We walked to the Colombian side of the border and unfortunately had to stand in line for about an hour, and it was getting dark and we still wanted to see the church! Finally we hopped in a taxi and went to the bus terminal (in hindsight we should've gone straight to the church)..we booked a night bus then just Cullen and I got another (very expensive) taxi to the church. It was almost dark as we rushed down the hill but alas it was still a beautiful site..we could just see the canyon the church was in and it was lit up with all different coloured lights (a bit tacky but still cool). We didn't spend too long there (as our taxi was waiting) so we struggled back up the hill and headed back to the station to get our night bus. I was still glad to have seen it, albeit all a bit rushed!!
It was an ok night bus (I got a bit of sleep)..we got in to Cali early in the morning (I had a flight at 5.30pm). I went with Cullen to his hostel and paid to store my bag and have a shower. Then, with little energy, I went to explore the city. I was headed to the bohemian area but on the way most things were closed and it was all quite dirty and there were so many people sleeping on the streets 
nonetheless I found the area and there was some beautiful street art and cafes etc (mostly closed, apparently it was a holiday). I found a vegetarian restaurant and had an overly sweet coffee and overly sweet pancakes then went and laid in the park for a while. Pretty underwhelmed with my first Colombian city I headed back to the hostel, said goodbye to Cullen then walked about half an hour to the bus station. I then got a bus to the airport (much cheaper than the taxi) and waited around. Feeling pretty exhausted from both the travel and a terrible cough I had. I then had to have a three hour stop over in bogota which was tedious although a call back home helped pass the time. Finally, after a horrid second flight (some really naughty and loud kids on board), I got a taxi to my hostel in Barranquilla and arrived about midnight. I only planned to spend the night there to rest as there was nothing much to be said about the city. Although it was a sweet hostel with some beautifully healthy dogs and cats and I also had a private room.
Needless to say i slept like a log, and could've kept sleeping all day! But as per usual I had to get up and pack and get going again. Although I didn't rush as was feeling quite unwell :( I went and found a supermarket and got some cough syrup and then got the public bus to the bus terminal. This took forever, terrible roads and busy streets through barranquilla. Finally I got on the bus headed to santa marta. I'm quite sure I saw a dead body on the side of the road surrounded by a bunch of people, covered in a tarp :( pretty horrid..then! we were stopped in some traffic jam and at first I thought it was a crash but when I saw a bunch of flames and a riot squad walk by I knew it wasn't a crash! Apparently people were rioting about the electricity..finally it cleared and we drove past, even through the bus you could feel the heat of the flames!! Crazy. Finally, a lot later and darker than expected, I arrived to santa marta. Trying to cross the busy road was hectic and a couple of ladies and I held our breath and did it together, was pretty funny really..I found a food court and grabbed some food and had a young student chatting to me trying to improve his Spanish. He thought I was soooo wealthy to be doing what I was doing..I guess in his eyes I am! I went back up to the busy road and waited for ages for a bus that said bonda. I'd decided to stay in this little town rather than santa marta as I was sick of cities. Finally on the crammed bus (difficult with my bags), he eventually dropped me in the middle of nowhere in the dark 
there were no more buses going up the hill where I needed to go so I finally flagged down a guy on a bike (motor taxis are a thing here) and asked how much to the hostel. Only then did I realize he looked max 12 and I think he'd only pulled over to say hi 
anyways he was happy to make a bit of money and I was tired and over it so I asked him to go slow and I got on and hoped for the best! It was mental with my massive bag on my back and my smaller one of front, plus I was wearing a dress 
would've been a site! He drove quite carefully and got me there safe and he ended up being the friend of one of the hostel workers! Pretty funny. Anyways a very sweet hostel in the middle of no where...just what I needed to relax and try get over this cold!!
Alas, obviously relaxing didn't happen..next day I was roped in to a waterfall adventure! I really should've rested but 🤷♀️ we hopped on the back of motorbikes and wove through the small town and then jungle for about 20mins, an adventure in itself! We were dropped at a spot by the river and the sweet guy from the hostel guided us up river to the small waterfall and waterhole, twas beautiful 
even with my cold I stripped off and hopped it, obviously..I also scaled the slippery walls to jump off the rock with the boys which was super fun :) unfortunately also got eaten by sand flies, again 
we walked back and the others opted to walk the two hours back but I got a motorbike as wasn't up to it..I decided to grab the bus in to town to grab some food and unfortunately had one of the shittier afternoons of my trip :( I saw two injured dogs, unbelievably thin horses dragging heavy carts (I have no idea how they even moved, they were merely skeletons) and a cock fighting ring :( I was devastated..sure I'd seen similar on my trip but not all at once..I rang home and had a cry and also had a big chat to my friend at the hostel, a similarly minded guy with whom I had a big chat about the current state of the world..feeling a bit exhausted I had an early night.
Next day I fully intended first, which I did for the first half of the day (chilled in the hammock by the pool, an accomplishment for me!). After lunch a couple from the hostel asked me if I wanted to go check out an eco village with them..sounded interesting so I couldn't resist! After a very sweaty 20min walk we arrived to the little community tucked away in the jungle. It ended up being a Hare Krishna community which was pretty cool. They had an awesome area for yoga/meditation etc and little huts and hammocks and artwork, twas beautiful..they showed us around and said they had a yoga class on if we wanted to stay. Again, probably wasn't up to it but I did it anyway! An hour and a half twas nice though..afterwards we stayed and listen to a philosophical reading which a Colombian man translated for us. It was about the importance of Mother Earth and looking after her and how the media etc make us focus on all the wrong things..afterwards we stayed and listened and participated in their prayers/chanting and then they invited us to share some soup. Such beautiful and welcoming people..I chatted to one of the men about the animal welfare situation in Colombia and his interesting response was that at least there's still so much more 'serving'/improving/good to be done here whereas elsewhere it's mostly done..Also apparently the Hinduism faith is big in colombia so I'm hoping it continues to spread - I don't believe with all they preach but the animal welfare/worshipping Mother Earth part is awesome. We trekked back via the light on my phone (nearly stepped on the biiiiigest spider!!)..What a positive contrast to the prior afternoon, perhaps not coincidental..
So obviously as I hadn't technically rested I was still feeling pretty shit but as I had limited time I decided to head to tayrona national park today. I packed an overnight bag (not sure if I'd stay one night or two or at all!) and headed in to town to get some supplies. Took a while (a nice man on the bus pointed me to a mall, an boy was it a fancy, very western mall!) plus I took the time to have a nice coffee..so by the time I located the local bus and got dropped at the park it was just after 1pm..one of the park workers suggested I just stay at the closest site tonight..so I got the shuttle and went there, snagged a private tent riiiiight on the beach looking over the Caribbean Sea, magical!! Unfortunately though due to strong currents that beach wasn't swimmable so I decided to walk to the next. Just in my bikini, a t shirt and things I trekked along the road and through the jungle..from afar I saw a group of monkeys and I also saw the loooongest army of leaf cutter ants, they're crazy..a very sweaty and difficult walk (harder and longer than I anticipated) I arrived at a beautiful viewpoint..I hadn't seen one person on the track! Pretty amazing experience waking through completely alone..and furthermore, the beach I arrived to also didn't have anyone on it! My very own Caribbean beach there were signs around saying there were caimans around but I wasn't too worried, thinking they'd be the size of the ones in the amazon..alas, waking back, there was a lagoon that was separated from the beach from a handful of rocks..I'd respected the signs on the way and scrambled across the rocks rather than wade through the lagoon..luckily, as walking back there was a MASSIVE caiman! I honestly believe it's head was about 1 meter! It had its head above the surface but I could also see its body, huge..and whichever way I did it I'd have to get quite close to get back around! Heart racing..at this stage I saw two other guys so called them over, a to show them and b just so somewhere was there in case..when I began to sneak behind it on the rocks it submerged and I couldn't see it anymore..but much scares me but thoughts of racing out of the water towards me (not a big distance!) definitely had me a bit worried! Though I knew they aren't as aggressive as crocs so figured I'd be ok..and alas I was, what an adventure!! Back at the camp I saw a big film crew show up, apparently they were shooting a documentary on a specific bird which was pretty cool..I stood on the beach and gazed at the stars for a while then enjoyed my double tent!
Next day I cruised in the morning (still battling a horrid cold) then packed up and began the trek to the main beach of the park. What a tough day!! It was beautiful trekking through the jungle with the path occasionally leading to the blast. But my gosh was it HOT and so humid and with a constantly running nose it was rough. It was also physically demanding, up and down scrambling over rocks.. at one stage I slipped pretty bad, whacking my bum head and elbow :( the fact I'd worn non hiking shoes didn't help! There were also stages that were like tough kidder style, mud deep and thick as! Nonetheless I soldiered on, stopped at one of the swimmable beaches for a quick dip. I made it Cabo San Juan mid afternoon..achievement! The thing to do here was to sleep in a hammock..not really my thing and certainly out of my comfort zone but when I asked there was one more available (it was super busy) so I took it as a sign! Pretty crazy, just a bunch of hammocks underneath a massive open sided shelter. I chilled for a bit and went for a couple of swims, was an absolutely gorgeous place! Although unfortunately too many people..I had to buy dinner as I hadn't packed enough food for two nights..I made two friends, they were also trekking solo..one of them, flin, told us there was a meteor shower that night! So we laid under the stars and sure enough there were plenty of shooting stars, magic 
apparently it was to get better later on so we went to 'bed' (I was surprisingly quite comfortable and slept pretty well!) and then got up again at 2.30am to see more shooting stars..just beautiful.
Next day after a quick swim I decided to trek back to the main road a different and less frequented way that went straight through the jungle via a traditional village. It was supposed to be a bit tougher and longer but I thought slow and steady I could do it. Flin ended up coming with me and boy am I glad she did!! I found it very difficult with my cold, it was up a lot of the way and physically very demanding, having to climb up rocks and scale ledges etc..not a clear path! There were hardly any people at all the whole day..and my gosh was it humid, we were covered in sweat! Flin chatted away which helped pass the time :) we were told the whole thing would take about 3 hours, with a couple of stops (a longer one at the the village to eat and rest) it took closer to 6!! We saw some traditional houses etc, one lady we saw carrying a massive bag of timber with her head and she was knitting at the same time, crazy. Exhausted but very satisfied we finally ended up on the main road and found a bus heading back to town. I hopped off and got a motorbike back up to my hostel to get my bag. I'd planned to try get to Cartagena that evening but as it was late and I was exhausted I opted to stay another night. Plus when I arrived they were so sweet and welcoming
Shitty sleep with a few coughing fits, i got up and began the journey to Cartagena (I really don't know how my body kept going!!). I planned to meet flin there. I had to get two different buses to the main town then another bus that took 4/5 hours to Cartagena bus station. It was quite a ways out of town so I met some other girls and shared a cab..found my hostel, exhausted yet again :P met 3 Canadian guys and a German girl in my room and we hung out whilst I waited for flin..when she got to the hostel we joined in on the free salsa lesson for a bit (I was as terrible as my partner ), had some drinks then headed out to experience the infamous Cartagena nightlife! We ended up going to Havana club, a salsa bar..pretty fun night full of dancing! I also met the owner of my hostel (plus several others), pretty funny..overall great night, the city had an awesome, lively vibe.
We only managed a couple of hours sleep so took it easy the next day. I decided to move hostels so moved my bags and then we explore the streets of Cartagena, I really loved the city! Indeed it was quite touristy and I knew outside the walls there was significant poverty and pollution..but nonetheless the buildings and streets were gorgeous. We had some delicious sushi for lunch then a milk shake in the afternoon. Then we went on a walking tour which as usual I had trouble concentrating but it was interesting to learn some history. The main thing I remember is how a priest was in charge of torturing innocent people for stupid things :/ and of course the other horrible things that came along with the Spanish..at the end we caught the beautiful sunset then headed back and bid farewell as flin had her flight home! I went for a walk around the city at dark to soak up the vibe once again..live music, dancing, beautiful Christmas lights..magic.
So standard emily, next day I decided to go try see the most famous beach in the area (playa Blanca) before my afternoon flight. Alas it was a mission, I got a bus for about an hour and then a motor taxi for about 20minutes. Indeed the beach was beautiful, with incredibly blue water. I had to have one more Caribbean swim before I left! I paid to have a seat on the water and enjoyed a whole 30 minutes () before I had to begin the journey back. I was glad I'd made the effort, it'd be incredible to see it without allllll the tourists though! By the time I got on the bus I was cutting it fine time wise..so eventually I gave up, hopped off and got a motorbike the rest of the way because it was faster!! lol I raced to my hostel, grabbed my bag and anxiously got a taxi..I still made it an hour before my flight but gosh it was stressful :P one reason why I like to travel alone so that when I decide to do stuff like that it's only me it affects anyways had plenty of time and with still wet swimmers and sandy feet I boarded my plane to bogota! I'd intended to try get public transport but feeling too tired I got a taxi to my hostel..as it was technically my last night in South America (how did that even happen?!) my room mate (a really lovely girl from New York) and I went to a nearby pub for a delicious craft beer. We chatted and got along really well and it was a great atmosphere as there was a soccer match on! Nice last evening :)
Even though it was one of the comfiest beds of my whole trip i unfortunately didn't have the best sleep..nonetheless my friend and I headed out to explore bogota city. I was pleasantly surprised! A massive city with heaps of people but some lovely older buildings and brilliant street art. We tried the traditional hot chocolate where they put cheese in it and let it melt (weird but not so bad) as well as a traditional rice and chicken dish wrapped in banana leaves. To keep the food theme going we also did a food walking tour which was great! Tried little bits of everything, from fresh juices to cheese filled balls to empanadas to soup to wages with dulche de leche (sweet caramel) to coffee..yum! It went for 3.5 hours so afterwards I rushed off to the souvenir shops to do some last minute shopping (seeing as I didn't have to carry my bag around any more!!) and see a bit more graffiti. Back at the hostel I organized my bag, had a shower and so the journey home began! I had a flight from bogota to Santiago which was ok but only 5 hours overnight so I only got a couple of hours sleep..and alas something I ate did not agree as when I arrived to Santiago I felt horrible! I tried to sleep on the chairs for a bit as I had about 5/6 hours to kill..had to vomit, tried to eat something to take some pills but alas vomited again. I ran in to two guys I met in Peru randomly which was nice but tricky to socialize when you feel like shit!! It was the toughest ~20 hours of my whole trip..I had t felt so sick in such a long time! I obviously had a fever as I was freezing with three blankets on me. At one stage I couldn't even make it to the bathroom and had to use the sick bag. Feeling very week and horrid I finally arrived and made it through customs etc. it was a tough time to get through on my own, not actually sure how I did it! Whilst waiting in the line for customs I ran in to Amanda Camille's friend, running in to people was no surprise anymore!! The amount it happened on the trip was just crazy. I waited for my bag, feeling like I might faint..finally through and saw mum and dad and what should have been a nice reunion ended up being me blabbering on their shoulders!! Haha so relieved to see them though..I was still sick on the way home and that night but it passed the following day..shitty old ending to the trip but sure as hell won't be the main thing I remember! Incredibly grateful for the adventure I'd just had. I'd been safe and primarily well and was so blessed with the people I'd met. Environmental/animal and human suffering challenged me as always but rather than dwell im trying to think of ways I might be able to help..as as wonderful as it'd be I just can't be ignorant! Stay tuned for whatever crazy adventures I get up to next..who knows what time will bring 
