Colombia - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 518

TOLÚ
Popular with holidaying Colombians but
practically undiscovered by overseas
travellers, the seaside town of TOLÚ is a
pleasant spot to break your journey from
Medellín to Cartagena. The laidback vibe is
exemplified by the proliferation of bicycles
rather than cars, though the brightly
decorated bicitaxis , each one blaring its
own choice of upbeat music, make up in
volume for the lack of motorized traffic.
While Tolú's beaches are nondescript in
comparison to the ones in Parque Nacional
Tayrona (see p.528), you can reach those
20km south, near Coveñas, by colectivos
from the corner of Cra 2 and C 17 in Tolú.
The town's malecón, lined with restaurants,
craft stalls and bars, makes for a nice stroll,
but Tolú's main attraction - the Islas de
San Bernardo (see box below) - lies off
the coast.

5

El Velero Cra 1 No. 9-26 T 5268 0058, W hostalelvelero
.com. With a great waterfront location, this guesthouse
is nautically themed down to the various-shades-of-blue
colour scheme and paintings of boats in the impeccable,
tiled rooms, each equipped with fridge and TV. There's also
a sunny deck from which to watch the waves. COP$75,000
Villa Babilla C 20 No. 3-40 T 312 677 1325, W villa
babillahostel.com. A few minutes' walk from the water-
front, this German-owned guesthouse features airy, spot-
less rooms named after locations around the world. The
ones on the first floor are somewhat pricier, but they do
come with a nice terrace. There' s free coffee all day and
they'll wash your dirty togs, too. COP$80,000

MOMPOX
Marooned on a freshwater island in
the vast low-lying wetlands of the Rio
Magdalena's eastern branch, MOMPOX
(also spelt Mompós) was founded in 1537
by Don Alonso de Heredia (brother of
Cartagena's founder). It served as the
lynchpin for the mighty river's trade
network between coastal Cartagena and the
country's interior, and remained one of
Colombia's most prosperous commercial
centres until the silt-heavy river changed its
course in the late nineteenth century and
Mompox was left to languish as a forgotten
backwater. Simón Bolívar raised an army
here and Mompox was later the first
town in Colombia to declare complete
independence from Spain in 1810.
Its beauty has remained practically
untouched ever since and UNESCO declared
it a World Heritage Site in 1995 in
recognition of its outstanding colonial
architecture. It was also the setting for
Gabriel García Márquez 's classic novella
Chronicle of a Death Foretold . Time seems
to stand still here: locals unhurriedly putter
around the unpaved streets, cats doze in
the shade of the tombs at the cemetery and
fishing boats ply the network of rivers and
lakes. The town's remoteness has kept it out
of mainstream travel but its appeal as the
“anti-Cartagena” - architecture to rival the
coastal city but none of the hustle - has
seen a recent influx of visitors.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By bus The bus station is on the southwest side of Plaza
Pedro de Heredia.
Destinations Bogotá (2 daily at 8am & 5.30pm; 19hr);
Cartagena (several daily; 3hr); Medellín (5 daily; 10hr);
Santa Marta (2 daily at 7.30am & 5.30pm).

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
There are plenty of informal eateries along the malecón,
most serving fried fish and ceviche , while around the main
plaza there are several bakeries and arepa stalls.

LAS ISLAS DE SAN BERNARDO
The ten archipelagos of tiny islands that
make up the Islas de San Bernardo are
wonderfully tranquil (when not overrun
by Colombian holidaymakers), and their
teal waters and blinding-white beaches
make for a great day-trip. Boats leave
Tolú's Muelle Turístico at around 8.30am,
returning around 4pm. Tours
(COP$40,000) take in Santa Cruz del
Islote - an island populated by fishermen
- Isla Tintípan , the largest of the islands,
and mangrove-fringed Isla Múcura ,
where you get to linger the longest
- around three hours - to have lunch, sip
a cold beer or go snorkelling. Tours finish
on Isla Palma , which is the best of the lot
when it comes to snorkelling, with greater
visibility and an abundance of fish.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
Mompox's grid of streets stretches out
alongside the river and is easy to explore
on foot. Its sprawl of grand Catholic