minds and hopped in once the coast was clear. It was such a bizarre and hilarious sensation which only got stranger once we got inside and were pulled across for a mud massage from one of the local men (however the guy messaging Gem seemed to enjoy it more than her). Massage complete, we bobbed around inside for a while, mostly in fits of hysterics. With our time up, we had to get out and prepare ourselves for our next experience...being washed in a lake by the local ladies. Slipping and sliding all over the place, we made it down to the lake, where we were each paired up with a local lady and helped to wash all the mud off. However, it came as a bit of a surprise when they stripped us both fully naked and started washing our cossies too!! Luckily the water was pretty murky and our modesty remained intact.

Cleaned and dried off, we got dressed jumped back on the bus and drove to a nearby beach restaurant where we would have lunch and go for a swim. We met two Irish guys on the trip who we chatted to over a delicious local lunch of a whole grilled fish, fried plantain, beans and coconut rice. We decided to give a swim in the sea a miss and instead just sat on the beach and chilled out in the sun. Before we knew it, the show was over and it was time to make our way back into town where we were dropped off at our hostel. It was a very strange way to spend a morning, but was bloody good fun!

That afternoon, we took another stroll around town, this time a little further afield and saw more of the main squares and numerous churches and cathedrals doted about. As we were walking around, in the distance we heard the banging of drums and saw what we initially thought was a street parade. It soon became apparent that it was in fact a bride, groom and whole load of others marching through the streets after getting married...the bride was lapping it up (she actually seemed like a bit of a plonker to us)! Once the fanfare had passed we decided to go and grab a bite to eat and get ready for a few drinks in town later that evening.

As we were heading out, we bumped into the two Irish guys from our trip earlier in the day, so went for a few drinks with them. We sat outside a bar playing music so loud inside that going to the toilet felt like a health and safety hazard. Luckily outside was pretty chilled and didn't require ear protection (In our 20's and we already sound like pensioners!). With a great atmosphere around town and the continual sounds of horses hooves clattering the cobbled streets, it was a really nice evening. With bars beginning to call last orders, we headed back to the hostel at a very civilised hour and conked out.

On the morning we were due to catch our flight out of Colombia, it suddenly dawned on us that after nearly three and a half months of being in South America, we were leaving for good and heading to North America. Even though we weren't going home, it still felt slightly emotional and we were sad to be leaving.

Despite all the horrendous stories that we all hear from various places across South America, we had made it without a single problem or any apparent danger. Our fingers were crossed that we would be ok in North and Central America.

With flights from South to Central America being so incredibly expensive, we decided to save ourselves some money and take stopover in Miami before catching another flight on to Mexico. What an expensive decision that turned out to be...

After an incredible experience in South America it was finally time to bid farewell and say hello to North America. Next stop... Miami.

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