Ah Colombia!

Cartagena de Indias 

Ah Colombia!  The country we didn't even consider in our initial travel planning and yet within our first week in Ecuador decided to spend five weeks exploring,  after having met other travellers fresh out of Colombia, all agreeing that there's something special about this enigmatic country in the north westen corner of the continent.
Maybe we unconsciously left Colombia off our initial route, because of the bad reputation the country had up until recently. I mean drug cartels, civil war and kidnapping of foreigners as a means for the left wing guerrilla groups to fund their violent activities, are not exactly attractive conditions for most travellers, let alone mass-tourism.
While Colombia is still the world's top producer of cocaine, a trade that kills 25.000 Colombians annually, and has internally displaced four million people in the country, the biggest guerrilla group FARC, have ceased the kidnappings and since 2012 been in peace negotiations with the Colombian government.
Relative peace has seen the economy booming and tourism is on the rise, and after four weeks in the country I can see why.

After a brief stop in Panama, we landed in Cartagena de Indias, a beautiful colonial town on the Caribbean coast with a fascinating history. This was the main port during the Spanish reign and the gold and other valuables plundered further south on the continent, was shipped to Europe from Cartagena. This of course attracted pirates, among them Francis Drake.
Today the old town enjoys UNESCO's heritage protection and has become a fashionable seaside resort town. If you've got the cash you can rub shoulders, or should that be hips, with Shakira in a luxurious apartment building just inside the old fortress walls.

For us mortals a room in the old red light district had to do, but we could still enjoy the beautifully colonial buildings, atmospheric plazas and impressive fortress walls. What better way to beat the tropical late-afternoon heat, than with a cold beer in hand, sitting on the old walls by the sea, taking full advantage of the the breeze while watching the sunset.
We also spent a day taking a boat trip to the Rosario archipelago,  where we did a bit of snorkelling and lazing on the beach.

After a virtual overdose on colonial splendour, we headed further west to the city of Santa Marta. While one of the continent's oldest cities and the place where the great El Liberator, Simón Bolívar died, it's colonial past has faded and today it's the nearby fishing village of Taganga that's most popular on the gringo-trail, for being one of the cheapest places in the world to scuba dive. However a stubborn ear infection and a fresh cold, put a quick stop to my diving plans, so what to do instead.... Why not go on a five day jungle trek to the ruins of the lost city, Ciudad Perdida.
Much more on this and other Colombian adventures in my next post.