Santa Ignacio de Mompox

We awoke the next morning, ready to finish the final leg of the drive to San Ignacio. Fortunately after the rather graphic events of the day before we were both feeling a bit more human. The camper was still a horrific mess and we didn’t even try to sort it. We finally managed to extract the change from the owner that he owed us, adamant that we definitely wouldn’t pay any more for that horrible room, before we left. 

It wasn’t a particularly long drive but after a noisy hot night on a lumpy bed, we still weren’t feeling great by the time we arrived at around midday. Despite this, we decided to have a packet of Pringles and an energy drink for lunch which was probably not the best choice. We had imagined that we could pick up some easy street food at the village square but there were just endless people all selling the same ice creams and I needed something savoury after not eating for over 24 hours. 

We wandered around the square and watched some of the parade as it made its way around the square. Locals dressed in traditional garments, including huge elaborate headdresses, danced in a long line heading for the church. 

As interesting as it was to see, after a short while it didn’t seem like there was much going on and so we headed back to the van and decided to spend a few hours by the laguna, before returning in the evening. A short drive out of town, this would be where we would spend the night and so it seemed like a good time to scout it out. 

Laguna Isireri is definitely the go to local hang out. This was a huge lake whose waters were so warmed they barely served to cool down the many people who swam there. The water wasn’t particularly clear, but definitely better than the other laguna and on a hot muggy day like today we could see the appeal. Lee went in for a dip, while I lay like a blob in the hammock. Having been the useful one the day before, I was now completely done. While I tried to nap amongst screaming children and many barbecues, the cats were glad to get out of the hot van and into the shade. After a few hours, we got some buckets of water from the lake and set about cleaning the worst of the dust out of the van so we could actually sleep in it tonight. 

Once it had got dark, we headed back into the town to see if anything more was happening that night. Having made a big effort to get here, we wanted to at least see it. Back at the village square everyone sat around speakers blaring to the maximum, drinking. It seemed to be more of an excuse to get drunk than anything else. There were more stalls though and we grabbed a snack and sat on the bench. Cooking wasn’t something that was happening today, every single thing in our kitchen cupboards needed to come out and be cleaned individually, and so I sat and ate some cold chips as we sat on the bench. The food options were still not plentiful and in fact there didn’t seem to be a lot going on at all. While the square was packed, it was all groups of people just hanging out and drinking. 

We decided to go for a wander and to find a toilet. We slowly made our way down rows of random stalls, past a huge wooden stadium that we later found out had been built specifically for this event. Apparently during the day this was where things were going on. Further down, we found the banos and as I went to give the guy 1bol to use them I realised I didn't have my purse. I then realised I'd left it on the park bench in the middle of the party square. This was particularly upsetting because while there was no real bolivian money in it that someone could use, I had saved one note from every country we had visited. They would be gone and they couldn’t be replaced. While I was convinced it was too late, we had been gone a good twenty minutes, we retraced our steps. 

Back at the park bench that we had been sitting on was a group of about 4 people. I checked the bins as we walked past in case someone had gone through it and dumped it in there. As always when you lose something like this, it’s not really the money that’s the worst thing. It’s replacing and cancelling your cards, ordering a new driving licence and those kind of things.

Lee approached the group of 4 people squished onto the bench and asked them if they’d see a purse here. We kind of assumed as they were sitting there and weren’t holding it that they wouldn’t have a clue, but you’ve got to ask right? To my great surprise, they wiggled around a bit and from the midst of them, still on the bench, they produced my purse. Exactly where I had left it and with everything still in it. I couldn’t quite believe it. As a celebration I went and paid for the bathroom before deciding that actually I’d had enough and clearly needed some sleep. We headed back the short drive to the laguna, hoping that we’d get some sleep. There were no other places to go except here, it was a very small town after all. We drove on a little further to a secondary parking place and hoped that maybe people wouldn’t come down here as much as it was further to access the lagoon. Unfortunately, as was probably to be expected we couldn’t have been more wrong.

The party raged until around 5am, vehicles parked up close to us and turned their speakers up to the max. It wasn’t many people, but it was enough to make sleeping in a pop top impossible. We awoke grumpy and dusty, debating whether to leave or not. 

Even though it had been quite horrible, we now hoped the main festival was over. We were also pretty tired and didn’t really fancy another huge drive. The lagoon here was clean enough and also convenient to access. We decided to risk it and have a major cleaning day. We not only needed to still clean the van inside but we had an enormous bag of clothes washing to get through. It seemed like a practical use of a day. While we set up for cleaning day, locals who had been partying hard all last night were about to wind down. One of them came to chat to us and get a glass of water. He and his friends brought us a beer and looked a little affronted when we didn’t happily drink it down with them at 8am. They were, needless to say, entirely wasted but quite harmless. Eventually after falling over and being sick on themselves they staggered away and we began the mega wash.

By the end of the day, we had washed out most of the van cupboards and also conquered the laundry. The van was a lot more pleasant and we just hoped that the party would stop tonight and we could head off refreshed in the morning. We had even had a relatively nice wash in the lagoon, despite the fact the bottom was the kind of mud that squished up between your toes. 

As we tidied up, we were joined that evening by another camper. A huge fire truck arrived and parked next to us. We were joined by a German couple and their two kids. It had been a while since we hung out with campers and with the thumping music from the still clearly continuing party in the background we sat with them around a campfire. We were crossing paths here, as we continued south they headed north. 

We had enjoyed each other's company so much, and been so wrapped up in conversation, that it wasn’t until the morning that we found out that we had been speaking to Florian and Barbara, @veirim4x4.  We wished them a happy trip and before long they had packed up and left, it wasn’t long until we followed suit. The party had gone on until the early hours again and we decided that it was time to get out of here. We headed out of town, towards Trinidad. There was a small point marked as a tourist attraction here, and I was particularly excited to see it.

Before we got there, we needed to take another ferry. This was a bit slower and while we got on a boat quick enough, there was a queue to unload. It seemed that the road was in need of some kind of repair on the other side of the river. This meant that while the side we had loaded on had several points for cars to drive onto the basic wooden ferries, the other side only had a single exit and entry point causing somewhat of a backlog. We waited in the muddy waters of the rio . Our captain walked up and down the ferry poking at the bank and the boats next to us with a long pole as we gently crashed into each other in a queue to exit the river. When it was finally our turn, the police came on the boat and told us that everyone except the driver must leave first and walk up the hill to be collected. I’m not entirely clear why, but that was what we did and finally after a good half hour wait, we were free to continue on. 

We also stopped briefly at a bridge where it was supposedly easy to see the river dolphins some more. We pulled over briefly and did catch glimpses of them but the heat of the day was too much to stop long as the cats panted in the shade under the van. They are also particularly hard to photograph as they only appear for a few seconds on or from the murky waters.

Continuing on, we hit Trinidad where we went to the supermarket to stop up. It was all pretty straightforward until Ruby died in the middle of a junction and refused to start again. We got pushed out of the way of the traffic and waited for 10 minutes for our fuel tank to stop making nasty glugging noises before we could fire up the engine again and drive on. We weren't entirely sure why this was happening, but it appeared that waiting a while fixed whatever 'it' was.

There was not much in the way of camping here. The Germans had told us that they had been given permission to stop at a spot by Laguna Suarez, despite the fact that the last comments said it no longer accepted campers. As it was literally the only option, and also looked like a nice quiet lake spot, we thought we’d try our luck. It was a short drive from town and we pulled into a nice looking garden which also had a restaurant. We asked the nearest person if we could stop. He told us that he didn’t think so and pointed us in the direction of the restaurant. Inside there, we asked again. The guy also didn’t want to commit but gave us the number of the owner so that we could ask directly. We sent him a message and loitered in the van while we waited for a response. To our surprise, he said we could. No one mentioned any money. We parked up in the middle of a nice grassy patch and let the cats out. A particularly enthusiastic puppy was also involved and we ordered a few cold beers from the restaurant while the sun set. 

As we enjoyed our drinks we watched them try to launch a speed boat on the lake. They seemed to have problems with it as it was so shallow and appeared to be getting grounded on the bottom. We realised that it really was incredibly shallow when they finally got it going. It seemed a couple were going out for a romantic sunset drink. The boat waited for them around hundred metres from the shore, but all they had to do was simply walk out to it. Despite the distance, the water was only up to their knees. 

As the sky turned pink and dimmed, we were sure this was the night that we’d finally get a good sleep.