Hugo's Place and the loooong boat ride.....

Trip Start Mar 25, 2008
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Trip End Nov 22, 2008


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Where I stayed
Hugo's Place
(Bogota hotels)

Flag of Colombia  ,
Monday, April 21, 2008

Playa Blanca can be reached via boat in about 1 ½ hours....we were going to be left on the beach for a few days and then come back by boat again.  We were talked into going via tour instead of fast boat....the tour including a stop at Isla Rosario to see an aquarium...which we weren't going to go into...and then being dropped off at Playa Blanca and having a complimentry lunch before we strolled on down to our campsite.   Ok as far as day tours goes this sucked!!!!!!!!  We had thought that on Rosaio Island we would be able to lay on te beach and wait for the peeps seeing the aquarium...NOPE its basically a rock with a couple drink shops and the aqurium and a lot of hawkers wanting you to buy prawns, cerviche...which is all sitting out in the sun...or beads.....

OMG how many times can ou say NO to these things when trapped in a small area....very annoying and no beach....the boat ride also took nearly 6 hours to get to Playa Blanca...talk about the slow boat ride from hell!!!!....everyone looked completely bored and asleep...and remember pretty much 95% of them were only doing this as a day trip One of the islands on the way to Playa Blanca
One of the islands on the way to Playa Blanca
 .  Frey and I had some relief as we knew that we were going to be at  least staying for 3 days on the beach so it wasn't cutting into our time so much!  Lunch was a fish dinner which was actually ok...not sitting on the beach mind you back behnda half dried up filthy lagoon....I wish they would put their rubbish and plastic bags in a bin here...I don't think they reliase they don't disappear!!!!!!  The fish soup ...which I paid extra for was a bit of a  lab experiment....it seemed to be creating bubbles as it fermented in the heat...needless to say after the first mouth full I didn't try more...I didn't get sick tho.

Frey and I bailed on our tour pretty shortly after this and walked down the beach to find Hugo's place....we located it and Hugo and slung our gear in our new home...hammock and then went off for a swim...the water is a little warmer here and is a bit more like the Caribbean waters I know.  We had a great few days laying in the sun, beach walking ...drinking pina coladas and cuba libres...(rum)...there were plenty of other staying here so dinner times were fun with everyone sitting at the big picnic tables together for dinner and lots of chatting and more drinks.   The second night a tent became availabe so Frey and I decided to mix it up a little and move into one for our final night...I have to say I slept better as the wind was cold the night before...I love sleeping in the hammocks but I am so not used to being cold I find it quite discomforting....and we are heading to Ecuador in a few days where it is really cold...I need to do some adjusting Fort on the way out of Cartagena harbour
Fort on the way out of Cartagena harbour
 !

Finally we caught the boat back to Cartagena...Hugo's was great he provided a bucket of fresh water each day for showers....or washing the food was great and he did try to teach us Spanish!!!!  I think all things included we paid about US$25 a day for food drinks and beds.

Our finaly ngiht was in Cartagena a gain...we are welcomed like family back to the Marlin Hotel this is our 3rd stay...we basically get all our washig done take out last photos and head to an Argentinian steakhouse for dinner after 3 days of seafood.

We fly to Quito, Ecuador tomorrow.
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