Salinas y Montañita

We read mixed reviews about Salinas. This was a place was supposedly a cheap, but therefore also very popular beach destination. We read that the weather is best between November and February, and as such, arriving then would be very crowded and busy, with people trying to sell you things left right and centre. We’d be arriving right inbetween this time period. The area was also supposedly somewhat upper market, with a yacht club and huge towering real estate overlooking the bay. We’d see how we liked it, but reviews were certainly polarized.

The bus from Guayaquil took us to a place called Santa Marta, where we hopped on another bus to Salinas. First impressions of the place were a little a different to what we had been expecting. The place with almost entirely deserted, with roads being built, pavements dug up and buildings being erected. We’re not quite sure where people were getting the impression of an extremely busy and posh place, because we certainly weren’t experiencing that. Not that we were complaining!

Luxurious!

Our hostel was quite nice, with a bar area overlooking the bay and all the amenities we could need in kitchens and air conditioning. Posh after all! We took the first day just to hit the supermarkets to stock up our little area of kitchen, and take a look up and down the beach and bay area. Not a bad place to chill for a while.

The following morning, we were awoken to drums, xylophones (they are a legitimate instrument here, not just something to fill up X in an alphabet song) and all manner of wind instruments filling up the streets. We took to the bar area where we had a great view over a procession working its way down the beach front, which included a guy being dragged along in a little cart behind a van, I’m not sure why but it was ridiculous to watch. The next float behind was setting off fireworks out of a beer bottle he was moving along the pavement. Safety isn’t a prime concern where there is entertainment value to be had.

There are two main points of interest in the area – La Chocolatera, the furthest most point in the peninsula with views of the sea all around, and La Loberia, another beach area with sea lions off the coast. We decided to walk to La Chocolatera first, as the map showed it as about a 4.5km distance, around an hours flat walk, easy peasy.

That was until we got about half way and found out that the area was also a huge military base. Whilst this wasn’t a real problem, it did mean all the direct roads were inaccessible, and we instead had to take several detours, adding another half an hour or so to the distance. Not only that, but the sun was a lot stronger than we had envisaged, so by the time we arrived there, we were grateful for the sight of a restaurant serving fruit juices. The views were okay – nothing remarkable that we hadn’t seen in other places, but I can imagine that it would be incredible if not usually near the sea as the waves were fairly intense.

From there, a path following the coast had been put up to walk directly to La Loberia. We arrived after about 30 minutes, and at first presumed that the sea lions hadn’t got the memo and couldn’t be seen. But then, we went onto the wooden deck at could see a rock in the distance full of them, so we weren’t entirely cheated out of that. The walk back from here should have been shorter, but again the military base was in all the wrong places, so we had to walk back the way we came just to follow the same roads. All in all, it was a very inconvenient location for a military base.

Ready to pick the flesh from our bones, or missing a friend for a Jungle Book re-enactment

Don't jump!

The next morning brought along another procession. We still don’t really know what these were in aid of, other than this one looked to be mostly children performing then followed by groups of adults who looked like they didn’t really want to be there, we presume parents. More free shows though! Not much left to do here, we took the bus back to Santa Marta and headed towards the next beach town and where we would spend Christmas Day, Montañita.

Montañita has a reputation as a surfing town, very touristy, especially with non-Ecuadorian nationals, with plenty of restaurants, bars (or at least popup street bars) and a party atmosphere. Knowing this, we decided to stay in a place a little out of town, as even in the places not regarded as party towns the music and noise can easily go on until silly o’clock in the morning. We found a place advertised as our own cabin, with terrace, kitchen and private bathroom. Sounded good.

When we turned up however, it had been a little oversold. The room was indeed a cabin, made of the finest wood and leaves, and it was huge (we had three double beds to choose from) with a private bathroom, but no kitchen to be seen. It seemed there was a central facility with a kitchen, however we got the vibe from the guy running the place that the kitchen was more of a ‘we will cook you something if you pay for it’ kinda deal. Onsite restaurant would have probably been more accurate. Either way, we’d booked it and it wasn’t awful. That said, we did have all manner of bugs, spiders and unidentified poos littered around most days, which was sub-ideal.

A great dane? Here?

A Great Dane with the same colourings as Ruby too? Where are we!?

Beach pups chilling

Already missing my daily breakfasts... 

Friendly fella

We didn’t do a huge deal whilst we were here, taking the time to try and recover a little as my illness still hadn’t passed. The only thing we did want to do however was the nearby ‘Isla de la Plata’, a small island about an hour off the coast of nearby Puerto Lopez, about an hours bus ride from where we were. We had been debating whether, whilst in the area, we would visit the Galapagos islands. However, being the time of year it is and us being cheap, we just couldn’t justify the costs, and instead opted for this place, far cheaper and with a similar ecosystem. We decided to do the trip on Christmas Eve, freeing up Christmas Day to relax, have a drink and speak to family back home. Yes, even a devoutly Catholic country such as this barely slowed down for Christmas Day, let alone the outright stoppage you get in most countries, and we did have the opportunity to go then.

By about 10am we were at the docks of Puerto Lopez, getting ready to board our boat, a roughly 20 seater with two engines on the back. The boat started off smoothly, whilst our guide was introducing himself in English and explaining what we’d be doing and seeing whilst there. This was fine. Once he had finished and checked if we had any questions however, he knocked on the ceiling and the engines opened up. At this point it felt a little bit like riding a rodeo, as we continually kept hitting huge waves and smashing back down. I can confirm that this isn’t something my stomach needed at the time.

Around 45 minutes in, the boats engines suddenly cut out and we slowed down to nothing. Confused for a moment, we soon realized why, as the guide pointed out to the side of the boat where we saw a pod of dolphins swimming alongside the boat. Diana audibly squealed ‘SHIT!’ with excitement. They were jumping out the water literally within touching distance. An American girl behind us whined that she wanted to swim with them. That wouldn’t be the last time she did something annoying, but we all just watched as they swam past the boat, bobbing in and out. We later found out we were particularly lucky here, as they usually only see dolphins once or twice a month. Merry Christmas to us!

Just before pulling into the island, we stopped at an area where apparently turtles sometimes were. The guide started throwing bits of fruit into the water and we all watched, wondering what might happen. Then a turtle happened, about the size of a flattened sheep. That was pretty cool. Over to the other side, big blue fish were swimming around (each about the size of one of those silly little handbag dogs). All very interesting!

Medium sized sheep I'd say

Runty chihuahuas

We arrived as the island and after a short wait for everyone to go to the bathroom and gather themselves, we headed uphill and were told there were two paths. One would be a shorter, flatter walk, where we’d likely see one species of bird up close, with a few others flying above, and views of the ocean. The other walk was a longer walk, where we’d see two up close and the rest above. Most people voted for the short walks, so the guides split off into English and Spanish groups, and we set off.

Almost immediately, we found our first roosting Blue Footed Boobies. Weird looking birds that have up to two offspring at a time, and mark their nest by shitting in a circle around it. Absolutely normal behaviour. What you won’t get from a photo alone is their weird vibrating necks, apparently an attempt to cool down like a panting dog. Bear in mind they were sat out in the middle of the paths in direct sunlight rather than under the shady bushes, I’m not sure these were the smartest animals of the bunch. The guide explained how to tell the difference between the males and the females, where the males were smaller and had smaller pupils in their eyes. The babies also apparently grew at what I would consider an alarming rate, where he said the absolute smallest ones were a few days old, and the ones almost the size of their parents were about 2 weeks old. Their feet start off white, and slowly turn blue as they reach maturity apparently.

Mind where you're putting your silly blue feet!

The path was full of them, with literally three or four nests of them every corner we took. On occasion they would make noises at us as we walked passed, clearly indicating we were too close (as said, they could have built nests off the path, but noooooo…). Anyway, interesting at first, but honestly once you’ve seen one booby you’ve seen them all.

The views were good, as we stood at a top of a cliff looking down you could see small schools of fish swimming around, the water was extremely clear. Overhead, blue footed boobies, masked boobies and frigate birds flew around, apparently albatrosses too, but I’m no birdyologist.

We walked back down and headed back to the boat for lunch and the last part of the tour, snorkeling amongst the different fish. I did take some video here, but I’m not sure if it relays just how close the fish got, on occasion I’d look behind me and one would be sneaking up and looking at me funny, they weren’t in the least bit timid. Eventually we returned to shore, a far less interesting trip back (although definitely more violent, I thought I might break my neck on the bumps at one point).

Christmas Day was a fairly quiet one, pancakes for breakfast (fruit and muesli for Diana), a frappucino on the beach and a few phone calls whilst chilling, then by evening a couple of cocktails and a walk down the beach. Wonderful! And my stomach felt better. Until the next day after the cocktails when it felt instantly worse than it ever had before. Wonderful!

Anyway, no time to feel sorry for myself, onwards to our next destinations – Cuenca and Loja, in preparation for our next border crossing!

Medellin, Guatape and Jardin

After another uncomfortable 13 hour overnight bus, we arrived in Medellin and thankfully we could check into our hotel straight away. The lady at reception was lovely but didn't really understand about foreigners who only spoke minimal Spanish, as she used about 20 words to ask us to pay for the room. Intending to have a quick nap before breakfast, which turned into a 4 hour sleep before lunch, and we were vaguely human enough to explore the city. As usual, we left the hotel in brilliant sunshine, which 20 minutes later turned into a downpour, and we had to run to a coffee shop for shelter.

We had heard mixed reviews about Medellin, a city which is mainly known for the infamous Pablo Escobar and the violence and drugs surrounding him. The city centre was a loud, bustling area, filled with market stalls selling everything from shoes and baby clothes to hardcore pornography. Market vendors continuously shouted 'a la orden', meaning 'can I help you/can I sell you anything' but also seems to be a parting statement after your purchase (Could turn into a never-ending cycle of purchasing?)

Only the newest technology here- men ready to type out a letter for you with their typewriters

We headed for Plaza Botero (The guy who makes fat sculptures but insists he is just playing with proportions) when the heavens opened again, and we ran into a free art gallery for shelter. When the rain had died down to a drizzle, we braved it and walked to Casa De La Memoria, a museum and memorial about the crime history and its impact on the people of Medellin. All the graphs seemed to show a decline in the amount of homicides and kidnappings, happy days!

Kinky

Fat boy, fat horse

Slightly off on the proportions..

One of the top recommended activities to do in Medellin was yet another free walking tour. We had to book it the day before as it was so popular, and arrived at the specified time of 10.24am. We were ushered into a group, and introduced to our guide who wrote down our names and nationality along with 23 other people, and instantly remembered them all, impressive. Our guide then gave us a very interesting run down of the history of Medellin, from how the trade industry changed once goods could be moved by train rather than mules, and afterwards how the building of a cable car system around the city made everything more accessible in a very mountainous area. Also, she explained how the city which for a while had the reputation of one of the most dangerous cities in South America, has been working hard to change that image and cut down on crime, changing spaces once known for drugs and violence into well policed modern developments and community areas such as libraries and education centres. However, even with the decrease in crime levels, we were still warned to keep a close eye on our belongings, as some people may still take the opportunity if they see it!

Nice church, although we were then told this is where the prostitutes like to hang out

There were a few more things we wanted to do in Medellin, but we had already booked our accommodation for our next destination, a small town 2 hours away called Guatape. The journey took us from the built up crowded city through lush countryside and mountains. After some difficulty finding our accommodation which involved Jonno running up and down streets while I waited with the bags at the roadside, getting pitying looks from locals, we dropped our bags off and went to explore the town. The apartment seemed to be owned by three ratty dogs and their pre teen female human minion who lived in the apartment above, and every time we entered and left the building they were looking down on us, judging us.

The owners do not approve

On walking through the streets, we discovered a gorgeous, peaceful town, full of brightly painted houses and pictures of people, animals and flowers. Children played on the streets and the town square was filled with cafes and restaurants, giving a very laid back vibe. We took an instant liking to the area.

View from the road

So cute!

Free sports area in the town

The main attraction near Guatape was to walk up the 'Piedre del El Penol', a huge rock with amazing views of the area. The town of Guatape and its surrounding area is built around a man made lake, which branches between hills and creating small islands. We decided to walk the hour to the beginning of the steps, and then the 740 steps up to the top. The view from the top was very pretty, and gave us a chance for a few sweaty selfies.

Big ol' rock

Just a few steps up to the top

Not a bad view

Sweaty!

We fell in love with the charm of Guatape, and if it wasn't for the dark clouds and frequent rainstorms keeping us indoors, we could have stayed longer.

We returned to Medellin, which gave us chance to finish off our intended plans. Medellin boasts an amazing metro and cable car system, and for only 2,000 pesos (50p) we were able to get 2 trains and a cable car to the outskirts of the city, where another cable car transported us from crowded housing with music blaring from various buildings, to thick forests which were eerily silent.

The cable cars

Taking us from crowded city...

...To peaceful forest

Remember- do not prance or bustle about in the cable car

At the end of the cable car track, we arrived at Parque Arvi, a 16,000 hectare nature reserve. Most of the hikes you could do from there had to be guided walks and were all in Spanish, but we managed to find a short 1 hour loop which we could do alone. The walk was called 'The Floral Walk', and while we didn't see many flowers, it was nice to experience the stillness and peacefulness of the trees.

The 'floral walk'

Finally, some flowers!

Another small town we had read about was a relatively unexplored place called Jardin. We arrived to scenes of old men in cowboy hats, smoking and drinking Aguardiente, the local spirit which has an aniseed flavour. Life seems to happen in the village squares in Colombia, with Jardin being no exception. The square was filled with coffee shops with colourful chairs and tables. Old women sat drinking coffee and gossiping, and old men drinking spirits and playing cards. This is definitely the place to retire to!

More cute streets

Has to have a fancy church in the square

Escaping from their wives

Man and his dog

The place we had booked to stay was supposed to be a shared house, but as we were the only ones there we had the whole house to ourselves, apart from an army of ants which seemed to take over the walls at night. The big bonus of the property was that it had an exercise bike and cross trainer, which made me very happy, A girl cannot live on burpees alone!

Emo horse

The hike we had intended to do to a waterfall in a cave (2 of Jonno's favourite things) but it was not clear if the paths were even open, so instead we opted for a shorter easy walk into the countryside. The walk started off fairly uneventfully, the weather was nice and we found a dog along the way that was keen for an adventure and decided to join us on our walk. It seemed to want to chase and bark at every motorbike that passed, so we looked like owners of a misbehaved dog.

Friend!

It started out so well...

About halfway through the walk, we encountered another 2 dogs on the path, who didn't like our dog trespassing. One of them started to attack, and in the fight they rolled down the path, into some bushes on the verge of a fast flowing river. We then heard a yelp, and our dog emerged, panting, and the other dog was nowhere to be seen. We looked down the 10 metre drop to the river below, and saw the crumpled heap of the dog on a rock at the side of the water. Initially it didn't move, but then it regained consciousness and stood up. It was so dazed it just stood staring into the river, not being able to work out how to get back up to the path. After giving Jonno a helpless look, he gave me his bag and started to climb down the rocks, encouraging the dog to follow his path. Eventually it limped towards him and got up the rocks back to the path, still in shock but still alive.

We didn't get a picture of the action, but it went a little like this...

Dazed, but lucky to be alive after the fall

The dog that was with us ran back towards us, but the second dog started growling. This dog was clearly not welcome to pass. It found an American woman walking the other way and decided to take the safer option of walking with her. Sorry pup!

The walk was a little less eventful afterwards

Another activity to do in Jardin was to see the very odd looking bird, the Cock of the Rock, and its mating display at dusk and dawn. It was in private land, where a woman had set up viewing platforms to where the birds came and the males put on a show for the females in the trees below. It was definitely an interesting display, the male birds bobbed their heads up and down then jumped from branch to branch shrieking. Similar to a Friday night in Croydon.

Sorry mate, you just look weird

On our way back to town, we were cornered by a schoolgirl and her mum to help her with her English homework, which was clearly far too difficult for her. This became a learning experience for both the girl and Jonno, who tried his best to translate the sentences into Spanish so the girl at least knew what the words were, before trying to explain how to conjugate verbs.

Jardin was another lovely laid back town, great for people watching and drinking coffee in the square, but we were ready to move further south to our next town, Salento.