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Breakfast with good eggs and coffee. Then a fond farewell to the lovely ladies in my hotel.
And once again I am a passenger on a motorcycle, this time to Ocaña.
Twenty-six uncomfortable miles later, I arrive around 9 AM. The next autobus to El Banco isn’t for another 3 1/2 hours, so a stroll, a coffee, a strawberry milkshake, a little time in the plaza central, with its multi-storied pigeon apartments, and I’m ready to go. I will probably arrive in El Banco too late to continue on to Mompox, and El Banco has only two hotels listed in Booking.com, but that’s life. At least I have a window seat.
It took about 5 hours to get to El Banco, beginning with a steady descent down the side of a steep and deep canyon...
...to a partially flooded plain, then straight on to El Banco, slightly above sea level, next to the confluence of several rivers, with small ferries moving people between the sides.
Along the path bordering the river were many tables of card players - it looked like they were playing bridge!
The town has narrow side streets full of exotic action, sort of like some place in southeast Asia. Crowded, tuk-tuks, women with trays balanced on their heads, lots of colors - kind of magical.
There was even an honor guard in front of the church.
I asked around and for a cheap hotel, and found a room with a fan AND an air conditioner for 150 pesos, then on to a bar with beer and great music overlooking the river, next to a huge Ceiba tree. And this town isn’t even mentioned in my guide book! I loved the music, especially after the typical unending loud awful music on the bus. I asked the waitress, who said it was salsa, but is it a variety special to this part of Colombia? I think so.
Even at 6 PM, it’s hot and humid here in El Banco, and Mompox is also near sea level. Big change after being in the mountains for so long.
The next morning I couldn’t figure out where to stay in Mompox (or Mompós; officially Santa Cruz de Mompox), so I left El Banco without a reservation. I walked over to where the minibuses leave for Mompox.
And off I went: two tough hours on a mostly unsurfaced road in the back of a minibus with sideways seats. But it had air conditioning, so I shouldn’t complain.
Arriving in Mompox, I walked around until I found a hotel with WiFi (!) and restaurant. I’m only a block from the Rio Magdalena, just like I was in El Banco.
Here’s my route so far. from Bogota to Mompox, not exactly an easy one to follow:
My plan is to next head from Mompox to Santa Marta on the Coast via Valledupar. But that didn’t work out very well, as you will learn in my next episode. Until then, ¡Hasta Luego!
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