Backpacking South America

Have you ever read the book “Love in the Time of Cholera?” It is this amazing story written by the creative, artistic writer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, another brilliant Colombian. It is a story entwining, love, of course, and the deepness and sickness thereof. As a reader you’re made to believe of a hopeless romantic, but as an observer and an analysis of the story, you are drawn into the many facets of the story and their potential meaning. It is an extremely intriguing story to digest and supposedly many of the sights and inspiration came from Cartagena, Colombia.

I just knew, even before we arrived, that we were going to love Cartagena and I was not disappointed. With it’s cobblestoned streets, Colombian, African and Spanish infused heritage, rich and poor neighborhoods and a walled in city to bat, the history of this city runs deep. There are so many corners of this city that could be adapted to storytelling.

We spent the better part of one day exploring the inside of the old city. We climbed the walls and had a beautiful view of the ocean and Castillo San Felipe de Barajas. The streets are so photogenic with the old colonial buildings and beautiful floral vines crawling up and along the walls. Not to mention, the Food! If you are a foodie, this city is a must. The diversity and the talent cooking up in these kitchens deserve bragging rights. Unfortunately, for us, as budget travelers, we were not able to descend into all it has to offer. However, we did splurge and treat ourselves to an evening of foodie enjoyment at “Oh, La La!” and we were not disappointed.

The following day we headed out to Castillo San Felipe de Barajas and explored the ins and outs of the Fort sitting on the outskirts of Cartagena. Castillo San Felipe de Barajas is said to be the third largest Spanish fort in the Americas. It was constructed to protect the city of Cartagena from any attacks or invaders. It served to be successful several times over.

After several days of exploration, it was time to hit a beach. Everybody said Cartagena was hot, and they weren’t kidding. It’s extremely hot and humid. And in fact, it’s hotter in the winter because it lacks a coastal breeze. I can’t even imagine. So, we took a boat from Mercado Bazurto to Playa Blanca, supposedly one of the most beautiful beaches in Colombia. This stands to be a true statement.

We decided to take a local boat from Mercado Bazurto because it was supposed to be the fastest and easiest route. Unfortunately, it didn’t pose to be the most efficient route. After arriving at the market shortly after 7:30am, for an hour long boat ride, we didn’t end up leaving the disgustingly, dirty inlet until 3 hours later. We were under the impression that boats left relatively frequently between 7am and 9am.

So there we sat, on the boat, with one other lady, while the men loaded up the boat with food and goods for the other part of the “island.” We thought, fine, all boats leave at 9am. 9am came and went and people were still loading the boat. Finally, some time after 10am, the boat was determined to be sufficiently full and we could leave. From our assessment, no boats leave before 9am, and most actually leave around 10am.

With the boat fully loaded, we were thankful we didn’t sink. It was actually a speedy trip across the water. About 30 minutes later we arrived at our destination, found us a little tent and chairs and set up shop for the rest of the day.

We were told our boat would return to pick us up at 4:00PM. However, around 3:30PM we asked the owner of our tent where to catch the boat and he said that a tour boat off shore was the last boat leaving the island. We were not quite sure who to believe, our captain from the morning or the people on the beach, but we did not want to get stuck there for the evening, so we quickly grabbed our things and went with everyone else to hitch a ride back to Cartagena. There are just certain situations, where to pay a little more money, may guarantee a better result.

One final plug for Cartagena, and much of Colombia, is that it’s the Mecca for Emeralds. Some of the most notable places where emeralds are mined are in Colombia, Brazil and Africa. On just about every other corner of this town there is a shop selling emeralds. Perhaps that’s what makes this city sparkle so much.