Upon stepping off the plane after our quick flight, we were greeted by pretty palm trees and hot beachy weather. Exactly what I'd been longing for :) Jessie and I got to our hostel and were surprised to find the weirdest bed set-up ever. Our 6-bed dorm, rather than having three bunk beds, had two normal bunk beds that then had two further beds layered between them.
Weird, no?
Yeyy
Bubbles! (yes, I am a child inside)
The facilities at Cabo were basic but decent enough, mainly consisting of one restaurant and four toilets in total. You could choose to either sleep in a tent or a hammock. I'm a bit of a sucker for 'the idea of things' and the idea of sleeping in a hammock on a beautiful secluded Caribbean beach was heaven to me :)
Our "beds"
Coco smashing coconuts
Doesnt get much better
Games of mafiaaa
The hostel itself was lovely and near a cool plaza but considering that it was relatively pricey, we decided to change hostels after the first night and get some normal beds.
The next morning, we checked into our new hostel (which happened to have a great private room for when Emily would come) and then we went exploring. Jessie headed straight for Playa Blanca, a beautiful beach on Baru island with Caribbean-y white sand and crystal blue waters (one hour away on boat). I resisted this and decided to first explore the city of Cartagena (itself a UNESCO site!) to get my bearings and settle in as I'd be there for a few days.
Strolling around the old historic city was great (but hot!). The old bit is quite touristy, full of restaurants, souvenir shops, boutiques and markets, but also beautiful colonial architecture. You could quickly sense differences between this area and the southern parts of Colombia. The Caribbean breeze, fresh fruit, bright colours, music and people all added to its distinct coastal vibe.
I also really loved walking around the 'rougher' Getsemani area (where our hostel was), just outside the inner city walls, and finding cool street art and vibrant colourful streets.
In the afternoon I went to Bocagrande in Cartagena, a beach side strip likened to the Miami strip, i.e full of hotels. The beach there was really not that great for swimming (the water was quite bad actually) but at least I got to soak up some sun rays. Pretty relaxing, except for being woken up by people trying to sell stuff or touching me to demonstrate their abilities and see if I want a massage (seriously creepy when your eyes are closed and you have headphones on!).
In the evening, Jessie and I were planning on hitting Media Luna street where all the hostels are, as apparently Wednesdays are the best nights in Cartagena. But, we were both sun-stroked and tired so instead we had a much needed lazy night in together.
Next morning, I woke up early and decided to try out Playa Blanca for some proper beach time. The way to Playa Blanca was an adventure in itself. Different companies jump at you to sell you tickets (which are way too expensive) and then you still have to wait forever until the boat is full to the max and beyond.
After what seemed like forever, I got to my Caribbean beach and all was perfect in the world again :) Although super commercialised, Playa Blanca is stunning and I fully eased in to a day of swimming, tanning, listening to music and chatting to a couple of lovely German travellers. I was also super excited by the prospect of being back on this gorgeous beach the next day with ma chica Emily!
I got back to Cartagena rejuvenated and ready for my guest! :)
She arrived! With my partner in crime by my side, we met up with Rob (from the Medellin group) for some drinks and then we all had yummy fish din din with the German peeps I had met at the beach earlier in the day.
The following morning, I hugged Jessie farewell (our paths were sadly separating) and we went for breakfast (best deal ever: the equivalent of 2-3 GBP for fresh fruit, granola, yoghurt, scrambled eggs, toast, coffee and fresh juice. Emily was very impressed!)
And then back to Playa Blanca, this time with Emily and Rob in tow! After the long annoying process of getting the boat to move again, we arrived in paradise for a super relaxing day :)
The boat ride back, however, was pretty much a death ride as the currents were going insane. Since we didn't die, it was admittedly fun and definitely an adrenaline rush!
That eve, the three of us headed out for some awesome live salsa music, hot latin moves and pina coladas! Sadly that was Rob's last night in Cartagena so I had to say another sad farewell to another awesome person.
On our last day in Cartagena, Emily and I explored more of the old city, bought some pressies for people back home and got some very necessary Panama hats. Pretty productive day overall, topped off with yummy Argentinian steak and strolls in the night :)
And that was the end of the very charming Cartagena!
Next and final destination: going further north on the Caribbean coast to Santa Marta to then get to the amazingly gorgeous National Park Tyrona!
Top highlights from Santa Marta (in no particular order): the awesome hostel, Tayrona park, and the fabulous people we met there!
Numero uno, the beautiful Masaya hostel (probably the nicest place within the city of Santa Marta). I think I was able to convert Emily to liking hostels after this one:
As we were checking in, I spotted someone wearing a Michigan t-shirt and obviously quickly flung to meet them. That's how we met Eric and Yousef, who were in Colombia from the States for a couple of weeks. And then I saw Elise, who I had met when we both shared a dorm in Medellin with the loudest snorer ever, and slowly but surely our Tayrona group started forming.
We all set off together the next morning to get the bus from Santa Marta to the Tayrona park entrance. Tayrona is an awesome park (privately owned I believe) that combines green rain forests with pristine beaches. We decided we would spend two nights in the park at the Cabo san Juan beach. This beach is about a 2.5 hour trek from the entrance but is the best for swimming (as the rough currents exclude some of the other beaches).
We got to the entrance, met a great bunch of other people who would join us, had some shots of rum- we had heard no alcohol was allowed in (lies) so made the most of what we had- and headed in. After some confusion over the tickets and excitedly meeting Stavro, the first Cypriot backpacker I saw on my travels (!), we started the trek.
Our cool group of 8...or 9, or 10, or ?
Prettinessss. And then we got to our chosen beach, which would be home for the next couple of days! :)
The facilities at Cabo were basic but decent enough, mainly consisting of one restaurant and four toilets in total. You could choose to either sleep in a tent or a hammock. I'm a bit of a sucker for 'the idea of things' and the idea of sleeping in a hammock on a beautiful secluded Caribbean beach was heaven to me :)
The reality of course is never as great and I froze that first night. Still, waking up next to the blue water made it all better. The next couple of days consisted of chilling, more chilling, sunbathing, swimming, exploring and playing games, all in the company of some pretty cool peeps.
Its a hard life
Fully relaxed and as tanned as I could get, we went back to Santa Marta for the final night before I was set to fly to Bogota and then out to London!!
The final night was pretty awesome too. We all got back, showered off the dirt and salt of the past couple of days and treated ourselves to a great meal and several rounds of flip cup.
I cannot imagine a better or more appropriate way to end the most amazing few months. Ive loved and savoured every moment, experienced the most wondrous natural beauties, met cool inspiring people, challenged myself and had the best time doing it. If you ever get the chance, travel. Its so good for the soul.
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