Hello Bogota, goodbye Bogota!
One more night in Bogota. After a night bus from Armenia, Bogota was a welcome sight. Gotta say I have fallen for this city a bit. Went for a wander to the Paloquemao, a big fruit market. Got to taste a cashew fruit and bathe in the colour and noise.
We hit the town with our travel Scrabble. The nightlife is infectious and after a very strong Pina Coladas, we soon got swept up on the festivities. The people here are just so warm and welcoming. We had a really fun night.
Arriving in Cartagena was definitely one of the dodgiest arrivals to a city I have ever had. When we landed there was rain like I had not seen before. It was like a warm shower at least. The roads were quite flooded, one in particular spot the water was over a foot and a half deep and the taxi was stalling, I was sure we were going to get stuck. On top of that it is independence day fiesta so the place is going off!! Bangers, loud music and people everywhere where, shouting and general chaos. The road was blocked so we had to get out into ankle-deep water and walk two blocks the rest of the way. It was after dark so lots of dodgy characters about. Still raining we managed to find our place and the host was very relieved to see us safe. We were advised not to really go out but we could not go to bed with no dinner so we braved a short walk to a shopping mall where there were eateries. The streets where pretty chaotic but nobody even batted an eye at us. We must blend now.
We did the obligatory walking tour. I used to scoff at the idea of a walking tour but I have to say I have been sold on them. They are a really nice way to meet people, to get your bearings and learn about the city. They are generally run by people that are really passionate about where they live.
Cartagena is a really interestesting place, steeped in history. A lot of that history is very dark as it was the main place for Slavery in Colombia but they have a lot to be proud of as it was the first place to be liberated from the Spanish and banish slavery. The weather is hot and sweaty! In the low 30’s but the humidity must be in the 80’s. After our time in the Andes it is taking a bit of getting used to.
The city is busy, colourful and animated. It is a tourist town and you have to expend quite a bit of energy batting off touts and sellers. The area Getsemani is about a 10-minute walk from the Old town and is more to our pace. A lot of cheap eats and locals having fun. After a lovely sunset and great quality people-watching (and posing, god do they like a selfy) from the old town walls we heading to Getsemani for street arepas, cerveza and people more people watching.
