Cartagena was brutally hot and humid, more so than anywhere I had previously been. Expectations were low for the coastal Caribbean city of Colombia, after various poorly reviewed accounts of the city from other travellers.
The city itself is visibly stunning, boasting colourful colonial architecture, bustling markets and a nice port surrounded by the walled old town, a UNESCO world heritage site. The people here are relentless and the main root of why so many people often dislike Cartagena. You can not go anywhere without being hassled, like Bali but on steroids. People selling tours, fruit, souvenirs, drugs, and the infamous ‘fruit ladies’ dressed up and wanting a photo with you—for a fee, of course.The combination of extreme humidity and an aggressively persistent selling culture made Cartagena an exhausting place to be. Polite refusals only seemed to fuel their persistence, often leading to you being followed down the street as if my mind might suddenly change.
Despite this I managed to still enjoy many parts of Cartagena as I was with my San Blas sailing crew for the duration of my time here. After checking into my hostel and taking the time to relax and escape the scorching humidity, I rendezvoused with the sail group for a nice Italian dinner which inevitably escalated to a post dinner walk of ‘cocktail street’ and then a subsequent nightclub.
The next day we went on a walking tour of the old town which, despite the humidity, was good and interesting. We rehydrated at the pub afterwards to watch the Real Madrid v Bayern Munich Champions League game.
We watched the sunset on the wall of the Old Town with a few brews and then went to dinner. Japanese was the cuisine of choice, me and Ruben opted for a very tasty -and expensive- share platter, a welcomed change from the rice and beans of Central America.
On my third and final day in Cartagena, I went on a solo walk around the city in the morning which didn’t last too long after being drenched in sweat from the humidity. Had lunch with the crew and then got some liquid confidence at the pub before the hostel Karaoke night where naturally, I stole the show 😉
Would love the video of the karaoke star!😍😍
The pink shades are so, so, so, so, I’m lost for for words…or …je ne sais quoi….special:-)
Of course you did !