After the tranquility of Minca it was back to the busy city of Cartagena. We chose to stay in a small basic hotel in the Bocagrande area, by the beaches. Although it was basic (on a busy main road with a thin curtain which was certainly not good for us insomniacs!) the staff were very friendly, helpful and the owner was an Englishman called Brian – an ex-chef to the stars who had grown tired of the European rat race and retired to Caratgena 6 years ago with his Colombian wife. Needless to say, as former chef, the breakfasts were amazing – by far the best we’ve had!! They even provided bucks fizz on Christmas morning which was a wonderful little touch.
Our Christmas dinner (in the hotel room) accompanied by Christmas songs, consisted of cheese, parma ham and a ridiculously expensive bottle of red wine from the supermarket – despite being so close to Chile and Argentina, wine is, disappointingly, massively expensive in Colombia for some reason!
We had a week in the city to relax and explore which was welcome after a month of hoping from place to place. Days on the beach eating freshly grilled fish and prawn ceviche from hawkers walking up and down selling their wares, walks around the city taking in the pretty historical buildings with their flowers and balconies, taking in some history with a visit to the Castille San Felipe fortress and the Indigenous Gold Museum and stumbling across a concert in the Cathedral by a well known Colombian conductor.
And of course we ate pretty well too! Whilst the food wasn’t as good as Santa Marta, we did have a fantastic fish stew in a funky lunch spot called La Mulata and some amazing fried yucca balls in Cocina de Pepina.
Dan had a mixed time – one day suffering with a dodgy stomach, the next being serenaded by a street rapping duo – I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen him speechless! Hilarious!
The atmosphere and vibe in Cartagena more than made up for the lack of wonderful food places. From seeing the fishermen pull up their catch on the beach and the local dancers and rappers performing in the street to the bohemian vibes in ultra cool and a little rough around the edges, Getsemeni and the gorgeous historic centre, the city really did capture us. The beautiful lights and christmas decorations gave it an extra special air – Cartegena truly was a magical city we would recommend to anyone.
Next up – Quito!
Tiredbuthappytravels 