Hi everyone,

We're writing to you from a lovely place called Medellin which is in the North-West of Columbia (ah, the good old North-West!!). There'll be more from here later but firstly to fill you in with an eventful week on the very, very hot Carribean Coast!

We had booked to go island hopping on the Wednesday as we had booked to go to Playa Blanca and Islas de Rosario for sight seeing and general playing in the sea! However we awoke to torrential rain in the morning and so had to accept that some beach time would have to wait. Defeated but not downhearted we took to the town for a final look. Cartegena really is beautiful. The old wall that surrounds the Old Town is very cool to walk around but also makes the place feel historically important. Being so vulnerable as a city meant such a defense was neccesary and with the (now ornamental) canons facing out to sea you would imagine that Cartegena would look pretty intimidating. As Kate said previously, inside the walls it is very colonial with statues of important historical figures (if you want to know who they were and why they were famous, you´re reading the wrong blog!) and just generally a great place to wander aimlessly and have a few beers. The rest of our time was spent packing and going for a nice meal to cap off a geat time in a geat city.

Thursday was a travel day. A minibus took us to our next stop - Taganga. As always the trip was freezing (theyre air-con mad over here) but Kate went the whole way with no travel sickness...winner!! Our bus dropped us at our hostel (Casa de Filipe) which was down a horrible dirt track in what looked to be a horrible place. The room was a bit crap and despite ordering a private room we had to share with two lizards!! We quickly headed to the port for a look around and booked a fishing trip for the following day. It rained all evening and we had an early night, both of us feeling a bit disheartened for the first time on the trip.

We awoke on Friday and almost immediately realised that yesterdays poor attitude was just a passing phase. While the room (and our guests) remained a bit rubbish the hostel itself was excellent. It had hammocks, a bar, computors, a good eating area and it wasnt that poorly located after all. A short walk to the front showed us that the trek up here was well worth it. Taganga, as the Lonely Planet book says, has been overwhelmed by a wave of tourism in recent years. A tiny little fishing village has become a hotbed for people wanting day trips, steaks and sunloungers and despite some serious efforts from some of the locals that we met, the place does seem a little bit out of its depth. That said, our fishing trip was a great success...well, for me, not so mcuh for Kate! We were paired with another couple, Ralph, a New Jersey Firefigher, and Nancy, a lovely Columbian lady who didnt speak a word of the queens but managed to communicate well with rapid hand movements and facial expressions...a woman after my own heart! We caught Meero, Black spotty fish (not the technical term) and other colourful, exotic looking fish. I caught an eel which was in the process of eating another fish but he was a bit of an angry fella so we let him go. Halfway through the day our driver/captain took us to a beautiful, desrted beech for a bit of a swim and a snorkel. It was easily the warmest sea ive ever been in and the backdrop of the hills and mountains made it pretty perfect. After an hour playing in the sea it was back to the fishing and time for Kates moment of bittersweet glory! She´d not been feeling well in the morning session, and the failure to catch a fish only compounded the problem, but the swimming and the snorkling had done the world of good. Only two minutes in to the afternoon and Kate finally got a bite. Heroically she pulled it in like a woman possessed but at the very momemt she pulled it out of the sea she threw the line at me and hurled bigtime over the side of the boat! At the time it wasnt funny but now it does make me laugh! A few more fish later and it was time to return to shore through the roughest sea i have ever known. Fortunately our little boat did the business and we feasted like kings on our catch which came served with coconut rice and plantain...beautiful!

Saturday was a lazy day where we realised just how burnt we bot were (particually me!). We did our laundry and had some lunch at the front. Kate skyped Bren, Jen and Cam which made her very happy! Sunday wasnt much more productive. We headed to Playa Grande which is only a cheap boat ride away and was meant to be beautiful. I suppose it was but we both agreed we´d been spoilt by the fishing trip beach. We played in the sea and sat in the sun making time for a seafood lunch at one of the beach bars. A lazy night at the hostel was just what we needed as we reflected on a cracking few days on the Carribean Coast.

We had a lie-in on Monday but Kate received news that her Grandad (Nonno) had died. Needless to say she was devastated and we spent much of the day quiet and thinking about everyone back home. Kate rang home and thanks to Laura was able to see everyone on Skype. Kate met my Grandad about four months ago and he died two months ago and as ive told her repeatedly, Im really glad she met him. I¨m very, very glad i got to meet Nonno and the times we met he was very warm and hospitable and, despite his lack of fondness for the North, was a lovely man and I hope all the Roberto´s and O´Byrne´s are holding up ok.

Tuesday we arrived in Medellin and it seems nice, though much more American that anywhere weve been (theres a Dominos Pizza accross the road from our hostel!) Only 18years ago Medellin was considered the most murderous city in the world but now its a haven of business and tourism. Our first night was spent with a couple of beers and a pizza in prepartion for a good look round tmrw.

Weve been in Medellin now for three days but further Columbian adventures will have to wait foir the next entry. I hope everyone is well and sympathetic to spelling and gramatical mistakes within this text. Normal service will be resumed next time when Kate takes the reigns. Any comments are more than welcome, its great to hear from people back home. Were off now for 70p beers and $5 steaks...I bloody love Columbia.

Joe & Kate.