Ever dreamed of being a millionaire? im pretty certain this is a thought that crosses everyone's mind at least once in their life. well it turns out the currency used through-out Colombia means its not so hard to get there.

Our next destination was the costal town of Cartagena. Arriving at our hostel we quickly changed and headed to the old town to explore, Its a beautiful enclosed city full of people and lots of street sellers, selling... Well I guess the same crap they sell everywhere else, but I think the old-ness of the city just makes it feel more authentic. We left the walls of the old town to look for what so many people had told us Cartagena was perfect for...their beaches. When I think of a Colombian beach I imagine white sand, palm trees and hammocks. So far the only beach me a Jord had managed to find was on the side of a Main Street where two homeless people were washing. It wasn't exactly my idea of paradise.

Our first couch surf we did, we got super excited ! We had again left it until last minute, but the dude we found looked good and he offered us the weekend there so we said sure. He also mentioned he had 2 dogs and a cat so hoped we didn't mind animals, but we're fine with them so we headed over.

Santa Marta

We arrived in Santa Marta at about 3am so jumped in a taxi to the hostel. The next day we walked around the city and ended up knocking on a random hostel to see if there was any work in trade for accommodation. At first the owner Fernando looked very confused, but offered us a mattress on the floor for a night or two. The next day he had clearly been doing some thinking as he came to us with an idea of some quotes and paintings he wanted doing on his walls. We spent the next 4 days decorating his hostel, exploring the city and sharing beers with Fernando and other backpackers staying there. This is also where I began my experiment of finding a mosquito repellent that works. For some reason I'm just one of the ones they love. After spending 4 nights at fernandos, we got a workaway conformation so decided it was time to leave the hustle and bustle of the city and head up to Minca.

Directions: take a collectivo (shared taxi) from Santa Marta Estacion Minca, C1 11 y Cra 12. It's pretty close to the mercado publico. It costs 8,000 COP per person and takes around 45 minutes along bumpy roads to reach Minca.