Down But Not Out - Santa Marta, Colombia

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I departed Cartagena yesterday bound for Santa Marta. I was able to arrange for a Puerta/Puerta (Door to Door) collectivo bus for the 5 hour journey. The bus pulled into Casa Nativa right on time at 1pm. The price for the entire transit was reasonable at $25. The standard bus was cheaper at $18, but factor in taxis to and from the bus terminal and the cost was around the same. I suppose I could have walked the 45 minutes to and from each bus terminal, but why make it so hard. After an uneventful journey the driver failed to drop me at the door of my next accommodation. Instead I was dropped smack in the middle of the city center. Armed with only my address in hand I set off and once again successfully navigated myself to Hostal de Jackie. I've booked a 4-person dorm and have had it to myself so far. Nice.

After my arrival I was totally spent and really did not do much of anything last night. I grabbed a bite to eat and headed back to my room with one thing on my mind. Ice hockey. I was able to stream the Av's game live on my netbook via some random Russian website. Bless those commies. A real treat for me indeed. To bad we lost to the team just below us in the standings the Phoenix Coyotes. That win would have gone a long way for the post season push. Anyway, today I woke up and set out on the town getting my bearings and I've pretty much figured out where to go, where to eat, how things work, etc. From what I've gathered this seems to be a major maritime shipping hub. There are massive cargo ships coming and going and it is kind of fun to watch the containers being loaded and offloaded. I really enjoy boats.

Today I was also able to book my Lost City trek. A four night and five day hike into the jungle to the ruins of the ancient Tayrona people. My knee is still not 100%, but I feel I'm rocking at about 90% or so. I am confident of my abilities. This trek does not leave until Tuesday though so I will have a few days to kill. However, Amis and Michael from Cartagena come into town tomorrow and Richard comes into town after his Lost City trek on Sunday. So there will be some familiar faces to help pass the time. Tomorrow I will bus over to the more tranquil beach village of Taganga and case it out. I've decided that after my jungle trek I will take a PADI scuba diving course to become certified and Taganga is to be my base for this endeavor. Should be fun!

On a side note I've come to realize that solo travel has its peaks and valleys, highs and lows if you will. I've been riding this incredible high for the past couple of weeks and then all of the sudden it was gone. I've been left in kind of a funk. Being alone it is super easy to meet people because you are that much more approachable than say if you are a couple. On the other had it is also very easy to approach others because you are far less intimidating (right word?). This fast pace of constant conversations and questions can sometimes be exhausting and a little overwhelming. I'll snap out of it soon. Until then I'll enjoy the views and soak in the sun trying my best not to acquire any melanoma.

One final point. I've been in Colombia now for exactly one month so I did a few calculations. I've come up with that I've gone over my supposed "monthly budget" I set for myself by about $360. I guess that's not too bad considering I purchased an unexpected plane ticket for $170. I'm not really concerned but I thought I'd put it out there anyway. I'll try harder this month.

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