We had quite a relaxing morning, I packed my bags with all my nice clean clothes, and then we headed into Medellin in one of the local mini buses. We dropped my bags at Hector’s mum’s house and then took the metro to the start of the cable car in San Javier. We took the cable car up to La Aurora and then back down again. It was so interesting and you could really see the difference between the poorer and richer areas of Medellin, and also how the city is spreading out into the hills. We stopped for a drink outside the modern art museum and in the early evening we wandered through the Ciudad de Rio park and looked at all the street stalls. I tried my first Michelada – lime juice, beer, salt around the top of the glass and fruit (Mango) inside that you eat. It was really nice. The moon was really bright too – the lunar eclipse was earlier in the morning and you couldn’t see it in Medellin as it was already below the horizon when the eclipse happened.

If anyone is ever travelling to Medellin I would highly recommend a day in Guatape – it’s one of the prettiest towns I’ve ever visited. We started the day with an interesting breakfast of cheese, arepa and hot chocolate – you actually dip the cheese into the chocolate!

That set us up nicely for the climb up the rock. They say it’s formed from volcanic rock but another theory is that it’s the remains of a meteorite.

After 675 steps we made it to the top and the views were stunning.

And from the rock we headed into Guatape itself and just wandered around the courful streets and visited the church. There were a couple of places for sale but they weren’t cheap – not far off Surrey prices.

We had some delicious grilled trout in garlic whilst we were there too. In the evening we popped to Hector’s aunt so I could do my washing and then just had a little wander in the evening around the Rionegro area, where Hector lives, and stopped off for a quick beer.

Weather is still lovely – but not quite as hot as in the North, which is actually quite nice as we’re doing a lot of walking around.

Today I flew to Medellin from Santa Marta, luckily a direct flight. Unfortunately I hadn’t printed out my boarding pass so was charged for that at the airport – something to remember for future flights.

Hector picked me up from the airport and I dumped my bags at his gorgeous new flat before we headed off to explore Medellin.

We travelled into the city via the ‘forgotten road which was a really scenic route. I was really impressed with the city and the public transport was fantastic which made it very easy to get around. We saw the cemetary, the Basillica, the old town hall, a couple of other amazing churches, some great parks and visited a number of different areas including Poblado. We had some delicious food (Arepas for lunch in Bueonas Aires and steak for dinner in El Poblado) as well as a couple of beers along the way. We stayed the night in the Laurales area which is one of the nicer areas of town. So far I’m really liking this city – there is so much history and a complete mixture of new and old.

Today Onur and I went to Playa Blanca and just spent the day relaxing on the beach with an occasional dip in the sea – which was at just the right temperature to cool off. We went to Playa Blanca near Rodadero. It was pretty busy being a sunday – mainly Colombian families and just a few tourists.

In my dorm at the hostel I met a young girl, Ledania, who does graffiti in Colombia and all over the world. Her art is amazing. She did one in the hostel as well

So later we’ll go out for a bit of food. We’ve found a lovely little street that is full of a variety of different restaurants (Carrera 3) and then tomorrow I’m off to Medellin – where unfortunately it’s not quite as warm as here.

So we were supposed to leave the hostel at 7am as the hostel had arranged for a bus to come and pick us up and take us to the park. But being on Colombian time I was thinking around 730. But the bus had a puncture and in the end we didn’t end up leaving until around 830am – the bonus was that we managed to have the inclusive breakfast before we left. The taxi to the park took around an hour and even though we’d reserved our tickets online there was still a bit of a queue to get in. But once we were in the first thing we heard were howler monkeys. I’d heard these before in Costa Rica but had never seen one – but this time I actually saw a couple of them. The walk through the park was amazing- everything was so green and the beaches were gorgeous.

It took us about 2 hours to get to Cabo san Juan beach where I was going to be spending the night. First thing we did was swim in the sea which was lovely and refreshing after the sweaty walk.

We managed to meet up with the guys from the other hostel (Melissa, Michelle, Florian and Heiko) but they all had to leave around 3pm to get out of the park before it shut at 5pm. Luckily I met another girl, Hanna, who was staying the night too. We watched the sunset with a beer – it was a bit cloudy so it wasn’t the best but still pretty beautiful. We had dinner at the only restaurant at the camp site and met up with a couple of other girls from England and Colombia. It’s great getting tips from everyone as you travel round. Sleeping in the hammock was an interesting experience. It was a pretty windy night so was a bit colder than I was expecting so I hardly slept at all despite the hammock being really comfortable. But it meant I was awake to see the sunrise from the viewing point. We decided to do the walk to Pueblito to see the ruins and indigenous village and then out of the park via Calabazo. To be honest I had no idea how difficult this trek was and we had to scramble over rocks and climb a huge amount of steps- but it was definitely worth it. I had to get the local bus back to Santa Marta where the air con was open windows and for most of the journey I was standing as the bus was packed with the conductor literally hanging out of the door! After the most needed shower it was off for some pizza with Elissa and Onur before heading to a rooftop bar for a few rum and cokes and a bit of salsa dancing! Am looking forward to a lovely sleep and a relaxing day on the beach tomorrow

After walking round the old town of Cartagena and then walking over the walls of the city in 32 degrees heat yesterday I was pretty knackered. So I tried to have a little kip but didn’t really sleep.

Around 5pm I set out to cafe del Mar which is THE place to watch the sunset over the ocean – all the tourists go there. But despite being quite full, and the drinks being expensive for Colombia, it is definitely worth it.

For dinner I just walked down Carerra 10 in the Getsemani area, stopped for a bit of people watching at Trinidad square and then had a delicious traditional meal at Viva restaurant. The food was delicious and cheap.

After a quick rum at the Hostel bar I was in bed by 1030pm which meant I woke up nice and refreshed this morning, ready for my trip to Santa Marta.

By the way, I would definitely recommend El Arsenal Hostel- it has really good, clean facilities, a small pool and the staff are really helpful (and they speak English).

I got the bus to Santa Marta which took around four hours. Luckily it had air con and I managed to have a little sleep. The leg room left something to be desired. My new friends Elissa and Onur were on the bus too.

We checked into the hostel in Santa Marta and then went to get some food with a couple of Canadian girls too. I had some delicious seafood.

And after a couple of beers I’m going to have an earlyish night as a few of us ate heading to Parque Tayrona tomorrow and it’s an early start.

Loving Colombia so far!

The flights went smoothly, the food was pretty good and my luggage arrived at the same airport as me.

I arrived very early this morning so made the most of it and took a free walking tour around Cartagena – which I highly recommend. This is a beautiful city – lots of old colonial buildings and still surrounded by an old fortress wall.

It’s been invaded lots of times and once by Francis Drake who destroyed quite a few of the buildings before he left. It has a pirate history too.

The weather is amazing – currently around 32 with beautiful blue skies. Luckily my hostel has a small swimming pool to cool off in. I’ve tried some of the local food – Arueppe (or spelt something like that) which was corn bread with beef and egg inside and then fried- pretty good.

May go and watch the sunset later and grab a beer or two.

Life is good

So today is the day I leave. I hardly slept at all last night even though I’d pretty much packed up my room and the rucksacks were full to bursting! I really can’t fit anything else in either of them.

I saw a word on Facebook last week that described exactly how I’m feeling- excitement and nervousness about an upcoming trip. Obviously I forgot to save it so I can’t tell you what it is!

I am so going to miss everyone but I’ll keep in touch via this blog. I’ve set up whatsapp groups for family and close friends as I’m coming off Facebook while I’m away- otherwise it’ll take too much time finding out what everyone else is up to.

I’m going to miss waking up to this little man too.

Will let you know I arrive in Columbia safely!

Buen viaje

H xx

So this time next week I will be in Cartagena in Colombia at the start of my 100 day South America trip. I am really excited but also pretty scared about it. But I think at the moment the excitement out weights the nervousness. And there is the attraction of warmth and sunshine too!

Its the first time I’ve ever travelled completely on my own, doing all my own organising and booking hostels and trips. I’ve got to say, without the internet I would be at a complete loss, HostelWorld has proved invaluable.

Lots of people are giving me tips on where to go and what to see – some are telling me horror stories which is not really what I want to hear right now. But everyone who has been there says what a beautiful place it is, really diverse and on the whole the people are welcoming and friendly.

I’m thinking about what I need to pack – trying to fit everything I think I will need into a 40l and 20l rucksack is not going to be easy but I intend to travel light as I’m the one who’s got to carry it all!

There’s a lot to do before I leave – like pack up my room so I can rent it out, sort out all the finances so the bills are paid when I’m away, finish off all the odds and ends at work (last day this Friday!!!) and sort out what I am actually going to take with me.

I’ll keep you posted on how I get on as I travel around.