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Well since we last spoke Ryan and I have almost completed a super whirl wind tour of Colombia, believe it or not! Our first stop in the country was the southern city of Cali. Some people say everyone seems to get happier when they cross the border into Colombia everyone seems happier (locals and bachpakcers alike) and I think we can vouch for that! Everyone we have met here has been happy, friendly and very proud of their county. We also noticed the heat and humidity- as soon as we got off the bus in Cali we were sweating immediately! In this city we had some great meals and took in a disturbing amount of American culture- there were U.S brand stores everywhere in the suburb we stayed in as well as one of South America's biggest malls just down the block. One day we had a very sweaty walk around the down town area before skipping across town to visit a water park! Yup we got to muck around in the pools, wave pools on water slides and go on a flying fox into a swimming pool- so much fun! It's not just for kids!
After this brief visit to Cali we headed to the country's capital city of Bogota. This large city is positioned smack bang in the middle of Colombia. We chose to stay in the historic are of the city called La Candelaria. After a first morning of wandering around and seeing some of the city's more famous buildings we headed to the Funicular. This cable car takes visitors to the top of a mountain overlooking the city. Amazing views here and we also went to a beautiful restaurant in a 1920s building with views of the whole area. We spent the rest of the day exploring around town, and trying, with great difficulty to find a place to eat for dinner - we had arrived in town on yet another random public holiday and almost everything was closed!
The next day we set out on a little excursion, just out of Bogota, to visit Colombia's 'first wonder' - the famous Cathedral del Sal or Salt Cathedral. First opened to the public in 1995, the Cathedral is completely underground and was built into an already existing salt mine. While sounding like a quite remarkable concept, we found the attraction to be more of a tacky Vegas-style attraction than a proud national monument. With people offering to take your photo, a lightshow akin to what you'll find at Crown casino and a very secular feeling to the place (despite purporting to be a Cathedral), we both found the sight rather unappealing and disappointing. We spent the next couple of days chilling out in Bogota, not doing a lot, but just enjoying the city, including going for breakfasts at a great little café we found that was opened in the 60s, and looked like it hadn't changed a bit since its early days.
After Bogota we got on a long bus ride (24 hours and hopefully our last long one!) said our goodbyes to the Andean mountain range and arrived in the stiflingly hot, but infinitely beautiful port town of Cartagena. Founded by the Spanish in the 16th century, Cartagena is a classic colonial city separated into two parts - the new and the old town. The old town is obviously the original site for where the town began, with the new town having sprawled far around it. This part of town is surrounded by walls built in the 1500s to protect Cartagena from invading forces (namely infamous pirates!). The city has long been one of the most important ports in South America and is today Colombia's biggest and most important. As you wander the streets of the historical section it really feels like you've stepped back in time- you'll see ornate white buildings, wooden balconies covered with vines and flowers and of course the still standing walls surrounding everything. And this is one of those cities where you can spend hours wandering the streets. We had some great meals in tiny hole in the wall restaurants, sat on top of the wall at night watching the sea and bought LOTS of lemonade from the guys selling it on the street corners (which Ryan is now addicted to!). After a few days it was time for a trip to the beach though- quite a relief as it is SO HOT here it's unbelievable. Well it's only in the low 30s but the humidity is so high it seems like you're constantly swimming in a warm bath of your own sweat. We loved Cartagena but we needed to SWIM!!
So we headed to a place called Nacional Parque Tayrona, a popular beach spot for Colombians and foreigners alike. Personally we were also some what inspired by it's description in a novel about traveling South America we both read before leaving called The Gringo Trail. Of course at the end of that book one of the main characters dies so maybe we shouldn't be following it's advice to the letter! Anyway the road to Tayrona was a long and somewhat traumatic one- we were told the van we had booked tickets on would leave at about 5.30 am from our hostel. Just before 5 as I was showering we got a knock on our door- the van was here! We threw our things together in a panic and jumped in the van. This disruptive start combined with the heat and he fact that our driver insisted on going a hundred miles an hour around corners and over speed bumps is probably why when we stopped at the depot, I felt the need to exit the van and rid myself of last nights dinner- not fun. Also probably too much information I know. A long crowded journey to the city of Santa Marta followed, then a short taxi ride to the town market, then another van ride. This one was slightly more comfortable with all the windows open and our 40 year old vehicle unable to get over 60 ks an hour. The beautiful trip was marred only when we were stopped by the police who made everyone get off the bus, searched it (not sure what they were looking for!) and the let us get back on. There is a huge police presence here and it's not always friendly! Once we'd arrived at the park we paid our entrance fee and hopped in a jeep who would take us 10 minutes closer to our destination. THEN (I'm just realising this journey had about 7 parts) we hiked for about 2 hours through the amazing jungle then across the beach to our camp ground. Cabo San Juan Guia is the furthest place you can stay but it has the huge advantage that you can swim right there, where as at the other camp grounds you have to take quite a walk to get to swimming beaches. And you don't want to swim on the other beaches- over 200 people have drowned at the main beach of Arrecifes alone swimming near where there are huge rips and reefs. Once we arrived at our campsite, we rented hammocks that were to be our beds for the next couple of nights, and settled into a routine that went something like this; wake up, get out of hammock, go for a swim, eat breakfast, go for a walk, come back to camp, eat lunch, go for another swim, sit on the beach and read, eat dinner, got to sleep. As you can imagine, it was quite tough! Aside from the typical idyllic beach setting which Tayrona was, we found that the park was also home to a plethora of exotic wildlife - we came across, many bright green and blue lizards, endangered species of monkeys (some who even threw coconuts at us!), crabs and birds. Needless to say, there was plenty to keep us entertained during our stay there and we were quite sad when it came time to leave. But leave we did, returning to the beautiful city of Cartagena. Here we spent a little more time wandering around and seeing things we had missed the first time. Most importantly, however, we spent our last days here organizing our boat trip across the Caribbean Sea to Panama, which you'll have to wait until our next blog to read about!
That's all for another blog guys, big love and special birthday wishes sent out to Nana Rete, Katrina and Mum/Barbara!
Love Ryan and Hayley
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