Clearly I am not good at keeping this up to date. I am now on Day 10 but I guess I’ll briefly recap up until Medellin.
Day 2 (Sat)
Poor Lena woke up with a clear view into Arkansas and the doctors bed (they were not covered). After exchanging stories over breakfast about the night before, Eleni, Lena and I set off for the islands round two. This time we knew what to expect, and had little trouble navigating the sea of hecklers vying for our business.
By the time we returned to the hostel, the entire posse of doctors had arrived and we had recovered enough to go out again. (Well, everyone else had. I tried sneaking into my bunk but Lena found me and forced me out). We went to a bar called KGB, which is weirdly Russian military themed and decorated with relics from old wars. There, we met a couple of Canadian guys who got our number and promised to find us later that evening. From there we went to a Cuban club with live music, met up with more people from the hostel, and spent the majority of the night dancing.
The Canadian boys messaged to say they had been searched by the cops and had to pay them off since they found coke on them. After paying, the cops returned their coke. The Canadians told us they were not going to be going out after that.
Day 3 (Sunday)
We woke the next morning and decided to take a break from the beach. Lena and I walked around the city but returned to the hostel shortly after, sweating bullets and taking shelter in the shade.
A crew of Americans were sitting around me as I lay on the floor of the hostel, trying anything to cool off. Chatting about Portland, I ducked into my room to grab something, yelling about Oregon out the door. A girl in my room sat up and asked, “wait, are you from Portland?”
I turned to look and before I could respond she said “Hey, I know you.” Turns out it was one of my friends, Sorenne, from the year I spent in college down in Eugene.
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. We went on a walking tour with the doctors, learned about the history of Cartagena (all the times it was attacked, and about the slave trade) before turning in for an early night. The doctors said goodbye, as they were sailing to Panama later that night.
Day 4 (Monday)
Lena wanted to stay at the hostel, but Sorenne and I decided to hit the islands again. This time it didn’t go as smoothly. It turned out to be a holiday and the beach was packed with locals and with more hecklers. Two women approached us, offering massages. Shrugging, we agreed on a price and let them get to work. Obviously, at the end of the massage, they told us they had gone twice as long and that we owed them twice as much.
After arguing with them, a guy suddenly came and demanded Sorenne stand up so he could take the lounge chair she had been sitting on. Another guy came over and helped us argue her case, since she had paid for it for the afternoon.
Eventually, we decided it was time to abandon the beach and headed back to the city. We walked along the streets, and stopped by the grocery store so I could pick up some soup (surprise). While in the store, we heard screaming from outside and ran out to see what the commotion was. A crowd had formed and their were several police bikes parked in front of the market. The crowd was chanting, and suddenly a guy sprinted out, police following in his wake. The guy came straight towards us, and I grabbed sorenne, trying to hide behind the entrance. He ran inside the store and five cops went in after him. The security guards slammed the doors shut, closing the store and locking the guy inside.
Somewhat shaken and wondering what the hell was going on, we started walking to the other store. As we turned the corner, a creature dripping in seaweed jumped out at us, causing us (ok well me) to scream. No clue what this thing was, other than terrifying.
Anyway, we eventually found a store and made it home alive. Later that night, the Canadians grabbed dinner with us and we wound up staying out until 4 am. I made out with one of them but they wound up being douchey and way too persistent. ✌🏽
Day 5 (Tuesday)
Sorenne and I booked a tour to visit a nearby volcano. The tour was supposed to take us to the mud pit, and after rinsing off in the lake, continue on to the beach for some lunch. Everything was going as planned, but after we all emerged from the lake and dried off, we were told that there was a protest for water down the street, and that the roads were blocked. They weren’t sure how long it would be closed, but there was no other way to get around it.
To pass the time, we played heads up on my phone with others from our tour. We eventually all got hungry, and ventured out to find some food. Let me tell you, we were in the middle of nowhere, so our options were very limited.
After being stranded for four hours, we finally piled into the van and took our chances on the road. Crowds of people were milling around, and kids were fleeing from SWAT officers, pausing only to flip off our van before taking off again. We made it through the mass of people, and continued to the beach in time for sunset.
That evening, sorenne and I changed hostels and went to one called Media Luna. There was a pool! Two younger girls offered us a beer and we spent the evening with them and some boys from the hostel across the street before turning in somewhat early (1 am).
Day 6
I woke up early, packed my bags, ate breakfast with the two younger Argentinian girls and Sorenne. We said goodbye, and I headed for the airport. Medellin!
Gypsy&Dragon 