El TOTUMO (MUD VOLCANO)
PRICES/SCHEDULE
A) The WORKS (Volcano, Lunch and Swim at quiet beach, Mangrove Tour) 120,000 pesos 8.30am - 4.30pm
B) VOLCANO + BEACH (as above but without the Mangroves) 60,000 pesos 8.30am - 2.30pm
C) VOLCANO only 45,000 pesos (approx USD $23) 8.30am - 2pm or 1.30pm - 6.30pm
All tours include airconditioned transport to and from your hotel and an English-speaking guide.
Pick up times vary depending upon the part of the city they are picking you up from. As a guide..
Morning tours: Getsemani 8.30am/ Centro 9am/ Bocagrande 9.15am
Afternoon tours: Getsemani 1.30pm/Centro 2pm/ Bocagrande 2:15pm
To make a reservation: Please provide your name, number of people, address for pickup and which tour option you would like. And email info@cartagenaconnections.com You pay direct on the day in pesos. And remember to bring 9,000 pesos in tips for the Volcano services.
ABOUT
When I first arrived to Cartagena I asked my friend, who had visited previously, whether the mud volcano was worth going to. Her very honest description kindof put me off for a full year (Angie, this is you!). After telling me it wasn't to her taste, she described it as a bunch of people swimming in mud, other people pushing you around in the mud, then you paying someone else to wash the mud off. This is all completely true. Somehow it is also a completely surreal and enjoyable experience. This is what you can expect:
Ok. First of all. It IS pretty touristy. This is to be expected because any single guidebook, list of things to do, info-about-Cartagena you will pick up or refer to, lists the Volcano on a pretty short list (3? 4?) of tourist attractions in Cartagena. There's a few different tour groups that go there. They are all pretty much the same. I feel the one I recommend has the advantage because a) they have English speaking guides and b) they have a private house at the Volcano which allows you to change and shower in more comfort than on a bus. You can also refresh yourself with a well-priced cold cerveza afterwards. So it's touristy (and I mean tourists from all over Latin America and the world) but they manage it all really well... despite the masses the site attracts.
So anyway, you arrive at the Volcano after an interesting drive through the countryside just outside Cartagena. Look out the window and take in the local villages and daily life. Your guide will tell you about the Volcano: How it is one of two types of Volcano in Colombia (mud v lava), how it is bottomless (cool!), the size, the supposed medicinal properties and incredible mineral content of the mud, and how tourism is supporting the economy of the tiny village of the Volcano. There are 3 services you pay the local residents for providing. Each service costs 3,000 pesos. This isn't subject to bargaining. It is a flat rate. The three services are 1) guy who takes your photos while you are in the mud (note: he is actually awesome! he takes establishing shots, closeups, panoramas etc) 2) guy who massages you while you are in the mud (this is so those super helpful properties of the mud can get working on your skin and body and what ails you).. and 3) the ladies who wash you in the river. So you're looking at a 9,000 pesos package each person, payable at the end.
Next you change into your swimwear, then feel awkward and exposed as you climb up the stairs to the mouth of the Volcano. You look into the pit and see it filled with people covered in mud. "Interesting", you think to yourself. "All of willingly paying for the privilege of looking like creatures from the bog of eternal stench". Nevertheless, you descend the stairs while guy number 1 takes your photo and guy number 2 meets you and barks the 3 or so phrases in English he had learned in order to communicate with foreigners; one more! (take another step down), lie down, sit up.
The mud feels bizarre! It's cool and warm and thick. Everyone says the same thing. Oh! It feels so strange! After your in-mud massage you will be pushed, like muddy cattle, into another corner with the rest of the muddied-up folk. There you will attempt to sit upright. You will probably flouder about a bit like an up-ended turtle. You'll hang out in the mud. Become accustomed to the sensation. Chat with your fellow mud men, and feel like a veteran when the next newbie enters the pit. Don't forget to look up - guy number 1 is taking your photo! The mud gives you a feeling of weightlessness, keeping you suspended at the surface like a bobbing apple. It's actually a lot of fun!
When you've had your fill, you climb the ladder (this is when all the mud you've accumulated on your body plops all over the people still lurking below.. eliciting shouts of displeasure) and make your way to the top. One more pose for Photo Guy, then down the stairs on the side of the Volcano.
Now go down the slope towards the river, enviously eyeing all the clean people who are already on their way back. The ladies give you a thorough cleaning (yup, they will probably remove your swimwear.. by now you're probably feeling completely unabashed and won't mind). To be honest, if you don't mind annoying the ladies of the river by denying them the 3,000 pesos, you can probably do a passable job of cleaning yourself.
So how do you feel? Nice! Your skin feels soft and smooth. And you have that pleasant, slightly dopey feeling you get after a spa treatment.
It's actually not just tourists that go. Locals believe so strongly in the beneficial properties of the mud, they make regular visits to the Volcano and even purchase giant bottles of the mud to take away for home use (my roommate uses it religiously as a facial mask).
So, if you book the tour through me.. the next place you go is a delightful restaurant on a secluded beach where you can enjoy a swim (and wash off some of that extra mud) while your lunch is prepared by a lovely local family. Check out the facebook page for more photos!
1
A) The WORKS (Volcano, Lunch and Swim at quiet beach, Mangrove Tour) 120,000 pesos 8.30am - 4.30pm
B) VOLCANO + BEACH (as above but without the Mangroves) 60,000 pesos 8.30am - 2.30pm
C) VOLCANO only 45,000 pesos (approx USD $23) 8.30am - 2pm or 1.30pm - 6.30pm
All tours include airconditioned transport to and from your hotel and an English-speaking guide.
Pick up times vary depending upon the part of the city they are picking you up from. As a guide..
Morning tours: Getsemani 8.30am/ Centro 9am/ Bocagrande 9.15am
Afternoon tours: Getsemani 1.30pm/Centro 2pm/ Bocagrande 2:15pm
To make a reservation: Please provide your name, number of people, address for pickup and which tour option you would like. And email info@cartagenaconnections.com You pay direct on the day in pesos. And remember to bring 9,000 pesos in tips for the Volcano services.
ABOUT
When I first arrived to Cartagena I asked my friend, who had visited previously, whether the mud volcano was worth going to. Her very honest description kindof put me off for a full year (Angie, this is you!). After telling me it wasn't to her taste, she described it as a bunch of people swimming in mud, other people pushing you around in the mud, then you paying someone else to wash the mud off. This is all completely true. Somehow it is also a completely surreal and enjoyable experience. This is what you can expect:
Ok. First of all. It IS pretty touristy. This is to be expected because any single guidebook, list of things to do, info-about-Cartagena you will pick up or refer to, lists the Volcano on a pretty short list (3? 4?) of tourist attractions in Cartagena. There's a few different tour groups that go there. They are all pretty much the same. I feel the one I recommend has the advantage because a) they have English speaking guides and b) they have a private house at the Volcano which allows you to change and shower in more comfort than on a bus. You can also refresh yourself with a well-priced cold cerveza afterwards. So it's touristy (and I mean tourists from all over Latin America and the world) but they manage it all really well... despite the masses the site attracts.
So anyway, you arrive at the Volcano after an interesting drive through the countryside just outside Cartagena. Look out the window and take in the local villages and daily life. Your guide will tell you about the Volcano: How it is one of two types of Volcano in Colombia (mud v lava), how it is bottomless (cool!), the size, the supposed medicinal properties and incredible mineral content of the mud, and how tourism is supporting the economy of the tiny village of the Volcano. There are 3 services you pay the local residents for providing. Each service costs 3,000 pesos. This isn't subject to bargaining. It is a flat rate. The three services are 1) guy who takes your photos while you are in the mud (note: he is actually awesome! he takes establishing shots, closeups, panoramas etc) 2) guy who massages you while you are in the mud (this is so those super helpful properties of the mud can get working on your skin and body and what ails you).. and 3) the ladies who wash you in the river. So you're looking at a 9,000 pesos package each person, payable at the end.
Next you change into your swimwear, then feel awkward and exposed as you climb up the stairs to the mouth of the Volcano. You look into the pit and see it filled with people covered in mud. "Interesting", you think to yourself. "All of willingly paying for the privilege of looking like creatures from the bog of eternal stench". Nevertheless, you descend the stairs while guy number 1 takes your photo and guy number 2 meets you and barks the 3 or so phrases in English he had learned in order to communicate with foreigners; one more! (take another step down), lie down, sit up.
The mud feels bizarre! It's cool and warm and thick. Everyone says the same thing. Oh! It feels so strange! After your in-mud massage you will be pushed, like muddy cattle, into another corner with the rest of the muddied-up folk. There you will attempt to sit upright. You will probably flouder about a bit like an up-ended turtle. You'll hang out in the mud. Become accustomed to the sensation. Chat with your fellow mud men, and feel like a veteran when the next newbie enters the pit. Don't forget to look up - guy number 1 is taking your photo! The mud gives you a feeling of weightlessness, keeping you suspended at the surface like a bobbing apple. It's actually a lot of fun!
When you've had your fill, you climb the ladder (this is when all the mud you've accumulated on your body plops all over the people still lurking below.. eliciting shouts of displeasure) and make your way to the top. One more pose for Photo Guy, then down the stairs on the side of the Volcano.
Now go down the slope towards the river, enviously eyeing all the clean people who are already on their way back. The ladies give you a thorough cleaning (yup, they will probably remove your swimwear.. by now you're probably feeling completely unabashed and won't mind). To be honest, if you don't mind annoying the ladies of the river by denying them the 3,000 pesos, you can probably do a passable job of cleaning yourself.
So how do you feel? Nice! Your skin feels soft and smooth. And you have that pleasant, slightly dopey feeling you get after a spa treatment.
It's actually not just tourists that go. Locals believe so strongly in the beneficial properties of the mud, they make regular visits to the Volcano and even purchase giant bottles of the mud to take away for home use (my roommate uses it religiously as a facial mask).
So, if you book the tour through me.. the next place you go is a delightful restaurant on a secluded beach where you can enjoy a swim (and wash off some of that extra mud) while your lunch is prepared by a lovely local family. Check out the facebook page for more photos!
1
MANGROVES
PRICES/SCHEDULE
A)The WORKS (Volcano, Lunch and Swim at gorgeous secluded beach, Mangrove Tour) 120,000 pesos 8.30am - 4.30pm
D) MANGROVES + BEACH 65,000 pesos 1pm - 4.30pm
All tours include airconditioned transport to and from your hotel and an English-speaking guide.
ABOUT
You can visit the mangroves on their own, or as part of the day trip to the Volcano. My feeling is that the mangroves themselves are really interesting and it is wonderful to spend some time appreciating some more of Cartagena's natural beauty.. but
(and this is just my opinion) current tours to the Mangroves seem to be trying to pad for material to make a 2 hour tour out of something that should maybe be half an hour.. This is what you can expect:
After enjoying a perfectly delicious lunch on the secluded beach, you will be led to the wooden canoes (kayaks?) that will take you through the Mangroves. Your guide is great. He/She will explain all about the mangroves, the birdlife, and other fauna and flora you encounter. The guy pushing the canoe will probably do a lot of heaving to make it very clear just how hard he is working and just how much he deserves a propina (tip) at the end.
After passing homes, and mangroves and tunnels you arrive at the Pre-Colombian Cultural Museum. This is where I think the padding begins. So this is basically a manufactured outdoor "Museum" filled with replicas of the various artefacts found in the various tombs and sites of the various Pre-Colombian indigenous groups of the region. Each civilization's artefacts are housed in a kindof chicken coop with wire and a roof. Which is a little odd. The guide then explains about the different groups; their religious beliefs and customs, how they were comprised and cool facts about them. Ok. So this is really interesting and I learned a lot that I didn't know previously. Maybe I was too blissed out from the mud?? It just felt like this went on a little too long and that some of the inferences drawn were stretching it at times (for example, there is a link made between a group that revered and worshipped a boy born without an arm to Van Gogh's future success despite his absent ear).
Anyway.. after learning all about the different civilizations and people, and passing through the Garden of Eroticism (crudely fashioned replica artefacts showing figures engaged in various sexual acts).. it's back on the canoe, past the local fisherman and back to your airconditioned van to take you home.
Overall, if you have time, I think it is something that is interesting and nice to do. You see and learn about the natural environment of Cartagena, and it is extremely pleasant to float along on the water close to sunset. You also learn about some of the history of the various civilizations of the region which helps to put a lot into context. You also support local communities in an ecologically sound way. I just feel it could perhaps be one hour instead of 2. But, ahh.. a-HEM.. let me know if you want to book it in!
A)The WORKS (Volcano, Lunch and Swim at gorgeous secluded beach, Mangrove Tour) 120,000 pesos 8.30am - 4.30pm
D) MANGROVES + BEACH 65,000 pesos 1pm - 4.30pm
All tours include airconditioned transport to and from your hotel and an English-speaking guide.
ABOUT
You can visit the mangroves on their own, or as part of the day trip to the Volcano. My feeling is that the mangroves themselves are really interesting and it is wonderful to spend some time appreciating some more of Cartagena's natural beauty.. but
(and this is just my opinion) current tours to the Mangroves seem to be trying to pad for material to make a 2 hour tour out of something that should maybe be half an hour.. This is what you can expect:
After enjoying a perfectly delicious lunch on the secluded beach, you will be led to the wooden canoes (kayaks?) that will take you through the Mangroves. Your guide is great. He/She will explain all about the mangroves, the birdlife, and other fauna and flora you encounter. The guy pushing the canoe will probably do a lot of heaving to make it very clear just how hard he is working and just how much he deserves a propina (tip) at the end.
After passing homes, and mangroves and tunnels you arrive at the Pre-Colombian Cultural Museum. This is where I think the padding begins. So this is basically a manufactured outdoor "Museum" filled with replicas of the various artefacts found in the various tombs and sites of the various Pre-Colombian indigenous groups of the region. Each civilization's artefacts are housed in a kindof chicken coop with wire and a roof. Which is a little odd. The guide then explains about the different groups; their religious beliefs and customs, how they were comprised and cool facts about them. Ok. So this is really interesting and I learned a lot that I didn't know previously. Maybe I was too blissed out from the mud?? It just felt like this went on a little too long and that some of the inferences drawn were stretching it at times (for example, there is a link made between a group that revered and worshipped a boy born without an arm to Van Gogh's future success despite his absent ear).
Anyway.. after learning all about the different civilizations and people, and passing through the Garden of Eroticism (crudely fashioned replica artefacts showing figures engaged in various sexual acts).. it's back on the canoe, past the local fisherman and back to your airconditioned van to take you home.
Overall, if you have time, I think it is something that is interesting and nice to do. You see and learn about the natural environment of Cartagena, and it is extremely pleasant to float along on the water close to sunset. You also learn about some of the history of the various civilizations of the region which helps to put a lot into context. You also support local communities in an ecologically sound way. I just feel it could perhaps be one hour instead of 2. But, ahh.. a-HEM.. let me know if you want to book it in!