Cartagena
Trip Start
Dec 04, 2006
1
18
20
Trip End
Jan 25, 2007
Cartagena,
Colombia
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Cartagena 12
Cartagena 13
Since I was able to tour the Old Town in 1 afternoon making the obligatory stops at the cathedrals, Plaza Bolivar (I think there is one of those in every city), and the fort; the other 4 days here were to be spent at the beach.
Cartagena 1
Cartagena 7
Cartagena 10
Cartagena 3
After 2 days at the beach trying to avoid all the local businessmen selling t-shirts, knockoff watches and sunglasses, Cuban cigars, ganga, and "white coffee" (thatīs how one of them described it, I just laughed and thanked him for the offer because I didnīt want to come to Colombia and not have someone at least offer to sell me some "white coffee") I was ready to take a day trip somewhere. My day trip took me to Volcano Totumo, which is about an hour from Cartagena. Instead of spewing ash or lava, Totumo is a mud volcano. Since I visited a few volcanoes in Nicaragua and Costa Rica I figured it would be cool to actually go inside the crater and swim around in the volcanic mud. The volcano wasnīt what I expected as it ended up being more like a mound of dirt with a pool of mud in the crater.
Volcano Totumo 1
Volcano Totumo 2
It was an interesting experience being in the lukewarm mud, much like when I was at the Dead Sea I was unable to stand and just naturally floated. Supposedly the mud contains minerals that give it therapeutic value, once again much like the Dead Sea. 
