more mountains, then tropics

Gwen and I are about to head out to have a sunset drink on top of the city walls of Cartagena. This city is colorful and hot and a great place to finish up. We are now officially on a relaxing vacation, as opposed to an adventure vacation....

But what an adventure it was. Briefly (because tropical drinks are needed soon!) we went from Manizales to Salento on Sunday. Salento is a little town near the Valle de Corcora. Just lovely. We stayed at a hostel a short walk out of town... a gorgeous spot and very friendly and relaxing. Lots of chilled out backpackers. After a nice evening in Salento on Sunday, shopping and eating trout (the specialty of the town), we woke to more rain on Monday. But it cleared up (as it does) and after some more time in town drinking coffee (it is the coffee growing region, after all) we went on a tour of a little coffee farm. Don Elias led the tour, and it was like the grandpa of Juan Valdez had come to life...

The next day we set off in the morning with half of the other backpackers in town for a walk in the Valle de Corcora... and incredible landscape of pea green mountains covered with wax palm trees. However, we managed to go left when everyone else went right, and instead of a leisurely walk through the valley, we climbed a mountain. With several other lost people. This is a tale I will tell you all at some point over drinks, because it was a fantastic adventure, but long story short, Gwen and I ended up spending the night in the very cold and basic but welcoming cattle finca (farm) of a man named Javier and his son Lucho. We were way the heck up there, and it was incredible. The next morning, Javier used his cell phone (no electricity but they did have a cell phone) to call a guy to come two hours up the mountain with some horses and we rode down. Those mountain horses are incredible! Took us 2 hours down. Took us 7 hours walking up!

We missed our 3;30 flight to Cartagena, but managed to make it onto a 5:45 flight... still unwashed and covered with finca dirt! Arrvied in Cartagena at 9pm last night, spent the first night in a pretty basic hostel in Gethsamani, and then moved to our fancy boutique hotel, the Casa Hortensia. I got a great deal on the internet, and it is like having our own little colonial house... but with a pool. We ate ceviche for lunch across the street at a plce that was on Athony Bourdain's show. And now those drinks are calling...

I can't believe I am sitting here in a sundress in beautiful Cartagena, when 48 hours ago I was huddled under a pile of blankets, covered in mud, trying to get warm in front of the finca's wood burning stove. And that's one of the reaons why I love to travel...