Cartagena, Colombia

 

I stepped on the dock and was happy to be on dry land! No rocking of a boat after the past 51 hours. Yaaaayyyyyyy!!! If I wasn't so hot and tired, I would have bent down and kissed the dry land. I just wanted a shower, 7 days without showering was my limit. Chantal and I waked the 3 blocks to the bank and got cash before hailing a cab for a hotel in the Getsemani area of Cartagena.

We did not have anything booked and we wanted a private with air conditioning. Not much to ask for..right? We gave the taxi driver a hotel recommended in Lonely Planet. When we arrived, we were told the hotel was booked but they had a sister hotel around the corner and a block down. The gentleman called to verify a room was available within our price range. Yes! We were splurging ($30 each/night) but it was worth every cent. We turned the corner and were greeted by lovely women standing on the corner selling love. Ha, ha! It was a fantastic neighborhood with LOTS of character! We did not care. What can you expect when you choose to stay in the backpacker area. I have seen these woman working around the world, it is the oldest profession and there is a consumer demand. C'est la vie!

Hotel Villa Colonial was fantastic. We were greeted by a beautiful Colombian woman that was sweet and inviting. We gave her our names and she asked for our passports. Uh-oh! We explained they were with customs and she smiled and said we needed showers and rest. Nothing to worry about. She understood how we felt after the long sailing trip. "You can pay when you leave the hotel." I wanted to hug her. It meant I just had to walk up the stairs to the room and we were within minutes of showers. I laughed when we both dropped our bags and looked at each other and said "You can shower first, I am hungry!" As usual, food won!! I opened my backpack and removed the cookies, nuts and fruit we had picked up. A light snack before a shower and dinner. It felt good to eat after so many days of no appetite. And a hot shower....it was fantastic! I could have stayed in there for an hour but knew Chantal was waiting to get the stench off of her also. I felt 150% better!  I laid on the bed thinking about dinner while Chantal showered. I wanted an indulgent meal... like a vegetarian pizza. When she emerged from the bathroom, she looked at me and said "I really want pizza." Me too! We laughed because in the weeks we had met we both wanted pizza after long travel days. Today was no different. We walked to the lobby and I heard the voices before I saw them. No!!!! The 5 Swiss had checked into our hotel. Really? What was the chance of this? There are more than 200 hotels in this city and we could not ditch them!! Ugh! We smiled nodded our heads and walked by them. I didn't have the energy to be nice and did not feel the need. The woman at the desk saw us and came out to give us hugs and tell us how beautiful we looked. Really? A shower and clean clothes made that much of a difference? Wow! We must have looked REALLY awful! She gave us directions to a pizza restaurant and we went to eat our hearts out! We returned to the hotel full and tired. I was ready for a peaceful evening. I laid on my bed and opened my book but fell asleep in minutes.

I awoke in the morning feeling fantastic! We spent the next few days exploring the city and catching up on sleep. 

Cartagena is a beautiful old city. We stayed in Getsemani but walked towards the old town. I was taken in by the street art of the city.

It was bold, bright and colorful -just as I found the Colombians! The homes were beautifully painted in bright primary shades.

 

I loved the colors and realized how bland and boring the homes are in the USA. Why do we paint everything white or shades of beige? Does that say something about us or the need to blend and follow expected norms. I found myself thinking about returning to the USA and going with the bright beautiful colors of Central and South America. Ha, ha! Yes, I am ruined. I don't want to be beige any longer!

 

As Chantal and I walked around the city, we noticed a distinct difference between the Colombians and the Panamanians. I loved the warmth and friendliness. The Colombians were polite and welcoming. They wanted the tourists in their country and wanted to meet the tourists. We met these young boys while we were waiting to cross the road. They smiled and greeted us. All around the city, we met people that were excited that we attempted Spanish...even though it was not grammatically correct. They were sweet and helped us learn a few new words.

As we walked the city, we saw a Juan Valdez Café. It was hot and Sintry had insisted we try the malteadas. Oh my goodness! It was pure coffee heaven! 

It was a coffee with ice cream. Smooth and delicious! The cold tasted fantastic in the hot 90F weather. I was addicted to these at first taste. How was I going to limit my consumption of the deliciousness?!? At the end of our stay in Colombia, the guard at the door smiled and laughed each time he saw us entering...malteada time! I splurged and bought a personal size French press and coffee so I could enjoy a cup of Joe in my room. I loved lounging in bed and just enjoying the goodness. Chantal did the same. We must be the only 2 backpackers traveling with our own French presses!

 

We continued on to the old city and were charmed by the beautiful sights. We walked through the entrance and into the walled city. We were greeted with the stunning architecture and carriages awaiting tourists.

 

As we walked along the shops we noticed these beautiful girls playing at a table. The little one in the white dress was adorable.

As we continued walking we explored the plazas, shops and churches. I was more intrigued by the Colombians. They were friendly and intrigued with the tourists. I felt welcomed to their city when this man waved to us!

We spent the days wandering the cobblestone streets, shopping and eating our way through the city. Yes, that included a daily malteada! Ha, ha! We lingered in book stores, drinking coffee and just enjoying the colonial architecture.

The old city is beautiful but expensive. We were happy to be staying in he less expensive area of the city. But the shopping was best in the old city. Chantal was enthralled with the colorful bags that were hand made. We had seen them in Panama City also but they wanted $90 for one! Ridiculous! We found them in Cartagena for $30. They had every color imaginable and with a variety of designs.

Hats were also for sell around the city. As we walked along the streets there were multiple vendors with their goods lined up along the sides of the churches.

 

At sunset, we walked towards the sea and watched the sun slowly set over the water. Everyone sat enjoying a cocktail as the day ended. Salud to another relaxing and beautiful day!

My days in Cartagena were relaxing and beautiful. We had to move on as Chantal was leaving in 12 days and wanted to see other regions of Colombia. We decided to travel south to Medellin and the coffee region and Salento. As we started to look at transportation, the woman at our hotel suggested we fly rather than by bus as the prices are the same. I looked on line and she was right. We decided to fly from Cartagena to Pereira (with a layover in Bogota). It was a bargain for $65 and less then 5 hours to our hotel in Salento. We packed our bags and prepared for our morning adventure.