Come on Colombia!

I've arrived safely in Colombia and have been on the go since the time the tiny little propeller plane touched down on the desolate stretch of land that is Cartagena's airport to now. Before boarding in Panama City we realised that we weren't exactly about to board a Boeing 747 for our small journey, but an old propeller plane was a bit of a surprise. The fact that they were winding up elastic bands before we boarded was never a good sign, but regardless we made it across to South America without any problems. In fact the plane ride was relatively smooth and had me thinking that modern advancements to aviation technology have really been quite unnecessary.

So touching down in Cartagena at midnight wasn't anything to write home about. The four of us jumped in an overpriced taxi (no real option at that late at night, and they certainly know it when extorting you) and headed to a place that was in our guide book. Upon checking in we probably realised pretty quickly that it wasn't the best place, but at this time at night, we really didn't have much choice. Instead me embraced the first time in our new country and went exploring before a restless night in our little hot box.

The next morning we checked out and headed into the old town ( the real attraction of Cartagena). Upon navigating the streets with a clueless taxi driver we arrived to what we thought was our destination, but with no idea where to stay. We met an extremely friendly guy on the street who introduced himself as Super Mario and he assured as that he could get us whatever we wanted, and i didn't doubt him for a second. But he did prove to be helpful when he pointed us in the direction of a cheap hostel and nice place to eat. Accommodation and food, check. Whore house and cocaine, no thanks mate...well...maybe later.

With the 4 of us checked in and settled in our new location we decided to go exploring and walk around town. A little history lesson on the beautiful and romantic city which is Cartagena. At the time of the “Spanish exploring” of South America (a.k.a rob and steal the traditional cultures of all their precious resources) the city of Cartagena proved to be a vital storage point of all the treasures for the Spanish. The most accessible sea port established in South America, it was used by the Spanish as the final point before the treasures made their way across the Atlantic and into the Spanish empire. Therefore it was a crucial point of protection for the Spanish, and also a primary target for pirates if they were looking for a quick fix. Because of this the old city has erected a big stone fortress type wall that spans across the sea front and protects the inner city from potential sea attacks and pirates. There is a massive stone fort that still stands in very good shape in the middle of the old town and then you can explore the old cobbled streets, plazas and shops that are guarded behind the fortress wall. It really is a site to see. Definitely makes you feel like you've skipped back in time.

For the next couple of days we ventured into the streets and got lost in the twisting and turning alleys that make up this old town. At nights we would find hidden plazas and watch on as the people went about their business. People playing music, old men playing chess, kids running amok, local venders serving up street meat, everybody enjoying a refreshing ale and old round good times. With all the exploring done we decided it was time to move onto our next area. John and Rachael at this stage had other plans so we said our goodbyes and parted ways. Sad times, but a common part of travelling so you get used to saying unemotional goodbyes. There's always the possibility of meeting them again in the future.

The next part of our trip was part organised and part desire to get off the beaten track. We'd read about this little place down south of Cartagena called Mompos (sometimes spelt Mompox) that is a little colonial town trapped in time. Like Cartagena, Mompos was also a very important town to Colombia a couple of hundred years ago because of its geographical positioning along an important river. Back in the day it was a proud modern city of Colombia, but after a sudden shift in trade routes, Mompos was left off the grid and suddenly frozen in time. Because of this there are many beautiful houses that look like they haven't changed a spec of paint in 200 years. It has a really cool feel to it and it was nice to get off the usual travel route. When we first arrived (massive adventure involving a 4 hour dodgy bus, crammed taxi and shipping ferry) we checked into this awesome hostel. For the cheap price and good location it was probably one of the nicest places we have stayed in to date, unfortunately it was completely empty. Not one single guest, and then upon walking around the city we soon realised that we were the only travellers in the whole town. This provided the citizens of Mompos with great amusement as Kevin (6 foot 5) and myself (still towering over the short South Americans) cruised around the town like giants.

Over the next couple of days we went about our usual business of exploring the back streets and unusual spots of our new town. Mompos was really quiet but it was a nice change. Nothing extremely important to report on Mompos, but well worth a visit to check out some different aspects of traditional Colombian life. When we left Mompos after a couple of days we decided our next stop was going to be the city of Medellin, home to the infamous former drug lord Pablo Escobar who at the time of his peak was worth 20 billion dollars and pretty much controlled Colombia's cocaine trade.

The journey down to Medellin was another mission in itself. Took us 6 hours to get to the next town (rickety taxi and then temporarily broken down speedboat in the middle of a river) of Magangue and then we got an overnight bus for the next 12 hours. Although Colombia has greatly improved its safety over the last couple of years, it is still by far a place to trek with caution. Guerrilla activity is still common (with various guerrilla groups still opposing the current regime), but less frequent along the bus routes so it wasn't too bad travelling at night. Every now and then in our travels we still come across the odd story about people being robbed by gun point at fake police check points along the highways. With this in mind we approached the bus with caution, but decided to run the gauntlet. Our security wasn't exactly enhanced by the fact that a man came on board at some random stage and started video taping everyone before dashing off in an unmarked taxi, but we've been assured since that this is purely a security practice. Either way i spent the next couple of hours running over strategies of how to evade the robbers and conceal my important stuff if the situation occurred.

Thankfully we arrived in Medellin safely, but after 18 hours of travel we were pretty stuffed. We got off at the North Station and decided to catch the metro at 5am into the area of our accommodation. The hostel that we were staying at (called Casa Kiwi and you guessed it, owned by a Kiwi) was right in the middle of the Zona Rosa (a very well known destination for people looking for some crazy nightlife). We checked in and tried to rest up a little after our long journey, but when arriving in a new town all you want to do is get out amongst it. Logically i should have rested up, but instead i got on the sherbets and before i knew it i was chugging rum and having one of the bigger nights of my trip so far. The Zona Rosa consists of half a dozen streets that are just packed wall to wall with pubs, bars and restaurants all ready to accommodate travellers and locals for guaranteed good times. And good times we had. The next morning was spent shaking out the cobwebs before deciding some fresh air would be the best idea. Kevin and I boarded a metro to the city centre and walked around the main centre checking out some of the sights. It was also at this stage that i had a moment of madness and decided upon a $4 haircut from an old Spanish lady.

With my Spanish still improving i was somewhat able to convey that just a short cut is all that would be required today, however i think she missed the point. Instead i went to the trusty haircut book and found the most normal looking haircut and picked it out. She simply nodded, put the book away, and then preceded to give me the same haircut she would no matter which person you picked in the book. I kind of knew it wasn't going to go down fantastically when she started cutting my hair without even brushing the wild tangles that had began to develop over the many months. In the end i was left looking like a pre-pubecent Latino boy on his first date, but i managed to mess it up and now it looks relatively normal.

That night, Saturday, was once again spent enjoying the festivities of the area, and then the next day was spent checking out a few of the local sights again. We checked out the Botanical Garden and then the university area before heading home for a bit of a quiet one. Well a quiet one in terms of not going out to a bar, but i still managed to tuck a few beers into bed before i got myself there. For the next couple of days we just enjoyed the area and took it easy before making our next move on a bus to the capital Bogota. In Bogota, before arriving, we had arranged to CouchSurf at a girls house for a coupe of nights. For those that aren't sure of what CouchSurfing is than you really should look it up. It would be to difficult to describe how much of an unbelievable travelling resource it is to you within a few sentences so i recommend you look into it. Anyway, basically we found a persons house to stay at for a few nights for free and we arrived that night to begin our next leg of the trip.

At this stage I'm getting a bit back dated so I'll leave it here for now. In the next instalment (hope you guys are actually reading this) you'll hear about our short time in Bogota, our trip down to Cali and then our adventure down into Ecuador.