Holy cow! Have I mentioned how HOT Cartagena is?! I had spent the last couple of weeks keeping an eye on the temperatures in Cartagena, since I knew I was going back. At one point, it had reached an impossible 45 °C/113 °F. I asked a taxi driver if there was a cooler time to visit the city and he laughed and said that the temps remained the same all year round, the only difference between winter (or six month rainy season) and summer (dry season) is the rain and resulting humidity. Thus, their "winter" is actually hotter than their "summer"!
I flew into Cartagena pretty early in the evening. I checked into the Makako Chill Out Hostel, and made a reservation for a trip out to Playa Blanca early the next day.
The next morning, I took a boat from Cartagena to Isla de Baru. I made a friend from Australia on board and we ended up renting a little tent/beach chair combo to protect us from the sun. Most of the people on the boat were continuing on to Islas del Rosario, so the beach was pretty empty that morning. Playa Blanca is magnificent, with white sands and clear warm water. Since there were so few tourists on the beach, we kept getting approached by people who wanted to sell us pretty jewelry made of shells, colorful wraps, stone carved animals, all sorts of food, drinks, ect. I usually feel uncomfortable bartering because I feel like I am taking advantage of people who need the money, but because I didn't bring much money with me that day, I had fun bartering for a mini massage.
Around noon, we had a fresh fried fish with patacones, coconut rice, and a limonada. Delicious! A few hours later we headed back to Cartagena. Our boat was pretty fast and the waves were a bit rough. Every once in a while we would hit a wave and fly up about four meters into the air before crashing back down. I think our captain may have hit a few on purpose because the crew enjoyed hearing us scream :)
Later that evening I went back to Plaza de Santo Domingo to see the dance troupes perform again. After that, I met up with a few people for dinner at restaurant called Juan del Mar, and one last drink at a little bar next to the hostel.
Playa Blanca
I never really left the water, it was just perfect!
Cecilia
It was a bit more crowded in the afternoon.
Back to Cartagena.
Walking through the town one last time.
I also had the opportunity to see the folkloric dancers again.
Consider me a member!
What an amazing month. I met so many interesting people and had the opportunity to get reacquainted with family after so many years. I managed to see some of the remote corners of a beautiful country, and I didn't even make it to the plains or the amazon, Medellin, or Cali. I feel like I just scratched the surface. I hope to come back soon.
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