Horrible Turbo and amazing Capurgana

Getting to Turbo certainly was a mission but after a very bumpy and beautiful ride, we made it to Turbo...the arsehole of Colombia. We're just glad that we only found out exactly how dangerous it is after we left. Some silly sallies hadn't got money out in Cartagena, so we ventured out of the hostel to find some cash. Police ended up escorting us to the cash machine. On high alert, we didn't know whether this was in our favour or not. So with cash in hand we ran away from the police and back to the safety of John's hostel, where the toilet was actually a feature of the bedroom. One bright side of Turbo was meeting Jorge and his mute friend, who were also making their way to Capurgana the next morning.

The morning couldn't come soon enough, and at 5:45 we made our way to the "port" to buy our tickets. We then waited around until 9:30, when the boat eventually left. It was another bumpy ride to say the least and Kat was quaking in her boots as to whether Capurgana would be worth the torment she had put her pals through.

Sleeping on a boat

Finally we pulled up to paradise, where the coconuts are fresh and the taxis are a horsedrawn cart. We walked through the tiny town to our hostel and couldn't stop marveling at the beautiful carribean town that we had ended up in. It was a contrast with Turbo to say the least. Red Snapper was the order of the day and it was insaaaane. The beach was calling and there were kids willing to play with us! Always a winner. We whiled away the day on the white sand and dipping in the turquoise sea, amazed at how lucky we were to be there.

Fresh Red Snapper

Sea Whales

Kiddy action

Thumbs up for Capurgana

Taxi anyone?

Wanting to explore all that the area had to offer, we set off on a hike for Panama. We started trekking through thick jungle and slipping all over the shop. Along the way we met a man selling some form of juice that apparently cures cancer. It tasted like bile. After a good two hour trek, we arrived at Sapzurro; a beach town to rival Capurgana. We filled our bellies with a variety of fried produce (none of which were particularly pleasant), then continued our journey to Panama. We literally climbed up one side of the mountain, showed our passports to a man, climbed down the otherside and BOOM we were in Panama!

Bile drink - to clarify it was rank.

Jungle Janes

Sapzurro

Crossing the border to Panama

La Miel

It was worth the two hour trek for sure. Its beaches had even whiter sand and the beach was practically deserted. It also had the added bonus of a pier, which Kat, Bex and Imy all made full use of throwing our selves of it plenty of times. Before we knew it time was running short we climbed back into Colombia before hiring a boat (we were tired) back to Capurgana.

Good one

Not so good one..

Super shit

The evening was filled with card games and apple wine that was two years out of date.

Thanks to Bex speaking to a little girl, we heard about a natural swimming pool called Coquerita. To get there we walked along a coastal path, which was, yet again, stunning. After about an hour we arrived to find that a wicked hippy had built his house right next to the pool and spent his days carving stuff out of wood. The pool filled up by the waves splashing in over the rocks. We spent the whole day at Coquerita and the hippy served up some amazing patacon for lunch.

Walk to natural pool

Livvy got lazy

Spidey

Froggy

Mermaids..

Risking the bigguns

Hold on gals

As the sun started to set, we headed back to Capurgana, to find Jorge and his new little pals fishing off the pier. We went to join in and Imy "stole" a fish by catching it through it's belly.

Stolen fish

Imy eating a whole fish

After a breakfast of patacon, cheese, pastries and coffee, courtesy of Big Mama, we made our way down to the beach for our final day in paradise. Filipe (Usher) hooked us up with some snorkels and we also went fishing on the beach. Kat turned out to be a bit of a pro, catching two within about 10 minutes. One of them turned out to be a deadly tropical fish! Thank God we didn't eat it. After the beach, we managed to catch a bit of the local football tournament, which the whole town had turned out to watch.

Big Mama's

Fishin ell'

She got a live one

Footie match

To mark the end of our stay in Capurgana, Filipe and his pals had organised a bonfire on the beach. Unfortunately some druggies mascquerading as hippies decided to join us and they kind of put a dampener on the whole thing with their crazy ranting and general lunacy.

Bonfire madness

Having had the most amazing time imaginable, we were absoluted gutted to have to leave. Everyone we met was so kind and smiley that we wanted to stay in our little carribean treasure forever.

Worst trip back..feeling good, feeling great, how are you?

Cartagena

In true scrimper style, we got dropped off at a fancy hostel full of young backpackers, then made our way next door to the cheaper option. Absolutely pooped from our Tagangan antics, we managed to wolf down some grub before hitting the hay.

It was finally time for us to get muddy in the much anticipated El Totumo mud volcano. We made our way up the outside of the volcano and clambered back down a slippery ladder into a big pit of mud, where about 20 people were already squished in and rubbing against each other. It was a mental experience, floating about in the gravity-defying mud. All too soon our time was up and it was time for our "mummies" to bathe us in the nearby lagoon. This was a slightly  less relaxing experience, as the mummies didn't hold back and started stripping us of our bikinis and dignity. 

Clean

Mud-ed up

Group shot

 Lunch on the beach was the next order of the day but unfortunately the minibus had other plans and a tyre burst as we were making our way. The bus driver soon sorted it out though and we finally found ourselves munching on BBQd fish (chicken for Imy).

Great help Liv

Beach where we ate lunch

Due to the addition of Livvy, we now had two certified divers in our midst who couldn't wait to get under the sea. After a good bit of searching, we managed to find a great dive shops, with two dogs, who weren't charging an arm and a leg. They also hooked Kat and Bex up with a snorkel trip!

Diver dogs

Old Town Jollies

Flower power

Browse

Just hangin'

Pleased with our day, we met back up with some people from the volcano trip, got dolled up and headed to an old woman's house for dinner. After the standard "menu del dia", we went back into the walled town for a night of eighties classics in a rooftop bar.

Loads a mates

Feeling slightly worse for wear, it was time to get the "fast boat" to Playa Blanca...an idyllic-looking beach on Isla de Baru. After a bit of confusion, we boarded a boat that didn't look like it would be getting us anywhere fast. We all commented on the fact that we were on the wrong boat but didn't think to do anything about it. Low and behold, 2.5 hours (and a lot of onboard entertainment) later, we arrived at Isla del Rosario. Not ideal. We ate some pizza, got shouted at quite a bit by Colombian women trying to tell us how to swim in the sea, then got back on the boat in the hope that we would eventually get to Playa Blanca. Sure enough we eventually did, only to find a beach so packed you could hardly move and every man and his wife trying to sell you shat/massage you. It wasn't exactly tranquil, but it was quite pretty. We managed to get ourselves on the fast boat back and in a measly hour and a half were back in Cartagena and tucking ourselves in for an early night.

Boat conga

Some castle

Liv and Johnny

This boat is sooo much fun

 

Playa Grande-shit

Finally it was Monday morning and time for us to don our snorkels. A small speedboat took us and some fellow divers out to Isla de Baru again, but this time to some completely remote beaches and pristine water. Kat and Bex were chucked off the boat almost immediately to snorkel, while Imy and Livvy were taken a bit further out.

Off you go

So both feeling a little rusty to start and with Olivia having a slight hitch getting down (your goggles my arse!) Imy was waiting at the bottom of the ocean raring to go! It was a really good first dive with loads of Corals and bright tropical fish to gawp at.

Novice sea-bob

A solid two hours of snorkelling later, Kat and Bex joined Imy and Livvy back on the boat, where we ate some lunch and made our way to the second spot. Within twenty minutes, Kat and Bex were thrown back in the water for another two-hour snorkel. It was great snorkelling apart from the slightly scary moment where a shark-like fish started attacking Bex!

Practically a master

The second dive were shipwrecks, two beside each other. They were so calm and beautiful beneath the vast ocean, and we got to swim through the top of one of them which was nerve racking but awesome all the same. The guide we had managed to catch a fish (heaven knows how) it looked like a stone until he released it and off it went happily about its day! Safe to say the area didn't disappoint and both of the dives were really worth it.

Boat babez

With us all safely back aboard it was time to head back to dry land and sort out our mission to Turbo.

Santa Marta, Taganga and Tayrona National Park

It turns out getting night buses is not as easy as you would think in Colombia. With three of us booked on, and Kat's booking apparently not gone through, it looked like the foursome was quickly going to become a threesome as she was left in the dust. Luckily we had Bex the super translator to sort it all out for us. The bad luck didn't stop there though. When finally aboard the bus, we were confronted by an extremely angry lady in skintight lycra who resented us for making her wait 10 minutes.  The outcome: Kat and Bex were forced to switch seats with her two children and sit at the back next to the toilet. That crafty lady. Our dislike for this woman only increased when we stopped for food and witnessed her buying one plate of  chicken and rice, which she gobbled up...only allowing her children to have one bite each. That greedy lady.

Bussing it to Santa Marta

Our spirits soared upon arrival in Santa Marta; a hot and sunny delight after gloomy Bogotá. A teenage taxi driver took it upon himself to give us a guided tour of the place and we soon realised that there was pretty much bugger all to do. That said, we enjoyed a day of wandering around, finding bargain food and sitting in a cathedral. The evening was a jolly affair, with some good food (apart from Kat's plain chicken) and plenty of happy hour drinks.

Santa Marta

Getting their prayer on

With slightly groggy heads we left early for Tayrona National Park, making our way through a slightly dodge market area to the bus. Soon enough we were trudging along a jungly path, cooing at crabs and marveling at the flora. The first beach we stumbled upon was where we set up camp for the day, what with it being our first time on a sunny beach in six whole weeks! Kat and Bex scrambled up the nearby rocks, while Imy and Livvy paddled in the sea. Not wanting to miss the last bus, it was a rather hurried affair back to the entrance, with only an ice lolly to hydrate us.

First glimpse of Tayrona

Green dabba de dabba di

 

Climbing wizards

Paddle and a catch up

Tad rocky

Back in Santa Marta, we hopped in a taxi and within ten minutes found ourselves in Taganga - gringo central! By the time we had checked in and got ourselves sorted, Kat and Imy were on the verge of turning carnivorous and tucking into Livvy (soz Bex, you're a bit too scrawny). Stopping at the first restaurant we came across, we soon realised we wouldn't be fed for atleast an hour, so instead legged in to Babba Ganoush. The best decision we have ever made. Although a little pricey, we are yet to find a meal to rival the splendour of Babba. Except for blooming chicharrón, which Imy is still going on about.

Wanting to find tranquility on a carribean beach, we made our way by boat to Playa Grande. Unfortunately, it seemed that every Colombian in the area had the same idea and we found ourselves on a rather packed out beach. Wasting no time on getting to know each other, Livvy jumped at the chance of an oily rub down from a large Colombian man. He seemed to know what he was doing, and his cute little helper kept Kat entertained. Meanwhile, Bex was doing laps of the sea and Imy wasn't doing much. Lunch consisted of a brilliant cup of prawns for the fish lovers, and Imy probably had some plain chicken.

Fishermen gathering in Taganga

Bezzies

Rub a dub dub

Nom

After catching some rays, we made the short trip back to Taganga and hit another jackpot when we decided to head for Cafe Bonsai that evening. It had the best BBQ in town and the mojitos were an absolute winner! A little bit typsy, we asked the waiters to make us something stronger. They took this as some what of a challenge and proceeded to pour a mixture of spirits into a glass, before setting it on fire and telling us to down it. A little bit more typsy, we headed to El Mirador, where Imy and Livvy made friends with the owner, and Kat and Bex danced on the bar. Classy for life.

Luxury

Strong

Lolly

Dance

Colombia: Bogotá

So we finally arrived in Bogotá excited to be meeting up with Bex and Livvy we get to the hostel to the biggest anti-climax possible... neither of them around. We found Olivia playing an 8yr old American kid at chess! Or atleast we think it was Livvy - it was hard to tell what with all the swelling.

Child's play..

Sibs reunited

With the team together at last, we sacked off the little kid and had a big ol' catch up before heading out for an evening of live jazz courtesy of Bex's new mate, Jesus.

You go Jesus

Fresh faced and bushy tailed, we decided to check out Monserrate; a big mountain with a great view over Bogotá. Yet again, we managed to hit a public holiday and the entire population of Bogotá had decided to make the pilgrimage to the top, meaning there was a three hour queue for the cable car. Instead, we wandered around Bogotá and stumbled upon a lovely little market, where Imy and Bex indulged in some retail therapy before we hit up a wicked little coffee van, where we were treated to a tinto each by a man with a Harley Davidson.

Showing them how it's done

Tinto time

Bums in Bogotá

That evening, we headed to a reggae festival in a massive park. It was a rather odd affair, which started with us being searched by the police twice and having lighters and hairclips confiscated. Once inside, we bobbed along to the reggae vibes for a while before giving in and hailing a cab.

We're jammin'

Reggaaatoon

Soon enough, it was time to get back on a bus and head to the carribean coast for some sun!!