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Colombia's Caribbean 7/08
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4 weeks along Colombia's Caribbean coast was intense but not for any reasons that most people would suspect from generated headlines. July temperatures were in the upper 90's, with humidity levels as high and air-conditioning a rare comodity! Between the immense heat and lack of appetite, I sweat-off more than 15 pounds!
In addition to a 6-day trek to la Ciudad Perdida, what is undoubtedly my biggest adventure and accomplishment to date, I spent more than another week in the Santa Marta area recovering while hanging-out around that city as well as Taganga and Parque Tayrona.
It was also a highlight and privilege to spend a day in the nearby town of Aracataca; birthplace of nobel winning author Gabriel García Márquez, and where much of 100 Years of Solitude and the fictional town of Macondo were based from. Other than the Lost City, the focus of my trip was to walk through the pages from many of his novels.
Did a 3-day stay inland in the town of Mompós, which was quite the all-day adventure for getting there through El Banco, and then taking a semi-direct bus out which included a ferry ride on El Río Magdalena. Mompós was another step back into time and history; a colonial gem that's been all but isolated and forgotten.
The grand finale was to be Cartagena; what's billed as the Spaniards' largest and most impressive of fortified colonial cities. Wrong! I'm spoiled on Old San Juan, Puerto Rico but unfortunately Cartagena turned-out to be one of the biggest tourist traps ever encountered, and the pestering from vendors and merchants in the streets was almost as relentless as the heat! After 3 weeks and a day in nearby Islas Rosario, I majorly crashed and burned; totally played-out. Aside from a quick trip to the thermal mud volcano Totumo, I basically spent my last week in bed.
Never have I ever been so ready to return home from a trip, but at the same time I can't wait to get back to Colombia and different parts of the country. The people and places were amazing; enjoy the 1,500+ pixs I'll be loading.
* Photos are best viewed through sets and/or slideshows as Flickr is loading the photostream severely out of sequence.













