Colombia
Get a beverage and some Tim Tams  if you plan on reading this edition.... Lots to report on our 2 weeks in Colombia.
Rain greeted us when we arrived in cartagena following our 30 hour boat journey from San Blas, but colombian immigration officials did not, which was a little unusual entering a country without any formal permission. The paperwork for immigration was completed in somewhere unknown to us,  and all we had to do was hand over our passports to our captain and we got them back 24 hours later with the stamp of approval. If only it were that easy all the time.
As for Cartagena, we spent 2 nights chilling out and getting our land legs back, including two good nights out with people we had met on the boat and our australian travel agent (Stuart) from panama city who booked our boat trip. Edwina even managed a few hours salsa at a cuban club with some locals while I drank beer out the front with the boys. We also checked out the local beach, walked around the old town which is famous as a strategic fort for the Spanish in the 18th? Century. Edwina was a bit surprised how much tourism and costs had risen in the last 4 years since she was last here, but we still gave cartagena the tick of approval.
Next stop was Taganga, a small fishing village in the north of Colombia 4 hours drive up the coast from Cartagena. Edwina had also been here 4 years prior when it didn't even have a road, but it has also come along way since then. We used Taganga as a base for side trips, and we got a great little hotel called Casa Blanca to base ourselves which was right on the beach (I could literally throw all my empty beer cans into the water from our balcony.... Not that I would do that, mum would have me disowned). After one night in Taganga, we started our first side trip which was a 5 day trek (starting point 300m above sea level and finishing point 1200m)  into the sierra madre mountains of santa Marta to an ancient city once inhabited by the native Tayrona Indians. 
Day 1 of the 'Lost City Trek' began with a 2 hour drive through some pretty tough mountain roads to get to our starting point where we met 8 other trekkers, 2 Austrian guys Johannas and Thomas, 2 German girls Jana and Kathy, 2 Belgian girls, a French Canadian and an Aussie girl, Mel. We started trekking at about 2:30pm, and found out pretty quickly that trying to keep your shoes and clothes dry was pointless due to heavy afternoon rain (which starts on cue at 3pm almost everyday), numerous river crossings, and a  very slippery and muddy trail which is severely degraded in numerous places due to use from Trekkers, mules, donkeys etc. The first afternoon was roughly 0.5hrs flat trek, 2 hrs uphill, 1hr downhill, 0.5 flat.... 4 hrs total and to finish the day we had to cross a waist deep fast flowing river and do the last 20 mins in the dark before we arrived at camp. Most of our stuff was soaked, but we put some warm clothes on covering our bodies head to toe for protection against chronic mosquitoes/sand flies, had dinner and a beer before sliding into hammocks for a much needed sleep with rain pounding on the tin roof on and off during the night.
Day 2 of the trek was more of the same, though our guide Luis's family owned the campsite we stayed at and he gave us the locals only tour by showing us the swimming hole near the camp  which had a big waterfall and some rocks to jump off which was lots of fun, but then we had to trek for 4 hours up and down mountains again. As we got higher in the mountains the scenery got nicer and more remote, and we entered into an Indian reserve where native Tayrona people still live in basic hut villages, surrounded by rainforest, mountains and rivers.  It was sunny for most of the day and we arrived at camp before the afternoon rains for a swim in rapids, and card games for the afternoon and evening. Edwina had a rough day as she twisted her ankle slightly, and she had to try and translate our guides information talk at dinner time about the Indian people's heritage, which was very amusing when he went into detail about changes in their sexual practices after a few beers. Edwina did well under the circumstances. 
Day 3 was probably the most interesting day for trekking, and involved some technical maneuvers to climb over slippery waterfalls and through rivers, walk through cane fields, cross a river in a rope pulley / cable car system (think Indiana jones), admiring 300 yr old trees, and of course going up and down mountains. We made camp by early afternoon and went for another swim in the rapids, and tried to stay away from the bugs (by this point, most people in our group had moderate to severe bites all over their bodies from sandflies.... One girl had over 100 bites on each leg and had very badly swollen ankles, not cool!)
Day 4 was the day we got to see the lost city, and it was only and hour or so from our campsite, but we had to kill a dangerous snake and climb 1200 steps on the way.... But we made it to the ruins which were scattered over a large area at the top of the mountain range, with small pathways linking terraced areas of the city. Some of the views were amazing, but We only had enough time for an hour or two at the site before heading down to camp for lunch and then making our way back to camp 2 for the night after 6-7 hours of trekking, just before the heavy rain set in.
Day 5 was our last day and we had to start early to cover the same distance we travelled on the first 2 days to make lunch at our start point at 1pm. This was the hardest day of the lot, and most it was downhill so was very tough on the knees, but Edwina's ankle held up well and we were very happy to finish first out of our group, and arrive in Taganga that night for some quiet drinks and sleeping in a nice bed again.
The next few days we just spent hanging out at the beaches around taganga waiting for our friends Tristan and Amber to arrive, and once they touched down we were off again on an overnight mountain bike tour to the outskirts of Tayrona national park. We nicknamed our guide Daniel  'Marc Anthony' for his uncanny resemblance to the Latin pop singer (J-Lo's ex for those not in the know), and he took us on some moderate bike trails through forest to a secluded beach to camp overnight. We ate fresh local fish for dinner, made a camp fire and went swimming and snorkeling all the next day before heading back to Taganga for a final night of partying. Our final taganga experience was being dropped off at the airport by our taxi driver (the same guy we used to collect Tristan and Amber) who told us his remarkable story of stowing away on a cargo ship when he was 17 in the rudder compartment with food/water for a few days, and ending up in USA 1 week later not being able to speak English, but setting up a life for himself with the help of complete strangers over the next 9 years. He did the same journey illegally 2 more times in that period after deportation, but is now trying to enter legally to be with his family in NYC. Crazy stuff! Oh... And edwina and I flew on our first of business class flight to bogota, and we both agree life on the other side of the curtain is very easy to adjust to.... 
Our last stop for Colombia was Bogota. We only had a couple of days, and mainly did touristy things, such as visiting the salt mine made into a church, the Monserat cable car and lookout, oldtown, and shopping in the newer Zona Rosa region which is where we stayed and was more like a European city with the shops, restaurants and bars open - with prices to match! One night we even got let in to a flagship store opening for a clothing brand which was more like a nightclub with a guest DJ, free booze, dancing and red carpet entrance. That experience was beaten however by the restaurant Andres D.C. which had 5 levels and a menu that was so big it had an index and glossary. We ordered tapas to try several local dishes, white sangria, and had performers and musicians entertain us at our table and all throughout the restaurant all night which is broadcast on TVs so you can so what's happening on all levels. Very impressive, and a must for anyone visiting Bogota.