Week 3 part 1. . . Baranquilla, Minca, Tayrona National Park, Santa Marta...

It's 6 am when we leave Cartagena for a small town near Baranquilla, Puerto Colombia. I didn't talk to Ana and Carolina yet. Wounds have to heal slowly and fortunately I could Skype with Stefania and I can talk to Assiyeh. At arrival it seems the hostel Carolina was booking, does not exist. Fortunately on that address exists another hotel and we can stay there for one night. Next...departure for the biggest carnival experience of my life. Between tens of thousands we manage to find a place in the sombra of a tent and we are ready to watch a parade that lasts for SIX hours. So many queens on floats with complete music bands, hundreds of dancers in colorful costumes dancing traditional dances of the region.... I fall in love with Cumbia... And then the masks...Men dance around in the bizarre elephant mask of Marimonda, a classic archetype of Barranquilla Carnaval. It is said that Marimonda represents the core of the average Colombian man – a raving horny drunk bent on dancing, sexual pursuits and having the most fun possible at all times. "Monda" is a vulgar term referring to the exaggerated phallic nose that swings from the freakish mask. Kids and adults are spraying masses of foam on each other and you can't avoid to be the target in such a battle. My skin is layered with foam as if I was wearing sun blocker from 10 days. Later we stroll through the streets and squares looking at people who use every square meter to dance and enjoy life. My mood is better. We are tired and drive back to Puerto Colombia. The girls go for a long sleep... In the corridor I Skype and send mails. Remaining pain raises again and i go for a short sleep too... in the background the sounds of the local carnival festivities. The next day we head for Santa Marta, the initial plan to go from there to Tayrona National Park is postponed to the next day and instead we go to Minca, a small town in the heights and we are having a perfect cool bath in one of the small lakes created by unexpected waterfalls. We are staying in a open air hostel with a breathtaking view on the region with the sea and Santa Marta in the distance. My first night in a hammock turns out to be the best one for me since days but not for my companions who are suffering from my snoring, the consequence of laying on my back :-( ... We are leaving even before sunrise for the Tayrona National Park. The walk towards the sea in the park is long and I feel my condition is far from optimal. The toe is still hurting but at the end we manage to reach our target, one of the many beaches in the park with a full camping facility. Despite the beautiful wildness of the park and the sea i can't fully enjoy but I try to cope. Ana is heading back for Bogota and I'm staying together with Carolina for a rather sky covered afternoon on the beach. I miss my i- Pad. I need to write... my best medicine... As good the hammock sleep was in Minca as terrible this one is in Tayrona. I can't sleep at all. Plastic covers are making too much noise under a heavy night breeze ... It sounds like if it is even raining. I' m counting the hours, the minutes, the seconds. And at the end of this horror night we are waking up under a radiant hot Caribbean sunshine. After a recovering morning spend on the beach we leave the place following the horse route back to the external surrounding frightening world. We are alone and the only signs that we are on the right track is the fresh horse and mule poop. Now and then we cross a horse caravan bringing goods and people to the heights. We did it... We leave the National Park for Santa Marta. The perspective of a refreshing shower and a normal bed are quit attracting to me. I'm happy to find my i-Pad back in my luggage left in Santa Marta. Up to Angelica's...