Cartagena (Colombia Part I)

There are some places in the world that you see and they immediately take your breath away. That is how I chose this destination.  Google Images.

Colorful buildings, colonial architecture, inviting as can be.

Fast forward a few months and here I am in Cartagena, Colombia. The beauty is stunning and the atmosphere pulsating. Plaza Bolivar: nightly performances by local dance groups from traditional to high energy dancing. Pull up a chair, find a spot on the bench and take it all in. Nearby a woman is blowing gigantic bubbles and kids around her try to do the very thing every kid in the world wants to do with a bubble: pop it.  An ice cream man is having a little kid chase him as he pretends to run away.  A few streets over, groups of break dancers set up shop to show off their movies. Music coming out of every doorway and alley. Cartagena moves. Cartagena lives.  Cartagena dances!

I didn't plan much for this trip but somewhere I had read that Getsemani is a good place to stay. The name is different enough that I remembered it and booked an Airbnb here. It used to be a seedy part of town but recently the buildings have cleaned up yet the characters stayed the same.  As Mario (husband of my host guru, Anya) and I have a beer at his bar he introduces me to every person who walks by. On my third day here, I am recognizing people as I walk up and down the streets. It's that kind of place.

The heat and humidity is unbearable and the only consolation is seeing that the locals are dying too.  As the night falls and the temperature becomes more suitable for human beings, the true city emerges.

Plaza de la Trinidad in Getsemani is where kids play soccer during the day (uniforms and all) and where adults and families gather in the evening. Zumba class was in full force last night and I showed great restraint by not crashing it. It was also 2x1 cocktail at the plaza and having a mojito in each hand may have aided me in staying put on my bench. 

This morning Street Art tour was canceled so I found myself having breakfast with Anya and Brendan, a 29yo dude from Long Island. Jewish, of course.  The three of us were shooting the shit with travel stories galore and somehow two and a half hours went by. It's amazing how fast time flies when you talk about the things you love.  Adventuredaze.com is Brendon's up and coming website and considering its focus is food and travel he may have just gotten himself a new follower.   

Yesterday, while visiting Castillo de San Felipe and the Monasterio de la Popa (I hope some Russian is reading this) I spent my day with two older Chilean ladies who were on their girl weekend getaway. Mere moments after starting up a convo with them, I was in all of their pictures. Soon after, one was complaining that the other was too damn old to walk up the stairs. Oh to have traveling friends like that when I'm old!

Traveling is only as good as the people you meet. You can be in the most beautiful place but if you can't share it with someone then it's not worth it. Sometimes that someone is with you for life, sometimes it's a person you'll never see again but the conversations you have along the way is what it's all about. 

There is so much to do in Cartagena but I'm saving it all for my special delivery that is on its way via Panama as we speak.  I'm just taking today and tomorrow as a local, bumming around town and getting my nails done with Anya. Tomorrow her and I are going to a tasting competition of the best bars in the city. I get to taste and I get to vote. I am a solid candidate for the task. In the meantime, it's dinner time.