So we went to this famous mud volcano outside of Cartagena.
Travis, Ben and I followed the crowd as they climbed this unstable looking, muck-filled pile of dirt and jumped on in.
I asked several people involved with the operation why people do this. They kept saying “It’s therapeutic, its good for you.” I would ask, “How?” and was answered pretty much every time with a more enthusiastic, “GOOD FOR YOU!” So I thought maaaybe the entire thing was an elaborate ruse being played on tourists. Like, hey, why don’t we fill this weird, inactive volcano with human feces, then get tourists to PAY US to roll around in it? HILARIOUS.
It was basically another one of those wonderful South American “don’t ask questions, just watch what happens” experiences. First a dude takes your camera out of your hand. Then he basically pushes you into the muck, which is creepily warm. Then the muck men start massaging you and parking you in various corners until the whole mountain looks like its going to fully saturate and just collapse in one big pbbbbbtttthhhhh motion. But it doesn’t, and all the little muddy creatures of the lagoon are ushered down the mountain to a swamp where ladies throw buckets of water at you and untie your bikini top (seriously, saw lots of muddy boobs). Then you get a slice of watermelon.
The weirdest part was the texture of the mud (or poop maybe?). It was gelatinous, and when I boldly reached my foot down deeper, there was no bottom. But I couldn’t sink. So you’re basically suspended in it, which explains why everyone in the video is flailing and slithering around weightlessly in this odd, pudding-like substance. A substance we spread all over our faces and hair and knees and chests and stomachs. Without really knowing why.
