Our Great Adventure: Volcan de Lodo El Totumo Day 328 12/08/2015

We'd decided to visit Volcan de Lodo El Totumo and had booked a tour with the same company that we'd use to buy the tickets for the chiva bus. We set off from the b&b for our 0830 pick up from the clock tower. A few tour companies came and went, none wanting to take us. Various local ticket sellers/guides all helped in pointing out buses and where to wait but with no avail. Eventually a very kind guy who sold tickets for the hop on/off bus flag down a bus but again it wouldn't take us saying we'd booked with another company. He rang the company we'd booked through, eventually getting through and then walked us through the old town to the ring road where we finally got collected by a minivan (interestingly one that had refused to take us earlier). We couldn't believe how helpful he'd been with no benefit to himself. The volcano is c50km northeast of Cartagena. When we arrive we saw what resembled the world's largest termite mound about 15m high. We stripped off into our swim wear and walked up to where you can see the inside of crater, spewing mud. We climbed down the steps into the luke warm mud, the consistency of cream. Several local men provide their version of a massage whilst we floated around some what inelegantly. Another local looked after our camera and took lots of photos. All very odd but quite relaxing all the same. The crater had started to fill up with floating bodies and so we floated over to the steps to get out. Another local gave us a quick rub down as we dragged ourselves from the mud. Back down off the volcano we walked down to the lagoon to wash off the mud, helped by local women who stripped off our swimwear. It was probably the strangest thing we've done on our travels and certainly very different to the mud bath with the elephants in Thailand. We drove back towards Cartagena stopping off just on the outskirts of the beach resorts where we had lunch, a traditional Colombian meal of fried fish/chicken with rice and plantain before enjoying a dip in the sea. The water was unbelievably warm, more like a luke warm bath. After an hour or so relaxing we set off back. Despite thinking we'd been careful in the sun we were both a bit sunburnt. Clearly we need to reapply the sun cream more frequently. We went to a restaurant near the church for dinner, Peninsular. The area is buzzing with a mix of locals and tourists enjoying the street food and just chilling out in the small plaza, although the restaurant was quite quiet. Getsemani, located in the outer walls, is less impressive than the old town but has an interesting charm with it's mix of cheaper accommodation and restaurants and local residences. On the way back to the b&b we stopped at an ice cream parlour and enjoyed delicious ice creams whilst watching the world go by.