The Dreamer Hostel

The Dreamer Hostel, where to even begin.  I never thought I would be able to find a hostel that was truly more amazing than Kabul Backpackers in Barcelona, Spain but low and behold it happened.  What originally was supposed to be less than a week somehow turned into two.  Even before coming to The Dreamer I was told how awesome it was and I would probably end up stuck there (Henry Bowlsby) my posh English friend who wound up staying there a month.  Well I guess it wasn’t a lie this place had it all.  All near 70 spaces at full capacity, a huge pool for the constant 90F/33C year round temperature, a surprisingly good Italian restaurant, fast wifi, close to the supermarket, and easy access to all the amazing beaches around the area.  I met so many amazing people while staying at this hostel it felt like we had become a family.  Dennis paid for an extra flight to stay extra time, Shauna and Taylor cancelled their other hostel to spend more time and you can say the same of Ollie and I; Since I was there nearly an extra five days.  Ollie and Luke who were both traveling together for the past 8 months were at the end of their trip and heading back to England, Dennis had a week before he had to go to Holland, and Shauna and Taylor were almost done and headed back to Canada.  The hostel is always looking for help in return for a free stay and meal.   The cost to stay there is roughly $12 a day and the meals range from $4 to $9.  So Ollie and Luke decided to work at the bar to take advantage of this.  They even gave the bar a name, which had never been done before “Pigs”.  VodkaPig was Ollie’s nickname back in England because he could consume so much Vodka like it was in a trough, the slogan they came up with “Pigs its like rolling in shit”, pure genius ha.  It probably was the easiest job I have ever seen in my life, minus my 4 years working at the Africana Studies department where I simply had to point my finger to kids in direction to their professors’ offices while I watched dvds or did hw.  Feeding hostel kids 2 choices of beer, and either rum, vodka or tequila while they got to party at the same time from 6pm-midnight.  Then they would go out with everyone.  Half their hours were spent sitting playing drinking games with everyone.  Not to mention the Shakira looking front desk clerks, I would definitely recommend this hostel to anyone regardless of age.  Since this trip I have noticed a huge influx of adults 35-60 staying in hostels I guess it’s a sign of the times.

Ashley on the 1 night she drank wonder why

    

The Group minus Ash

Shauna and I teaching the rest of the world the North American game of flip cup

Stop Spanish class/ Project

              Decided to quit Spanish classes to work on this ridiculously time consuming project for Van Detta’s International Business Transactions class.  I don’t think I have ever had anything take this long to do.  I should not be stressed out during my travels.  I should be enjoying life and lounging at the beach all day, instead I am at the hostel reading through what seems like an endless encyclopedia. Oh well.  At least there is good people watching.

Later Cartagena

          Two weeks in Cartagena was long enough for me.  I could not handle the humidity any longer.  I also had done and seen everything after 3 days.  I did two weeks of Spanish school at Babel Language Institute, by far best lessons I had received.  I thought about staying longer in Cartagena but decided I needed to see more of Colombia before I flew south to Uruguay.  So I hopped on the shuttle and set off for the cheaper and less humid coastal town of Santa Marta.  

Cafe Del Mar

Café del Mar is an open-air bar located on the historic walls of the old city of Cartagena.   Located directly in front of the Caribbean Sea, providing for breathtaking sunsets and views of the picturesque Bocagrande.  The drinks are way overpriced here but the atmosphere is awesome.  Basically if visiting Café Del Mar just come for one or two drinks during sunset and leave, that’s what I did.  Drinks are 3xs the price of anywhere else in the city and I’m on a budget.  

           

Hostel Switch

       While Media Luna was an awesome hostel with a good party atmosphere there was no air conditioning.  Cartagena is nearly always 90 degrees or hotter with ridiculously high humidity.  Its near impossible to sleep without air conditioning even with the giant fan they had going.  One week of no sleep and trying to do homework for my class was enough.  So I packed up and moved to El Viajero in the walled city.  El Viajero is the same price as Media Luna with air conditioning and free breakfast included.  Definitely not the same party atmosphere but at least I was able to actually sleep now.  The wireless sucked however, which made online class difficult as I continually got logged out of class.  The tropical storms here are crazy.  I don’t think I have ever seen so much rain.  The hostel employee girls convinced a lot of people to just put on their swimsuits and go party in the rain, which was pretty hilarious.  Everyone was just partying in the pouring rain with reggaeton playing in the background.    

Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas

The Castillo San Felipe de Barajas is a fortress in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. The castle is located on the Hill of San Lázaro in a strategic location, dominating approaches to the city by land or sea.  Built by the Spanish during the colonial era.  It was only a 10-minute walk from my hostel in an area I was supposedly not supposed to be walking in but I didn’t feel in danger at any point.  Once in the fortress you can walk through passageways for what seems like forever.   They are very dim lighted so I assume back in the day one needed a torch to navigate through them.  They wind around and just keep going lower and lower I’m surprised I didn’t get lost.

Mud Volcano Tour

           Volcan El Totumo a 65-foot tall mud volcano is located about 30 minutes outside Cartagena.  A popular attraction among backpackers as well as Colombians the Volcano is believed to have skin-enhancing qualities.  Upon arrival the tour guide tells everyone to leave their baggage in the bus and to put on their bathing suits.  Most people already were prepared only wearing their bathing suits.   You walk up an interestingly built wooden staircase to get to the mud crater.  At the top of the Volcano are sweeping views of lagoons and plenty of greenery.  At the top of the Volcano is the mud crater, you pass your camera to a local villager and they take pictures for you while you bathe in the mud bath.  The mud was grey and thick.  Being engulfed in warm thick mud was an odd feeling, it’s much harder to move then one would think.  Often getting stuck in weird positions.  It felt great though and there are villagers who give you massages in the mud and then just throw your body to the next masseur as you float around the mud.  It’s impossible to sink down in the mud unless you use leverage from someone to push you down.  The mud is being pushed up from the earth and extremely thick.  After the 30-40 mins or so they allow you in the mud bath you are sent to the lagoon for a scrub.  You have the option to wash yourself or have a local village woman scrub you.  I decided I was capable of washing myself and just did a few dives into the warm lagoon and the mud was gone.   I definitely liked the mud bath; it was a new experience and only cost $15.