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Published: January 14th 2012
Arrival in Bogota
Lance is Welcomed to Columbia!Thursday 1-12-12
The first day of our trip really could not have gone better. All of flights were on time and we easily found each other in Ft. Lauderdale. We had time to walk in the central area along the beach. We had a nice lunch at a restaurant just off the beach. After returning to our hotel we both had no desire to go out to dinner. We ordered a pizza. It was really good. We went down to the hot tub which was about four times the size of a normal size and then called it a night. We had time for breakfast in the morning and then we were off to the airport.
Friday 1-13-12
The second day of our trip went as well as the first day. Flight from Ft. Lauderdale left on time and we arrived in Bogota, on time. We breezed through customs. In fact it went so fast we almost forgot to exchange our dollars for pesos (exchange rate in airport 1830 to 1). Went to the Lan airline gate and were able to change to an earlier flight. We arrived in Cartagena at 8 PM. I am really impressed with Lan Airlines.
Airport Bogota
Wow, very friendly people, no lines, and fast process. It took us about 20 minutes to clear customs. They are based in Chile and acquired Aires Airlines after I purchased the tickets. They are super friendly and very efficient. We had a few problems getting into our hotel (Hotel Casa Abril), however, we were in our room and ready to go by 8:40. We picked out a really cool restaurant (see pictures). After dinner we walked around the central area for a while and ended up in a nice bar. We listened to music for a while and walked in the city some more.
Cartagena is, as you would imagine, a well-preserved colonial town built on the Caribbean coast. As a result it is packed with shiny buildings, churches and plazas, and surrounded by walls and battlements. It appears to be pretty touristy - a major point of relaxation for Latin Americans.
I should say a little bit about Hotel Casa Abril. I am pretty easy going about hotels in Mexico and Central America. In fact I often stay in hotels that are $15 to $30 per night. So my expectations are not that high. I had read about Hotel Casa Abril. Most people spoke favorable, but gave two warnings: (1) rooms are small; and (2)
At the Gate to Cartagena
We cleared customs so fast that I went to the Lan Airlines counter and the delightful agent let us switch to an earlier flight. get a room in the back as the street can be noisy. When I booked I asked for a room upstairs or towards the back. I indicated that I did not want to be in the front. Well, we have the ONLY room that is directly on the street. I immediately asked to change, “sorry, no other rooms available, but if you stay an extra night we can move you.” Are you kidding? Well, it was beyond noisy. It was as if we were sleeping with our windows wide open. We heard everything. It was quiet from about 4 am to 6 am and then everything really kicked into gear. I woke and went to the desk and said we really need to change rooms today or we are changing hotels. Response, Ok, you can change but we will charge you for both nights. Ok, I guess we will stay but I asked not to be in this room. My Spanish is ok, but not at all good. I am dealing with people that speak almost no English. So the conversation is difficult. If a Latin American person thinks you are mad they just kind of shut down, so it
was difficult (I was not mad, but my weak Spanish skills makes it sound like I am). Also, be aware there is no hot water, but that is very normal in Columbia. Almost none of the low to mid-range hotel have hot water. I do not mind, in fact it is really pretty good because the water is tepid, not cold. But my brother Lance is very unhappy about this. He is boycotting the shower - I told him he was punishing me. All in all, it is a nice hotel, I am just dissapointed about our room location.
Day 3 a tour of the city.
It is funny, but most of the Americans I told about my trip would say “Colombia!” Immediately they would think of drugs, guerrilla warfare, kidnappings or crime. In truth, Colombia is beautiful and many places are just as safe to visit as other destinations that are in the USA. The city of Cartagena is amazingly SAFE. You cannot walk one block without running into a Police Office. I am told that 2000 police offices patrol the old part of the city. I am not surprised. It really is amazing how safe you feel.
Atahualpa -White Fish with a Garlic Sauce
The rice is cooked in a sweet coconut milk - really good. Served with Yucca plant. They are totally friendly and will give you directions or just talk.
Breakfast is included in the hotel. In the morning, the hotel offered us cereal and yogurt, Bread and jam, or tortillas and cheese. The cereal actually sounded good - until it came. The cereal was Coco Krispies. Uh, are you serious? Ok, I dumped my strawberry yogurt on my Coco Krispies and tried to eat them – no way was that happening. On the other hand, the coffee was excellent and they offered a bottomless pour – that would be a rarity in Mexico. We left to start our adventure and ended up at Plaza Las Bóveda. This was built as a jail sort of dungeon. There are 23 dungeons built between 1792 and 1796 in the city walls, which are more than 15m thick in this part. These dungeons were the last major construction carried out in colonial times. They were used by the Spaniards as storerooms for munitions. Now they are small stores selling crafts and the like. Pretty nice.
We then walked in the old city. Cartagena's old city is its principal attraction, particularly the inner walled town, consisting of the historical districts
of El Centro and San Diego. The colonial architecture is amazing, packed with churches, monasteries, plazas, palaces and mansions. The buildings in every street have overhanging balconies and shady patios. The ENTIRE old town is surrounded by the thick walls built to protect it against enemies. Construction began towards the end of the 16th century, and took almost two centuries to complete due to repeated damage from pirate attacks. The city is full of shops selling many things, but the favorite is emeralds. Jewelry stores abound. By 11 a.m. we were hungry and thirsty. The Coco Krispies did not do the job. Plaze Santa Domingo, is full of restaurants all waving menus wanting you to eat. We had decided that we wanted a full plate of fruit and juice to drink. The restaurants wanted $10 US dollars for a plate of fruit. Then we saw the lady in a colorful dress (White, red, blue, yellow – you will see them in most of the parks in the city) with a huge bowl of fruit. She wanted only $3 for a large plate of fruit. She let us pick the fruit (I chose mango, pineapple, melon, orange, and some purple fruit)
and then she cut it up in front of us while wearing a plastic glove. I told her in Spanish, we really wanted to sit at one of the tables with an umbrella. One of the people from a nearby restaurant heard me and invited us to use her table if we would just buy a drink. Perfect! We both bought jugo de naranaja natural (fresh squeezed orange juice). It was wonderful!
We walked a bit more and returned to the room. After a brief rest (30 minutes) we were off to a convent, above Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas. The Convento de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, was founded by the Augustine’s in 1607. This place is amazing. On a 150m-high hill, the highest point in the city. The view of the city is outrageous.
We left and asked our cab driver to take us somewhere with music. It was almost 4 p.m. and it was time for a Columbian beer and music! Ok, this story is funny. He took us to a very small square, perhaps 30’ x 40’ with about 30 chairs and crammed in the area. The music was from a music box.
Cartagena
Just outside the wall of the city - Soccer field and ocean in background Really? Not what we were expecting. We decide to move on. We had no idea where we were. We walk aimlessly for about 20 minutes wondering where we might find our hotel. We see a small restaurant with a sign that indicates “Sangria $50,000”. That is about $2.50 US. We stop. We have a sangria and started wandering again. Finally, I see a street I remember and it gets us back to the hotel. We both send e-mails and rest. We leave for the night, after one block we turn right and I can plainly see the 30' x 40' square with the music box still barking out Columbian music. Damn, we aimlessly search for an hour for our hotel when we were only 1 and half blocks away………….
We walk to the Getsemani area. Without a doubt, the happening street is Calle Tripita y Media. Start the walk at Avenida Daniel Lemaitre. This place is full of hotels, hostels, and restaurants. Clearly, the main hang-out for the adventure traveling group. We find a place very near the Gato Negro (across the street) that serves awesome Comida Corriente (a set menu at a very cheap price). I had Juice,
Potato Soup, grilled beef, rice, salad and french fries for $3.50. Lance had the same except grilled chicken. Both were wonderful . We then walked to Calle Arsenal and watched football and drank a few beers. All-in-all a wonderful day.
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