Return of the Cartagena

I got back from Ciudad Perdida and learned that while he had originally promised Friday, the motorcycle wouldn't actually be ready until Wednesday. So upon returning I stayed in Santa Marta two nights, and then decided to head up to Taganga for a few days to kill time before going back to Cartagena to get the bike on Wednesday - I'd already spent seven nights in Cartagena, I really didn't need to be back there before the bike was ready to spend more time there.

Ciudad Perdida

I'd first heard about the "Lost City" hike from David, way back when we were travelling together through El Salvador and Nicaragua. Then in Boquete, I got another glowing review of the hike from Anou and Clara. Still, I wasn't completely sure if I'd do it or not, since it was four or five days, which was longer than I'd spent in most places up until then.

But then I had the accident, and I was going to have to stay somewhat close to Cartagena for a few weeks, so I decided it was time to head out into the jungle.

Santa Marta

After finally making my way out of Cartagena with the motorcycle in the shop for repairs, I headed off in a bus up to Santa Marta. I'm going to go a little bit out of order here because I spent a couple days in Santa Marta, then headed off to the jungle on a four day hike to Ciudad Perdida, and then returned to Santa Marta, so I'm going to go ahead and cover all of Santa Marta here, and then go back and talk about Ciudad Perdida.

Cartagena

Finally done with paperwork, with the bike dropped off, it was time to enjoy Cartagena. Only problem was that I was tired out, and it was unbearably hot during the day in Cartagena. I ended up spending quite a bit of my time during the day relaxing and doing nothing, but the nights were perfect weather for wandering around the streets.

Port

I arrived in Cartagena knowing I'd probably be spending a while there - I had all the paperwork to do, and I had to get some parts and repairs to get the bike back in shape after the accident. So before I got a chance to enjoy the city much, I spent a few days taking care of business.

Bike-less

It was a strange feeling, getting on a bus. Even though almost everyone I'd met or traveled with in the past few months was riding buses constantly, I'd only been on a few. And more, each time I'd been on one, it was to go somewhere and return, not to actually get somewhere.

But now, I was bike-less.

Accident

I hadn't made any plans yet for crossing the Darien Gap - everything I'd heard basically said that you can't really do it until you get there, because you never know when things will change. I'd been kind of dreading it because it was such an unknown in my travels, but as it turns out, that wasn't the thing that would mess with my plans.