11-13 July - ever heard of a mud volcano?

Lynne says...

Ever heard of a mud volcano? I hadn't until we arrived in Cartagena and noticed the mud volcano experience advertised in our hostel. We booked ourselves in for the following day.

We were picked up after breakfast in a mini bus along with a few other local tourists and around an hour or so later arrived at the volcano. It looked more like a giant termite mound to me and I was unconvinced about what was in store for us. The volcano is around 15 meters high and the summit is accessed via a rickety wooden staircase. A few people were already wallowing around up to their necks - their hair and faces smothered in the clay like substance.

I gingerly climbed in and the sensation was bizarre. It was so dense I could barely move. I just floated - suspended in thick, warm, volcanic mud. Soon the whole pool was full of people milling around and giggling - I played a game of noughts and crosses - the mud was so thick it was easy to mark out the grid. A local man grabbed my arm and pulled me to the other side of the pool where he proceeded to give me a mud massage for a few more pesos. We all lined up next to each other for a treatment that would cost a great deal more in a posh spa.

Around half an hour later it was time to leave our bath tub. The sun quickly dried the mud on our bodies and at the nearby lake various local ladies scrubbed us down for yet more pesos. Afterwards my skin felt as soft as silk. The day finished with a delicious fish lunch next to the warm waters of the caribbean. The Sanctuary or a mud volcano in Colombia? I'd won hands down.