A Typical Taganga sunset, best served with an ice cold Poker cerveza!
The locals
Gorgeous!
The entry to Ciudad Perida
The Lost City´s terraces
Beach time in Tarona National Park
Hola Amigos!
Let me first say, man am I glad to be back in civilization (civilization being Taganga Colombia)!
North Colombia - many would correct me to say, northern Colombia, but I see the "situation" differently. Maybe it’s the American in me with the reputation of dividing countries, to get to the point - North Colombia is as shockingly different from the rest of the country as Count Dracula and the Staypuff marshmallow man! Maybe we have just been riding our luck with our great experiences in Colombia, but I truly believe the people are just worlds apart! Some people we meet will ask if we are getting tired of travelling after this long; we may be strange, but every day is so exciting and often a new amazing adventure, so no still really enjoying things. However when you get to certain areas where you are faced with scams, one after another, it does wear you down a bit... And No, we are coming home now ;)
North Colombia is that very area. I´ll give you a few examples and then tell you about all the fantastic things we have done despite this past week´s hassles.
- Sold dodgy boat tickets to Playa Blanca (beach): The seller tried to push us on a different boat that was going to charge us again. We endured 2 hours of stupidity by these boat guys and then decided to bail on the trip there.
- Bus trip to Santa Marta: The bus stopped half way to switch buses for some reason (our ticket was the whole way). We ensured there would be no charges and it was a transfer and had it confirmed by the new bus. When we sat down and the previous bus left, the same attendant came to us demanding money. After 20 or so minutes he caved and started asking for less money, proving without a doubt it was a scam. This guy sat in our faces for about 40 minutes trying to get us to break. Eventually he left us alone after giving us the transfer tickets for free.
- Receptionist at our hotel: She was angry we booked our tour to Ciudad Perida (The Lost City) through an agency rather than her, despite her not having told us she sells it and her lack of knowledge for even one word of English). She told us we had to cancel it and book it through her and then picked up the phone and asked us the company we booked through. When we didn´t tell her, she told us it would be an extortionate amount of money to store our luggage for the trip. When we said we would just checkout and pay for the previous night, she threatened to call the police saying it was 3pm and we owed her for two nights. I calmed her and say ok ok, we will stay. We went up to the room and then on our way down to the beach, the police were actually there!!!! I think the police were as surprised as we were when they found out why she called them (needless to say, we had no issue with them).
So this is North Colombia. I wrote the above a few days ago and since, we have heard numerous other similar situations from fellow travelers. Unfortunate for you to have to read the bad stuff, but I feel compelled to report the bad with the good. Luckily the good FAR outweighs the bad. If you are wondering, these are just a few of the dozens of incidents we have had with North Colombians - it’s really a shame as the people elsewhere in the country have been so warm and receptive!
Our path; Cartagena, Taganga, Ciudad Perida, Tarona Park
Monday - Coastal Colonial Cartagena: We arrived in the morning and once checked in to a hotel, were on our way to experience Cartagena´s charm. As you can read above, it wasn´t the people that made it special in ANY way, however the buildings are superb and a walk through the town is a real treat! We took in pretty much all the sites, most were makeshift to just charge money, but two were very nice; firstly the convento de san Pedro Claver. The convent of Saint Pedro Claver who is said to be a great friend and help to the many slaves that passed through Cartagena´s ports. The second was the naval museum showing the history of pirates and many of the great historical ships which sailed over the centuries, including the Cutty Sark! The backpacker scene in Cartagena is a lot of fun and we met a lot of people that night going to a few bars and listening to two live sax players.
Tuesday - Mud Volcano: Yes, I did say, Mud Volcano! Outside of Cartagena is a 15 meter (50 ft) tall volcano that spews mud! Which is apparently therapeutic mud so to the point that they sell a chance to sit in it. The mud goes all the way down 15 meters and you just float in this volcano´s core. It’s nearly impossible hard to submerge yourself! After 20 minutes, our skin was rejuvenated enough and after a dip in the nearby lake, I was happy to be clean; certainly a strange and unusual experience.
Wednesday - Casa Felipe Hostel: I am aware some of you reading this are not familiar with hostels and how you live. Well I can tell you that some are out of this world good! We arrived in Taganga this day ready for some chill time at the beach. A bit after a gorgeous red sunset, we made our way out for dinner at Casa Filipe Hostel - where we are now staying. Its rumored that the French owner and chef has a Michelin star when he worked in Europe. I can verify that his food is certainly good enough! For about $10 you get 2 Filet Mignons, cooked better than Argentine’s can and exactly like you request, covered in Blue Cheese sauce with veggies and potatoes - not bad for a hostel, and the meat is oh so tender! For an additional $3 you can get the chocolate brownie with chocolate chip ice cream. This certainly made up for all the scams we faced this day that I complained about above...
Thursday - Caribbean Diving: Possibly the cheapest diving in the world at $55 for two dives - Taganga is the place for cheap diving certifications, forget Koh Tao. We cruised out to the dive sites and had reasonably good dives, but excellent value. We saw a few moray eels swimming, prawns, lots of lion fish and a good amount of tropical fish. That night, where do you think we headed for dinner, yes, Casa Felipe!
Friday to Sunday - Ciudad Perida (The Lost City): The lost city of the Tarona people who are ranked up there with the Incas and Mayans as the most developed of the ancient people in the Americas. If you refer back to my remark on the Museo del Oro in Bogota and the well crafted Gold artifacts there, they were all done by the Tarona people. We purchased a six day hike to the so called Lost City, it really wasn´t that hard to find and let me say, they didn´t even have WIFI - seriously a lost city!! Marina and I are really becoming hardened trekkers. We finished the hike in 3 days, which was the first time our guide has ever finished so fast. To be exact, it was about 51 hours in the park, half of which we were trekking. The trek was gorgeous! On the way we saw Toucans, a coral snake, monkeys, frogs, and many gorgeous butterflies. Also along the way we met many of the indigenous people who are descendants of the Tayronas. We reached the city on the second day and walked around the bright green moss covered remains. They were terraces along the side of the mountain in which they lived and farmed. You will find it very interesting that the entire area of the train and even Ciudad Perida used to be covered in Coca plants just 6 years ago and the area was run by paramilitaries. Those of you in the US would have read many stories about the war on drugs. This is a good example of progress. We also had to cross many rivers, sometimes taking our shoes off and walking in waist deep water, others just hopping stones. Twenty minutes from finishing the trip, I slid off a rock and went for a splash, luckily all the electronics were ok even though me and my backpack went under the water!! So, we were able to laugh...
Monday - Parque Tarona: Yes, named after the Tarona people, the Park is a national park, but its main draw is the beaches. We left to go there straight from our Lost City trek and stayed Sunday night in hammocks. Despite the rain that late afternoon we still went and banked on it being nice for Monday and oh it was! The beaches are quite similar to the ones in the Seychelles; huge palm trees, lush green foliage, huge boulders on the beaches - its pristine. The other great thing is it’s not cheap to get in so the crowds are minimal and also that you have to hike to get there. Yes, we did a 3 day trek and then went straight to another.... I know, I know.. We relaxed there all day enjoying several different tranquil beaches and then took the speedboat back to Taganga where we sit and enjoy the knowledge of having a nice bed to sleep in tonight.
So, this is it, the end of our time..... in Colombia. Tomorrow, we are catching a bus for VENEZUELA!!! woohoo, bring it on Chavez!
Hasta Luego,
Dan and Marina
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