Colombia: Necoclí

I woke to a nice view of the bay, out to the mountains on the other side of the gulf. After a strong breakfast of fresh papaya and bananas, eggs, arepas, and platano and some relaxing in a hammock with my morning coffee, we decided to use our day of relaxing to explore a bit. Our host gave directions and enthusiastic recommendations of beautiful places to see, including the possibility to see monkeys and macaws.

Morning coffee in a hammock overlooking the Caribbean

Reluctantly back on the bike for a (Colombian) half an hour, through lush swampy farmland full of lovely floppy-eared cows, before discovering a new level of horrendous roads. We struggled through long sections of mud, deep channels carved out by the cars and bikes full of mud after the heavy rain. After dropping the bike in the mud, breaking one pair of shoes wrestling to get free and getting thoroughly dirty, we parked the bike and continued on foot (me barefoot). Despite the heat, we were now able to enjoy the adventure and the wildlife. We stopped into a farm to ask how far we had to go, discovered we were a little lost, and that the lake we were heading to was not easy to access (especially barefoot). The family had a pair of pet macaws (poking around with the chickens in the garden), so at least one wildlife sighting was achieved, no monkeys though. On the way back to town we found the road along the river we should have taken (and avoided most of the mud and mess) which led to the beach. We were happy to find cold beers and take a bath in the (very warm) sea with some cute cheeky local boys.