Seeya Later Crocodile

We set off for Tayrona National Park from Taganga and trekked 45mins through jungle to the coast. We arrived in Arrecifes and walked for about 30mins along the coast to a spot called El Cabo that had postcard like palm trees hanging over pristine sandy white beaches. We hired a tent and spent a few days snorkelling, exploring the beaches and deserted lagoons and opening coconuts. Very relaxing and uncrowded.

We then set off for Cartegena, a port city surrounded by spanish fortress walls. We went to a 15m high mud volcano that we climbed up and jumped in. When in, we were coated with mud and massaged by locals and I felt like a little kid. You could stand upright without sinking as the mud was so dense. After you go to the lagoon and you're washed off by local women just like your mum used to do when you were a kid.

After 4 nights of exploring the beautiful old town of Cartegena, we felt the urge to keep moving so we headed to the yacht club to see if we could get an earlier yacht. We met 5 aussies (2 from Perth and 3 from QLD) who needed 2 more people for a 7 day charter through the San Blas Archipelago. The yacht was 44 ft, Captain Fredrico was a great guy, we got along well with our new friends and the price was right so we set sail the next day.

The first leg of the trip was a 40hr sail to the coast just off the Darian Gap which connects Colombia to Panama. We arrived the second morning after catching a shark trawling (plus a couple of lost bites) to a group of white sandy islands full of palm trees and surrounded by coral reef great for snorkelling. I'm definitely a fan of life on a yacht. I ate the best food since the start of our travelling (thanks to the great shopping by our new mates), I showered by jumping off the back of the yacht into the Carribean sea, we fished for our meals, had bonfires on the beach with the local Kuna people, snorkelled for exercise and opened coconuts for a drink!

We had the holiday that most people dream of and never have. I found my favourite place in the whole world (so far). An island in a group of 2 about 50m x 50m that was covered in palms with agapanthus type flowers as ground cover. It was surrounded by coral and it took about 45mins to snorkel around the entire island checking out the tropical fish. We had a great bonfire around a little table we made from driftwood after we'd had our cookup on the yacht (moored 50m away).

San Blas is definitely the highlight of my trip so far although I was suprised by the lack of fish in the Carribean due to severe overfishing. We only caught 5 or 6 by trawling lines whilst on the move. The yachtie culture is strong in this area with a heap of interesting people to meet ( a young couple with a kid who'd planned on 1 yr sailing which has turned into 9!) and great food (delicious giant crabs). Stay tuned for upcoming photos!

We're now in Panama City and just went for a visit to the Panama Canal. Heading out for a long lost curry tonight then heading up to Costa Rica. Ciao

C-C-C-Carribean

Villa Leyva was beautiful. A very spanish like village with cobbled streets, horse drawn carts, church bells tolling, great food and crafts and friendly people. We went on a country side hike to a fossil museum (Glens choice. I'm an avid disliker of Dinosaurs) and saw some fantastic houses which may or may not be owned by drug lords. We then took a bus to San Gil which is apparently the "adventure capital" of Colombia but to Glen's dismay there was not a bike to be found. It was a bit of a let down but did have a beautiful park and we discovered Panzerottis (pizzas folded in half).

We then headed to Bucuramanga and discovered an overnight bus to Santa Marta which we gladly booked ourselves onto after asking if it was dangerous...
Us: Is it peligroso?
Signorina: No, why do you ask?
Us: Its just that all our guidebooks tell us not to travel at night.
Signorina: Pffff.
So after checking out the nearby village of Giron, much like Villa Leyva, we got on the freezing aircon bus and explored SantaMarta for a day.

Santa Marta is just a busy seaside city that smells alot like fish. We stayed for a night and headed to the fishing village of Tagonga where we stayed last night in a beautiful hostel with a great view of the Carribean and a 30sec walk into the ocean that's the temp of tepid water. Yesterday we caught a boat to some fabulous snorkelling and saw 1000's of multicoloured tropical fish and coral of all shapes and sizes. This together with freshly caught fish for lunch and about 5 mango smoothies in 24 hours has really set us up for a beachside life for a couple of weeks.

We may head to Arrecifes today or tomorrow for more snorkelling and beach/jungle camping and then meander down the coast to catch our yacht to Panama.

Happy Mother's Day to our Mum's. We love you!

Locombia

San Augustin was a very quaint town among rolling green hills. We stayed in the most luxurious accomodation yet at Hacienda Anacerina ($25/night) . Our room was huge and had the most comfortable bed yet with a great shower and a fantastic balcony with 2 hammocks, table and chairs. The room looked out onto 2 inactive volcanoes and hills of banana trees, coffee farms and cows. Bliss. We also got great food there so all in all we ended up saving a bit of money.

We met an english speaking local called Carlos who gave us a good price for our Horse riding tour to various statues and tombs around San Augustin (no more statues!!). He told us that his hobby is to go to farms and dig for tombs so he can sell the ceramics he finds to collectors...hmmm...

The horses were lovely and we tried every single fruit and vegetable Carlos found on the way. Coffee beans were probably my fave (really sweet). We managed to get the horses up to a pretty fast pace at the end and Glen really enjoyed it. Such a natural.

Carlos then offered us his "special tour" for a cheap price so off we went at 4 in the arvo with 2 other Aussie girls to a farmers house to watch the making of Cocaine. The house was clean and humble and the owner said he'd previously worked in an industrial sized cocaine factory in the Amazon for 25 years. We took a heap of photos and the chemicals that go into it are heavy duty. It should be videoed and used to educate kids about drugs! It was definitley one of the highlights of the trip. Not something you get to do everyday!

We then headed off to Bogota and it was such a contrast. Busy, polluted, noisy. Alot of beggars and drunkards whilst down the road there were the richest people, houses, cars and shops I'd ever seen. A few streets I walked down I turned back as I got that pelligroso (danger) feeling in the pit of my stomach. We've now hightailed it to Villa Leiva 3 hours north of Bogota which is a picture perfect cobble stoned village. Ciao amigos.

Sweat Lodge, Colombia

We crossed the border via an icecream stop with an American friend we'd met in Baños. After border formalities we hopped in a collectivo (minibus) with some locals and headed towards our first stop Pasto. On the 3 hour trip our mate Judd got talking to one of the passengers (he speaks great Spanish- Bastardo!) and she invited us to see the local lagoon and see some local natural medicine practises. All she said was to bring a towel in case we got a little damp.

So the next morning with headed off with towels under our arm and caught another collectivo to a quaint little Swiss style village near the lagoon amongst cloud forest. We walked down the driveway to a great wooden house with a studio out the back with sheep and chickens scattered around the yard. We watched as the gathered group of people worked to build a sweat lodge aka North American Indian style. The men built and made a fire to heat the volcanic stones and the women constructed the sweat lodge using the frame and about 100 blankets. They talked to us about the traditions and explained the significance of specific actions. Everyone was so welcoming and it was very tranquil and spiritual as everyone was so respectful.

After the explanations, the men got the word to get ready so off Glen and Judd went and stripped down to nothing with their towels wrapped around them in about 12 degree weather. They managed to fit about 18 naked men inside the hut (about 6m x 6m x 1.5m high) and the hot rocks were placed in the pit inside the dome. After some chanting and drum playing, water was poured over the rocks and Glen says the temperature got so unbearable he was nearly lying on the floor. The guide of the ceremony requests the door to be opened about 4 times in half an hour to let out a little steam but I swear it gets to about 50 or 60 degrees. The steam and your sweat feels like boiling water on your skin.

After the men it was the women´s turn. There were about 10 of us and it was still quite intense with a lot of singing, crying and thanking the gods (albeit in Spanish, but I caught the odd bits and pieces). The temp didnt get as hot as the mens apparently and I found it bearable and quite relaxing. After, you feel relaxed and calm and ready for bed. It was definitely a surreal moment when you look around and think that you are in Colombia with 9 other naked ladies, in a North American sweat lodge!

Our new friend Angela then took us to a nearby restaurant for soup, Trout, and fruit and cheese. We had a look at the lagoon then had Hot Chocolate with Cheese in it (makes it creamy!). It was a great day that we'd never had of experienced without the Spanish of our mate Judd. Gotta keep practicing...

We then headed to Popoyan and saw a student demonstration and we're now in San Augustin to see some ruins. We'll be heading out on the horses tomorrow...Yeeha!