We arrived in Cartagena and planned on taking a bus up the coast to Taganga. Surprise surprise we were ripped off yet again twice within this small journey. Jumping in a cab from the airport to go to the bus station, the cabby drives no more than 1 minute and stops behind an Express Van. First the cabby asks us for 10,000 pesos (remember for one minute not exaggerating …$7AUD) then the “Express Van” promises several times they drive direct to Taganga. It was not direct, stopping in a town half way there, dropping people at their houses, then, he tells us to change cars…??? Trying to explain that this is not direct and that we want our money back the original driver doesn’t listen, jumps back in his car and leaves. Breathing deeply we just accept this and leave for Taganga.
Finally arriving to this small paradise all our worries disappear. Finding a hostel which is literally on the beach, we only had to walk 2 meters and we were in the water.
Feeling like a little adventure we hired some snorkeling gear and went exploring around the reefs, we spent the afternoon finding fish and treasure hunting. At night we would go buy some drinks and sit in the main part of town and drink and chat with other travelers and the locals. Being so hot and muggy it was a relief to sit here in the cool night winds.
There is so much to do in this small town we could have spent weeks here, several companies offer diving courses which are so cheap compared to Aus, also close by is a national park. Due to great time and money restrictions it was not possible to stay and do these things. Too soon it was time to move on again, heading back down to Cartagena.
Cartagena is a beautiful town with a deep history, we spent our days walking around exploring the cobble stone streets and the enormous wall that surrounds the town. In the 16th century it was the main port for the Spainards, shipping back treasure acquired off the indigenous people. Consequently they suffered from several sieges and pirate attacks. In response to this the Spainards built a wall around the city to protect them, taking over 200 years to complete due to repeated storm damage and pirate attacks. The wall still stands strong today, although times have changed with public roaming around taking photos, there were no pirates around …although if it was Captain Sparrow that would have been pretty cool!
Time to head back to Bogota to pick up our visas, our excitement levels were rising as we were getting closer and closer to our boat ride down the Amazon! We were to fly into a town called Leticia which sits at the borderline for Colombia, Brazil and Peru. Having booked our flight back in April we were all prepared. Although it was not to be, not this day anyhow, the airline lady looks at us with a funny look on her face. Unsure of what was happening she informs us that our flight has been over booked, Boos Boos had a seat but Doodles was on standby. Hoping that someone would not show up for their flight so Doodles could have a seat, everyone was one time and accounted for. Needless to say we were pretty pissed off, the airlines compensation was to put us up in a hotel, all meals paid for. It turned out to be not so bad; it was the fanciest place we had stayed in, in the whole of SA!
The next day we jumped on our half full flight and were in the Amazon!!!
See you on the river!
Peace and Love
Doodles and Boos Boos
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