After we powered back from the Lost City we spent a few days in a 5 star hotel, relaxing and allowing our bodies to recover. David left for Bogotá to pick up Michael, and Henry and I spent one more night in Santa Marta before returning to Cartegena. We spent 6 hours learning salsa over the weekend, before we met up with the others at our Airbnb for the week. And what a place; we all agreed it was by far the most ostentatious house we had ever stayed in. To be honest, palace would be more appropriate than house. Smack bang in the old town, our living room was an art gallery, we had a huge open courtyard with a pool, three members of staff and a jacuzzi on the roof.
I had booked a week in Spanish school for our last week in Cartegena, and made the wise decision to have a huge night with Henry and Michael the night before, finding myself taking a written and oral Spanish test with a blinding hangover. Somehow, I still ended up in the intermediate class, which was entirely in Spanish. It was brutal for the first couple of days, but started to click as the week went on. It helped when Jay turned up, as he speaks great Spanish and we could practice together. I needed it because I missed most of the lessons on the last two days; once recovering from a big night, and on the Friday for Michaels birthday. Which was a pretty great birthday as birthdays go. We woke up early and went scuba diving with our salsa teachers, diving down to shipwrecks and pirouetting through the windows underwater. We stopped at a beach bar on an island, chilling in the pool and playing volleyball, before heading back to Cartegena for dinner. We hosted a party at ours and headed out for the night, dancing all night with our friends from town.
The birthday party was our last night in Cartegena , and we headed to Santa Marta again. This time we were gearing up for Henrys birthday. It was great to have Jay and Michael around, as they brought in some fresh energy and gave a shot in the arm to the original trio, as we were pretty shell shocked from the jungle and 2 months of a pretty full on adventure. We headed out for the night, singing Happy Birthday to el doctor at midnight. I left to go home fairly early, but it sounded like the boys had a big one.
The next day we headed to El Rio, supposedly the best hostel in Colombia. Our 1 hour car journey became 5 as we were delayed first when a car hit a mule, and then by a fallen tree in the middle of the road. When we did arrive, I can see why the hostel was so talked up. It was a great location, banging food and very friendly guests. They boys were staying here for 4 nights, but I only had two days left on my trip. I felt a mix of emotions about this, one part of me not wanting the magic to be over, another part of me recognising that all journeys must end. I resolved to enjoy my last couple of days with the boys, and to bring some of the magic I had discovered back with me. We had two enormous nights, feasting on all the chocolate Mike had brought out with him, and as we danced away on my last night I felt surrounded by pure love. My cup is overflowing and when you have so much, it’s your responsibility to share it.
I am writing this sitting here in Bogotá airport, reflecting on my last night, the trip as a whole, what I have learned, what I need to bring home with me, and wondering how to end the blog. Words are truly insufficient cheap proxies for life, and I will never be able to fully convey the extent of what has happened here. But I will end with the same words I used for my brief leaving speech last night. A mi hermanos, my brothers for life, thank you so much for a wonderful game of fives. And to Latin America, you’re welcome, see you again soon.