Santiago de Tolu:
30th November - 3rd December 2025
30th November – Sunday
It has been a long day and I am exhausted. I had no problems finding an ATM this morning, there is one literally 4 minutes walk from my room – not sure why I had such problems the other day?
To be honest, I was quite happy to leave Cartagena and the taxi driver drove like a maniac, dodging cars and bikes like he was on a fairground ride. It was nice to drive through the ‘normal’ part of Cartagena where all the locals live and to see normal daily life rather than all the tourist stuff that I have been surrounded by. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera out, we passed a couple of very palatial properties and a huge Egyptian style building with Pharos head on it and an Egyptian statue next to it – I must find out what it was.
Cartagena is very different outside of the tourist zone, even at the bus terminal the people were much warmer and more friendly. I smiled and they smiled back, some even initiated the smile. It was so refreshing and made me feel happy. For breakfast I bought this round deep fried thing, which was filled with meat, an egg and something what was sweet but I could not work out what it was. It was very delicious and I researched as I ate it, it’s called arepa de huevo and is a typical Colombian breakfast delight.
The journey to Mompox was only two and a half hours and I slept for most of it but before I slept I felt quite saddened to see so much plastic waste lining the roads, in many ways it reminded me of when I first visited Thailand and Cambodia back in 2021. And another strange thing was that the driver took a video of all us in our seats before we left, he even made the men take their caps off so he could get clear shots of their faces, very strange indeed. We also passed a lot of hog roasts stands and other food stands, which again were very similar to those in SE Asia.
There was a young lad sitting next to me and he refused to get up when I went to get off so I had to squeeze my bottom past his face – I should have let one rip, lazy fucker. As usual we were attacked by taxi drivers but not for long, I think my ‘no gracias’ must have been so strong that they left me alone. I grabbed my stuff and headed across the road and returned the missed call from Yas. It was so lovely to speak to her, I miss my babies so much. I must have been sitting there chatting for a good half hour, if not more, before I ended the call and ordered an Uber, I waited for ages for a driver to take my request and in the end cancelled and walked the 15 minutes to Hostel Corales. It was so refreshing to be in a ‘normal’ neighbourhood and to have people smile at me. I have immediately warmed to Tolu and the people here, even though it is
extremely run down and obviously very poor compared to Cartagena..
Martha, the hostel owner, has a twin sister, Luz. I think they run it together and there is also a guy, Jorge, I presume Martha’s husband or brother. Anyway they are absolutely lovely, I immediately felt at home and they all spoke slowly, I could understand nearly all of what they were saying. After plying me with beer and cajouling me into going on a boat tour of the local islands on Tuesday, it is only £18, Martha took great pleasure in showing me around her garden. I am very envious, she has a mango tree, papaya tree, lemon tree and two other fruit trees which I did not recognise the names of. One looked like a star fruit but Martha told me grows extremely big.
After my shower I went for a walk along the beach front. It was lined with people selling everything from drinks to souvenirs. It is quite a nice set up as there are lots of little peninsulas jutting into the sea, all had chairs and tables on them and a couple even had bars and one had a restaurant. There were also a lot of families chilling on these and so many children swimming. I had read that this is a popular holiday location of Colombians and I can see why. It is very beautiful and not over thrown with tourists. One thing that is sad, well sad for me but not the town, is that there is a lot of road works going on and the central park is also in the middle of make over, so a lot of the main strip looks like a builders yard, which has put me off of extending my stay. Although I may change my mind about that tomorrow.
The road my hostel is on is a very lively, social one with many people chilling outside of their houses. There were a group of women sitting outside playing bingo and a little further on a group of men around a table playing a very loud game of dominoes. There were a couple of young guys lounging on the pavement outside of the shop, which is grilled off so you cannot go inside! I even saw one woman washing an elderly persons feet, someone having their hair trimmed and several houses had very loud Colombian music blasting of them. This also included a bar which is basically opposite my hostel. It was awesome to see and hear everyday Colombian/Caribbean life right in front of me and it has made me extremely happy that I chose to come here and restored my belief that Colombians are as warm and friendly as the rest of the countries I have been to.
1st December – Monday
What a wonderful start to December. I woke this morning to find the start of my breakfast waiting for me on the little shelf table just outside my room. A plate of the most sweet, fresh, delicious papaya ever and a flask of coffee. Martha explained breakfast is normally at the table in the front yard but due to the rain the area was too wet – no complaints. I commented on how delicious the papaya was and a few minutes later she came back with more. After that I had egg, cheese, bread and a crispy corn pancake type thing, then Martha brought me even more bread and some jam. It was the best three course breakfast I have had for a long time.
After getting ready very slowly, which is my norm these days, I had a walk into town and was surprised at how quiet it was compared to yesterday. Most of the Colombian holiday makers must have gone home, I expect they only came for the weekend, so there were very few street vendors out. The beach front promenade felt quite deserted, and I was able to take lots of photos of the Christmas displays. They even have a 2026 display up and ready for the new year. It was actually lunch time by the time I got to the town so I found a little place that wasn’t too expensive and shared my chicken with a couple of stray dogs, I thought they might like some of the yuca but they didn’t and I don’t blame them, I didn’t eat it either as it was very stringy. The boiled potato was nice as it still had the skin on and was very buttery, but what I don’t understand is why Caribbean people, in general, are so tight with the coleslaw / salad? While eating I also researched my next move, I’m going to have to go back to Cartagena to get the bus to Santa Cruz de Mompox, the whole journey will take about nine hours. Looking at the map of Colombia I think I have some very long bus journeys ahead of me.
Before heading back to my room I went to the central park but there is so much work being done to it that it really wasn’t worth the effort. I did however, find some hair dye in a supermarket nearby, so spent the late afternoon making myself look 10 years younger while watching a film, in English. A Colombian couple arrived this evening, Martha insisted on introducing me to them, bless her. His name is Filipe and I cannot remember what her name is. Anyway they both seem really bubbly and friendly and will be coming on the boat trip with me tomorrow. Unfortunately it is raining again, I just pray it all stops by the morning and we have a dry sunny, but not too hot, day. I’d hate the trip to be cancelled due to poor weather.
2nd December – Tuesday
WoW – the Caribbean coast of Colombia is so beautiful and today was better than I was expecting. Jorge (Martha’s husband) drove us to the pier to get the boat. It didn’t look like many people were going, but looks are very deceiving and by the time we actually got on the boat it was packed, mainly with OAPs, most of whom had miserable long faces on them. The boat journey was very precarious, by the time we were too far out to return the engine kept cutting out. Luckily it started again every time but when it did we all got sprayed with water and guess who was sitting at the edge – me. By the time we got off I may well have been for a swim I was that drenched. The old lady in front of me got the right hump and I think the fact that Filipe, his wife, daughter and I found it hysterical didn’t help.
On route to Islas de San Bernardo, our final destination, we stopped by 3 other islands. We didn’t get off but were given a talk about each island by the crew member. Obviously it was all in Spanish so I haven’t a clue what he said about any of them. They were very luxurious holiday destination type of islands, with private hotels sitting on golden sands. Absolutely stunning, and so was Islas de San Bernardo. It had clear warm turquoise waters, you could walk out for quite a way before they got deep, and golden sands. The place where we went to was completely set up for day trippers with a couple of bars and hundreds of tables. And yes, lots of tour boats arrived, mainly full of Colombians, and we all had a similar package, swim, eat, swim, return. I had fish, salad, rice and plantain, washed down with a beer and it was delicious.
After eating Filipe and Co invited me to stay with them and we went to an area of the beach that wasn’t so packed, and if anything, even nicer. I took with me the snorkelling gear that I found in La Fortuna and Filipe’s daughter made the most out it. I did take some contact lenses with me but I was far too salty to try to put them in, and the sea was so clear that I didn’t need the snorkel. You could easily see the fish swimming round, there weren’t that many, so we went to the rocks where there were a lot more. We mainly saw clown fish but 3 larger golden coloured fish swam by me which was quite a treat and I also saw a lime green small long fish, but I haven’t got a clue what it was.
The journey back was a lot easier. Our original captain put the 4 of us on a different boat as he was concerned about the weight of his boat and the engine problems. So we got back without any problems. Filipe bought us all mangos then we found Jorge wondering around looking for us. Sadly Filipe and his family have now moved on, they are on a 5 day holiday and drove from Medellin to here and are slowly making there way back. It was awesome to have their company for the day and they really made me so welcome, I felt a little sad that they were not staying another night or two, they are such a lovely family and really helped make my day so enjoyable.
I’ve had a right result! I extended my stay here one more night and went to book my buses to Mompox, via Cartagena, only to find out that there are not as many buses on Thursday as there are tomorrow, and it would have meant leaving at 5am with a 5 hour wait at Cartagena. So I went to cancel my extended stay and explained to Martha why. She told me that going via Cartagena was madness, which is what I thought, but the internet kept telling me that was the
only way. Wrong. Martha, with the help of G Translate, explained that I can get a local bus to Sincelejo, which is the capital town of this region, and only half an hour away. From there I can get a bus to Mompox, which takes about 4 hours. The total cost will be less than half the price, and half the time, than the route the internet kept insisting I should take. Lesson learnt, always ask a local, they know far more than the internet! And while we were having this conversation she shared with me a Colombian fruit called uchuva, it is small like a cherry tomato, orange and juicy and sweet. So delicious. Jorge then put on a YouTube video of Mompox for me, the town specialises in artisan jewellery, cheese and wine and looks stunning. I think I am in for a real treat going there. All I need to do now is book my accommodation.
3rd December – Wednesday
I could very easily get used to living here and the laid back life style of the Caribbean, and Colombia does a digital Nomad visa! I just need to set myself up as a digital nomad.
This morning, after my slow start and breakfast, I worked on my website. I am now fully up to date, i.e. Cartagena is complete, and Tolu is awaiting my attention. I am very happy. This afternoon I went on an ATM hunt. I walked around the back streets for a change, the actual roads need a lot of repairs but some of the houses looked quite nice although many looked run down. I love walking off the tourist trail, it is so interesting and gives you a better perspective of local life. Like the road my hostel is on, I love it so much, it is so run down but so social and has such a happy feel to it. I just love the way everyone sits out playing games and listening to music.
My ATM experience hasn’t been that easy in Colombia so far. Today I tried two and they both rejected my card, I was feeling a little concerned but the third accepted it and dolled out some COP for me. Feeling happy, I had a stroll along the beach front to the restaurant where the man keeps chasing me to go in. Funny enough, today he did not chase me, perhaps he could sense I was heading there. I had a very delicious red snapper with rice, salad and potato patties, washed down with 2 beers. I had read some not so nice reviews about this place, especially about the pho faced waitress and poor service. Well, I have no complaints, yes she was a little pho faced but she was very attentive, and when I accidentally dropped my fork on the floor she was there almost immediately asking if I wanted another one. When it came time to pay she apologised about her lack of English and gave me a shy half smile, I think this is why she is a little pho face, not only is she shy but she is also very conscientious of her English skills. I apologised that my Spanish was not any better and gave her 10,000 COP tip, which is £2. She gave me a hug! A little kindness goes a long way.
Not quite ready to return to my room I had a stroll back along the sea front and found a place to sit on one of the peninsulas. I was hoping for a nice sunset but kinda knew I wasn’t going to be in luck due to the hazy cloud coverage on the far horizon. But it was still awesome sitting there watching the pelicans dive into the sea catching their dinner. A few street sellers came my way and all but one left immediately when I said no gracias. Yesterday Filipe said I only need to say gracias for no, but old habits are hard to kick. Anyway this one street seller was so persist, he almost had at least three necklaces round my neck. I must have said adios to him 6 times before he finally got the message.
This afternoon Luz approached me chatting away in German, I am really not sure why she thought I could speak German. Anyway she asked if she could join me tomorrow going to Mompox, naturally I said yes, but had to say no to sharing a hotel room. I also got a few messages from Peter fireman (x), he wants to come out for Christmas and the NY. He is on a lot of medication due to having a nervous breakdown a couple of years ago, so I did the research and he can bring it all to Colombia as long as he has a doctors note, a copy of his prescriptions and they are in their original boxes. Although to be honest I will be very surprised if he is asked to show any of these at customs. Unlike the UK and countries like Australia, they are very easy here. However, unfortunately, by the time I had researched that and travelling while receiving PIP, he had talked himself out of it. I really do hope after a good nights sleep he will back on a
positive vibe. I really do feel that a few weeks out here, especially at this time of year, will do him so much good, and it would be awesome to have some company.
So today was my last day on the Caribbean coast. I have mixed emotions, I feel sad to be leaving paradise but excited at the prospect of exploring more of Colombia. I have a strong feeling I am going to like it a lot.
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.