Volcan de Lodo El Totumo

I have a few Colombian friends who had recommended a few places to visit for while I’m there, one of them being the Volcan de Lodo el Totumo! He had mentioned something about mud and people giving you a bath. I was so confused but of course I was down to try it.

Volcan de Lodo el Totumo is a huge tourist spot! We got to the place, and my dad looked at me and was like “you made us come all this way for this tiny thing.” I didn’t know what to expect. It was a small volcano, nothing else; there was nothing around besides small huts were they had bathrooms and people selling food.

Apparently, you’re supposed to climb up the stairs, (which were extremely unsteady and uneven), and at the top, there’s a huge pit of mud where you “chill” and take a bath”. I didn’t come all the way there to not go in, but I did second think to myself. It looked so unsanitary and completely slimy but I thought hey, why not.

My brother and mum went to the top but didn’t go in, they were the official photographers. My dad and I went in, and boy was it an experience. The mud was super soft, and we were floating like crazy in there. It was extremely deep but you didn’t even have to tread water. It was super cool. While you’re in the mud, there are local pe

ople who are in there who give you massages and talk to you [I didn’t understand what they were saying obviously] but the massage was so relaxing.

 

We were in there for about 20 minutes, and then I was done. I wanted to wash all this stuff off.

There were no showers. Just a lake, which I had been warned 10 minutes prior to watch out for the alligators. I live in Florida, so I know gators, but it still freaked me out. I went down to the lake and there was a lady there with a bucket, telling me to get in the water so she could wash me off. I was shocked, I didn’t know what to do, I haven’t had anyone give me a bath since I was a baby. I did it anyways and it was actually kinda cool.

No alligator bites or injuries! :D

I felt like a new woman! Super fresh and my skin felt extremely soft.

Same country, different city

Second time in the country, but first time to this city. Last time I went to Colombia, I was in Bogota for a wedding, and now I’m in Cartagena for fun!

Cartagena is much different, well so far it is. Its less busy than Bogota since its not the capital, but still a lot of people. Cartagena itself has about 1 million people.

There are a lot of run down areas in this part of the city, but I find that the people are very nice, and everything is way cheaper.

I’m bad with names of places especially when I can’t even pronounce them, but in English, the area is called Old Town. At this place they have a lot of small stores and restaurants. There was a famous clock tower there also which was really nice to see.

Around the town, they had horse and carriage rides, people selling food and bracelets on the street, and locals dancing and singing. It was so cultural and fun to see how the “people” of Colombia do things!

Horse and carriage ride à went around the town for about 15 minutes, and the driver gave us a tour in Spanish; kinda redundant but I was able to understand a few bits and pieces. It was funny because at the start of the ride, we were delayed because the horse had to pee; he filled up a whole bucket.

Crepes and Waffles à When I went to this place in Bogota, I fell in love. This was one of my favorite dessert places!!! I love nutella and crepes so this place was heaven to me. I had my own dessert, and devoured the entire thing. Definitely worth it. We ended up going a few times just in the short amount of time we were here. The waitress began to recognize us and we were able to order without even looking at the menu!