Cartagena 2/12-2/17
[Side note: this post was started about a month ago, while we were still in Cartagena. By now we've been back home for almost 3 weeks, and apparently when you are unemployed you still don't have time for blogging...]
We booked our hostel in Cartagena a little bit ahead of time before we knew when exactly we'd be arriving. The reason we did it was so that we could tell the address where we'll be staying to the manager of our hostel in San Gil, so that he'd mail Julie's phone there (she left it charging in the lobby.)
In the end we arrived 2 days before our reservation. Luckily the hostel had some availability, and we got a 2-room suit for the 4 of us for the first night. From the 2nd night on they moved us to another hotel around the corner managed by the same folks; we did not have high expectations, but it turned out to be even better. Neither of the places had hot water, but the weather during the day was in the low 30s, so it was not a huge deal.
We arrived in the second half of the day, and decided to go for a walk, to find some food.
We made it to a restaurant, but not further because it got a bit cold for the shorts I insisted Julie should wear. So we went back to change, stopping by a supermarket on the way. Levys purchased enough oat meal and eggs to last us the next few days, so at least we did not have to go out for breakfasts.
The following day we spent browsing the old town. It's beautiful, clean, and very pleasant to walk about.
In the second half of the day Irin went back to the old town to paint, and Julie and I went to check out the local beaches.
They are located in the new part of town full of hotels, and (presumably) expensive residential buildings. Can't say the beaches are anything of note, but we did swim and tan a bit.
On the 3rd day we decided to get out of town, and see one of the recommended attractions, Volcan de Lodo El Totumo, aka Mud Volcano. We did not know quite what to expect, so when we saw a "volcano" about 15 meters high we were not too disappointed.
When we got to the top we saw about a dozen people sitting in a mud hole maybe 3x3 meters. It looked a bit pathetic. But we were already there, so we got in. It was completely surreal - you can't feel the bottom, and you are floating like a log in the gooey mud. I rarely just float in any liquid; the last place where I could float easily was Dead Sea, so I enjoyed the experience. You are offered a "massage" by one of the 3 or 4 local workers who sit in mud all day long, but we opted out. When you get out you are directed towards the nearby lake where you don't get an option to wash yourself, rather you are handled by one of the local ladies who promptly helps you out of your swimming trunks, and washes you thoroughly. All for an equivalent of 1 and a half dollars.
On the way back we got to enjoy the local cuisine (they had to make the activities longer than the bus ride), and I got to pose as Moses.
For our last excursion on this trip, we ended up going to Playa Blanca, white beach on an island off of Cartagena. We heard that this is the best beach in Colombia.
We woke up early, made oat meal for breakfast and headed to the pier which is a 15 min walk from the hostel. Along the way, we started to be harassed by locals trying to sell us various tours to the beach and around. We ignored them all and walked forward with determination.
We bought a ticket for a boat that was to leave at 9 am and supposedly take about 30 mins to get to the beach. As always, Colombian time does not coincide with real time so the boat left almost an hour late and took twice as long to get there. It also made a detour at some random island where the local kids swam up to the boat and begged for money. We are still unsure of why we stopped there twice (on the way there and back). Half way to the island one of the engines started behaving oddly, and the crew changed the spark plugs.
All of us were pretty annoyed with the ride, but then the water turned to hazel blue (from an icky gray) and we knew that we were arriving to our paradise island.
The enjoyment had to be postponed once again. When we arrived, we had to jump from the boat into the water. Poor Irka, landed on some corral and took off a chunk of skin from her foot. The locals suggested to take her to the police hut down the beach who could give us some medical supplies. When we arrived there, the police were reluctant to help. But after some convincing, they gave us some basic supplies. They also called over a girl who spoke some English and she helped us talk to police. Also a nice healer-type lady stopped by and took over the disinfecting and the bandaging. The whole scene looked like this:
After all was done, we moved Irka to a shady spot and finally could enjoy the beach. The rest of the day was what you would expect from an island paradise; sand, water, palm trees, grilled fish, annoying people trying to sell you everything from jewelry to massages, and a sunburn. The latter was most pronounced on our pale friends.
For our last two days of Colombia, and of the trip, we took it easy and just roamed around Cartagena.
We found the Fort of San Felipe, which is the strangest looking structure that you can find.
The different sections of the fort are separated by unmarked tunnels. So we had to guess where we would end up next.
At one point, we walked for about 10 mins through a tunnel which we thought would lead into a dungeon. Instead it turned out to be a dead end. The climb back was fun :)
The rest of the time we spent eating and looking for souvenirs. The latter proved futile. The souvenir industry is not as developed in Colombia as in some other countries (such as Costa Rica). And the stores tend to sell the same low quality stuff. The only exception is the jewelry. Apparently, Colombia specializes in emeralds and you can literally buy them anywhere. After months on the road, we weren't exactly on the market for precious stones, so we avoided those stores.
Here is the rest of the Cartagena pix.
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| 2012.02.12 Cartagena |
