Santa Cruz de Mompox: 4th - 7th December 2025
4th December – Thursday
Another fabulous day. Jorge gave me and Luz a lift to the taxi rank and that was the start of an epic and double the cost journey. The first taxi, as we intended, took us to Sincelejo. Although to be honest I was expecting to get the bus, but for £3 I wasn’t going to complain. We then got into another taxi, here I really was expecting to get the bus but I was following a local, Luz, so who was I to say anything. We were told that it would cost 30,000 each, awesome. I was sitting in the front sweating like a pig with the sun in my face, I tried to close the window, lol, I’m surprised the car had an engine! The driver did roll it up for me but it would only go half way! I tried to doze but it really was impossible.
After a couple of hours we reached Maganque and were told to get into an even more decapitated taxi, which cost another 30,000. This taxi the doors wouldn’t open from the inside and it took about 50 attempts to get the boot to close and on top of that there were three of us in the back with 2 live chickens in a box. The total fair cost double what we were told, but when I worked it out it was still only $15 for a 4 hour journey and about a 3rd of the price and time compared to going via Cartagena. Our final taxi dropped us a 10 minute walk from the hotel, when I suggested we did the walk, Luz offered to pay for the moto taxi. Unfortunately he couldn’t take us all the way due to road works, the whole road in front of the hotel has been dug up, but it was only a 2 minute walk, so again, no complaints.
I learnt a lot about Colombians on the journey. They are very patient people, the are extremely happy and friendly people, the are extremely loud people and they absolutely love their loud music. And to put it bluntly the people I have encountered since leaving Cartagena are so much nicer and far more honest. I am now in the Colombia that I was anticipating and it is actually far more exciting and interesting than anything I could have imagined and so beautiful. I am definitely falling in love with this country.
The hotel is lovely, I am in a single room, so unfortunately it has a single bed, and Luz is in the room next to me and we share a bathroom. There is a swimming pool and a beautiful garden with a star fruit tree. The hotel guys can’t do enough for you, they open the doors, carry your bags and always have a smile, it is so lovely.
Luz and I didn’t hang around for long, off we went for an exploration of the town. The walk along the river front is so beautiful, it is lined with restaurants which are not overly priced and has quite a magical feel to it. The town has several churches and many squares and nearly all of them are decorated for Christmas. We went to a Mompox wine shop and had about 4 samples before settling on the first and then continued our stroll drinking. Luz can drink and so can I, so it wasn’t before long that we returned for a second bottle, this time we got the tamarind wine which wasn’t as sweet but also not as potent. We also bought some Mompox cheese which comes in a small roll and with has a bit of a rubbery texture and is slightly salty, that may not sound nice but it was.
Unfortunately, while we were happily sitting in a square outside one of the churches a football hit me in the face just as I was having a sip of wine. Luckily the plastic glass was almost empty but there was still enough in it to give me a good coating. I endured for a while but feeling so sticky all I really wanted to do was return to the hotel and shower, which we did eventually. We sat by the pool drinking beers and Smirnoff – I think I am in for a hangover tomorrow – I can’t remember the last time I’ve had one of those.
5th December – Friday
Another lovely day in Colombia. Luz and I had breakfast together and then she went for a walk and I lounged at the pool. Not long after she returned and we went out together. We had a couple of hours before the boat trip on the River de Mompos so we had a good walk around town and I even managed to buy some coconut oil. My lower gums are really sore, but only in one spot, I had food stuck in it that wouldn’t come out. It’s out now but sore. The coconut oil will ease that get rid of any infection.
Before heading to Francisco Square for the boat we stopped and had some food, my chicken was delicious and I was a good girl and had with it was salad and half an avocado that Luz bought. The boat journey was awesome, it was so calm and relaxing. Luz was quite concerned about the brown colour of the water but the guide reassured her that it was due to the sediment from the bottom of the water. We saw loads of birds including a vulture, tons of herons and kingfishers. It was fantastic. I tried to take some photos but even my new camera, as awesome as it is, is not sophisticated enough for taking photos of birds, especially when in flight, plus the boat was moving quite fast so I didn’t have time to focus in on anything for long enough to capture it. At one point we stopped and a few people had a swim. Unfortunately I didn’t have swim clothes on so I didn’t but would have loved to.
Luz fell asleep! To begin with she just kept nodding off, then she put her head on my shoulder and it wasn’t before long that, much to the amusement of the rest of the passengers, she started snoring. As you can imagine she was very embarrassed when she snored herself awake. She is leaving tomorrow – I am going to miss her company and having someone to speak Spanglish with.
After the boat we found a restaurant and sat outside by the river. I had a burger and Luz bought a bottle of Amarillo. We sat there doing shots until it was all finished. Strangely enough it didn’t get me pissed, but it should have. We are now exhausted and have retired at the hotel by the pool. I was going to have a swim but the pool has just been chlorinated – I hope the baby frog we saw in it survives the chlorine. I should have let Luz fish it out when she was trying to clean the pool for me, but at that point we didn’t know the white floating pellets were chlorine, we thought it was debris from the surrounding trees.
Peter is no longer coming, he has talked himself out of it, it is his anxiety. The thought of getting a doctors letter and 4 weeks worth of medication is too overwhelming for him. I really do hope he gets through his mental issues as it is such a shame, I know he really wants to come but has built a brick allow which is stopping him. Anyway I told him that he is free to change his mind again and that I really do understand.
6th December – Saturday
It was sad saying goodbye to Luz this morning. I miss her company and speaking Spanglisg with her. I slept so badly last night and after two days of trotting around Mompox I felt drained so I didn’t do anything bar go to the shop. I had a very relaxing day sitting by the pool watching YouTube videos and beating of the bloody mosquitoes. Manu messaged, it looks like we wont meet until about the 20th January, this really throws my plans out of sink and I am not sure if I want to spend 15 days in the Amazon jungle. The problem is she is trying to save money by getting a cheap flight to Guyana but then she will have to take at least a 15 hour journey to meet me somewhere. As I did, I think she is underestimating the size of this continent and Brazil alone is bigger that North America. I need to think carefully about this and where we can meet that makes sense to both of us.
7th December – Sunday
I cannot find my diary for today and i am doing this a couple of weeks later. All i remeber is i planned to walk to the We Love Mompox sign but headed in the wrong direction. It was still a fantaastic walk and on the way back I went of course and walked through a local nieghbourhood, which is always interesting. It was a Sunday and many families were sitting out listening to music and putting up their Christmas decorations. In the evening I treated myself to a delicious dinner by the river but had to fight of the mosquitoes, my ankles have been bitten to pieces.
