Saturday 3 August - Tuesday 6 August

Cartagena, Colombia

With the boat anchored in Cartagena harbour, we alighted passportless at around 2pm. Our passports, the Captain assured us, would be returned to us by 8pm at a pre-arranged meeting point. First rule of traveling: NEVER let your passport leave your possession. There was no way around this and apparently this was the norm. Actually we were told some people don't get their passports back until the next day, and to consider ourselves fortunate if we got them back in the evening. Oh well, no way around this one, so off we went.
Solid ground never felt so good (although for the next few days, maybe a week, it felt as though getting off the boat was somehow just a dream). So we hailed a taxi no bigger than two motorcycles to take four of us, with mucho baggage, into the hostel area of Getsemani. A wide open boot and some rope did the trick at the back while all available air space in the front was displaced by four unwashed sailors and the rest of our bags. With our Finnish friend, Janne's rapid Spanish and the girls safely guarding the backpacks over a refreshment, we managed to find ourselves a hotel for a reasonable price which would suffice for a couple nights in the sticky Cartagena heat. With laundry taken care of and a rewarding cool shower under our belts, we headed out ravenous in search of our first Colombian feast - but all we came across was pizzeria after pizzeria (weird - its not like there's a large Italian contingent in this city), so a small Italian restaurant for pizza and fresh fruit juices did the trick. Luckily pizza is Donna's favourite food.
Next was to get to the meeting point, Plaza de Trinidad, to hopefully collect our passports. A few drinks later and the sight of John, our Captain, with a full plastic bag wrapped tightly around his wrist settled our fears instantly. Passports safely back in our possession, the tension eased and the drinks flowed. John ended up taking a few of us to a local social club where the pizza (what else?) was supposedly great and the drinks half price. We went primarily for the drinks and the chance to get to see where the locals hang, but ended up with another pizza as well....and yeah, it was pretty good pizza. We finished off the night with a free drink at Mamallena's Hostel where we met up with a few of the others who by now were well into the Cartagena swing of things, if you know what I mean.

The next morning we rose late and headed out for a meander around the walled city of Cartagena. WOW!! Getsemani is the pulse of Cartagena, but the Centro inside the old walled city is the heart. Its beautifully restored colonial buildings with wooden balconies overlooking the cobbled streets lined with designer boutiques, plush restaurants and peaceful plaza's (squares) make for a blissful Sunday stroll. We did manage to find a restaurant where we had our first real local food which was a set menu of soup, very sweet flavoured water and a main of rice, noodles, plantain (like banana but not as sweet), salad and carne (meat). Not bad for US$3 each, especially in the Centro.We walked and walked, took photos, enjoyed mojitos along the way and finished up with a few sundowner drinks next to Cafe Del Mar, which is actually on top of the perimeter wall overlooking the ocean. You can buy cheap drinks from the street vendors and listen to the chilled vibes from CDM without paying stupid prices. Fully fledged backpackers now.

Monday was spent researching and planning finished off with one last dinner with a few of the crew from the boat. Tuesday morning we were up and out of there and on our way up to Santa Marta. LOVED Cartagena, suitable start to our South American leg!