Week 18 - Panama city to Santa Marta (Colombia)
Trip Start
Aug 01, 2007
1
30
69
Trip End
Dec 19, 2008
Santa Marta,
Colombia
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Nov 30th
Like a bear with a sore head from last nights drinking fest it was a very late rise. Just about managed to drag myself out of bed for early dinner in the bustling Avenida Central.
Alot of people have told me Panama's more pricey than Costa Rica..not so. It's roughly 20% cheaper in most vital things; transport, food and lodgings. Found a shop that sells T-shirts for 25c (blimey) but didn't succumb to the temptation.
Walked around abit to clear my head and do some people watching. The Panamanians are much darker than their Costa Rican neighbours and especially in the city theres much more colour and vibrancy around. Kind of reminded me of my time in Africa with the great smells of street vendors food, dirty streets and strange goings ons. Saw an old fella sitting on a chair in the street with a stethascope (not sure if thats the right word for a doctors instrument) round his neck plying his trade as a street doctor (hmmmm..should I get my booster injections from him...I think not).
Using the power of the internet I booked a flight from Panama city to Cartagena (Colombia) for the 2nd December (Copaair $240)
Panama Canal 1
. I wanted a flight sooner but it was all booked out. There are only 3 options to reach Colombia from here: 1, take a boat or ship which can be time-consuming but rewarding as you can visit beautiful islands. Judging by the weather and season I don't think my legs are ready for the sea yet. 2, Get a bus or any other mode of transport through the Dariun Gap (possibly the most dangerous place on earth and full of Guerrillas and coke gangs). I heard a fellow traveller once say 'if you get mugged once or twice there you've had a good day' (not sure if he was exagurating or not but it is dangerous there). 3, Fly for 1 hour. The choice was made for me when I realised I'd overspent my time in Central America by 2 months (Sweet Jesus..where does the time go?).Got a chinese take away (chicken and rice for $1.80..wooohoo) and watched a film called 'Beerfest' at the hotel which meant my top10 of worst films is turning into a top 20 (it was absolute crap).
Dec 1st
Well, just when I thought things would get simpler and I would chill in Panama city for a few days..have discovered that my room-mate from Norway is a crack head. He spent most of the day coming in and out of the room from a dealers place round the corner. Normally I would have said 'look pal, you're on your own and then found another place to stay (when someones hooked on the pipe I'm really not interested) but he's a really decent bloke but with a bad habit so I stuck around and helped him out when the supply turned out bad
Panama Canal 2
. Many trips to doctor's and chemists to find him some calming pills (Diazapan..or something like that). I was supposed to go see the canal today. I'll have to do it tomorrow morning.Well, at least I can say my Spanish is improving and if anyone needs to know the most sympathetic hospital doctor in town and where the best chemist is..I'm the one to ask.
Walked around more in town and strolled along the Panama city promenade (great view of the city but didn't take my camera).
Did some internet stuff and made a few calls home in the late afternoon. Came back to the hotel room and found a calm and normal Norwegian (he was on some kind of 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' trip before..talking about the cops coming and the dealer's a snitch..all rubbish of course).
After a few beers in the hotel bar (it's seen better days..to me it looks like the hotel Ideal had its hey-day in the 50's and has just been left as it is since then in a state of disrepair). Still, I like the place..its got character.
Early night tonight as tomorrow morning its time to visit the famous canal and then catch a flight to Colombia.
Dec 2nd - Panama to Cartagena (Colombia)
Caught a taxi to the amazing engineering feat of the Panama Canal (affectionately known locally as 'the ditch'). Designed by the French (apparently) it was amazing to see the ships slowly rising step by step in the various lock sections and then dropping slowly to a normal water level. The entrance to the Miraflor Lock was $8 including a short 10 minute film, museum and access to view the lock.
By 12 I was abit nervous about my 3pm flight to Cartagena as I'd only reserved it and not paid yet (total cost of flight including airport taxes $280).
Getting back to the hotel I bid a farewell to Captain Crack (nice fella though) and got a discounted taxi ride to the airport from the same taxi driver ($10)
Panama Canal 3
. Everything was cool at the airport and clutching my ticket and boarding pass I was ready for stage 3 of my travels (South America). I had a few hours to kill so went through immigration early to check out the shops (Panama being a duty free country).While I was browsing the shops I made an executive decision after seeing a compact and light laptop for sale at $700 (£350) it was a bargain. I weighed up the pros and cons and then bought it even though it goes against all my light packing. Benefits of having a laptop while I'm travelling are; internet and phone calls when I want (depending on wireless access), blog writing on a proper keyboard and screen, I can edit photos and videos when I need to and quite possibly do abit of work. Bad points are weight, size and a slight worry about it getting nicked (have checked my insurance and its covered so thats cool). If it gets too cumbersome I can sell it.
The flight was very short at 1 hour so before I could even read my guidebook's section on Colombia we had landed. I was quite nervous at the immigration point because I didn't have an onward ticket but it was all cool and no questions asked. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't abit nervous about going to Colombia but most people say its a great place to travel. Its slowly shrugging off its reputation for kidnappings, robberies and all-round danger.
First thing that struck me when I walked out of Cartagena airport was the heat....super hot and it looked very tropical with palm trees everywhere and a Caribbean feel
Cartagena 1
. Caught a cab to the Casa Viena hostel and as is my habit when first arriving in a new city I opted for a room rather than a dorm bed (just to sort my pack out and get adjusted).Quite a lively vibe at the hostel and pretty packed out. Went out for some chicken and salted potatoes and then had a few drinks in the hostel lounge area and chatted to a few of the international backpackers here.
New currency to get used to now. The Colombian Peso is 1,850 to the Dollar and a slightly annoying thing is the 1,000 and 10,000 Peso notes are quite similar.
Around midnight when I was about to sleep I heard alot of shouting and screaming outside. Had a peak out the window and there was a gang of coked up Columbian trying to break into the hostel. They were trying to kick down the re-enforced metal door but luckily had no success. After 5 minutes of this the police came and they ran off. Apparently this hostel is in a slightly dodgy part of town.
Dec 3rd - Cartagena (Colombia)
My first morning in Colombia and it felt good to be here. Had an early morning walk around to get myself orientated. There is a reason for the fair city of Cartagena to be a UNESCO heritage site and protected..it is a beautiful place. Walked around the old town and took in the old colonial buildings and churches. There are stalls everywhere selling goodies like fresh juice, fruit, old school books, tourist bits, coffee,, watches and a huge amount of mobile phone covers.
Cartagena 2
The smells are really something; cinammon, frying meat, fish...nice.Walking around Cartegena (old town) feels safe and the people are friendly and helpful and more relaxed than elsewhere I've been. Also, I've been offered coke and women everywhere in the street (well, this is Colombia after all)
Exhausted and sweating like I've done 10 rounds of sparring (its super hot here) it was time to head back and check into my dorm bed and have a siesta. Woke up late and had some chicken and salted potatoe (chicken is now my staple diet since the boat ride in Nicaragua) and had a few beers in the hostel.
Dec 4th - Cartagena
Went for another morning walk just to soak up the atmosphere of Cartagena and checked out a few of the churches and streets. The colonial buildings are gorgeous here, painted in bright colours with wooden balconies covered in flowers and plants.
Checked out the fort across the south bridge and got a great view of tghe city from there. Got a bit nervous as I was walking around there as the security police kept following me (thought I was being stalked) but it was for my own safety as it was pretty quiet here.
Then went to the free Museum del Oro (Museum of Gold) and checked out some exquisite gold ornaments from the Zenu, Quimbaya and Choco people (200 BC to 1000 AD). Apparently in those days you could find gold nuggets the size of eggs in the rivers very regularly. After all that culture I needed a livener so sat in the square opposite the museum and got a fresh coffee from a vendor who walks around with 3 different thermos flasks of different coffees (25c)
Cartagena 3
. Did some people watching for a few hours. Alot of the old folk sit around and talk about general stuff like the price of tobacco, their son's business or their grandchildren. On a totally different subject..the women here in Columbia (true to Shakira) are gorgeous (with a capital Gorge) and its no surprise then that I have developed a sore neck. It seems the Colombian male has a fascination with big girls. The ones I look at are watched half-heartedly but when a big Momma in a mini skirt walks passed its all go.
Back at the hostel I chilled with other backpackers and chatted about travel. It seems a hot place to go for some beach action round here is a town further north called Santa Marta and its surrounding area (a 4 hour bus ride from here). Since I missed out on the island in Panama I'm going to head there for a few days for some beachy goodness the day after tomorrow.
Dec 5th - Cartagena
My last day here so decided to walk to the only half decent beach around here; Boca Grande. A nice hours walk following the coastline of Cartagena. Reached the beaches and to be honest they weren't that good but was nice to sit and chill by the sea.
Reading by the sea and relaxing was almost impossible as every minute a hawker would come past and stop to try and sell their goods; oyster sellers, juice sellers, ice cream sellers, t-shirt sellers and masseurs. It would have been pretty useful for me to have a pre-recorded tape of me saying 'no, gracias'..I had to say it so many times
Cartagena 4
. Feeling kind of tired I gave in to one of the masseurs who said she'd massage my feet for free and if I liked it I could get a shoulder massage too.After a half decent foot massage I said I'd come back manana for a massage. Then she shocked me with a 50,000 Peso bill for the massage ($25) and much arguing and haggling ensued. Other hawkers were getting involved now so after finally agreeing to pay 15,000 I left in disgust and walked back to the hostel.
Late afternoon was a chilled affair of packing, internetting and chatting to other travellers. Tomorrow I'm going to hook up with Aussie Mick as he's off to Santa Marta aswell. True to your average Aussie backpacker, the fella likes a beer or ten.
Dec 6th - Cartagena to Santa Marta
Bidding a farewell to the great hostel that is the Casa Viena (owned by an Austrian fella no less) and Cartagena. Really enjoyed Cartagena..good place for sight-seeing and a very good atmosphere but altogether very touristy. Boat loads of cruisers come here nearly every day.
Me and Aussie Mick shared a cab the bus terminal and got a ticket for the 11.30 to Santa Marta ($10). On buyiing the ticket I noticed a weird whiteboard behind the sellers desk which had some helpful facts about the safety of the buses; Accidents 0, Murders 0 (very honest writing of course). The journey took 5 hours including a bus change at Barranqella and including the obligatory Kung Foo film on board.
Santa Marta is a decent beach town that has some amazing Xmas lights and decorations on display (Oxford Street take note)
Cartagena 5
. Checked into the Hostal Familiar ($14 for shared room) and went out to grab some dinner. Loads of restaurants along the beach prominade. While I was waiting for dinner I met 2 fellas I recognised from the Casa Viena in Cartagena Jorge from Sweden who has a serious rum drinking problem and Andre from Slovakia..cheerful chap).Did some bar hopping but by 11 my stomach was performing the kind of movement associated with volcanos so the rest of the night was spent in the hotel toilet hopping.
Heard some more robbery stories from Jorge and Andre who were both co-incidentally robbed on the same day and in the same city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia (famous for having the most beautiful women in Bolivia but the sting in the tail is its regular robberies.
Andre's story goes like this:
He was walking back to his hotel at night (not the wisest thing to do) and he was stopped in the street by 2 fellas claiming to be police and asking to search his bag. Shortly afterwards a car pulled up and he was marched into it (forcebly). They drove off and after emptying all the bags contents and checking his passport and credit cards they demanded his pin number. They claimed to have handguns so he gave it to them. After that they drove to a bank, withdrew $250 and then dumped him at his hostel pennyless (moral of the story is don't walk around alone at night in a city round these parts..taxi all the way). Jorge had a similar story but it was set up in a taxi (doh). These kind of tales always go around the travel circuit.
The plan for the next week is a few days at Tagonga and then off to a tropical paradise beach called Tayrona National Park for some rough living on the beach. After that I head south to Medallin and further.
