Mompox

The day long trip to Mompox from Santa Marta included a tricky combination of taxis, buses, vans, boats, and motorcycles. At one point we got off at the wrong stop and befriended a turkey at a street stand while we waited for a ride. We had left the Dreamer Hostel at 8am and arrived in La Casa Amarilla in Mompox around 9pm. We were exhausted, we didn't see much of the town that night.
The next day, Alex wasn't feeling well, so I walked around the town, in spite of the baking heat.
Founded in 1540, Mompox is a town on the banks of the Magdalena River. It was declared a World Heritage sight in 1995 and is the setting for Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. There are almost no cars, just motorcycles, bicycle-drawn taxis, and horse-drawn carts. Most people seem to pass the time sitting on rocking chairs for which the town's artisans are renowned for. It was an important trade center until the 19th century, but then trading routes changed, and the town was left in isolation. Little has changed over the years and the town still feels very colonial. With its white-washed walls and Spanish tiles, it has an atmosphere reminiscent of the Delta bayou, South American style. There isn't much to do here, aside from taking lots of pretty pictures, which was a nice break from all of the grueling traveling of the last two days.
Later that night, Alex was feeling better and we went to a fantastic little restaurant called Deli Res. The food was amazing! Alex had the beef stew with patacones (salty fried plantains) and I had the Bandeja Piasa, which is a combination of fried pork, grilled steak, rice with a fried egg, beans, maduros (fried sweet plantains) and a slice of avocado. We hadn't had much aside from crackers and water traveling the day before so were pretty happy! I would have taken a picture, but we pretty much inhaled it, or tried to.
The next day we were up early again. The trip to Bucaramanga, or Buca, takes at least 8 hours. First, we were catching a ride on a chalupa to a town two hours down river called El Banco. Then, a six hour bus ride the rest of the way. We planned to stay in Buca for at least a week with family.

Heading South






Magangue, where we caught a chalupa (boat) to Bodega, further across the Rio Magdalena.







As we arrived too late to hire a jeep, the last leg of the trip ended up being a lot more fun than expected!






One of a few of the "bridges" we had to cross due to recent rains.


















The next morning, La Casa Amarilla.












A visitor












The octagonal baroque-style bell tower and balcony is unique to Colombian religious architecture.






Plaza de Santa Barbara












The main street, Calle Real del Medio






Cemeterio Munincipal






Iglesia de Santo Domingo












Calle de la Albarrada






Half Gremlin, half kitten, all cute












El Rio Magdalena












Plaza Simon Bolivar







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