Colombia

Cartagena
We arrived in Cartegena after 6 days sailing from Panama... Cartegena is a gorgeous old colonial city with a big wall built around it to keep the pirates out.. Cartegena also has a big festival. When we asked what happens they told us the have parades, lots of flour, water and azul (blue), we didn´t understand what they meant by ´blue´ but as you can see we found out....it was impossible to escape being covered. The more you tried to hide, the more of a target you became.


Mud Volcano
This volcano spurts grey mud....which apparently is very good for you skin, it very weird to hop in and then be massage by a mud covered colombian and then washed by his wife in the nearby lagoon....afterward you think...i could really have done that myself, but you understand why when your washer and massager come to collect their pay...



Playa Blanca
Is a gorgeous beach in the carribean, with just little huts and hammocks to stay in and where your breakfast comes to you!



Tayrona





Cuidad Perdida
Fom the 3 day walk up, down and around densly forested mountains, through mud and sludge, across streams and waist high rivers, dodging mozzies and ants, cows and horses, donkeys and mules, past cocaine plantations and up 1200 slippery stone steps i can see why it was lost! Some people found it in 1975. It was built in about the 1500s and is about 200 plots of stone foundations for their huts its hard to say whether they were really clever or really stupid! The views from the top of the mountain were amazing and sometimes the mountains disappered all together as the clouds came in and we could just see white.... It was so nice to come home and shower after 7 days in the mud and some of the climbing was really difficult, we had to cut a path with a machete (well our guide George..pronounced Hor-he did). It was a beauftiful walk though.


While we were at the lost city, our guide gave us a first hand account of when 8 backpackers were kidnapped by guerillas in 2003 from the lost city camp site we were staying at, apparently there were 2 aussies amongst the tour group but the guerillas wouldn{t take them because they were wearing thongs! All were released safely after a few months and they assured us there are no guerillas in the area anymore.

Only in Colombia would you be able to go on a tour of a Cocaine Factory, this was part of the Lost City Trek.... we wondered how it is legal but i think some of our ´trek and tour´money goes to paying off the appropriate authorities.. We can also give you the recipe if you like... ingredients include petrol, caustic soda, acetate (nail polish remover), lime (whitewash). and stamping on the mixture in muddy boots!

Ant was a good boy and helped out...

Chewing on coca leave apparently helps with altitude sickness. You see the indians walking around with bulging cheeks alot. Doesnt´taste that nice though.

River Crossing...


Some of the huts we stayed in. A family lives here and there job is to check the rain guage 3 times a day......he seems to have a lot more to write in his book than over in Australia.


Santa Marta
We spent a couple of days here where the highlight was playing a game called Tejos. At one end is a mud covered target with 2 firecrackers set in the middle, at the other is you...and a heavy metal thing in your hand to throw at the target.. if you hit the target you are rewarded with a big bang! There are also awesome fruit juices that come in sand buckets!

San Gil
This was a gorgeous little town in the hills, with the BEST fruit salads ever!


Bogota
A famous artist here only paints pictures of fat people...I like his style!


Movie stars - keep an eye out for the move ´Paraiso Travel´ apparently coming to Aus in 6 months...the cating agent came into our hostel looking for gringos...and we were perfect for the part! We spent a whole day doing the same thing over and over again...all for $20. There was a real hierachy among the staff.....and we were well and truly last to get our meals, we had to wait for the more importatnt people to finish theirs. No guarantee about the quality of the movie though.



San Augustin
Famous for it ancient (and ugly)stone statues


Laguna de la Cocha
At our last stop in Colombia we participated in an ancient yage ceremony. Very bizarre! The ceremony went all night and the Shaman chanted and blessed a potion made from the roots of a tree, then we drank it...it is traditionaly a ´cleansing´experience and spiritually giving you ´visions from the heart´. They played awesome music all night and rubbed incense into us and brushed us with herbs and ..some of them very prickly.