Cartagena Real

... at a hostel with a couple of cool guys off the boat.

Today we walked around the city which is absolutely incredible and cant wait to go out tonight. Its worked out really sweet that our first night in Colombia is a Saturday so looking forward to some fiesta's with the beautiful people here..

Will add the pics of here when I leave but have put up the ones from the boat ride in the mean time.

Anyway i'm off to make party

Adios amigos

x

... made. It was a sombre occasion. But not for long. Dinner was cut short and Brad was all but forgotten (just joking) because the Party Bus had arrived.
To celebrate Carol’s birthday we had booked tickets on a John Cooksley style party bus that was to take us around to parties and clubs. It included ‘‘all the rum we could drink’’.
The seven of us took the back seat and noticed straight away that not only was there ...

... Peru and Bolivia in particular.

Omri arranged for all of us to go take a boat the following day out to some island. There were the two of us, the two boys, the Liverpudlians and two Dutch girls. The touts must have seen dollar signs coming a mile off. We got to the port and had to muscle our way through them all. All of them wanting our business and shouting different figures at us, pushing us this way and that ...

We left just after 7am and made our way to La Casona de Getsumi where we dropped off abag load of shopping with the intention of picking it up after our mud bath today. We figured we had just enough time to grab breakfast at the restaurant just down the street from La Casona de Getsumi. We all had eggs, Christie and I had coffee and the lady made up some really nice hot chocolate for Jody and Niamh. We headed back to La Casona de Getsumi and the collectivo ...

... high at best, climbed the stairs and jumped in. The guys in the mud pit give you a massage, then you sit around for 10-15 minutes playing in the mud. It was a pretty weird sensation as you float like a cork and its impossible to get your whole body under.

Stupidly I pushed myself right under using the ladder you climb out on. Remind me never to do this again. End result: mud in my eyes, blind for about 10 minutes!

Got out and went to the lake to wash off. They have ladies ...

... enough to cover all your bits from view.... :S!

This experience certainly deserved an entry all for itself and I have about 50 photos of my time there.... which I didnīt actually take myself as when you arrive someone takes your camera and basically spends the whole time photographing you.... itīs like being at a wedding having your photo taken from every angle... except for the mud obviously!

You have to go there.... itīs just so odd! lol

... only had to fill out loads of forms for immigration and swine flu. There were quite a few people in the airport wearing face masks to protect themselves against the flu but I seem to be feeling ok. There were a few chocolate shops in the airport as well so I indulged in some real British Minstrels... wow, they were good. Chocolate over here has been so disappointing.

So I then boarded a tiny tiny prop plane for a horrible flight to Cartagena. The more I fly, the ...

... shops and the icecream place. The blaconies are often covered in flowers and the towering churches only add to the beauty. Getsemani has similar colonial infrastructure, but it is relatively more poor, so not as well maintained. We have not really visited Bocagrande, but from the Centro, you might be a tad reminded of Vancouver. The peninsula juts into the Sea and is covered in tall, shiny buildings that are well-lit at night. Ambience: Holy ...

... old town section. A little history: the city was a haven for the real Caribbean Pirates and prone to pillages throughout the 17th and 18th century. Fed up, the Colombian Navy built a huge stone fortress around the old town that is still present today. Soome of the old cannons are on display and a Naval Museum tells more about itīs history. The city is beautiful and full of romance. It ...

... Policing would have to be one of the largest drains on the national economy. Decked out in brand new Toyota Landcruisers and stretchy trousers each municipale has a team of at least 3 vehicles, each vehicle manned by 2 officers. From what we have seen, no money actually makes it back to the government from these units - all fines just disappear into pockets of the stretchy trousers. Picture a couple of these vehicles every 30 kilometres on the highway and you can get an idea of how much ...