Cartagena, Tuesday

Tue 2102 Just got back to hotel for last time tonight. On the whole a very good day and I feel much better than I have done recently.

So I got up in time for breakfast. I had set myself as goals for today primarily to go and talk to some tour agencies re trip to El Totumo volcano, and secondarily to go to some kind of museum. So after dithering in the hotel post breakfast - I really don't like talking to tour agencies, and (as discussed below) I was a bit dubious about the ET tour after reading various random blogs turned up by Google - I popped out. Google Maps did at least show a few tour agencies just down the street so I avoided the need to trog into the walled city (admittedly not far).

I had tried to get an idea of price from Google and I was expecting to pay USD35-45. The first two tour agencies didn't appear to have any staff on til afternoon - one told me that explicitly and the other had a guy in a locked money exchange booth and a vacant travel desk. Anyway, the next place - Mamallena Hostel and tour agency - happened to have a white board advertising a tour for 55k, at 830am or 130pm. I started at that for a while dithering. In the end I spoke to a MoS who spoke to me in English and signed up for the 1330 tour today. I had really intended to go in the morning, thinking it might be physically cooler, but given my lingering niggles after reading those blogs in a way it seemed a good idea to just "get it over with". I did ask why the tour was so cheap given I'd seen USD35 plus on the web but the MoS didn't seem to know or care. In hindsight I suspect these USD35 plus fees are a) including tips b) for tours which include a lunch.

I was told I needed to be there by 1315 and I could pay then. That gave me about three hours to kill. I went over to the walled city and after about 30 mins of trying to get some walking in I went to Alain's (practically deserted) for lunch - a pretty decent pechuga a la plancha with natural lemonade. Despite being stone cold sober I got confused by the pill - I expected it to be 14k, it was (slightly less detailed than yesterday) showing a 19k total but - gasp - *not in the box at the bottom* so I somehow decided 19k was the price of the meal and no tip was shown. Not a big deal, I broke a 50k at the caja and left a 3k tip, so I probably effectively tipped 8k (I do wonder why the tip is always 5k - tourist tax?? - but whatever) but still cheap-ish. I had half planned to get a second lemonade but given delay in a waitress turning up to put the bill on my table I sort of didn't like to ask.

So I came back to the hotel to prep for the tour. This mostly consistent of emptying my daypack, shoving some swimming trunks in lieu of underwear and plastering myself in sunblock. Some of the blogs I'd read implied ET was a massively congested tourist hellhole and I'd end up spending hours in full sun queueing to get up to to the crater wearing just swimming trunks.

Anyway, I then went back to Mamallena a bit before 1315. I wasn't picked up til about 2, but I had been telling myself a) this meant less time sitting on a bus grinding round n hostels b) I hadn't actually paid so if it fell through I was only out a bit of time and a metric fucktonne of sunblock c) I knew full well these kind of pickups almost always turn up late.

Anyway, I was picked up and put in a bus, then we drove off and those of us for ET were switched to another bus. There we acquired a group of maybe 6 youngish Americans, who all knew each other back in the US and the majority of who were flight attendants for some US airline taking a break of a few days in Cartagena (I think they mostly had to fly back tomorrow). While TBH I intially mildly resented them, one of them - the only bloke, a youthful-looking 33yo - started talking to me and while I felt a little bit "swamped" with all this sudden social interaction it was quite pleasant to meet them. They had apparently been waiting about an hour before being put on this bus.

We did in fact get transferred to a third bus after this, which was the one we actually went to ET on. I should probably have deliberately sat more "with" those guys at this point, but I also didn't like to be overly intrusive. They (and I was listening in and joining in a tiny bit) got chatting to a couple of Danish guys during this time; there's probably a lesson there about just starting to talk to random people on these kind of tours.

We did stop for 10 mins at a "pink beach" nearish to ET. This is some very salty water which crystallises out round the margins into a kind of white foam; the tour guide actually offered me a big crystal to taste (though it was quite rounded and polished compared to the ones on the shore and I wonder if it was "fake" ), which was extremely salty but otherwise unexceptionable. Apparently it's not a good idea to swim in this water; some of the group did paddle in it and reported painful feelings as a result. I didn't do this, though my flip-flop-only clad foot (I had pared myself down to the bare minimum of clothing and equipment - no phone, no camera, etc - amid concerns I'd lose the lot in some fuckfest at the tourist hellhole of ET the blogs had lead me to expect, though since I now "knew" some people on the tour I was less worried about this anyway) did sink into a bit of random mud and I ended up tipping some woman 2k to wash it off before I got back on the bus.

I have to say that the ruralish areas we were driving through looked really "primitive" compared to Cartagena - nothing I hadn't seen before in other Latin American countries, but still mildly shocking and made me feel a little better about the prospect of mild exploitation at ET. The immediate area before we drove up the causeway on the pink beach looked super desolate and threatening, the sort of place I'd be shitting myself about wild dogs or maybe even locals if I inexplicably found myself wandering round there on my own.

So we then drove onto ET proper - it was maybe getting on for 4pm by this point - and I was delighted (wrt what I'd read on those blogs) to see no gigantic queue on the stairs up to the crater. We were taken into a little hut with changing area and bag storage - with a sign on the door saying for exclusive use of Ruta Ecologica, which was the tour company I had booked unknowlingly via that hostel - and the guide told us a few things and then we got changed and went up to the crater.

There were quite a few people in the (small, as I already knew from those blogs) crater, and we did have a brief-ish pseudo-queue around the edge before going in one at a time, but not a big deal. We were also lucky that the level of the mud was high; some of those blogs had complained about a scary climb down the slippery ladder, but for us the mud was only a foot or so below the solid area of the crater.

The practically obligatory (but technically optional) massage when I got in was not the horrifically intrusive or disturbing experience I'd been fearing after some of those blogs. After that we were sort of left to our own devices. The experience of floating in the practically bottomless mud (mostly smooth, but with a few weird lumps in) was weird but enjoyable. You just could not sink in it, although had I been so inclined I realised I could have done a kind of inverse pushup using some submerged wooden railings round the edge (I contented myself with pushing myself under to about my chin, then letting go and bobbing up with a mildly disappointing slowness).

I felt a little bit awkward being on the social fringes of that group, but the ice had been broken and it did feel a bit more social than I'd been expecting. There was also a presumably Colombian old-ish (50?) guy who'd been on our bus and got in just before me who I didn't really speak to much (the odd "thanks" sort of comment) but felt like "one of us" , so to speak.

What I think was quite lucky from my POV was that we were there so late we were practically the last group of the day, so it was quite empty after we'd been in for a while, *and* one of the flight attendants decided to jump back in after getting out, which I don't think would normally be an option if the pool was rammed or something people would suggest. So I did that two or three times myself - I actually can't remember if it was two or three. It was cool but weird, if you jumped in you did actually go right under so it was a bit disorienting with your ears slightly blocked and it being a bit painful to open your eyes. It was also warmer when you went that bit extra under - it wasn't *cold* normally when you were floating in it, just sort of comfortable but not excessively warm, but going under you did feel a sort of pleasant warmth, though whether this reflects a genuinely higher temperature or just had something to do with the feeling of being completely submerged or the "shock" of jumping in I don't know.

I wouldn't have minded doing the jump a few more times but we were already pushing it a bit with the bus, I think. The walk down the stairs from the crater looked mildly imposing - I went backwards and had no real problem - and then we went into the lake to be washed off by some local women (always called "abuelas" on the blogs, but mine at least didn't look that old, maybe 50-60 but not stereotypical "abuela" ). Some bloggers had also made out this was a bit harsh and/or gropy, but while I didn't strictly *need* help washing off this wasn't unwelcome or unpleasant. As advertised I was told to take my trunks off (which was a struggle) and although - for better or worse - I didn't get groped my "abuela" did give the trunks a good rinsing for me. (The water is not transparent and no one can see your private parts; it's maybe two or three feet deep.)

After that I went back to the little hut and collected my bag and dived behind a little curtained-off cubicle so I could dry myself off with the towel I'd brought and swap the trunks for regular underwear without exposing myself. (My towel is microscopic, being a medium PackTowl original viscose, which is perfectly adequate for drying myself on, but would be a struggle to use as a privacy screen for changing trunks behind.)

At this point a massage guy and my "abuela" were at the exit to the hut waiting for money - we'd been told, and I'd guessed in advance, that 5k each was appropriate - and I gave them each 5k and there was no fuss. Blogs had lead me to believe a swarm of children who had performed minor services like "guarding your flip-flops" (I had left mine in the changing area anyway, given it was so late that the sun was not terribly fierce and the ground was borderline non-painful with bare feet and that there was no queue to stand in for hours while the hot ground was painful anyway) but there weren't any around.

It would have been 5k to tip the guy who films you with your own camera, but I had no camera anyway. I did actually seem to get my massage from two different guys but since only one seemed to claim any money I only paid one.

I gave my e-mail address to one of the group on the way back, as I had had photos taken of me - they were all Air Dropping them around, but I don't have an iPhone and I hadn't taken *any* phone with me. As it happens one of the guys - John, the youthful 33yo - just emailed some photos of me he'd taken at the pink sea as I was writing this bit, so although I hadn't got any other photos yet it's possible some of those will come through later.

There had been a suggestion I'd join them to "party" tonight on some kind of party bus, but I wasn't surprised that didn't come through - I think a lot of their group weren't keen to go out drinking, and if they are indeed flying back tomorrow I wouldn't be keen either. In a way that's mildly disappointing, but I was a tiny bit edgy - although I had said yes - about getting safely back to my hotel afterwards.

I got dropped off outside ML and although no one else had AFAICS I tipped our guide 5k - I appreciated the fact she had given me the 5k change when I paid, and I was in a good mood after the unexpected social interaction and lack of horribly painful tip-extraction and groping and unpleasantness at ET.

Jumping briefly back in time, the mostly-white hotel cat I had seen other day was on the landing outside my room when I came out after breakfast before going to tour agencies. It was very friendly, I spoke to it in bad cat-Spanish, but unfortunately ended up half kicking it as I tore myself away from stroking it, started to walk down the corridor and it followed me and put itself in the way of my leg. It didn't seem too perturbed by this - I guess it's going to be a semi-routine occurrence for a friendly kitten - and stuck with me as I went down the stairs, necessitating me pushing it gently aside to clear the next step down each time.

I stopped in at the little shop I'd been a mildly miserable git in the first night on ultra-brief walk back from ML to my hotel to get a 5l bottle of water (5k). Had quite a bit of trouble crossing the road to get to my hotel but got over eventually.

I had a shower - I had some mud up my nose and a few bits in ears and eyes which "abuela" hadn't got and I hadn't noticed before (except for the up the nose, which I *did* notice and half snorted out into hanky and half into throat and swallowed as I was waiting on bus to leave ET) - and did a bit of laundry and decided I would go have a few beers at the ML bar, which I did. In hindsight I should have gone into the back courtyard where I had seen more people, but I didn't so ended up sitting on my own in front bar for 3x330ml Aguila (5k each, plus I left a 2k tip when I left), but that was OK. Meeting random people in bars is a low percentage strategy for me, but I wasn't being hassled by random "entertainers" as I wasn't on the street and there was music and it was pleasant enough; I alternated a bit of mulling with continuing my re-reading of Mark Twains "Innocents Abroad" on phone, and I also looked a bit at outdated LP guidebook and MG website about Barranquilla.

I should say at this point ML has a (small) black cat and a small white cat, I had briefly stroked the black cat on entering the bar and both were sleeping over in the far corner while I was there.

I had been forming a vague plan, perhaps even before today but can't be sure, but definitely boosted by observing in tour agency at front of my hostel and at ML while waiting to be picked up (which was actually in some ways a pleasantly meditative experience, staring at the posters for some hostels in the region and realising that, yes, it's a Tuesday and I'm not at work and am sitting here waiting to be picked up for a tour and I'm starting to feel a bit chilled out and not too stressed out about the genuinely mildly anxiety inducing state of "being a tourist" , which I think takes a bit of getting used to) that eg there are shuttle buses to all sorts of places, including Santa Marta and Barranquilla. (There was also a whiteboard with maybe a dozen 'next boats' to Panama, which if this isn't the iffy business I'd been lead to believe - the massive list on whiteboard was somehow reassuring - is vaguely appealing, but really I don't want to go to Panama now, so maybe another time.) I had been worrying a bit how I'd get to the next place once I left here and whether it would be advisable/safe/stressful to get some kind of bus to (say) Santa  Marta, but I've now realised that I *am* on the tourist trail and therefore conveniences like shuttle buses (which *probably* take you door-to-door and thus avoid that "shit, do I have to get a taxi, and can I trust a taxi at the terminal?" issue) exist.

The LP guide book is rather dismissive of Barranquilla except during the carnival (which is 22nd-ish - I checked on phone from ML bar but can't remember precisely now - Feb this year - so not now, and I am nowhere near interested enough to hang around a month for it, unless Santa Marta proves *massively* attractive and I end up being in this region another month anyway) and MG doesn't make out it's massively fascinating either. I may be missing something which would really tickle my personal fancy, of course, but I'm not ruling out ever going there - all I am saying is that I'm kind of thinking I will go direct to SM (also recommended by Jack and Marta (sp?) who I met at Valeria's birthday), see how it goes (probably book accom for 4ish days and be open to staying a week or longer) and then I may well be able to get an internal flight from SM or if not I can come back to Cartagena and fly from here. So while it's possible I'll return on a subsequent trip, and I need to check about flights from SM, I need to bear in mind I *may* not be returning to Cartagena this trip once I leave (contrary to what I wrote the other day) and if there are any must/would like to dos, I should get them done before I leave (and though I probably won't, I could extend my stay here to do so).

While I'm rambling, I should say that although I already knew this, it's worth being reminded that nearby hostels which I'm not staying in will often have bars and for cheap beer (not that ML was cheap, but still, as cheap as anywhere else) and maybe prospect of meeting people I should consider visiting them. I don't need to be staying at them, which may be expensive (it is unfair, because these are prices for *tonight* whereas I booked my hotel weeks if not a month or more in advance, but just by way of comparison I am paying £11ish a night for my cell with private bathroom, whereas ML want £9 for a dorm bed tonight or £26 for a budget double room) and/or offputting because they might be too "party" for me to feel comfortable staying there.

(Not to say I *wouldn't* ever stay at a hostel because it seems potentially sociable, I have done so even if it hasn't often worked out. Just that I don't *need* to be staying to have some of those potential benefits.)

Anyway, I had three 330ml bottles at ML and as I was feeling very mildly drunk plus socialising seemed unlikely plus it seems I am likely to feel inclined to "go out" in this way most nights I didn't see any value in burning up alcohol (and to a lesser extent financial) budget on a fourth beer (plus I am still feeling my way re safety, even though it was a very short walk home I didn't want to push it) tonight, then got back here and started writing this with intermittent breaks for music and/or water.

Is that a pretty much complete account? I think so. So I'm feeling a lot better after today's fun activity plus some social contact, even if I didn't pull off the double by getting talking to anyone tonight. I'm also mildly getting into a more "tourist" mindset and accepting that I am going to be "sold to" and feeling a bit more relaxed and thinking that I can fairly pleasantly pass a week or so of my remaining time here and some time in Santa Marta; even though I'm not a beach sort of person and a lot of what's on offer here is beachy, in moderation (even if I have no further social success) I can probably enjoy doing a bit of mild tourism stuff and having a few quiet beers in the evening over a timescale of a week or two, before moving on (probably to Cali, though I am quite looking forward to Medellin and wondering if it might be somewhere I can settle down for a few weeks of Spanish lessons).

I think the plan for tomorrow is to walk - which makes me nervous, even though it's literally a few hundred metres (subject to knowing where exactly the damn entrance is) away - over to Castillo de San Felipe and tourist it up there, have lunch/dinner (depending on time) at Alain's (if that is its name) or maybe one of those other cheap restaurants not tried yet, then have a few beers in evening perhaps at another bar on Plaza de la Trinidad. (Yes in some ways it is a shame to restrict myself to super-nearby bars. On the other hand I have no reason to think there's anything "better" - on whatever way that might be measured - further away, and there are enough local options I am unlikely to run out of them before I leave.)

I do feel mildly hungry - the food at Alain's was (as before, and as in most Guatemalan comedores as I probably already said) good but  not a *huge* portion - but not terribly so, and in the short term it's probably not a bad thing if I go slightly short on food before indulging in a minor orgy of gluttony. There is at least a moderate vegetabley portion (beans, a mercifully undressed modest salad - perhaps with a very mild vinegary flavour but mild enough it may be my imagination and I can tolerate it anyway - and also today half a fried banana/plantain) so I'm getting some kind of vegetable matter down me.

I did speak (at their invitation - I think some of them have eg Mexican family connections, and maybe they also need the language for their work) Spanish a bit with that group on the tour, though obviously bulk was in English. They said I didn't have an English accent when I spoke Spanish, obviously a non-native accent but not obviously an English (UK) accent. Whenever I speak Spanish I keep realising I've made mistakes, but I guess this isn't all bad - if I recognise the mistakes I may eventually learn to avoid them, whereas if I don't notice them even after the fact I won't have any motivation to improve.

I think tomorrow evening I will start to look into flights from Santa Marta/accommodation in SM. I can then decide if I've had enough time in Cartagena and start to book things.

Wed 0001 Bed.