What, the FARC?

Had to be done, sorry. After the disastrous weekend in Bogota (where we had narrowly missed being mugged at knifepoint outside our hostel - this honour had accrued to a canadian couple who were there a couple of hours earlier), we fled up to the carribean coast. First stop was the town of Santa Marta, and the heat hit us like a wall getting off the bus. Santa Marta was a stop-off point en route to the tiny but massively crowded bay of Taganga, where Colombians were enjoying another of their unending long weekends, and Laur was set to do her PADI open water diving certificate (this means you can dive anywhere in the world, become an instructor etc).

Laur just before hitting the water

This went smoothly, and I spent the days looking for work and applying for temp jobs back in the UK, while she swanned off onto the high seas to enjoy gawping at coloured fish and coral (not bitter, really!). All was fine and we were about to set off for Cartagena, when fate dealt us another blow - I collapsed with what was at first feared to be appendicitis! Luckily this was misdiagnosed initially by a cautious, friendly German medic called Billy - who accompanied me to the hospital and explained my symptoms to the doctor in the A&E, and it turned out to be a localised infection in my lower intestine (as I write this I am still taking antibiotics - just as well as it is keeping me off the beer/rum).

The upshot of it all was another two days in Taganga while I recuperated and Laura got increasingly bored - but had the patience of saint. Eventually we hopped a bus to Cartagena, where it was even hotter if possible than Taganga. This town is a fantastic remnant of Spanish rule, with gorgeous, historical streets and graceful buildings more redolent of Venice than anywhere in latin america, and surrounded by thick medieval walls looking out onto azure seas. We´re here now, sweltering in the heat of day and wandering through the streets in the cool evenings. Tomorrow we head out to the Playa Blanca for some more horizontal time...