Behind the Old Walls of Cartagena

From the moment we stepped out of the airport in Cartagena, I knew I was in love. Not only was it the waft of hot, humid air that hit me as I walked outdoors (for those who know me, I love heat and especially humidity), but I just had a feeling…and my instincts are rarely wrong! There is a magical feeling you get as you step off the main road, through the doorway of the ancient city walls, and into a whole new world. The cobblestone streets winding through ancient colonial buildings, with the turn of each corner taking you through a narrow street full of bright, multicoloured homes decorated with an array of colourful flowers. There’s the hustle of people walking through the streets and relaxing outside at the many cafes and restaurants. There’s the clicking of the horse drawn carriages mixed in with the beat of the drums as the traditional Colombian dancers attract crowds with their inspiring performances. There are the rows of food vendors lining the streets, filling the air with aromatic scents that tempt your taste buds.

You can’t go to Cartagena and not visit El Totumo, the mud volcano. As you lower yourself into the pool of thick, bubbling mud, a strange man starts rubbing mud all over your body before you become completely immersed. He then pushes you across to the other side where another man gives you a massage. The mud is so thick and full of minerals that you can’t sink, in fact you can barely stand up! Once your massage is over, the masseuse slides you across to the ‘socializing’ area, where you sit VERY closely with other mud covered zombies and begin to make friends as you are half-naked and squished together in this intimate pot of mud. There might be some unintentional  leg caressing and body rubbing! Once your time is up in the mud, you pull yourself out of the pool into the cool air as another man aggressively rubs the mud off your body and then you proceed down the hill into the lake where a strange woman forcefully bathes you with a bucket of water. Beware, these women take their jobs very seriously and that often means your bathing suit being removed and the invasion of some personal body parts – but they are just trying to get all the mud off, don’t take this the wrong way! If you find this uncomfortable, just tell them you don’t want to remove your bathing suit, sometimes they listen