From then on my journey didn't improve much. I had to take a twelve-hour overnight bus to Magangué, followed by a short boat trip to Bodega, and finally an hour's journey in a colectivo (shared taxi) to Mompós. The driver of the first bus chose to set the air-con to sub-zero, and I didn't have my coat with me in the bus, so it was like a prolonged torture for the whole night. I wasn't the only one that thought it was too cold - those in the know had brought blankets, but several others were just wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and I could see that they were really suffering. Anyway I've learnt my lesson - from now on I'll take my full winter gear on board any long-distance bus, particularly if it's sweltering outside.
Eventually after a 17-hour journey I made it to Mompós, and I guess it was just about worth the effort. Mompós is situated next to the Magdalena River, and it was a major port from the 16th century until the late 19th century, when the river silted up and shipping was diverted to Magangué on the other branch of the river. As a result Mompós was left isolated, and not a lot has changed in the town since then. As usual Lonely Planet exaggerates a bit when it says that many streets and squares look exactly like they did in the 16th century - well I don't think they had motorbikes and mobile phone repair shops in the 16th century. But it is true that there's hardly a single modern building in the town centre, and everywhere you see well preserved colonial buildings.
There's not a lot to do in Mompós, except walk around town or relax in a rocking chair. You really do see rocking chairs everywhere, including in my hostel (and here I am relaxing in mine). It was also absolutely baking hot, so for the most part I just took it easy for a few days, did lots of reading, and drank lots of fruit juice. Also last night (Thursday) I met up with Boyang again, who happened to be in Mompós at the same time as me - he's currently travelling around Colombia for a couple of weeks before his new semester starts next week.
I'm not going to give you a guided tour this time, but there are several photos of Mompós in my July 2010 album, starting with this one:
I've now arrived in Cartagena on the Caribbean coast after another 10-hour bus journey in ice-cold air-con (but I was better prepared this time).
And I'm not sure if this has been reported much back home, but the big news here is that Venezuela has severed diplomatic relations with Colombia. I'm not sure if this is going to affect me in any way - as far as I know the border is still currently open.
La barba se ve muy bien!
ReplyDeleteMuchas gracias, pero la barba ya se fue...
ReplyDelete¡No!
ReplyDeleteDid you need Google Translate to help with that one too? Don't worry, I expect the beard will be back.
ReplyDeleteI need Google Translate to me help with the English too, it's fair enough me use for the Spanish
ReplyDelete