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Published: September 18th 2012
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Pirate Ship
at the wharf 3 Septiembre
We flew from Bogota to Barranquilla, a coast town, then took a 2 hour bus ride to Cartagena, reknowned for its romantic, old cobbled streets and balconies. It reminded me quite a bit of New Orleans.. except way more humid.
We went to a hotel recommended by Lonely Planet, which ended up being really crappy. It was quite expensive, the front desk clerk was rude, and the power went on and off all night. This resulted in the ceiling fan, the only means of cooling ourselves, in being shut off more than half the night, and a miserably hot half-sleep all night.
4 Septiembre
We got up early this morning and switched to a nearby hostel, Mamallena, that had a kitchen and extremely helpful staff (and was cheaper). We explored the town, admiring the plants drooping from the balconies and enjoying the salty air.
Took a long walk down from the Getsemani area we were staying in to the high-class zone of Cartagena, to enjoy a nice white sand beach and cool ourselves in the water. We spent the day chilling on the beach and built a sand castle in a crude (best
we could do) imitation of Helm's Deep. While we played in the surf, the sun began to set, it started to rain, and a double rainbow appeared. It was AWESOME!!
We walked back to our hostel in the pouring rain, which felt quite good, considering the heat still had not dissipated.
5 Septiembre
Today we hopped on a tour to a nearby town, which boasted the highest mud volcano in Colombia. Yes, mud volcano. From what we gathered, it used to be a real volcano, but it then just started spurting mud and gas. On the way we got in our first car wreck in South America, a little fender bender with the cab that was in front of us (our driver just did not stop). We met a great couple and chatted with them the whole way.
The mud volcano was 15m high, and occasionally belched sulfuric gases. The guide told us that the mud helped with a variety of problems, but mostly we were just excited to get really dirty. Climbing up to the top, we lowered ourselves in. I never would have guessed how it felt. The mud was silky smooth, warm, and a
very interesting consistency. You could lay on the top of it and it felt like the comfiest bed you've ever been in. Or you could just sit, and the mud would support you. We lounged in the mud pool for quite some time, chatting with our new friends Graham and Leigh, until the guide came and kicked us out.
There was a nearby lagoon to wash ourselves in, and local women were trying to earn money by helping us wash all the mud off, but as we're cheap, can wash ourselves, and (most importantly) didn't have any cash on us, we refused. They were very insistent, and one woman proceeded to dump water over my head, despite my garbled protestations.
The tour then continued to a nearby beach, and we ate some great fried fish. Justin helped me refine my bodysurfing techniques, and then we headed back to the hostel. There was a huge party raging in the hostel across the way, so we went to join, hanging out on the balcony, drinking our fill of rum, and enjoying our last night in Cartagena, and on the mainland of South America.
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