Cartagena, Colombia

My next stop after Cali, Colombia was Cartagena.  I jetted off to the north east point of Colombia facing out into the Caribbean sea and was welcomed by an amazingly overwhelming humidity and heat. 

Spent a couple of days getting to know this old pirate town and preparing for my sail to Panama. Cartagena is such a beautiful town with it's old forts, old town streets and beautiful island havens just off the coast.  

Beautiful Streets of the Old City.

Amazing monuments and buildings from the colonial era. 

Beautiful Streets of the Old City

San Felipe de Barajas Castle; The fort that protected the city from pirates

During the days that followed I had the opportunity to visit some of the surrounding highlights of Cartagena. 

These included Playa Blanca and the Mud volcano. 

Playa Blanca & Isla Del Rosario 

This was a day trip out to visit the Island of Rosario and spend some time at Playa Blanca. It was fun being able to jump off the boat and snorkel in the Caribbean sea off the coast of Colombia. 

It is also possible to stay at Playa Blanca although I found it to be to over-crowded with locals constantly trying to sell bits and pieces and don't think I could handle it for more then a few hours. 

We did enjoy a lovely fresh fish lunch which was all included in our day trip. 

 Volcan de Lodo El Totumo (Mud volcano)

 This is not an experience for everybody. Some of the people that were there with me couldn't bring themselves to go into the volcano. However I loved it! 

Such a weird experience but I really enjoyed covering myself in mud. A worthy day trip I'd say. 45 minutes out of Cartagena in the town Totumo is a little active volcano bubbling with mud.

        

After emerging yourself in the mud you can receive a massage for $1 or just spend the rest of the time bopping around in the muck. A very surreal feeling because it is impossible to push yourself any lower due to the mud being very thick. It makes for a great laugh. 

On the way back to Cartagena we stopped at a pretty little beach for the afternoon, were we could swim and enjoy another fresh fish lunch.