Santa Marta time!

Oof. After a night of salsa dance lessons my dogs are barking and our packs are beginning to smell like my forgotten trash can back home.... But we are loving every minute of this trip!  Everyone at breakfast was jealous of the fresh avocado that we picked up last night. Today the plan is to head off to the Northern Caribbean beaches near Santa Marta. Our first step was a bus that was supposed to take 4 hours which turned into 6 as expected. It was hot, somewhat cramped but, to two experienced travelers, we found ample reading time. For all those that laugh at my car, we played Spark slug on the way because there are too many Sparks to count in this country. 58 in Cartagena alone. After a LONG ride we arrived at our destination. Hot but cooler than Cartegena and smells ripe with sizzling street food. We hoped in a taxi and headed to our top choice of hostels, which was a party place busting at the seams with young, thin, muscular, and tanned patrons in board shorts/bikinis (I miss my 20s, and I thank God everyday for a smoking hottie who loves me). It was full so we searched and ended up in a hostel that was once a mansion owned by Pablo Escobar. This place was just at our pace, beautiful pool, giant 4 person hammock, politically minded company, and cheap booze. The owner is this kooky Australian who believes there is money or cocaine still hidden in the walls.  Despite the urge to level the place in search of loan repayment money we decided to take a relaxing poolside day and spent our leisurely hours in the pool, drinking 3$ cocktails and discussing world/US politics with a Swiss gentleman who speaks 5 languages, is a lawyer who quit it all to travel (side note, the two most sought after jobs in Switzerland are doctor and gym teacher), and who was a world traveler himself. We continued drinking late into the night arguing with Germans and Swiss over how to rule the world and ended up in a hammock together. Pictures to come. Off to a hike tomorrow. Will write when I can.