Cartagena

We 2 older folks are off again, this time flying in to Cartagena, Colombia. Spent the night at the Riande Airport Hotel in Panama, as our Delta flight from the states did not connect with our Copa Airline flight on to Cartagena. The hotel has free pick up service if you email ahead with flight #. We arrived at 9PM and on time and of course the hotel van was no where in sight. Asked a policeman to use his cell to call the hotel and a few minutes later it arrived. Panama was having a bad rainstorm, it was a bumpy landing and we bounced twice, plane feeling like it would flip. I found a rate of $77US double, with breakfast on Expedia. Hotel is clean, if a bit faded as most things are, being in the tropics. It seemed strange to be at the hotel again, as my husband, myself, 4 year old son and our german sheppard, had driven from Seattle to the Canal Zone in 1968, and had camped on the same hotel grounds. The hotel no longer offers this service, and the manager said that he had never heard that the hotel had been used as such, but than he was born in 1972. It was raining so hard mallard ducks were floating in the parking lot. Breakfast was a buffet with tropic fruit, breads, pancakes, with eggs of your choice cooked to order. God pool area with loungers. On to CTG in the afternoon, it is only a 1 hour flight and Copa is a nice airline, with good service. We arrived at 5PM. We had booked the Da Pietro in Boca Grande, on their website at $72 double with breakfast included. $8US for an airport pickup, but as per usual, no one was there. Some nice lady called Da Pietro on her cell and they said they were having trouble with taxis so this nice lady took us to a taxi and baragined the same rate of $8US for us. The hotel again is very clean, has 2 jacuzzis on the 4th floor roof terrace/sunning area. Hotel was full, with an out of town teen age soccer team, but the kids were quiet and very polite to us. Hotel has free computer use, an open air lobby and Italian cafe attached. Breakfast was served buffet style in a walled garden in back, with parrots, a toucan and monkey in cages. One morning the parrott got loose and climbed up on the table to finish someones scrambled eggs, he looked really funny with egg all over his face. He must have eaten 6 eggs.. Front desk speaks english and is very helpful. Our room had a good air-con, queen bed, and a nice tile bathroom with shower. No elevator and narrow curved stairs, so you have to watch your step. Hotel is 1 block from a grey sand beach with chairs for rent and 2 blocks from 2 big super makets, the Olympica and the Cuerlla (spl). Taxi fare to the old city is 4,500CP and its a very enjoyable place to walk around, sit in the parks, and visit the museos. The Palacio de la Inquisicion was quite good, with original instruments of torture. If one confessed to a really bad crime, you were not burnt but slowly roasted to death after being tortured. Tourist police all over the place, and if a crusie ship was in toen, the army was out in force on every street corner. LP says that vendor are pushy, but things have changed and each one politey asked if we wanted their items. Colombia is a good travel destination and we had a great time. More late on the mud volcano.

As we get older, 69 & 74, my husband I tend to gravitate towards more comfey accomidations, air-con, TV, IDD and such. Gone are the days we are thrilled with a find of a room for $3.50, like we did years ago in Granada, Spain. Plus I am a lousy speller, and really think that TT should have spell check. Anyway, her goes more.... We took a day trip to the mud volcano, 40,000CP or 70,000CP with a mangrove swamp/ indian museo added. We took the 70,000. They both did included a lunch on the beach. Mud volcan is a must do, about 1 1/2 hours drive in a frezzing cold air-con bus down the highway, and than off on to a side dirt raod to the volcan. It is a towering, maybe 6 story high cone, with bubblying, warm mud inside. You climb up really rickety mud/partial wood stairs that you could only be out of some Hollywood fantisey film, to the top. An equally rickety rail runs the length and around the top. Go barefoot and in you swim suit as you are just too muddy to handle anything. There are boys on top to take your camera and take photos of you in the bath. We left our clothes and stuff in the locked bus and took off barefoot to the top. The top ledge is about 5 feet wide and slippery. There is a ladder in to the mud and boys to help you in. You do need help to push your legs down into the muck, as it is so thick you just want to float of the surface. A massage is offered, just say no, several people had them, it looked to yucky. It is hard to keep your legs under you, so I stayed near the outside rail leg, for something to hold on to. I did not want to lay flat on my back in the mud and was trying to keep my white hair out of the goo. Figuring it would end up some really strange color. The mud does feel good, sort of slimy and you can feel small pieces of pumice like gravel brushing against your body. Nothing like rotten vegitation and old dionsaur parts to do wonders for your skin. Actually, my skin did feel wonderful after I had cleaner off. Once soaked enough, about 15-20 minutes will do, you head off down the down rickety stairs. Wiping my hands as clean as I could get them for a grip on the rail. The stairs are not to code, and vary in size and shape and are really slippery on the wet going down side. Once at the bottem, you walk about 1/4 city block to the lagoon to wash off. Ladies are there to assist, fo a small fee. It is hard to get the mud off your back so I had one scrb me. She offered to wash my 2 piece bathing suit, but I declined...big mistake, I felt rocky for the rest of the trip. Ladies go in the water and splash around first, probably to scare off snakes or heaven knows what..It take only a short time to dry in the sun, or there are some old changing toliets to use. Off to luch at the beach, a whole fish, rice, fried bananas, small salad and a pop. More later on the swamp portion...But I will mention that it took 4 washing to get my swim suit clean.

Thanks for posting your travelog L.T., I'm enjoying following your journey.
Wish there was a way to see photos of the "mud volcano". Any chance you
could post the local name for it? The hotel rates you've paid thus far make
South East Asia's lodging prices look like the discount counter in comparison.

B.H.

You sound like kindred spirits, though we're a bit younger (57 and 64). Columbia certainly sounds interesting. To date have avoided it because of the bad publicity, though everyone we've spoken to that has been there has enjoyed it. Keep posting, it's very helpful.

Hello Lady Traveler. Sounds like a great trip except for plane bouncing twice. I find your writing has a way of making your travels come alive. Yes, A/C does make travel a lot easier when one is in the steamy tropics. Keep up posted.

#2. There is no way that I am going to put a picture of myself in a swim suit on line. Just joking. If you do a search for mud volcano + cartagena, some pictures do come up. The local name listed in the LP Colombia book is Volcan de Lodo El Totumo. Interesting is that there is a new mud volcan forming right along side of the road about a mile away from the present one. My husband said I was off on the amount of stories high, he said no more than 3 1/2 stories high, but is was high enough to be careful on the edge. After I walked down, the mud was filled to capacity, and it started overflowing down the side. The attendants do like to scrape the excess mud off as you climb up the ladder out of the mud.

Really enjoying your Colombia report . . . we went to Bogota and Cartagena last year and had a ball. We, too, did the mud volcano . . . you should have gone for the massage, it was GREAT! The mud baths was one of the funnest things we've ever done and we love the photos. I wish we could post photos here, I have some good ones.

Glad you had a good time,
Sandy (in Denton)