Cartagena, Colombia (pt 2)

Cartagena is a great city, much more our style with the beaches and sunny weather. On our third day here, we took a cruise to the Islas del Rosario, 20 something small islands off the coast of Colombia. The boat was absurd, blasting salsa music for each way of the 2 hour journey starting at 9 am. We saw the islands and then made our way to Playa Blanca, known as one of the more beautiful beaches in the area, you can see why. Truly enjoying nature, we rented a jetski and jumped the waves, while in turn almost missing the boat back.

The following day we went to check out the big castle, Castilla San Felipe, that overlooks most of Cartagena. Among the good views there is a series of intricate tunnels underneath the castle, poorly lit and damp. I am realizing I have developed an increasingly more severe case of colostrophobia (sp??) over the years and I am now adding tight spaces onto my list of things I can't stand along with olives and pancakes. One tunnel continued on for about 100 yards with no lights, and Zack and our friends trudged on through ankle to knee deep water until they couldn't go any further. I got scared and stayed behind. I think some historical stuff happened at the castle too, not really sure.

Our last night in Cartagena, we were recruited for a Rumba Bus around the city by the Brazilians in our hostel. A crew of about 10 of us boarded an open air bus with about 60 people. With even more salsa music blasting and rum being passed around, we cruised the bays and coasts of the city. We stopped on the large wall that surrounds the city to, well, basically be sold stuff, but to see some dancers. I didn't even see the dancers beacuse I saw a man letting people hold one of God's greatest creatures... THE SLOTH. I want one. (Can someone do some reasearch for me on the vialbility of a sloth as a pet? Thanks.) It moves in slow motion and loves to hug, what else do you need in a pet? You can see more sloth and other pics from the night here.

The next higlight was our friend Caleb really soaking up the culture (and his shirt) by dancing with old Colombian women. I know most of you may not the guy, but this might be one of my top pics of the trip so far. We have quickly found it is all about the crowds at the hostels, hearing about future destinations and having people to go out with. We have been fortunate to have a good crowd, some people who have even continued on to travel with us.

Right now we are in Taganga, a small fishing, diving, and backpacker town outside of Santa Marta. Our hostel is right on the beach and our room is about 3 fee from the water. We plan on diving for a day or two before stocking up for a 2 or 3 night stay in Tayrona National Park. The towns have continued to get smaller (Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena, Taganga...) and soon we will be sleeping hammocks on the beach with no one else in sight. I can't wait.