Cartagena is a lovely little walled city with cobbled streets full of multi-coloured colonial houses, great restaurants and designer shops. Of course this all comes at a price so we joined the other backpackers in a more affordable area called Getsemani which was easy walking distance to the upmarket bit and the only downside (perhaps not considered as such by all) seemed to be the higher concentration of prostitutes. The main activity in Cartagena is wandering so on our first day we set off to do some. It was really nice just strolling through the streets and taking in the serene atmosphere but after a couple of hours you've pretty much covered it and we found ourselves asking dangerous questions like "is it acceptable to have lunch at 11am?" and "how many brownies is too many?" To avoid spending all our time in cafes and bars, we decided to hit the beach so Gerard could try his hand at kite surfing (he's still not ready to give up on the wind-dependent watersports despite the wind's bad attitude towards him). He did 5 hours of lessons over 2 days while I cowered in the shade away from the glaring midday sun, and by the end of it he was actually kite surfing, albeit in brief stints. In the face of the Swiss lady running the rental shop who'd commented to me that she didn't think he'd get on a board in that time - such a natural!

We spent 4 days in Cartagena in the end which was more than we intended (or needed) but we'd done some pretty substantial rearranging of plans (including cutting out Medellin altogether) when we found out that Colombia is home to the second biggest carnaval in the world after Rio. We figured you have to do a proper South American carnival once in your life and that it'd be a crime not to make the most of it while we were in the neighbourhood so off we went to Barranquilla. Or, more accurately, Puerto Colombia which is the closest place we could find accommodation on such late notice (not being keen on the pay-by-the-hour love hotel option). Given the reputation that Rio carnival has, I had pretty high expectations of the next best thing and we were up bright and early for the first (and our only) day - the Battle of the Flowers - to try and get a good spot. We found a convenient shaded one where our English/Dutch skin wouldn't fry which cost a fraction of the price of the main stands where all the other gringos were sitting and, even better, where the beer cost about 60p. There was a different price to pay for our cheap seats though with two fights breaking out before there was even a float in sight. Not quite the party atmosphere we were expecting. We also quickly realised that there was no toilet available (or in fact any way to leave our seats since people had been packed in so tightly around us) so after knocking back 2 bargain beers before 11am, we decided we'd better slow down a bit or risk embarrassment later on. When the parade eventually started it was huge and full of colourful costumes but the participants were passing us at a pace that was close to a run so unfortunately we got a grand total of zero good photos of them. Despite the speed-walking, the parade still lasted about 4 hours which is quite a long time to watch anything - especially since there was literally only one song being played/performed by various people for the entire thing (albeit a ridiculously catchy one - "El Serrucho" in case anyone wants to give it a whirl). The price of beer also increased (although only marginally) after we were trapped in our seats - shrewd businessmen these Columbians!

So reluctantly I have to admit that I walked away from the parade feeling a little bit bored and not entirely sure what all the fuss over carnival is about. Fortunately post-parade, against all odds with no phones and thousands of people in the streets, we managed to meet up with a couple we'd met on the lost city trek and found ourselves a street party. That's where the fun started, there was music blasting out of pimped-up car speaker systems, everyone was dancing like crazy (getting seriously raunchy while they amused themselves with our stiff attempts at salsa) and having an awesome time, we got totally covered in foam and flour and exacted our fair share of revenge as well... People were welcoming us to Barranquilla constantly and clearly proud of their city, it was such an amazing atmosphere, worlds away from where we'd been sitting during the parade. So after a shaky start, we had an awesome time and it was well worth the slight detour and the long day of travelling the next day. It was also a great farewell to Colombia - so glad we managed to squeeze it into our trip, it's a beautiful country with incredibly friendly people and, unlike the other countries we've visited in South America, it's not yet been absorbed into the beaten track. Well worth the complicated transport links and gringo tax that result from having a limited tourist industry.

On Sunday we took a flight from Baranquilla to Bogota, braved the bizarre bus system to go into town for lunch, then found our way back again and finally landed in La Paz at 3am. We had a taster of carnival there (and one last choripan!) the next morning before catching a bus up to Copacabana on Lake Titicaca where we were forced to hike up 2 hills to avoid another day of foaming (it gets old, especially when it's 15 degrees instead of 30). On that basis, we were not too sad about the end of the festivities on Shrove Tuesday and celebrated in true English style - with pancakes. Being hijacked with foam and water balloons aside, it's beautiful here looking out over the lake. The hands-down highlight has to be the sunset; on our first evening we were treated to the most incredible sky I've ever seen - EVER. I have to say, Bolivia's still topping the list.