My Colombian adventure started in Cartagena which lies on the Caribbean coast in Northern Colombia. It was the perfect place to start as it afforded us one last opportunity to enjoy the beach and tropics before heading inland and south through the country. What made our arrival even better was that we were greeted by something very strange, something we had not seen for several weeks, a big orange ball and clear blue skies. Finally the Caribbean in all it’s glory.
Most people know Cartagena due to the old walled city built by the Spanish a couple years ago to protect the town. The area inside the walls has narrow streets just wide enough for cars traveling in one direction, and tourists to bump into each other on the sidewalks in both directions. It’s quite large too, spanning over a dozen blocks in each direction. The draw for tourists is justified as the remains are well preserved and enjoyable to wander around, however most of the stores have been fancied up catering to, uhm let’s just say, the non-backpacker crowd.
The neighborhood where we stayed, Getsemani, was just outside the walled city. The architecture reminded me of New Orleans and was oozing character. Local restaurants and bars were all around and the neighborhood gave off the vibe that this is where you want to be. Just like New Orleans.
The favorite spot and a big highlight of the trip so far was Plaza de la Trinidad, a small open area in front of a church where every night street food vendors would setup in their usual spots, bars would line the sidewalks with chairs and tables, and street performers or local youth groups would perform in and around the plaza. Every night (even Mondays) locals and tourists would be out congregating, eating the food, drinking drinks from their coolers, vendors or bars, and enjoying the night.
Around the plaza are several small streets or pedestrian alleys, lined with doors leading to residences, walls are covered in murals and random artistic objects hang above. One section may have umbrellas, the next flags or tinsel. At night these walkways come alive because the front of each residence is transformed into a bar. Plastic chairs and tables fill the alleys while what used to be small living rooms become the location for drinks to be mixed and servers to congregate. Pedestrians push their way through the tight quarters as each residence/bar is promoting their all night long 2x tropical drink happy hours and try to out do the rest with their music volume.
Days in Cartagena were spent pretty much just wandering around the town, whether on our own or with a free walking tour.
Nearby Cartagena are a group of small islands called the Rosarios, a short hour boat ride away. We decided to do a 4 day excursion there and stayed on Isla Grande. Nice resorts lined the shores of the island and we stayed in none of them. Our accommodation was an ecohostel where we slept in a tent, had a bucket for a shower, no flush toilet, and basically no electricity. It was awesome (also another definite highlight of the trip so far). People on the island were extremely friendly, rarely did someone not greet you saying hola or buenos. Early mornings were spent watching the sunrise and afternoons chasing a decent sunset spot. In between was spent in lounge chairs on the beach looking at palm trees and crystal blue water. One night we cooked traditional Colombian food for dinner with our hostel owner, Gregorio, and learned about his life on the island and Colombia. Remember my previous search for paradise? Well if this isn’t it, it certainly is close.
After a quick return to Cartagena and a visit to Plaza de la Trinidad, we headed for our next destination northeast up the coast, Santa Marta. Here we met up with a couple friends from Nicaragua, Leo and Sarah, for a night of drinking. The plan was to scuba dive the next day but well…one thing led to another and, yeah, didn’t make it to scuba diving. We did go the next two days though and saw some decent coral and fish.
Santa Marta is a small city that doesn’t have the greatest beaches so next we headed to a neighboring town, Taganga, which also borders the Tayrona National Park. In Taganga I did more scuba diving, reinforced my tan, and went to the national park where I hiked 11 miles through jungle to various beaches within the park.
Taganga is also where a couple significant things happened. First, I started traveling solo for the first time this trip. Second, Tayrona National Park was beautiful but sadly I looked at it as just another forest, just another beach or two. Obviously I’ve gotten a little spoiled and burnt out on beaches and tropical forests for the moment and am not appreciating them currently like I should (I know, whoa is me). Also, Colombia is so vast and has so many different environments, I realized it was time to get going inland and start exploring those.
However, first I am going back to school to see if once and for all my Spanish skills can progress beyond “hola amigo, una mas cervesa por favor”. That story and how I caused an explosion in a bar, later.
Life is good!