Lost - one pair of glasses, last seen on top of owner's nose just before a huge wave hit him square in the face - probable whereabouts at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea.

I'm not much of a beach person, but the coastline of Tayrona National Park is so stunning, and the water so warm and inviting that I stripped off and plunged straight in without thinking. I spent two days there, camping near the beach; and enjoyed some much needed relaxation. This is probably the last time I will see the sea for nearly three months, so why not. In fact, with only a limited supply of contact lenses and a spare pair of glasses with an old prescription, it is possibly the last time on this trip that I will see anything quite so clearly!

I had intended to do a five day hike to the Lost City. I was put off by the fact that it would mean four nights in a hammock in the jungle, but more so because of the high cost. It is even more expensive than the Inca Trail in Perú, and reading between the lines much of the money is payment for the guerrillas and paramilitaries to leave you alone. Well, I don't think I want to fund those people thank you very much - I will hike somewhere else! And I was quite happy with the hikes between each of the coves, seeing wildlife such as lizards with luminous blue tails, huge colourful butterflies, a colony of white herons, pelicans, and a capybara.

Whilst sitting on the beach, reflecting on the South America trip so far, I checked my GPS. I have come 7380km from Isla Navarino near Cape Horn; it is 7770km from here to Ashton-in-Makerfield, England; but the sobering thought is that it is 5050km to Rio de Janeiro, to where I am ultimately heading - without the help of any more aircraft! I also calculated that I am travelling at a speed that would get me around the world in just under 800 days, so I am ten times slower than Phileas Fogg.