Sailing through the San Blas islands

A bad start to our return to Cartagena as there was absolutely no rooms available in the entire city so we had to settle for an overpriced room in some random family’s house which smelt of dog poop and wee. Then there was a 2 day delay with the boat as our captain, Gwen, attempted to gather the 9 passengers on board and get our passports stamped. On the evening of the third day we had exited Cartagena harbour and, set sail towards the San Blas islands (all 375 of them). As we slipped off to bed we were rocked to sleep by the calm seas only to be woken 4 hours later with our French captain shouting “merde” over and over again as he jumped from the helm of the boat to reel in the sails and then suddenly a loud crash as one of our passengers, Pedro, lands in the kitchen as he’s thrown off his bed! Well, it was a fun two days ahead of us with lots of vomiting (although the Irish & the British stomachs stuck it out!), zero food and very little sleep. But there are no words to describe the beauty of what appeared before us on the morning of the third day. After a broken GPS system (because of a ginormous wave that covered us and the electric equipment) we breathed a sigh of relief to arrive in the correct location. We quickly put on our bathing suits and dived into the clearest seas we’ve ever laid eyes on. While our captain fished for crab and lobster we took our snorkels to the shore and explored the island…which took all of about 8 minutes! We arrived back on deck with rumbling bellies only to be greeted by a feast of fresh seafood and a passion fruit filled with rum and sugar. Mmmmmmm…dee-lish! The next day was spent exploring a nearby ship wreck and lazing on the beach, drinking fresh coconut milk and nibbling on papaya. That evening we feasted on fresh lobster bought from the Kuna indigenous community who govern the San Blas islands (they managed to keep them from the Spanish and the Panamanians all this time). They would visit us every evening selling seafood and artesania while we moved from island to island. Once again we dined fantastically and spent the evening delving into the rum once more…there was a lot to get through! The following morning we moved on to another island surrounded by fantastic corals. We all grabbed a snorkel each and made our way around the island to explore. It was our last evening staying stationary by the islands so we made the most of it. We moved on to another island the next morning for some more snorkelling and spear fishing (for the boys) and then set sail that evening for Panama. It would take another day and a half to get to Portobelo. ..and a rocky one it would be! We spent the rest of the journey horizontal until we arrived to the lovely little port town of Portobelo, Panama. After an unforgettable week it was time to shower up and make our way to Panama City!
(pic 1: first day arriving on San Blas islands; pic 2:Mitch gets his snorkel on!)

Christmas in the Caribbean

Snow…bloody hell! Mama and brother Mitcheson arrived one day late due to the snow at Paris airport so we spent Christmas all alone in our big beachside apartment. Deciding to make the most of the day we indulged in a scrumptious fresh fish Christmas lunch for our festive feast. Late Christmas day with a full squadron of Mitchesons we headed back to the apartment to get the real celebrations going. The apartment didn’t disappoint and was by far the best (and most comfortable) accommodation we experienced in South America. Santa managed to find his way to Colombia with some fantastic gifts and, more importantly, Cadbury’s chocolate. After some traditional Christmas games and a midnight feast it was time to get some rest for a busy 2 weeks ahead. The next few days were spent exploring the old town of Cartagena and getting some beach time in. Then it was time to show our guests what a typical Colombian bus ride is like…it didn’t disappoint!! 6 – 8 hours torturous hours later we arrived at Santa Marta and enjoyed some HUGE steaks and beers on the beach. But we didn’t stop for long and quickly made our way back to Taganga. We were looking forward to a fun filled day in the beautiful Tayrona Park (where we’d already been earlier in the year)…things can change quickly in South America! What was a pleasant 45 minute boat ride 2 months earlier turned into a hellish 3 hour boat journey over 2 metre waves. Conditions in the park weren’t much better and we quickly made our way back to the mainland disappointed and thanking God we survived. We quickly all about it as it was time for some New Year celebrations. We headed to the fantastic Pachamama restaurant and enjoyed a “muy rico” buffet washed down my many many cocktails. Then it was off to the beach for midnight. After some confusion of the exact timing of midnight we indulged in a sing song and a bit of dancing and thoroughly enjoyed the celebrations around us. After another couple of days of beach time we headed to the tiny town of Palomino further along the coast. For a couple of days we lounged (and slept) in hammocks and entertained ourselves with the many games brought along from London...because of the rain that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Then it was back to Taganga to soak up some sun in the remaining few days we had together and indulge in the “complementary” cocktails (i.e. from mum and brother!). After a tearful goodbye, it was back to Cartagena for me and Sharon (for the third time) to hop on our boat to sail through the Caribbean to Panama.
(pic 1: Sharon & I having lunch on Christmas Day; pic 2: everyone enjoying some evening cocktails)

The next 75 days in Colombia (Part II)

Of course the 7 hour bus (as usual in Colombia) turned into an 11 hour bus ride and we collapsed into our dorm beds that evening. I took massive advantage of a nearly empty hostel with cable TV, free coffee and a roaring fire for the first day…fantastic when the rain is hopping off the ground outside. After my fill of Friends, Seinfeld and the Office we went to explore the city with visits to museums and galleries and massive supermarkets (which are a luxury in South America) to make delicious meals. Bogotá was much more fantastic than we’d heard and went down as one of our favourites of South American cities. After a few days we flew from Bogotá back to Cali to begin our 2 weeks of volunteering in the mountains outside. We got pretty clear instructions on how to get to the goat farm we’d be volunteering…get on a bus to Buenaventura and get out at the 28th Kilometre then ask someone where the Finca las Cabritas (Goat Farm) is…hmmmmm?! Anyway, after a lot of queuing in the bus station (apparently the ticket people were on strike) and getting taxis here and there we were on a bus towards Buenaventura (and were nearly thrown off with people roaring “no gringos, no gringos, no hay espacio!”)…space or not I was getting on that bus! And we were off!! I explained to the ticket girl that we needed to get off at Kilometre 28…at which point she explained to me that, yes, we were on the bus towards Buenaventura but it was not the direct route – that route was closed. Super! So after 8 hours of standing on a bus we arrived at Buenaventura (the second rainiest place on the planet receiving 8 metres of rain annually). I won’t go through it but that journey was nothing compared to the bus back to kilometre 28 the next day. Eventually we arrived at the farm and settled into our little cabin nicely. We had the weekend to chill out and got our instructions that Monday morning for our farming jobs for the next 2 weeks. We quickly relaxed into the stunning surroundings and feasted on fresh fruit and veg (which was badly needed) and managed to buy the local shop out of all their beer pretty fast. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay for longer than 2 weeks as the 60 days on our visa was coming to an end and we had to get an extension back in Cali. So back to civilization it was…first things first…mega large popcorn and coke and 2 tickets to see Harry Potter! Bliss!! After a few panics we sorted out our visa extension – which meant we had to hang around Cali to wait for them for another week and a half. But we that also gave us a chance to visit the other farm in the valley (owned by the couple we were volunteering for) in a little town called Jamundi which was good fun…I also got to feed a baby goat so I was delighted! But soon enough it was time to move on again so we packed our bags and hopped on a flight back up to the Caribbean coast for Christmas week to await Mitch’s mom and brother’s arrival. Exciting stuff…!!
(pic 1: Mitch & I with 1 day old goats; pic 2: Feeding a baby goat in the farm in Jamundi)

The next 75 days in Colombia (Part I)

So I've been an extremely lazy girl the last 2 months and haven't updated our blog...so I'm going to try and condense our last 2 and a half months in Colombia into two entries...deep breaths everyone! After saying goodbye to Kim we swiftly got on a bus to Manangue (about 6 hours south of Cartagena...once again - see map!) where we needed to change for a boat and then a taxi (through extreme flooding) to get to our destination Mompóx (pronounced Mompos). It was like jumping into Huckleberry Finn world with baking heat, rocking chairs in every doorway and intense humidity. It didn't take long to see the entire town so we moved on after a couple of nights (and after being followed around the town by the only tourist guide trying to get us to buy a tour). It was more of a struggle to get out of there than it was to get in and we found out when we returned to Manangue that we'd have to pay an arm and a leg to get to our next destination Medellin...we considered our options and eventually hopped in a car with a friendly Colombian who brought us to the nearest big city, Sincillo, where we would be able to catch a bus the next day. Unfortunately we had to stay in the hotel of horrors next to the bus station...shtinky! We arrived in Medellin pretty hassle free in time for Halloween and boy was the city pumping! Before all the madness began we decided to get some sight-seeing done and visited Botero's art gallery which had me in fits of giggles (...he is truly obsessed with fat things) and then on to the cable car to take in the views the city. After some lame attempts at costumes and very sore heads we left Medellin to relax in the sleepy little colonial town of Santa Fe de Antioquia (a couple of hours outside) for a few days. We quickly bunked down in a gorgeous guesthouse on the main plaza in Santa Fe. There’s not much to the town – about 5 blocks by 5 blocks so it doesn’t take long to get around. We quickly got familiar with the town and enjoyed the laid back vibe and what was supposed to be a 2 night stay quickly turned into 5 nights. We spent a fantastic evening with the owner of our hotel and her friends (one of whom was a famous Colombian painter of about 80 and decided to draw me that evening) where Mitch got to practice his newly (fantastic) found Spanish skills. We reluctantly parted ways and hopped back on another long bus down to the coffee region to the town of Salento. We checked into our hostel which was actually built on a coffee plantation and the owner owns a coffee farm just down the road. We arrived late at night so were stunned to wake up to the beautiful sights all around the next morning. We quickly got the feeling that what was supposed to be a quick few days would turn in to longer…and so it did. We took a fantastic tour of the owners coffee farm the next day where we got to taste some delicious freshly ground coffee and found out some great coffee facts. In fact we enjoyed the farm so much that we decided to spend a night there and volunteer to pick coffee cherries the next morning…and got a free lunch out of it as well! We could only relax for so long until we had to haul our asses on another trek through the cocora valley to the valley of the wax palms about an hour from Salento. After the Lost City we thought we could conquer anything else that was thrown at us…apparently heat has a lot to do with taking away achy muscles! As it was rainy season in Colombia it didn’t take long for the rain to arrive around midday and last all day long. So we got up early and started trekking around 8am. It actually wasn’t as bad as everyone made out…until the rain came! Then we were sliding all over the place. But we made it to the top ok and turned around to see the fantastic sights of the wax palms only to be greeted by cloud, cloud and more cloud! Oh well! We made our way back down and managed to get some good glimpses as the clouds began to fade away. Roasting hot coffee was very welcome back at the farm that afternoon and it was with heavy hearts we said goodbye to Salento and hopped on a bus to Bogotá…

Charming Cartagena

After trekking a few hours in the midday heat we arrived at our bright and cheery hostel equipped with a pool and sun loungers...perfect. We decided to check out the old town first as we'd heard how beautiful it was...it didn't disappoint. Cartagena is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site so not many things have been done to the city itself keeping it's charm and beauty. It's quite easy to get lost in the city but a pleasure to as well. You could stroll around the beautiful colonial streets for hours and not get bored. We spent the first evening in Cartagena Colombia-style with a bottle of rum, a bottle of coke and planted ourselves on the edge of the main plaza, Plaza Domingo, people watching and chatting to some locals, once or twice having to take shelter from the pounding Caribbean rain. We spent the next few days taking refuge from the midday heat in our hostel pool and spending the evenings taking in the delights of the city. We'd read and heard some interesting things about the Volcán de Totuma so Kim and I decided one morning to venture out there to see what it was all about. The Volcán de Totuma is a mud volcano located an hour outside of Cartagena - it's a natural phenomenon of "hot mud" from under the lagoon "spraying" out the top. We were looking forward to relaxing for a while in the warm mud, maybe getting a massage and a facial. We arrived in a bus with another 20 people and took a look at this volcano and just burst out laughing. It looked like an oversized ant hill. We reluctantly stripped down to our bikinis and head up the side of the volcano to the mud baths. At first sight we were terrified at what awaited us...the bath was about 4m by 4m and was completely full with just 15 people in it...as they were all lying down on their backs while they got "massages" from these random Colombians. At this point there was no turning back so I closed my eyes and dunked into the extremely weird feeling mud and tried to relax while screaming to the men trying to massage me "don't touch me, don't touch me", while Kim wet herself laughing from outside the mud pit! After our 5 minute mud fest we were guided into the nearby "lagoon" i.e. a swamp, to wash off. At this point the trauma reached it's peak when the women proceeded to whip our bikinis off to wash them out...once again, we were thrown into a fit of giggles when a poor misfortunate boy next to us couldn't speak Spanish and just held onto his pants for dear life! Altogether though it was a funny experience...and one to remember. Unable to think of the prospect of leaving my sister once again (twice in one year is too much!) we kept ourselves busy for the next few days...lounging in the pool in the heat of the day, taking in the fabulous beauty of the city and topping the evenings off with oodles of rum and beer. But of course the inevitable day arrived upon us and we said our teary goodbyes until 2011 and Mitch and I packed up our rucksacks once more to head south for further Colombia exploring!
(Pic 1: Kim & I traumatised in the mud pit; Pic 2: Cartagena)

Celebrations in Taganga & some beach time in Tayrona Park

After a gruelling 5 days trying to make it up to the Lost City some celebrating and relaxing on the beach was in order. Once we reached our hostel in Santa Marta we grabbed our bags and we all squeezed into a taxi to Taganga...unfortunate for those who didn't do the Lost City trek...quote from Aoife "guys, I'm sorry, but you absolutely stink!" (as she gagged out the taxi window!). So we quickly checked into hostels, showered, put on our glad rags and hit the town. The Lonely Planet describes Taganga as "a relaxing fishing village where you will be lured by sun and sand"...this it is not! But it was a nice little town to chill for a few days. After a fantastic slap up meal we managed to sniff out the dodgiest bar/club in town where you could only order rum by the bottle and shake your booty to salsa all night long. Being the only gringos in there we stuck out like sore thumbs but, as with all Colombians, they welcomed us with open arms (literally...as I was swung around the dance floor by a big Colombian dude teaching me some salsa moves!). Anyway, we did some good celebrating. We woke the next morning with sore heads to explore the town and quickly booked a boat to Tayrona National Park, a boat ride away, to search for these white sandy Caribbean beaches I heard so much about. It certainly didn't disappoint, We arrived in the early hours of the morning and grabbed some hammocks looking over the beach and lay our bums on the soft sand under some palm trees to do absolutely nothing for the next 2 days. It was a great couple of days and with burnt bums, legs and patchy tummies we said goodbye to Tayrona Park...for a few weeks anyway! So we jumped on a boat again to head back to Taganga for one more night...not before having another yummy slap up meal and dubious rounds of happy hour Maracuja Mojitos for the road. Our next stop would be Cartagena and we couldn't wait to see the beautiful city we heard so many amazing things about...we were hoping the Lonely Planet wasn't lying to us this time!!
(pic 1: Kim & Mitch having a swim on Playa Grande; pic 2: Kim & I in our hammock cabin)

First steps in the Carribean Sea & Ciudad Perdida

After a very pleasant flight into Santa Marta (broken in Bogota with some yummy Barry's tea and many Cadbury's chocolate bars courtosy of my amazing sis!) we got our manky, sweaty selves checked into a hostel and dived into the pool with some cold beers. The heat of the Carribean hit us hard! We celebrated our first proper night together with some yummy Mexican food, numerous rounds of beers, shots of whiskey (?) and some interesting games of pool. It was an interesting first night! The next morning we rose bright and early to see the most we could of Santa Marta and book our trip to Ciudad Perdida (the Lost City). Unfortunately the heat prevented us from such crazy enthusiasm and it took us an entire day just to book the Ciudad Perdida. Luckily we found a reputable company for a good price so we booked it for the next morning. Unforunately the packing for the trip wasn't so easy. As it was rainy season we really had no idea how much we would need and as we had to carry all of our stuff we didn't want to weigh ourselves down...so we decided to be wet and smelly for 5 days and be dry in the evenings and one spare set of clothes if that all went to shit! And boy were we wet and smelly for 5 days...I don't think there's ever been a time where I've been so repulsed by my own odour. But we started the trip with open minds and massive enthusiasm. As we had already done Machu Picchu a month or so before we weren't expecting the same wow factor...but the journey itself was AMAZING. We had an extremely interesting journey getting to where we would start the hike...the bumpiest ride on earth! The first day would be the latest we would set off of all the 5 days and we soon found out why. One hour in the heavens opened and it didn't stop all day and all night. We were drenched and felt a little foolish for beginning the trip by tip toe-ing our way over rivers. Everything we were wearing was soaked to the bone...and even though we had covers on our backpacks, my sleeping bag got soaked through and Kim's book too...which she had balancing under her cover between her back and her backpack! Not good! But we felt like new people once we'd changed into dry clothes and out of our shoes...which were now just portable pools (and would stay that way for the next 4 days). We were very lucky the next couple of days...the rain didn't hit until about 12pm when we had already landed to the next camp so all we had to bear were wet feet and trousers (from wading through thigh high rivers) and damp tshirts (from the inability to dry with the humidity mixed with litres of sweat...imagine that smell!). Day 2 was a pretty tough steep climb but our surroundings were amazing. And we made in record time to our third camp so we made a group decision to keep on going to Ciudad Perdida that day (which otherwise we would have done the next morning) so that we could spread our energy over the next 2 days. We climbed the 1,200 steps to the Lost City and it was an amazing sight that greeted us. We were pretty much the only people there (apart from the soldiers that protected it) which was awesome and the city is pretty much untouched. It was incredible. We took our time strolling around and we were cursed that the rain didn't hit until we made our way back to the camp. We spent the evening playing cards and celebrating with a few beers before we collapsed ready to take on the next 2 days hike back (which consisted of the first 3 days we already did). We powered through...stopping in the evenings to launch ourselves into rivers to cool off and then running for cover when the rain hit to change into our dry gear and pull out the cards again. What was most amazing on this trip was meeting the descendants of the Tayrona people along the way. It was certainly something that has stood out for me, not only on the trek but the year so far. The Cogi people are still very much present in the mountains around the Lost City and their culture is still very strong. It was fascinating to see them go about their daily lives as we passed by. Once we reached the town where we started once more we were very tired but happy people. It was an amazing 5 days with an amazing group and amazing guides! One of the best experiences so far for sure. So we all packed ourselves into a van to head back to Santa Marta, grab our rucksacks and head to Taganga where we were going to chill out for the next few days. But first things first...showers!!!
(pic 1: Kim & I bunking down our first night; pic 2: Trekking across one of the many rivers along the way; pic 3: Mitch & I on another of the many rivers)