Cartagena de Indias – Journey into the Time Tunnel

Factsheet 4×1

Date: 09/08/2012 the 18/08/2012

Saímos of: Santa Marta – Colombia

Destination: Cartagena de Indias - Colombia

Distance: 254km

Travel time: 4h

Path: We left the Tayrona National Park towards Cartagena, passing by Santa Marta and Barranquilla.

Where to sleep: Hotel Marlin, movimentada located na Crescent Street, heart of the historic district of Gethsemane, staying where most backpackers seeking a cost-effective.

What eat different: PF-style soup with Colombian entry. Not that the plate is different, but the fact that everywhere we find this combination of a tasty chicken soup, with lemon squeezed, with the PF, we did elect her as the main face of our stay in Cartagena.

Tire cheio: The sympathy of the Colombian people and the beauty of the old city, or walled city. Walking the streets of the walled city can feel in another time, with houses all restored and conserved. That by the friendliness and openness of Colombians are the highlights of our stay in Cartagena.

Tire murcho: Run time and closed the ride to Playa Blanca. A Playa Blanca em if E sensational, but the day trip we did not worth the time it takes to transport Cartagena beach (near 5 hours). Moreover, had the “kind” we close the tour on a rainy day and closed time. If we go there in the next opportunity to do more days to enjoy the best ride.

Cartagena de Indias – Journey into the Time Tunnel

We left the Tayrona National Park, near Santa Marta, on the morning of 9 August toward Cartagena, passing by Barranquilla. Barranquilla is the city of Shakira, but not found there in our brief. So we asked some people on the streets where the singer was, but it seems they do not like her very much there! Or do not like us, turned to face all times.

We arrived in Cartagena in the early evening and went straight to the neighborhood of Gethsemane, where is located the most lodging cheaper (including hostels for young tourists) look for something with good value for money. After all, Cartagena would be that the embarcaríamos Tanajura and therefore not contaríamos with our tents to sleep Automotive. The city was full, but we managed to find a last minute spot in a hotel at Rua Media Luna. Exhausted after a day traveling (and the night before bad sleeping), eat something fast and now we sleep.

The next day (Friday, 10 August), we had to split to achieve fazer Tudo you wanted: two of us went to see the paperwork that would be required for the process of sending the Tana, while the other three were looking for a new hotel, given that the former would have no vacancy for the other days we stayed in Cartagena. Surprisingly, the process ran extremely well in the harbor, without delay or wasting time with unnecessary bureaucracy, contrary to what we expected based on reports from other travelers. Therewith, just the day fairly early and I went to the hotel where we spent the rest of the days in Cartagena: the Hotel Marlin, whose owner personally greeted us and was very excited about our project. The hotel was just down the street from each other when we were, we keep close to the old town center, which is surrounded by a great wall.

As we 9 Cartagena days, split time between there and know the area work on outstanding issues that had, how to plan details of the route to Alaska, write, upgrade the site and stuff. And also a little rest. We had been on a routine run to get to Cartagena, because we had a deadline to be in town, due to the sending of the car!

Well, speaking of sending the Tana, foi tudo tranquilo, as we had seen on the first day we were in port. We gave her a nice bath, Agenda survey of narcotics in the door and we said goodbye, with a heavy heart, our companion. At the appointed time to deliver to the company that would make transportation: now, just to see you again in Seattle - USA !

Without Tana to take us from one corner to another, we are located close to the attractions of the city was crucial. To complete, found a small, friendly family restaurant near the hotel called This is the point, serving dishes-made, entitled to input a soup and drink, for something equivalent to 7 real. Great value for money! We had lunch there almost every day we were in Cartagena.

Another restaurant we attend the pizzeria was quite the Ciudad Movil, a cultural center that offers photography workshops, juggling and Afins, and operates a pizzeria at night. A pizza was incrivelmente buoy!

As we near the walled city, or former center, Cartagena, also walk by there almost every day, enjoying the beautiful local architecture, restored, and the sea view from the top of the wall. A pity that the care we had to restore and maintain this historic center of Cartagena is not seen in many places outside of the wall. Walking a few blocks away you can see houses very similar to encontadas inside the wall, but very poorly conserved.

As we walked through the old city we felt like we were in another time, the richness of detail and perfection in the structures in the maintenance of buildings. Along with this, the happy people in the streets and abundance of colors in clothes and turn a simple walk through the site in an incredible journey back in time.

The Gold Museum, Cartagena, is located within the walled city and is quite interesting. It's not very big but is very rich in culture with valuable information. The structure and didactic impress.

We seek the very famous Colombian coffee, but it was not so easy to find. In many places we find coffee, but a normal coffee, halfway watery. We finally found something we can call real coffee at Juan Valdez, although not very suitable for a real experience to be like a Starbucks Colombian. Anyway, was better than the other samples that had: bodied coffee, express, quite flavorful!

We decided to take one of the days we had in Cartagena to go to Playa Blanca, a day trip by boat back and forth. The beach is amazing, clear blue water with white sand well, even on a cloudy day, makes the scene look like something movie. However, unfortunately this was one of the greatest of our stay stuck in Cartagena. O barco Saiu, delayed, às 8h40min, a trip 5 hours tied to Playa Blanca, 45min with a stop in an expensive aquarium on an island on the way, we decided not to go and hopefully by the beach. Several people who came out saying it was not worth the price they charged. We arrived at Playa Blanca just before two o'clock in the afternoon and went straight to lunch, which was included in the package. We ate quickly and went to make the most of the beach. It was two o'clock in the afternoon and at that time we were informed that we should go back to the boat at 15:30, to go to 16h. Would only 1h30min beach! That's it, take 5 hour ride to get less 2 Beach hours! Promptly, all already on the boat, we started to get to 16h to 18h in Cartagena. Conclusion: to get to the aquarium, we stopped on the way, we made a detour to go 1h 1h and more to return to route. A beauty! And the worst is that the tour is sold as if it were a day of Playa Blanca, with a "small" parade in aquarium. Holed total. The ideal would be closed under a package of more than a day in Playa Blanca, it can sleep wool. So even taking all this time of course it would have been more worthwhile. Well, As all worth it if the soul is not small, we are left with learning and with the beautiful scenery of the beach in memory.

Cartagena took the flight to Los Angeles, with stops in Bogotá and Miami. Although we were a long time in Cartagena and Santa Marta in a bit, there are still many things and places that we can not know in Colombia.

Do not know yet if we go through here on the way back, but surely the hospitable people of this country will be remembered with intensity in our Portraits of the Americas.

For more pictures of Cartagena, visit our Flickr here!