Charming & Colonial Cartagena

We arrived in Cartagena after a short five hour bus ride from Taganga. Upon arrival we checked into Mamallena Hostel and went about trying to find a boat to Panama in the next week. Fortunately there was one leaving on the Thursday although we were warned the captain was a tad strange, thus giving us four full days to explore the city whilst still making it to Panama in time for Christmas day. After a night out on Saturday at a club with a guest DJ whose music left a lot to be desired we spent Sunday walking around the old town and getting a feel for the city.

Entrance to the old town

Working Hard

Ambling Around

On Monday we decided that after so long on the road we needed to head to the Mud Volcano outside the city to clean up our skin and have a nice detoxification. The feeling in the volcano was rather strange, probably not helped by the fact that a man was giving me a massage although I really didn't have much choice in the matter. Furthermore once we had finished we headed down to the lake to wash ourselves and we were immediately joined in the water by ladies who wiped us down and forced us to strip completely naked; fortunately the water was murky however it was still rather unsettling.

Surely the world's smallest volcano



Mid Massage



Letting the mud work its magic...unfortunately it didn't help Alex

Tuesday saw us head over to Playa Blanca which is a 20km boat ride from the old town. The day was spent lounging around in a cloudless sky and we wished we could have stayed overnight however we needed to head back to the city for immigration formalities the following day.

The Beach

On Wednesday we hired bikes and rode around the old town which was a rather pleasant way to spend the afternoon.




I want to ride my bicycle




What a cool dude!!



Another Sunset

After concluding with another sunset we headed over to Media Luna for their famous Wednesday night party; in hindsight not the greatest idea for the boat the following day. Cartagena was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and interesting cities that I have ever visited and was the ideal place to end my time in South America. We are currently in Bocas Del Toro after a quick stop in Panama City, which along with the sailing I'll post about in the next few days.