October 2: Palenque San Basilio
In Cartagena, the bus station is way far away from the city center. The landscape changes drastically; from grand facades to trash covered sidewalks. It´s too long of a walk, so we took a taxi to the bus station with the professor. At the bus station we met our guide, a friend of the professor. From there, we took a bus, about 1.5 hours, until we came to a dirt road, where there we took a motorcycle ride - no helmets - to the village of Palenque.
Palenque San Basilio is a settlement founded by escpaed slaves in the 16th century. Here they speak the only Spanish based creole in the world. There are about 3,000 inhabitants. Through our guide we met some very friendly locals but it was clear that we were outsiders. Jesko conducted some interviews for his investigation and I took their pictures. Although we were only 50 km from the center of Cartagena, it felt like a completely different world. There are thatched roofs, dirt streets, chickens, pigs, dogs, donkeys and goats roaming about as they wish.
We spent the night there in the house of a friend of our guide. Our host made us dinner - roasted chicken, rice, and plantains.
October 3: The flood
Palenque San Basilio is probably the hottest place I´ve been to so far on this trip. When I woke up, there really wasn´t anything to do but sit in the shade of a tree. I hadn´t done anything active that morning and yet, sweat was dripping down my face. There really is no reprieve from the heat you just have to sit there and not think about it. Breakfast that morning was fish, eggs scrambled with tomatoes, something resembling polenta and fried plantains - absolutely delicious! Coffee was also provided which I was very thankful for.
We had time for a few more interviews. As we headed back to get our bags, all of a sudden, the sky opened and a raindrops the size of quarters came falling down on us. It was a blessing and a curse - the rain felt so good but it also made the red clay roads very slippery.
The rain didn´t quit. The windshield wipers on our bus didn´t work but we made it into town. It took about twice as long to get to Cartagena as it did to get to Palenque. The streets were flooded. Nearly a foot deep in some places. Locals took their shoes off, walking through the muddy, littered water as if it was commonplace. From the bus window I saw a man get robbed on his bike by two men. Others in the bus saw it to, but what can we do?
I was so happy to get back to the hotel and take a shower! There were no flushing toilets or showers in Palenque obviously. Our shower in the hotel in Cartagena is a shared one, down the hall. There is no shower head, just a tube coming out of the wall.There is no hot water, there really is no need here because it is always hot - but it was the best shower of my life!
After a shower, the next thought was dinner. We ate well; salad, rice, beans, veggies, plantains and freshly squeezed juice. Feeling ready to party, we found a bar across the street from the hotel and had some drinks. We met a couple - Melissa from Argentina and Diego from Peru. We danced, talked, and decided to meet up the next day with our camping equipment.
October 4: Playa Linda
We met Diego and Melissa at 11am, took a taxi to the beach, and negotiated a price to travel to one of the nearby islands. For the four of us together it turned out to be 55,000 pesos each way which is more or less equal to $27 dollars. We paid half and then told them to pick us up the following afternoon and we´d give them the rest. The boat was a large speed boat, I imagine it could fit up to 12 people. Riding on it, I was reminded of taking the speed boat out on Orcas Island. I love the feel of the sea breeze on my face. Being in Colombia really makes you appreciate the simple things; a cold shower, a good meal, fresh ocean air.
We landed at Playa Linda around noon. We basically had the beach all to ourselves. A man approached us and asked us if we were planning on spending the night. Camping is free and we could camp anywhere but he recommended camping here so that he could guard us during the night. He said a few campers have been robbed since there is a village nearby. We decided to play it safe. There were tables to and a hut on stilts where Diego and Melissa could hang their hammocks. Jesko and I had a tent.
That night, Melissa and Jesko made the four of us pasta with tomatoes, onions and garlic. We ate at sunset which is precisely at 18h. Once it got dark, we made a campfire on the beach and had Cuba Libres from the rum and coke that Jesko and I brought.
October 5: Playa Linda
Three weeks ago I swam in the Mediterranean, now here I was in the Caribbean! The tropical water was amazingly warm, the sand so soft, the sky ample with fluffy white clouds. Could it get any better? For breakfast, I had a fresh banana and some bread we bought earlier in the village. Lunch was prepared for us by the small staff at the hut; super fresh fish - served whole, head, fins, everything - coconut rice, tomatoes, onions, and patacones.
The crabs here live underground. They poke in and out of the holes they make in the sand. There are also geckos and butterflies and a few dogs that live on the island. There was one skinny dog in particular who was very sweet. We asked the man there if he had a name, which he didn´t, so we called him Charlie. For the rest of the day, the man called the dog Charlie too - I hope the name sticks.
In the distance, there was a thunderstorm, but the rain never touched us on the island. It was awesome to swim in the warm ocean, watching the purple clouds roll over Cartagena.
We left the island at 16h, then went our separate ways.
October 6: Volcan del Totumo
I slept in until noon! I guess I needed it after such a hard couple of days relaxing on the beach - wink, wink.
This afternoon, Jesko and I went to Volcan del Totumo - a small volcano where, at the top, there is thick grey mud to immerse yourself in! It felt so weird, like floating in pudding! After completely covering ourselves with the mud we took the stairs down to the laguna to wash off. Saw a beautiful sunset and a rainbow on the way back to Cartagena.
Tomorrow we catch a flight to Medellin where we will then catch a bus to Rio Claro.
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