The shuttle bus arrives at the agreed time and inside I meet a group of five lady friends from Australia and Norway. They've travelled the world together on countless journeys and are great company. The time passes quickly despite the bumpy roads and my sleep deficit. We talk a lot and enjoy the sunrise in the misty swamps.
At one stop a local girl gets on the bus next to me and after a while we start chatting while some of the Australian ladies are given a Spanish lesson. We leave the paved road and continue our journey on a dirt road. All of a sudden the driver stops and when we look out of the windows we understand why. Rain is moving quickly towards us. He jumps out and climbs on the roof to cover our baggage with some basic protection. María, the Colombian girl, is from a village close to Mompós but works in Bogotá as a nanny. Talking to her is very interesting and when we finally reach her village she leaves me her rosary as a gift. We exchange email-addresses and then she gets off. We drive down to the river, get on an improvised ferry to cross the fast-flowing Brazo de Mompós. Ten minutes later, after a little more than 7 hours, we reach the town. Mompós, or Mompox, is a sleepy little colonial town in the hot and humid lowlands of the swamps of the Magdalena river and known as a place where time seems to stand still. It´s the embodiment of Gabriel García Márquez´s famous Macondo, setting of several of his imaginative stories. It sure feels as if time was of no importance in the town of 25,000 in the middle of nowhere. The hostel is a very nice and tastefully furnished place just by the river. I have a short look around and then plunge onto the bed for a short nap.
When I wake up about an hour later I get ready to explore the town. It´s very hot outside and I break into a sweat almost the moment I leave the hostel. The town is tranquil and peaceful. The locals are very friendly and striking up a conversation needs no effort at all. Everybody is genuinely helpful and goes out of their way to help you. Time stands still, there is no hurry (and who would like to hurry in this climate!?!). I wander around, stopping for fresh juices and an ice-cream (which only makes me sweat more). The houses are spacious and very old - nothing much seems to have changed since the days Mompós was founded as a strategic stop on the route from the Caribbean to the highlands.
Suddenly I hear music and then I see a pageant - the school celebrates the 202nd year of its foundation and shows different decisive moments in the history of this town in colourful arrangements. It´s also another excellent opportunity to have more chats with the locals. Sofía, a 1 1/2-year old girl on her uncle´s bike seems to be quite taken with me and smiles at me while talking up a storm. She can´t sit still when she hears music, starts to move to the rhythm to everybody´s delight.
Later on I return to the hostel, take a shower in the beautiful bathroom and head once more to the centre of the town to meet with the Australian-Norwegian group for dinner at their hotel. We have a lot of fun talking and enjoying the good food but then it´s time to move on. I wanted to go to an internet place but decide otherwise when I feel the first heavy drops of rain. I take the most direct way, walking the deserted streets of the (safe!) town and reach my rooms virtually seconds before the tropical downpour unleashes...
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