Hey!!
Nice to hear from you all. Busy times back home by the sounds of it. Glad you're all well and getting in the Christmas spirit. I still have no plans for Christmas- just gonna see where I am, never been a big fan anyway- it's just another day for me with a lot of commercial hype.
So Sunday morning I got chatting to a Danish guy over breakfast and we went out to explore the local area by foot as it was dry and there was even a little sun. He must of been in his late 50s but was very interesting- he has basically spent his whole life jetting off on various jaunts around the world. He recommends Iran! I can see myself being like this in 30yrs. Our hostels neighbourhood was relatively posh and on a Sunday they close one side of the main roads for bikes and runners. Could see the mountains around the edge of the city, including Monserrat church up on one mountain with a cable car going up to it and apparently a good viewpoint although I never made it as the weather wasn't good enough. Olav got a coffee and we stopped at a hellishly expensive supermarket where I bought fresh lychees. It then started to rain torrentially so we dashed back to the hostel where the boys were then surfacing after their big night. Once they were ready, we got a taxi to the gold museum in the centre which free to get in as it was a Sunday. Inside were 1000s of gold artefacts, some dating back to 2000BC. And with the artefacts was information about who made them and how- the tribes that lived and still live in the Amazon. Plus, what they were used for, etc. All very interesting and some amazing pieces. The boys like the statues with penises which did make me laugh. There are still about 60 indigenous tribes living in the rainforest with no contact with the modern world. It had stopped raining by the time we got out, so we walked around the old town with all the colonial buildings and the main square. We grabbed some street food and then headed back to the hostel. Bogota did not really capture my imagination or impress me- a lot of it looks like home and there isn't much to do, plus I think the cold and rain was too much like home. I decided to fly to Cartagena tomorrow night, as the flight was slightly cheaper than the bus- about £40. The boys decided they were also going to come with me. We had a lot of problems trying to book our flights online and ended up giving up, but when we tried again the next morning it worked luckily. We sat in the hostel bar with the English guy Ian chatting and playing pool and they decided to have another big night and when they left at 11.30pm I went to bed.
Monday:
Had breakfast, sorted flights and a hostel. It was raining again a lot and we got chatting to a South African guy who lives in Australia but was in the Israeli army (?!) and two British guys who were heading out so we all went together by bus to the centre where there was a huge market. We explored more of the old town and got food to allow us to shelter from the still torrential rain. Then ended up at the art museum- I have tended to avoid the art museums on this trip. But it was actually really impressive! It is named after Boltero- a famous Colombian artist who likes to paint fat people and fruit- so there were several exhibits of his work. Plus, I was surprised to see Picassos, Lucien Freud, Matisse and lots of other painters I'd heard of. I particularly liked the modern and contemporary art though. Again the guys liked the rude pics. The South African and other Brits turned out to be dickheads- they literally spent the whole day talking about all the women they've shagged here. Made me appreciate Alfie and Charlie even more. We got the bus back and it was time to head to the airport for our 9.45 flight. We got a taxi there and it was delayed by about an hour. But it was only an hours flight. Funny, after all them long buses at the start of my trip, I haven't been on a bus for almost a month! Stepping off the plane it was great to feel the heat again! We got a taxi to our hostel and had to creep around in our dorm putting the sheets on our beds as everyone was already in bed. All day I had the most horrendous diarrhoea and stomach pains- the worst yet! I can only think it was greedily eating the whole punnet of lychees.
Tuesday:
Attempted breakfast, but it's just coming straight through. Charlie gave me a much needed immodium. Me and the guys headed out to explore Cartagena. It's a Unesco heritage site as it was first built around the 1600s and a giant wall constructed around the outside of it to protect it from pirates and invasions as it is the biggest port in Colombia. It is at the top of the country near Panama. And mum they do speak Spanish here- Charlie and Alfie have been impressed by the way I have been able to communicate and arrange things for us in Spanish.
We walked around the old town- again lots of old, characteristic buildings. We bought stuff from the supermarket to make a tuna pasta for tea. Then in the afternoon we booked a trip a mud volcano. They picked us up about 2pm and drove us to the place. To be honest, it was a bit disappointing. It's more like a big mole hill and at the top you climb down into a pool of mud. But it was really busy and so you had to queue and couldn't get in and relax. Plus, they are after all the money they can get, so it was 3000peso for them to take your pics while you were inside. And then when you got in they are grabbing you to give you a massage for another 3000- I didn't mind, but it freaked the two guys and they got out almost as soon as they got in. I had a massage and floated around in the mud for a bit- it's too deep to stand up. Then we walked down to the lagoon to wash it off. It was nice and warm and so we swam around a bit. Good views of more rural Colombia, but this time they were trying to wash the mud off you for 3000. We got the bus back and at the hostel me and Alfie cooked the pasta, which was nice but didn't last long. We had showers and sat round in the hostel bar- lots of people! We were chatting to a Scottish guy, Aussie couple and couple of Dutch guys. But I must admit I felt pretty awful, I also have a UTI which isn't much fun and have had a cold for over a week now. So again, they all went out about 11 and I went to bed.
Charlie and Alfie are the coolest guys and it's been great hanging around with them, but they make me laugh as they have realised that in the first month of their year long round the world trip they have spent a quarter of their budget, so they are now trying to find the cheapest hostels to save £1-2 and cooking for themselves and not doing trips, but think nothing of spending £30-40 a night drinking. The joys of being young! They have more time than me, so I've decided to head to Santa Marta while they are going to spend another night or two in Cartagena.
Wednesday
Had a cat sleep on my bed most of the night- quite cute! I checked out and went to walk around some more of Cartagena that we hadn't explored yet. It's very quaint, with horse and cart and the old buildings, but a bit touristy- dozens of Americans on group tours, as they come here for their holidays. Back at the hostel I booked my bus to Santa Marta for 1pm. I said my sad farewells to Alfie and Charlie- might see them again though. It's a bit weird being by myself again. The journey took about 4 hours and I was sat next to the driver up front- a bit weird?! They dropped me at my hostel, which seems cool- a nice pool and character. I headed out to explore the town and it appealed to me more than the last couple of places, probably because it's less touristy. I don't think they see many blondes as I got endless catcalls.
Everyone had really raved about Colombia, but I'm starting to think people enjoyed it so much because they were off their face here the whole time. I haven't found much to do if you don't want to go out and get wasted every night and some of the conversations are a bit like a competition to see who has done the most drugs, which doesn't leave me with a lot to talk about and I have to suppress my drug practitioner training.