We rode on the bus for an hour to Galezamba, a town which is at the bottom of the economic level. We stopped at a row of roadside stands where the locals were selling fruits, vegetables, and a few cooked foods. Shortly, we arrived at Totuma Volcano. About six of us were adventurous enough to take a mud bath in the volcano. This is supposed to be very therapeutic.
Wearing my swimming suit, I climbed down a long mud coated ladder to get into the mud. It is very buoyant, so I floated. The man who spread the mud over my body and gave me my massage was very good. The massage lasted about twenty minutes. Then he helped me climb up the slippery ladder. It was very difficult to climb back out because the ladder was tilted to the side and the steps were directly above each other. While I was in there, a local photographer used my camera to take lots and lots of pictures. I think he liked to use the SLR and 18-300 lens. At the top of the volcano Maria met me and helped me safely down the stairs. We walked on the dirt and gravel road to the river where she washed the mud off my body and she washed out my swim suit. Then I walked back up to the tables of a small cafe and changed into dry clothes. The cook at the cafe then gave us a cooking lesson.
We got back into the bus and rode about thirty minutes back toward Cartagena. We stopped at La Boquilla, a fishing village, to eat at an oceanside outdoor restaurant. We ate freshly caught red snapper, coconut rice, and fried plantain. Afterward we rode in dugout canoes through narrow channels for thirty minutes. Then we went back to the hotel.
Later we went to dinner with Jodee and John and Sandi, another couple from our group. We found a restaurant named DKP that was close to the hotel. We all decided that we weren’t going to have the traditional fare of chicken or fish with coconut rice and plantain. I had lasagna.
Floating in a volcano mud bath
Carol relaxing in the mud
Cooking Lesson
Canoe ride
Restaurant in fishing village where we ate lunch