Despite family misgivings I headed to Colombia and was pleasantly surprised by the ease of travel and teh friendliness of the people, not to mention how beautiful the country was. Roads wind through the mountains covered in jungle vegetation that plummett into gorges deep below. The incredible winding roads are not deterrent to the determined drivers of Colombia who overtake on corners as trucks bomb along in the other direction. The biggest threat to the sensible tourist in Colombia is the driving.
Our first stop was Bogota, where I managed to meet up with some fellow gringos I'd met many months ago in Argentina. 7 of us crammed into one of the tiny taxis and went to an underground drum and bass night. We danced until dawn and then, pitifully failing to come up with the cash for the after club party we walked back to the hostel as the sun rose.
The next stop on our fair,ly whistlestop tour was Salento for Easter. Unfortunately the day we left Bogota was the day every Colombian went away fro their Easter holidays, traffic jams in the jungle are no joke. Salento is a small town in the coffee producing region of Colombia. The town was bustling with the Easter holidaymakers but still felt friendly and safe. We visited 2 coffee farms to see how coffee is produced (and to get some free coffee) and of course for the views over the valley. I also ventured out on horseback for a fairly hair raising experience as my inexperienced self cantered up and down the steepest and muddiest of hills. As much as I enjoyed Salento it was time for a but of sun so off to the coast and the colonial town of Cartagena.
Admittedly our main reason for wanting to see Cartagena was that it was in Romancing the Stone. A slightly poor reason perhaps, but nonetheless a strong urge had been created. It lived up to expectation, not that Michael Douglas was wrestling crocodiles on forts but the town was beautiful. An old walled city filled with churches and horsedrawn carts. Oh and tourists of course. Once there the heat drove us to take a boat out to Playa Blanca, an isolated beach 2 hours from Cartagena, looking like a bounty ad, palm trees, azure waters and beach huts everywhere. Of course I was bored after 2 days so we headed North once more to Taganga, a diving centre once again on the Caribbean. The beach isn't the nicest in the world but the mix of people I met there and the laid back atmosphere of the town helped make it one of my trip highlights. There's something about rum, tequila and watching the sunrise over the beach that does it for me...
It was very hard to leave the beach and the people,but all too soon my time in Colombia was up, my birthday was drawing near and I had an inca trail to get to. So with a heavy heart i boarded my bus to Lima, to arrive 70 hours later. I then immediately boarded a bus to Cuzco racking up 90 hours of near solid journey time. My aroma by this point doesn't bear thinking about but I was excited to be embarking on the inca trail very soon after.
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