Mompos

I actually slept really well Friday night getting a solid 8 hours sleep considering I was in a hammock. With respect I have had limited consecutive sleep so far in Colombia. Due to a long drive we were asked to ready by 7 so we could eat breakfast early and set off promptly for our walk back to the national park entrance. To be fair everyone was pretty prompt and we had tropical fruits with the toast, scrambled egg, and potato cake again.

I walked off with a few others before everyone else and I have to say I saw more wildlife of the 45 minute walk back to the entrance than the entire time in the national park. I forgot to mention I saw a few monkeys on the ruins trek, but I saw more close on the way back. I also saw a snake which was in the middle of the path, and a camon while crossing a bridge. Once everyone made it the entrance we got in the minibuses to be reunited with Amber ready got our drive to the old colonial town of Mompos.

The drive out was pretty smooth, although it was a pain driving along single carriageways and constantly being stuck behind lorries and having to overtake against regular oncoming traffic. We stopped en route at a petrol station, and then further on we stopped for lunch at the town of Bosconia where I had beef, rice, and salad. After lunch we continued south, although at one point we took a wrong turning and ended up in Santa Ana gridlocked as we couldn't pass the parked cars and had beeping cars all around us trying to pass as we had blocked the road. We got out eventually and got back on track.

Due to Mompos being across a large river, our guides were unsure whether we should catch a barge, or gamble this new bridge was open. We gambled and it paid off, and soon stopped at this village bar for a beer which was very refreshing. The locals loved us. After we soon arrived in Mompos, although we had issues getting to the hotel as the streets were very narrow and full of potholes, as well as the power lines which drooped lower than the truck meaning we couldn't get under. We eventually found a way to the hotel after getting stuck down 3 streets and asking a local for help who directed us by letting us follow his motorbike.

Just a bit of information, the quiet colonial town of Mompós, located in the wetlands along the River Magdelena, is most famous as being the location where the revolutionary Simón Bolívar declared independence from Spain in 1812 and then recruited an army to march on Caracas. Once an important port for transporting goods up the river, the old colonial buildings of Mompós are not only well-preserved but are largely still used today for their original purpose, providing a good example of a living colonial-style city.

Once arriving I managed to get WiFi and catch up, and even got a double bed in my hotel room! We went out for dinner this evening as a local restaurant which was lovely being near old colorful buildings and churches. I had this sausage and chorizo based dish with chips. I even shared a bottle of red which is very unlike me! From here we continued onto another couple of bars, before deciding to head back to the hotel as I promised a couple of the girls they could pluck my eyebrows which was very interesting at gone 2 in the morning!

After a pretty late night, I woke up like half 9 and had fruits with scrambled eggs and brioche for breakfast. There was the option to go for a walk round the town with our guide from 10 but I decided not to and instead went with a few of the others on our own where we walked along the river and saw the churches. As it was Sunday a lot of places were closed though. After exploring a little we just saw by the river and had a drink which was this lovely homemade lemonade, before going somewhere else with a couple of others for a few beers by the river.

At half 2 we had a wildlife river cruise with our entire group. What this in fact meant was a booze cruise, although we did see a hawk! It was lots of fun going about an hour downstream before turning round and heading back. There was lots of dancing and laughs on board, and I even won the dance off to get myself a free beer. When we arrived back I relaxed at the hotel for a bit.

One thing we did forget today was lunch after drinking by the river instead, so we were very hungry so by like half 5 I headed off with dinner with a few others where I had this lovely pizza with all sorts on it. You know it must be good when no one on my table could translate the toppings even though some of them can speak alright Spanish. After eating everyone headed back to the hotel, although I headed across the road to meet a few other people and have a drink while they were eating. There were these annoying stray dogs who wouldn't leave us alone though! They even followed us back to the hotel. We arrived back at a reasonable time, although I sat with a few others taking in the atmosphere of the town which was very lively with locals before heading to bed.