South America: Medellin Colombia

South America: Santa Marta/Palomino/Minca, Colombia

A short 6hr bus ride north of Cartagena is the small beach city of Santa Marta. You can get a shuttle from pretty much any hostel for around $20 USD. The bus unexpectedly broke down half way there so we got a decent roadside lunch and after a lot of mucking around we finally arrived! 

We only had a quick stint in Santa Marta so we used our time to hike the toranga national park, where the jungle meets the beach and a crazy horse ride through the rocky terrain will have you holding on for dear life. We ventured back to our hostel, made home made dinners and lazed by the pool before catching a 2 hour bus to palomino to stay the night and explore around the beach town.

Palomino is a sweet little get away and it's hard to believe it's such a short drive away from the hustle and bustle of the city. When we pulled up in our bus we were welcomed by the locals, who offered to carry us and all our luggage on the backs of their tiny dirt bikes. 

The town of Palomino is made up of one long street where you can find all the market and vendor stores, then there's multiple roads branching off that lead all the way to beach front hostels with jungle views. We stayed in hostel dreamer, and only moments after we had arrived we were back on the dirt bikes ready to go tubing in the near by river. As we started to drift down, we were approached by one of the locals who advised us that due to the rain it would be very dangerous to tube, avoiding his advice he decided to come with us and after a litre of rum and vodka, we finally drifted all the way down to the ocean with only a GoPro fatality. Tubing is definitely one of the best activities you can do in Palomino; surrounded by the jungle, drink in hand, slowly making your way down the river with all your mates seriously can't be beat and at $5 for the whole day you'll be hard stretched to find something better.

To get the most out of Columbia we found ourselves on the road again, after only enjoying one day/night in Palomino. We took a shuttle east of the town to a mountainous coffee village called Minca. 

When we arrived we were greeted with a strenuous hike up a vertical mountain to our tree house hostel; Casa Olma, by far the most amazing view point to watch the sunset into the horizon. We spent a short night and day taking in the town, practising yoga, busking with the hostel volunteers and sleeping in hammocks before heading back to Santa Marta to catch a bus to the busy town of Medellin. 

If you're strapped for time and you want to see the best of what Columbia has to offer I suggest each one of these towns as they all differ from one another, have their quirks and are cheap and easy to travel between.

Medellin, here we come!!

South America: Cartagena, Columbia

Cartagena is by far one of the most beautifully vibrant, weirdest towns I've ever visited.

Firstly old town Cartagena is a colonial maze of the most incredible breathtaking terrace houses with the biggest wooden doors you've ever seen, then there's the newer side of town - malls, skyscrapers, the most amazing coffee houses, colourful clubs, the lot. You can get lost anywhere in cartegena and never feel like you need to find your way back home.

While aboard the Galitano we recruited a few extra travellers and while exploring our first Colombian destination we decided to set up camp at Casa Luna! For a few dollars a night, hot showers, comfortable beds and good food came as an absolute luxury. 

After a few days of relaxation and getting use to having our feet panted firmly on solid ground we decided to take a trip to Volcano De Totumo to get nice and dirty in the mud pits. This is probably the weirdest thing you will ever experience, the pit is roughly 2000m deep, however you can stand completely upright and not sink, the mud is thick and gooey and for a split moment you will feel like a kid again. After you're finished in the pits the guides take you to the river to get bathed by Colombian ladies, and believe me you will never feel so clean.

To finish off our few days in Cartagena, we explored the town, climbed some castles and had a quick reunion with the Galitano del Mar crew before heading off to Santa Marta to continue our Colombian adventure.

Central to South: Galitano del Mar

If you're going to do Central and South America, your trip is not worth doing unless you sail the Sand Blass islands from Panama to Columbia. I guarantee you even if you suffer from server sea sickness while on your way to the islands it will all be worth it when you find yourself in paradise. 

The easiest way to book your trip is through a hostel. Although we stayed in Casa Areka we organised our boat tour through hostel Mamalina. Make sure you communicate to the Mamalina guys that you want a fun party boat for backpackers, we were lucky enough to get a spot on their craziest boat available - Galitano del Mar. For $550 USD this includes 5 days travel/accommodation on the boat, all food provided, access to deserted islands, water activities, and probably the most fun you'll have in your lifetime.

Before boarding we we're introduced to the crew; Soph the Aussie cook, Cappy the French Captain, his Colombian sidekick and their pet dog Mistick. We quickly made friends with the other 18 backpackers on board and spent the first day drinking before setting sail for the islands. If you're prone to motion sickness or just generally value a good nights rest I suggest buying a box of duramine, one will take your nausea away, two will knock you out cold for atleast 12 hours. 

When we awoke after a bumpy night battling waves we were finally surround by islands! For the next 3 days this paradise was ours, with no other boat or tour in sight. Soph cooked up the best food imaginable, we drank lots, visited some '2 dollar shops' on the islands and spent the nights playing drinking games and sinking way too much rum.

After our short 3 day stint island hopping we were ready for the 36hr straight sail to Colombia - as we arrived at the peer at Cartagena bleary eyed, sea sick and weathered it never felt so good to plant our feet on solid ground.

South America; it begins. 

Central America: Panama city, Panama

Central America: Bocas del Torro, Panama