The journey to Salento isn't a straight forward affair. Our bus to Armenia drops us of at a road junction in the middle of no where and the driver tells us in formal spanish along with much needed arm gestures to cross the road and catch a bus for Salento going the other way. We cross the road and wait. The bus arrives and we pile on. It is cramped and we have problems lugging our packs down the narrow aisle to the remaining two seats right at the back. We boo...

The bus to Medellin takes us through some breathtaking countryside something Colombia is not lacking. The road is lined by rolling hills of green pastures with tall, really tall palm trees sprouting high into the sky. It is a strange sight and we can't work out the reasons for this seemingly man made landscape. Medellin is a major city in Colombia and one associated with Pablo Escobar and the cartel he ran. On our way into Medellin we notice a lot of locals r...

Keen to split our journey from Cartegena to Medellin we choose Tolu as a place to stop for a couple of days to rest after the problems with our hostel in Cartagena. Tolu isn't really on the main gringo trail and this fact makes it rather attractive to us. The hostel is great and just five minutes walk from the rather disappointing beach front. Small corners of beach are pinned to the shore by groynes. The town seems to be a little run down and a lot of the bu...

After several police stops and checking of the passporte which seems to be the norm here is Colombia we arrive in a very busy Cartegena of which the taxi driver doesn't really know where he is going and we go around in a few circles before finding the Chill hostel as recommended by the hostel in Taganga. On arriving we have to pay upfront for our 3 nights stay which is a little strange but seems to be what most hostels do in Cartegena. That evening we drink col...

Tired, miserable and sleep deprived we arrive in a very hot (38C) Santa Marta. We think we've had enough of overnight buses. We get a double room and look into going to the Lost City. Prices start around $500,000 Colombian Pesos (£160) for 5 days. People generally seem to have enjoyed it but the mention of it being hard, sweaty and mosquito ridden don't do anything to wet my appetite for it, especially the mosquito part. After some discussion we decide not to ...