So... What next?

10/07/2009

Last stop on the caribbean beaches was Cartagena where, truth be told, I had no idea neither what to expect, nor how long I'd stay.

Cartagena is Colombia's most touristy city. There are people who fly from whichever place of the world to Bogota and from there immediately take a flight to Cartagena. Of course, that comes with the usual consequenses: sky-high prices, lots of tourist shops, alteration of the original lifestyle, WAY too many vendors per square meter that will bust your balls trying to sell you stuff and a high number of tourists, just enough to forget at times that you are actually in Colombia.







My hostel (yes, I stayed in a hostel. The only city in Colombia where I did not manage to get a couch to surf) was very central and the street in front of it full of prostitutes.



Next to them one can observe the dudes that are checking people out, trying to sell all sorts of drugs to the tourists, or at least save them from the trouble of needing to carry their wallet or camera all the way back to their hostel. And still, everyone kept telling me what a safe area this is. Sure... You can say whatever you want, but I'll keep listening to my instincts if that's ok with you.
I also tried paying a visit to the bars around the area, but they were all ridiculously expensive.

So, keeping all this in mind, I got bored of this place by day three.

As an attempt to escape, I paid a visit to volcano Zargaboo (can't remember what it's called). Nothing extraordinary, but the highlight of the visit was the hot mud bath that we tried out. One hell of an experience! You step inside a semi-solid substance, inside of which it is impossible to sink and the sensation it gives on the skin is incredible.



And as if that was not enough, there are these guys inside the pool that massage you at the same time. They rub you (I don't wanna hear any idiotic comments!), you chill for a while and then you get out.



Don't think that the experience ends there. Noooooooo nonononono. Afterwards, you are shown towards the -greener than anything and filthy as hell- river just behind the mud bath, where an old woman grabs you and washes you from head to toe. At some point in fact, she says to me: "Take it all off."! What?? Whoa there, wait a minute my dear... Shouldn't you at least buy me a drink first, ask me about my life?







From the beginning till the end, the trip to the volcano was a crazy experience, during which I did not stop laughing. Was definitely a good excuse for me to still be in Cartagena.

M.