El Dorado Hotel Cartagena

... for the equivalent of five pounds each, got some food and crashed out under the fans.

Taganga is a real tourist hotspot. It's got a strip down by the sea front full of restaurants and bars and shops selling touristy stuff. It was full of travellers just like us. We spent the next few days on the beach hiding from the sun and the heat. The beach we were on was a little cove in between two cliffs. Absolutly ...

... of Cartagena and chanced upon a brightly lit restaurant next to the Simon Bolivar Plaza. I didn’t catch the name of it but it had yellow walls, yellow table clothes and the waiter/owner and chef wore yellow. He was a really polite and attentive, spoke a little English and served us up one of the best menu de dia’s I have had for $6mil pesos each, including soup and drink. It was a bright end to a long day. We left to return to our accommodation.

... back to Cartagena. Taxied back to the bus terminal for 7.000 pesos. Don't pay more. The bus was 20.000 pesos directo. It was the company Berlinair, the bus was brand new, I don't think I'd ever seen a brand new bus in South America. The bathroom gleamed menacingly. Toilet paper abundant. Lots of clean smelling soap. Was this for real? I thought of downing water and visiting the lavatory multiple times.
Went back ...

... We started off doing it ourselves but then opted for the easy option $5 for a proffessional job. It was well worth it they even blacked the tyres.
After all that sweat we needed a night out in the old city, to catch the sights and atmosphere, and the odd beer.
Cartagena is the major tourist attraction in Colombia having retained a lot of itīs Spanish heritage and having a spectacular beach which we did not bother with.

... re offering." "No. We shouldn't be talking about this. Maybe I should talk to your chef instead." -"It's your decision. We have to take you." His colleagues waited on their motorcycle, laughing. "Now you must go with them." They kept laughing and when I told them again I wanted to talk to the chief of police, they suddenly announced me I was free to go. On my way back to the hostel I saw an older man in a police uniform standing on a balcony overlooking the scene. What might have ...

... the hammock around me and hid. Back on the boat, we were asked to brave higher winds and much rougher seas than the morning. Though it was totally safe in retrospect, sitting in that little boat and getting tossed around by the sea was a bit scary at times. At the very least, I was kept cool by a constant splash from the triumphant mar Caribe. Back in town, we spent the evening much as we would the next two days, shuttling between the pool and great restaurants. The next day ...

... roads that are surfaced smooth as billiard tables with all manner of obese American SUV's belting along them. The irony being that this surprise wealth is from 2 opposing means. The tourism income from the most diverse and vibrant ecosystem in the world (The Galapagos Islands) and the revenues from recently exploited oil and natural gas reserves. One can't help but feel with these opposite forces funding the "progress", the party will soon be over for the locals.


Machala is ...

... hour trip from Medellin to Cartagena. Cartagena de Indias is a beautiful city listed as a Unesco World Heritage site. In response of pirate attacks, the Spaniards built up a series of forts around the town and surrounded the city with thick walls. The heart of the city is the old city, particularly the inner walled town, is absolutely gorgeous. It is a real gem of colonial architecture, packed with churches, monasteries, plazas, palaces and mansions ...

... women will help you wash the stuff off. You have to do it as a day trip from Cartagena, it costs 45,000 and includes lunch, fresh fish, at a nearby fishing port. A unique day, afterall we have never jumped into a live volcano before. There are some fantastic restaurants in town (the Quebracho Argentinian steak house is awesome!) and you can find some cheaper places, particularly in the San Diego area, which is more residential than El Centro, they merge together and ...