well last night we had a spectaculay good meal i. a restaurabt called montmatre in the old city i gave a top revirew on trip adviser. theonly disapointment is that they are shut on monday night so we have to discover a new favourite fir our lsdt night in cartagena. today it was my day out with a driver yo explore the trucks in this huge port city we covered severallocations between the port and industrisl areas although banks wgich you can never find akways appear where you want to film and cannot next to a bank, murohyes law i guesd. anyway a really great taxi driver we enjoyed many stories and jokes and got some great shots althogh there were still many gems spotted in lorry psrks and componds but no time to psrk, ask permission etcfor everythung. the girlswe by the beach all day i joined them in the afternoon after scraping off someof the dust in this hit windy city. tomorriw we fky at 10.30 to meddellin which is going to be sticky with heat and thunderstorms. there the prime attraction is thenew translohy rubber tyred tram line, the only oassenger trains in colombia on their metro and three cable cars plus a long escalator which is in a difficultpart of the city so possibky ill dkip thst facet. it was surpriding to find that cartagena had brt lanes very much the in thing in the country. we get to next destination arond lunch time so possibly i will havecompleted someyhingby thenext blog time. of course it has a bad reputation fir drug barins and gangsters once one of the most unsage citirs in latin america now a tourist attraction. fingers crossed.
ee had a very sound sleep last night in the radissin atvthe port and resirt city of cartagena on the colombian carribean ciadt bsdking in the mid thirties centegrade as we nite that yet another stirm is going to lasy england. thebreajfast here wasmarginally better than the dinner last night but the room is very comfy and quiet. weve booked a day for me tomroow with an english speaking driver who is going to think of possible options for filming the trucks tomoroow . today we caught a taxi doen to the city and had about ninety minutes youring the old town and the parts of the modern city adjacebt tonthe coast and lsgoon. we hsd a look all sround the old buildings, actually the vendors errent as bad as in greece or turkey and not at all peresidtant. eventuslly i left mandy and sue sat in the sun outside the old fortifications and eent up the rosd to film the new brazillisn buses on scania chassid which were in the brt. they errent thst frequent on a sundsy but i bet evrn getting any shots tomorrow, monday would be a nightmsre. we aregoinginyo town agsun theis evening for dinner, we found a couple high up in trip advisorbut they usually seem to hsve very poor access which never gets mentioned. there was a useful corner with locsl budes stopping while i fikmed nesr the brt lsnrd snd this has probsbly slready filldd that requirent, mandy and sue said id been 90 minutes but it felt like ten. the weather for tomorrow looks steady at mid 30s but medillen looks omninois layer in week with thunfer shoeers at 28, very sticky i think.
we were off to a good start and as we passed through a neighbouring town we stopped at the depot for chiva buses which some are originsls but all for tourest use now despute warm wrlcome with driver i was menacingly tspped up for money when on my own, first experience of anything other than warm genuine welcome but then anything tourusty seems to be bsd news like the national pstk entrance etc. anyway we madegoodtime and saw the preos forthe mardi gras on our way but despite earlier conversations he never stopped perhaps it wS too busy or fdifficult tompark. we got here earlier than anticipated and after a curious check in which seemed yo involve extra money bring required. i wasnt that impressed by thecstaff who have had a few slatings in reviews other paces its been the staff who are the grestest asset but then i wouldnt usually book a place like this but thought the girls would wrlcome the pool. the wholeplace is a bit too mass tourist for us but well get a tazi tomoroow and explore and suss out the posrt ready for truck film on monday. anyway santa marta exceeded expectations on that front. its hassle centrsl we read in the old city area but we are used to peddlars nothing we wsnt or nedd and know the spsnish fir piss off. we havefor the first time got englidh lsngisge tv and ahint of coro on youtube. temp isvery hihh but sldo v windy. illstudy google earth maps and seeif i can figure out our location we can see the dockcrancesfromour window.
we hsd a fabulour meal last night at the hotel and decided that tonihjt well just have a main and dessert as we were really quite stuffed. a terrific chocolate bread pudding and chocolsteicecrean plus chocolste sauce. i headedoff to the dicks but the chaps workong there warnedme not to go out with the camera in the road leadingout to the roundabout i filmed at yesterdsy as ut was too dangerius mainly i think as it was not reallt populsted and other than the abandined rsilway and rosd there werrent any obvious houses, i giess thst locsl indudtries could include stuff that hss fallen from theback of trucks. so i returned to hotel sussed out the correct local bus and headed back to the other place near the roundabout which id sussed iut lste in the day and with morning light gave agreat perspective of the lorries coming up the hill and from the other direction, hobks became the order of the day, no hsssles st slland losdsmote footage and hundreds more photos to add to an imprrssive haul. after s rekax bybthe pool i went for a walk around toen eith due ehile mandy got showered. tomorrow we head to the msin port plus msin historic centre plus msin holiday resort all wrspped up in cartegina which if snything will be yet hotter than scorching santa marta. our driver already knows my interests so if we psss any heavy goods traffic on the way well stop for some shots, its about four hours dtive from here.
another notch on our itinarary , we checked out at the villa maria with sadness as it is such a wonderful atmodphere andvwe hsd such a marvelous set of guests to shsre our stay with ill rate it highly on trip advisor. so we had a swift journry to santa marta until we hitbthe traffic, we went past the roundabout that i,d already noted for trucks and buses. the hotel seems to be i. the older psrt of town, sue and mandy went off to fhsnge monry which was nerve wracking experience. they saw two lsrge iguanas in a town centre tree. i went off withbthe driver whonwill take us to cartegina on saturday. he speaks some english and now knows and understands my oen interests which bybthe way caused a little amazemebt and perhaps amusement at tayrona. he took me to the roundabout and it was endless traffic mostly north amrrican trucks and buses but a few surprises which i need to check out. there is a busy port here and there is a constant stream of traffic to this snd distribution centres strsggling the old rail route and a direct way iut of town which i guessvthe hotelndrivers are told to avoid. well never felt saferplus there are sime brit ladies whi whave already been to meddelin and travelled on the tram buses and metro plus cable cars only missed the escalater as it was just so hot there. we have a room off the centrsl courtyard so no steps and walk in shower great gfor mandy. tomorrow ill walk akomg seafront to thr docks and film along the road out of town.
greetings and once more it is remarkable that we can reach you from these remote regions ofcolombia. we had a resaonble meal last night, sue likeus had a really long sleep, sue and i were both recoveringfrom our hike over themountains yesterday. the pancakes for breakfast were just the job and mandy and sue went down to the beach and spent the day there while i ventured no further than the road psssing by but with my camera at the ready, it isnt that busy but over a few hours it all tots up and putting both trucks and buses together i probabky got about 90 minutes done. the lorries are a mix of usa and other i presume either mexican or brazilliani,ll have to look them up. theyll be alot more varirrty tomorrowwhen we move to santa marta which i viewed from the aitport to taycona park area. im plabning on going straight out after checkking in at the hotel and getting to a large roundabout which looked to be in the middleof the transport action and there are seversl road work sectionsplus a lomg stretch of traffic jsms thriugh an adjoing tiwn. we watched the humming birds after going back to hotel the short distance and had fresh limonsde eithout sugar very refreshing. hopeffullu the internet will be as good in santa marta as here.
well what a surprise to get a good internet cinnection in the colombian jungle. we have had snother great day this time devoted to the natural world. we got mandy in the wheelchair on the reasonsbly flat path all the way to the beach this morning. breakfast includes a giant pancakewith cherries chocolste and syrup whichbwithbicecream would have made a great dessert. anyway after messing around working out outr local dosh we realised we were fgetting a bit short and decided tonabandon the boat trip tomorrow but instead ee left mandy by the pool and sue and i went on the bus to the national park ony three kilometers away. it was a bit of an experirnce getting in and catching their shuttke bus, very knavkered and rough but did the job. a very stiff climb up and down a mountain to get tobthe msrvrllous white sandy beaches strewn with the giant boulders. no bitrd life to compare with hotel grounds but onbthe way bacj we sighted a while fsmily of capybaras which made the trip feel worthwhile. a great crownd oat the hotel with a group from yorkshire, lovely young coupe from chile, couple from irelandvetv. anyway tomorrow keeping local ill try a few truckmor bus shots by the speed hump in the village while mandy and sue return tonthe beach. when we move on to santa marta ill get cracking on the trucks which are many and plentiful.
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