Bogota
We had to change planes in Bogota, which had a tiny airport similar to Luton, but it did have a dunkin donuts, so plenty of things to eat whilst passing the time, not to mention live football on every available tv screen. Bogota is dripping with cash, not surprising if you consider that 80% of Colombia’s GDP is exporting coco around the world.
Cartagena
Our second plane to Cartagena was on time, but without food this time, so we had to sit there smelling all the delights wafting down from business class. After an hour we were approaching Cartagena but the captain announced a slight delay due to bad weather. So we circled, and circled, and circled for about 40 minutes before the pilot had the courage to attempt a landing. Got down to about 750 metres and then was a sudden pull up to 2500 metres since the turbulence was just too much for the plane to land. The plane then circled again for another 20 minutes before we were re-directed to Barraquilla, some 60 miles north of Cartagena. There we sat on the tarmac for an hour along with 5 other planes that could not land, hungry, thirsty and bored out of our minds. Mariana was in a positive mood and was glad we landed elsewhere rather than being killed in a crash. A bit dramatic maybe, but certainly the correct decision was made by the captain. After an hour we once again took off headed for Cartagena. This time the pilot managed to put it down on the tarmac to the relief and cheers from the passengers. Mariana had 3 kittens by this time since flying is not one of her favourite pastimes, and this flight certainly was not for the faint hearted.
Arriving in Cartagena was a relief. We had called to reserve a room which was still available even though we were almost 3 hours late. The room had wifi, tv, ac and a fan. Normally, we don’t do the ac thing since it is just not necessary, not the case in Cartagena. Temperature 30 degrees and 75% humidity, an utter sweat box for sure. Ventured out in the afternoon in search of food. After about 15 minutes we found the veggie place mentioned in the book. Food was average, but you cannot expect much for a 75 pence set lunch. Came out to find the rain had once again picked up and the roads had turned to rivers, ankle deep of water in all directions, only the narrow footways looked like tow paths for horses. We found haven in a coffee shop and settled down for cookies of all shapes and sizes whilst drying off in the ac environment. In the evening, we headed to a small restaurant and had a fish supper with a good wine to wash it all down. Day 1 complete in Cartagena, back to the sanctuary of the room for couch potato relaxation in front of the tv.
The next few days didn’t amount to much as we were both very tired from travelling and hadn’t really rested much since Puerto Lopez, so we took the opportunity to stroll around the old town, eat amazing food in an Indian restaurant of all places, and plan our return to the UK.
Santa Marta and Tagana
Three buses and a taxi over 6 hours took us to Taganga via Barraquilla and Santa Marta. The journey was ok, but a little nervous on the final taxi leg since we didn’t know where the guy was taking us, and he had a gun, samurai sword and tear gas on the dashboard. Luckily we were pulled over by the police who checked us out and allowed us to move onto our destination.
Arriving in Taganga was a bit of an anticlimax. We had imagined quiet tranquil poweder blue ocean with the odd palm tree here and there, ....
