So long Colombia

So we reached our last few days in Colombia :( . What better way to finish though then by hitting San Gil, the adventure sport capital.

We arrived last Saturday by day bus (don´t do it to yourself - night bus it all the way) and booked into Sam´s VIP hostel right in front of the town´s main square.

We signed up for white water rafting on Colombia´s only grade five rapid river - perhaps not the best idea for amateurs - on day one. Unfortunately it was cancelled due to the river being too high from rain in the hills. It was cancelled the next day, and the next - in fact no-one went out for the six days we were there. So be warned if you are heading to San Gil for that only - it is quite possible it won´t happen.

Trouble in Taganga

So after deciding we couldn't endure anymore sandfly bites we left Costeño and headed for Taganga, a small fishing village near Santa Marta best known on the Gringo trail for its cheap Padi diving courses.

Still feeling under the weather we arrived and booked in for a scuba course to start after a day or two of chilling out in the hostel.

Unfortunately during this time Halifax managed to suspend our credit card account so that we couldn't get any cash out, Barclays blocked our debit cards even though we had told them we were going abroad and the one-and-only cash machine in the village was out of money. This was one thing to deal with when we were at the hostel with mobile phone and wifi reception but not so fun when we found out about it in the middle of Exito (supermarket) in Santa Marta.

Surf´s up dude

After Tayrona we ventured on alone to Costeño beach, a surf camp we first heard about in Medellin. Needless to say once Mike knew about it I had no choice but to go there.

Just along from the entrance to Tayrona (about 10 mins on the bus - ask them to drop you off at Costeño) you will find the entrance. A fifteen minute hike later you will walk into the hostel, a thatched roof paradise to say the least.

Costeño is run by two Canadian guys, Brian and Colm, who have gone out of their way to keep the place small, chilled and very friendly.

We were staying in a beach hut for the first night which was a novel experience before moving into the hammocks for the next two nights as the place was booked up with the weekend being a Colombian national holiday.

Fruit and Veg

What do you get if you mix two swedes, two pommes and a kiwi? Well apart from your five-a-day it is a good recipe for lots of laughter.

...And so our journey continued (sorry for getting a bit behind with the posts!).

After our day in Minca - next stop was Parque Tayrona, a protected park near Santa Marta that encompasses part of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

Our mission ... to do a hike, lie on the infamous beach Cabo San Juan (used on the front of the lonely planet guide) and sleep overnight in a hammock on the beach.