Ahh Cartagena.. beautiful Cartagena! Easily one of the most prettiest cities I've ever visited. I felt so at ease here, a totally laid back way of life lends itself to you. Aimless walks were a joy, such is the pleasant nature of the surroundings, with a tropical climate to match.
The city port on the Caribbean Coast would be my final stop in Colombia, where I'd spend three days at the Be Lounge Boutique Hostel.
Located by the sea, the "Old Town" is surrounded by a wall, armed with cannons, its defence against pirate attacks once upon a time. Viewpoints along the wall look over the pond to a skyline filled with high rises - the "New Town", a stark contrast to its older brother.
Despite my love for modern day cities, I was completely content with spending all my time in the Old Town. If I could describe it in a nutshell, it would be this.. picture the scene - sat outside a cafe in one of the many squares, your high fashion shopping bags tucked under the table as you sip your coffee (or beer), a beautiful restaurant is nestled within a leafy courtyard across the way which you're considering for dinner, a horse and carriage passes by along the cobblestone streets while you're admiring the colourful colonial buildings in the background. Is this really Colombia? This could be Paris, Rome, Seville.. but it's not.
I'd planned on getting myself an early night when I arrived from Minca on Sunday evening. But following the check-in at my hostel, I met a woman called Annabelle from Manchester, who invited me out with a few others. It was no big sesh or anything but it was nice to be around a friendly familiar voice while I got my bearings of Cartagena.
Monday started off as an aimless walking day, then turned into the opposite, as I jumped on another one of these free walking tours. It was cool though, so much beauty in one place.. made even better that I bumped into three familiar faces. Fran, who I had a wicked time with on the Machu Picchu Jungle Trek, was one of them. Andrew and Iwan, from the UK were the other two, who I met a few months previously on the Geysers Tour in San Pedro, Chile. Was great to see all three of them. Did we listen to the tour guide? Not really. Did we catch up on what we'd all been up to? Of course.
After watching the sun go down over the Caribbean Sea while perched on the Old Town wall, we headed for a drink or two in Getsemani, an up-and-coming neighbourhood just outside the city walls.
I had to cut short my evening though, so I said "goodbye" to the guys. I needed to head back to the hostel to arrange my next move, which could prove pivotal in how my next month would pan out.
A key date I had to keep in mind was the 15th July, when I have a flight booked from Mexico City to Las Vegas.
I was torn between two options. A 4-day sailing trip from Cartagena to Panama, via the tropical San Blas Islands (which I'd never heard of prior to this trip), but would mean my trip from there on would be come very "bitty" by having to move quickly through Central America.
Or.. a flight straight to Mexico (which wasn't in my plans either), and have the opportunity to travel properly around one single country, spending some quality time there.
After a few days of deliberation, the latter prevailed! As much as tropical islands do have a massive appeal, I am travelling, and have an urge to explore new places and cultures. I mean, once you've seen one tropical island you've seen them all, right? That was my reasoning anyway.. tell me I'm right!However, having to pay a premium for booking a last-minute flight sure did suck, but hey, I was heading to Mexico in 2 days time!
More aimlessness followed on Tuesday.. sourcing out a phenomenal "panaderia" was a great idea, supposedly the best bakery in town. The variety of brownies on offer was just too goooood to resist, and they were sensational!
A realisation dawned on me half-way through the day.. this would be my last day in South America after a little over 4 months here. Man, has it passed by quickly!
What better way to spend my remaining day by walking down the stairs of my hostel and bumping into the two people I've spent most of my time in Colombia with.. it was only Matt and Danielle again! Happy days :)
We had a catch up over some pizza at a laundrette.. yep, a laundrette, where you can tuck into some grub while you wait for your dirty smalls to be cleaned.. except we just went for the food! Ha. A couple of cocktails in Getsemani rounded off the evening, and an overall brilliant time I had with these two throughout my travels in Colombia.
After a sad farewell to Matt and Danielle, it was time to get myself to the airport for my flight to Mexico.
Having randomly bumped into various people on numerous occasions over the past three weeks in Colombia, there was always going to be one last incident. It was Fran again this time, at the airport.. but more amusing was the fact that she was supposed to be flying home the previous day, or that's what she thought! She had got the dates wrong, it was today instead!! Doh!!
The look on her face when she saw me was priceless.. "DON'T GRAHAM!" she exclaimed, as I was literally wetting myself! Very funny.. and it was nice to say goodbye to her.. again! Ha
Almost time for my flight to Cancún!
Caio Caio Colombia, it's been awesome!
Caio Caio South America.. ditto!
Arribaaaaaa xx