Lifestyles of the hot and bothered in Cartagena

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Good thing that I like heat, humidity, sun and beaches, because I am going to be in Cartagena for a while as I wait for my new credit cards to arrive. Paying cash is a whole new experience! Luckily I got paid and found the one bank that accepts my debit card. But I am not complaining as I have settled into a groove and am enjoying my new life a lot.

I have now been going to school for one week at Nueva Lengua , and I'm sorry to say that my Spanish skills are not making any progress from what I can tell. If I can just ask the locals to speak more slowly and then repeat everything twice I might be in with a chance. One of the great things about the school is the opportunity to meet others from around the world. In total there are about 12 - 15 at the school, and four in my class. Another NZer, an American, and a Swiss woman. My first class had a German, Swedish and an Italian woman. There are only two men in the school, and both much more advanced than me. You see lots of guys on the street who must be backpacking though - maybe they're not interested in learning the language? Or maybe it's mainly women because it's a safer option? Who knows. But the lack of men has meant no dance classes, which despite the heat I am keen to do.

My first week at school has been spent at the homestay, with Olga and her maid. I am fascinated by the whole maid situation. Everybody has one, but they don't seem to do very much. A cursory once over of the cleaning stuff and cooking, but there's a lot of time lounging about doing nothing. In fact our maid's cleaning does not seem at all superior to mine and that's not a compliment to the maid!

The local food is based around rice mainly, and lots of very starchy vegetable things that I don't know the name of. There is also a lot of deep frying going on. Not being a big fan of any of these, dinner for me is spent trying to make it look as if I've eaten more than I actually have. However it is good to get an opportunity to try some genuinely local and typical dishes. And the good thing is I now know I never need try them again! However usually after class a group of us go out to a nearby restaurant and the food is delicious, and cheap. For $6US you can get a set menu of soup and whatever is on offer that day, as well as a local beer or juice or whatever takes your fancy. Really good!

I needn't worry however if I ate everything and my clothes started getting too tight, as that is clearly the fashion here. It seems crazy in this heat, but tight tight tight jeans and leggings, on figures that may be considered a little beyond tight leggings by NZ standards, are very popular. I'll know when I've been here too long when I start thinking the clothes in the shops are looking good! That said however, there is some really great beach ware. Good thing the credit cards haven't shown up I suppose.

Speaking of credit cards, my frustrations with the credit card situation are still ongoing. First of all it is IMPOSSIBLE to make a collect call to NZ, so I haven't been able to speak to anyone at the bank to confirm that cards have been sent at all. So on Tuesday I sent the bank an email. I received an automatic response saying that I would hear from someone within 24 hours. I did indeed hear from someone the next day, who said that my query had been referred to a different team and that I would hear back within 48 hours. 48 hours came and went, but still nothing, and now it's the weekend in NZ. Finally I had the brain wave of putting some money on a Skype account and called the bank from my computer. The good news is that the cards have been made and couriered, but the bad news is that nobody can tell me about delivery and arrival times. This is my third call to the bank and I get a different story every time I call about the PINs, about delivery, which is also a little frustrating. Have I got some good feedback regarding customer service when I return to work .....

Anyhow back to the travel stuff - Cartagena de Indias, to give it its full name, is a truly beautiful city. It was originally built as an old fortress and the old city is surrounded my stonewalls, all beautifully preserved. There are lots of different barrios (neighbourhoods) within the old town ranging from upmarket to more working class (where our school is) which means that within five or ten minutes walk the price will quadruple. It is lovely to be able to wander aimlessly around the neighbourhoods as all are equally atmospheric, with coloured houses, exposed brickwork, bougainvillea and churches. It's incredibly charming, but a working city nonetheless, unlike Colonia which had the feeling of walking around a museum.

On every other corner you will see a man (usually) selling minutes on his cellphone as calling is really cheap. Walking up and down the streets are vendors selling water, fruit, other things which my Spanish isn't good enough to understand, and then there are multiple juice sellers as well, selling delicious fresh juice. The men are typically Latin American and walking to school I get told "muy linda" several times. I'm surprised there aren't more accidents on the road as the drivers' heads swivel backwards to admire passing women, and taxis will frequently stop to let you cross the road as they admire you a little longer.

Cartagena is surrounded by water, so after school on Wednesday I headed to one of the beaches with Maryann, a woman from school. Bocagrande is a very touristy beach, lots of high rises and lots of hawkers. Not particularly beautiful in that it isn't what you might think of as a Carribean beach, but nice all the same. The water wasn't much cooler than the air temperature, but with the sea breeze it was very refreshing nonetheless. There were masses of hawkers, but they weren't very problematic, and in truth could be extremely handy as they offered anything a girl could contemplate on the side of the beach: food of any description; massage; beer; cocktails; water; sarongs; sunglasses; jewelery; phone calls; fruit; ice cream...you name it. An opportunity to combine beach and shopping.

Yesterday afternoon I visited the modern art museum (although in truth this was only because I was hoping it was going to be air-conditioned, no such luck, although cleverly they had put air conditioning in the shop) which had some fantastic art in it. It was also housed in a really cool building, a former 17th century Royal customs house. Then I wandered through Santuario San Pedro, which is a church and former convent, where the New World's first ever saint, San Pedro de Claver, lived.

The good news about getting stuck in Cartagena is that there's plenty to see and do - so more adventures to report on in the next installment!

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Photos

Me and Jenna
In a great cafe in the expensive part of town. I told you my hair was bad. I've made changes!

Museum of modern art
I loved the building.

Inside the Santuario de San Pedro de Claver
The early bishops from Cartagena

Comments

[Lucy]

some like it hot!
I have to say that your tales of heat and humidity don't quite appeal to me. I'm a snow and ice girl myself. But the pictures look great and glad to hear the language school is going well. I sympathise with your credit card tales. I specifically asked them to ensure that my new card was put in the post, not sent by courier, as couriers cannot get into our building. No card has yet arrived, but quel surprise, a card from the courier company, to say that they have been unable to deliver some mail. I guarantee it's the credit card. Sigh!!

[Yvonne]

Super pics
So great to still have your blogs to enjoy. Cartagena sounds charming, and your photos give a great impression. I do feel for you over the credit card delays- I feel I have had parallel theft experiences in so many ways (though not the gun!) Haven't actually seen Lucy yet but it sounds as though she returned to a lot of action. Take good care xx

[anonymous]

Without being too obvious Rach - don't you work for a bank? Love Rach W