Colombia - Week Three!

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I am now a fully qualified Rescue Diver and Emergency First Responder! Indeed, last Saturday was a challenging day, but of course I got through it with no problems! Matt and Andres weren't lying when the warned me that the last part of the Rescue practical would be hard work. I had several scenarios to complete, most of which ended with me hauling Matt out of the sea onto the beach. It was extremely difficult, especially as Matt is taller than me, but I didn't give up. In fact, I impressed Andres with the amount of manly grunting and wailing I made in any attempt to get Matt clear of the water! The final scenario was a real challenge as Matt pretended to be a panicked diver, under the water, with no air left. First I had to give him my alternate air source so he could continue to breathe, all the time keeping a hold on him but away from his grasp, as a panicked diver can pull at your equipment (which Andres very kindly demonstrated as I practised the skill, by pulling off my mask!) Of course, as a confident diver, I very calmly remembered how to clear it of water, from my Open Water course!

Then, Matt had to pretend to knock himself unconscious and I then had to get him safely to the surface, to check for breathing (which in this case, he wasn't) and then begin rescue breaths, all the time whilst swimming to the shore! I had to give two breaths, using my pocket mask and keeping his face out of the water, and then I had five seconds in which to start removing or loosening our equipment. After every 5 seconds, I had to keep up with the rescue breaths and eventually, we made it to the beach. Equipment ditched, I then had to drag Matt clear of the waves and by this point, I was completely drained. Bless him, he was a very good victim, even though I grabbed and dragged him in any way I could. I was slipping in the gravel, and despite my very best efforts, I just couldn't get him completely away from the sea. However, I realised that it was most important to begin CPR (as in this case, he also had no heartbeat). Keeping an eye on the incoming waves, I began CPR and continued with rescue breaths until, after what seemed like an age, Andres signalled that I had successfully completed the scenario!

I collapsed onto the beach, amidst a huge round of applause from all the new Open Water divers that had watched the whole thing from the boat! After resting for a few moments, I was then able to go for a fun dive, having completed all the skills in good time! After a few hours of revision, I headed back to the dive centre that afternoon to complete my tests. I had to wait for a little bit for the results, and Andres thought it would be hilarious to make me think that I had failed part of it, but I scored 94% for Rescue Diver and 90% and 80% for Primary and Secondary care respectively, so way above the pass rates. I was in the mood to party that evening, but with two more fun dives ahead of me the next day (plus I was absolutely shattered) I headed straight to bed!

On Sunday, I spent a lazy morning on the beach, the first chance I had had since I arrived, and then had two fun dives in the afternoon. Once back on the beach that evening, I met up with Faye and Rory again, and we decided to party, but only a little bit as I had booked another 2 fun dives for Monday afternoon. We shared a couple of bottles of Aguardiente and Sprite on the beach, before heading to a hotel where ladies drank for free. To cut a long story short, after a few free rum shots, I vaguely remember telling Faye that I was going for a walk and would be back soon. I got back to my hostel room, made myself sick... and then woke up on the bathroom floor at 6am the next morning! DAMN IT, I had done it again, and this is why I rarely drink these days as I am always passing out!

I then felt rather rough and hoped that I would be back on form by 1pm, in order to go diving, but it wasn't to be. I was so annoyed with myself, as I have never missed a dive before (apart from on the Great Barrier Reef when I couldn't equalise). I really think I should become completely tee-total! So, that wrote Monday off, although I did feel much better by late afternoon, so I watched another sunset on the beach with F&R. On Tuesday, I took a boat to Parque Tayrona. My list of places to visit in Colombia was originally quite extensive, but because I had skipped so many of them, I felt I would really regret it if I didn't make it to this beautiful national park. Usually, as you will know dear reader, I always take the cheap option, but it was just easier to take the boat for an hour, than several buses and a long walk through the jungle for 3-4 hours, just to save a few pounds. Now that the end of my trip is in sight and I know I won't run out of money, I've started to treat myself a bit more!

Unfortunately, despite the convenience of the boat, it was a rough journey and I got completely soaked through! Once at El Cabo de San Juan, I hung my clothes out to dry, found myself a hammock for the night and spent the rest of the day lying on the beach and dipping into the sea to cool off at regular intervals. The beach was much nicer than the one at Taganga, it was just a shame that Rory and Faye couldn't join me as we would have had great fun! That night, I put my lilo inside my hammock and got a fairly decent night's sleep, despite everything being damp from the sea or the air - I was pleased that I didn't wake up with a cold on Wednesday!

Before leaving Tayrona, I started to walk into the jungle at sunrise in search of wildlife. After just a few minutes, I was surrounded by mosquitoes and so I abandoned the idea - I still have scars from Asian and Australian bites and now a new set of South American ones! I spent a few more hours on the beach before taking the boat back to Taganga. This time, I was better prepared as I wore only my bikini and wrapped my bag in plastic, so my clothes and belongings wouldn't get soaked. That turned out to be the least of my worries as I took the worst boat journey of my entire life. The waves were really high and the captain never slowed down, so at one point, we rose up so high that I had enough time to realise that it would be a long way down again, and we may all go flying out of the boat! The smack back down onto the water was massive, and one guy slipped off his seat onto the floor. I was then terrified and was genuinely worried that I may need to practice my rescue skills for real. In the end, I decide to squat onto the floor of the boat and another passenger very kindly let me hang onto his legs for support. I have never before been so glad to disembark a boat in my life!

So, after all that "excitement", I spent the rest of Wednesday chilling out in Taganga with Faye and Rory again, drinking yet more banana and mango milkshakes that had become my staple of the week! Yesterday morning, I got up early and headed straight to Santa Marta, where I boarded a bus to Cartagena. The first minibus shuttle to Santa Marta wouldn't let me on with all my bags, and the second one nearly didn't either until I offered to pay twice (which was still considerably cheaper than a taxi). It was easy to buy a ticket to Cartagena and soon I was off on a more comfortable bus. I napped for the first half, until the driver put a DVD of Apocalypto on - a really violent movie about Mayans capturing and sacrificing each other - on a Thursday lunchtime with toddlers on board!!! I was glad to get off, especially as the little boy sat next to me started screaming blue murder, fortunately just as we pulled into the terminal, and not before!

I then immediately boarded a local bus to the centre on Cartagena, again considerably cheaper than a taxi, but quite time consuming. It said in the Lonely Planet that it would be about 40 minutes to El Centro, but I was prepared for a long wait as I seemed to have selected a bus with a maximum speed of 10 mph! However, a very long time seemed to have elapsed with no obvious signs of the city centre and then I spotted the airport runway, which I knew was several kilometres north of the centre. Drat it, for the first time in 45 weeks, I had missed my bus stop! My sixth sense of direction had failed me! When I was the last passenger on board, the driver looked at me pitifully through his rear view mirror! He very kindly let me stay on as he reached the end of the route and then turned around to head back into town!

However, the bus got much more crowded on the return, and I eventually had to stand up with all my bags on, to let other people sit down. Luckily, I was right by the rear door, and when some local guys told me where I should get off, I could hop off without too much ado! I asked a girl where I was and I whipped out my map and worked out where I needed to go to find a hostel. My sixth sense returned and soon I was at Casa Viena! I checked in, caught my breath and headed out for a quick stroll around the area. After dinner, I was so tired that I headed straight back to the hostel and now it's time for an early night! It is incredibly hot and humid here in Cartagena, and I need to conserve my strength as I have only two more full days here before I fly off to Brazil on Sunday evening. Crikey, only seven weeks left... and hopefully another four more countries!!!