Stopover in Cartagena

CLICK HERE: TODAY'S PHOTO ALBUM

No dinner last night, we were far too full from lunch. Stayed in and watched some more of Poldark. We managed to eat some of the hummus we bought yesterday for breakfast this morning. Didn't feel like trekking down to the restaurant. Good thing too, because, our old pal Henry showed up bright and early. The senora came down the hill to get us at 8:30. We scurried to get our stuff together. Tried to pay the tab and was told everything was taken care of -- ok -- works for me. Nice people. 

The three amigos were back on the road. This time for about a 5 hour drive. The  most tedious part was going through Barranquilla. The local streets were packed. We rode through the commerce section and then the upscale part of town. Construction is everywhere which didn't help the navigation.  We certainly got the city tour. Took us a while but once we made it out we were on our way. Of course, Henry didn't

know where the hotel was. That's now three for three. We are always searching for addresses. Luckily I was able to get on my phone gps. It was quite a hoot navigating him through the small streets of Cartagena -- not speaking Spanish did not help at all. Finally we arrived and we all had a good laugh at our antics.

This place is small, but lovely. Our room is huge and the a/c is welcomed after the jungle. Not sure what to expect on the island tomorrow.  I have booked us on the free city walking tour which starts at 4:30 -- we have about an hour. That should be interesting.  We come back here next week and maybe we will do the biking tour then -- not sure.

So the walking tour was a bust. We found our way to the clock tower and met the group. The toe tour woman was very nice except her partner was sick so she had to do the tour in both English and Spanish. This got to be very tedious and it was hard to follow what she was saying half of the time. To give her the benefit of the doubt we both were pretty tired from traveling all day. This free tour group is another women only organization -- there seems to be quite a lot of those in this country. We lasted till about the second plaza, gave her a generous tip, and said good-bye.  Think we'll stick to the biking tour when we return.

Making our way back to the hotel through the narrow streets of the city, we took our time meandering through the shops. Got back, rested, showered, and were off again. Asked for the ATM at the front desk. Got the map -- tackle that problem after dinner. First place we went was the restaurant next to the hotel. Sat down but the vibes were really strange, so we left and walked down the road to Oh-La-La, a French Bistro. Very comfortable, the music was great and the food was just fine -- and it wasn't fried for a change!  Had a nice meal and a good chat with the owner about some of the photos on the wall. 

Time to go to the ATM. We found a shopping/eating area that was very lively with people although all the shops were closed. We wondered around looking like lost sheep until this policeman came up to us and pointed to the ATM "Banco?" Geoff said "How could you tell?" The guy touched his head -- smart! We got the cash. On the way out we stopped and talked to the computer repair guys who were fixing their stuff half inside the shop half outside. Geoff was trying to explain to them about Linux!! Fun conversation. Said adios and realized that we were locked into this area -- they closed the gates. Again we looked like deer in the headlights -- the cop whistled and opened up the gate to let us out. 

Snuggled back in our air conditioning, we are gearing up for our next adventure. Buenos Noches.

Next time... Punta Faro