South for the Summer: Cartagena de Indias. Don't we all want to be pirates? I know I do.

From Medellin, I took a 630am plane back to Bogotá, and then took another flight to Cartagena. As soon as I stepped off the plane, the humidity and heat hit me like a brick. I was greeted at the airport by the youngest of the Polanco family, Gabi, who fortunately was able to hang out with me the entire four days I spent in Cartagena.

Cartagena is a huge city with many different districts. It was and still is the most important sea port and gateway into Colombia. Thick walls that were used to protect the city from invaders enclose the old colonial part of the city. The colonial part of Cartagena is really beautiful: coble stone streets, colonial architecture, tropical bright colors, and the ocean at a stone’s throw. It’s especially pretty at night when different colored lights illuminate the buildings and reflect off the water: the government really knew how to play it up for the tourists. The carribean/colonial atmosphere is so overtaking that all I wanted to do when I was there was dress up as a pirate and walk around looking for a ship to steal….

I was staying about a 15 minutes walk from the old town in a neighborhood called Manga-a mostly residential, with some huge apartment buildings overlooking the bay. Manga has a cute little boardwalk that lines the bay, which Gabi and I went out of our way to walk on several times a day because it offers just a small breeze that makes the heat almost bareable. It’s actually really pleasant at night, when the sun isn’t out, making you sweat through your clothes.

Despite the intense heat, I had a ton of fun in Cartagena. Fortunately, the first two days I was there it was overcast. It made for great walking around weather to explore the colonial old town. I also went to the beach in Bocagrande, the second day I was there, and managed to get a tan even though it was overcast (a testament to just how strong the sun is when you’re that close to the equator!) Bocagrande is a peninsula that jets right out into the Caribbean. It lined with beaches and touristy hotels and restaurants. The beaches aren’t super nice (bathwater temperature water, hagglers, and gray sand), but its fun, and there’s a bar every 100 meters, with waiters more than willing to serve you underneath your rented canopy. (MJ-It’s totally like Kuta beach in Bali).

The next day, we headed to Isla de la Pirata in the archipelago of Islas del Rosario, just off the coast from Cartagena. Basically we paid for a round trip boat ticket to and from the island in order to hang out for the day, with lunch included. Now this was the Caribbean I was expecting: beautiful clear blue waters, intense sun, snorkeling, and white sand. It was awesome, and the lunch was unbelievable: an entire fried fish served with the most amazing rice I have ever had, “arroz titote.” Overall, it was an amazing day, despite arriving home, and realizing that I had gotten sunburned all over my body (I had really greasy sunscreen, that never absorbed and slid right off when I got in the water….so much for being SPF 80 and waterproof!)

My last day in Cartagena, Gabi and I met up with my friend, Devorah, who had just flown in from Bogota, and we went back to beach in Bocagrande. That night, we all partook in the classic Cartagena tourist activity: we took a Chiva. A chiva is an open-air party bus that comes equipped with a live band, a humorous guide, and bottles of rum for every group of four people. We rode around in the Chiva to different historical sites, and then ended up at a discothèque for some Rumba. I was kind of expecting the Chiva to last longer, but nevertheless, it was a great time.

Colonial old town

View of colonial old town with Bocagrande in the background

Protective walls that surround the city

Don't you wanna be a pirate now?

She made me an awesome fruit salad (and used sanitary gloves to handle the fruit!)

View of Bacogrande from Manga

Boardwalk in Manga

El Castilo de San Felipe-well worth the visit, great views of the city plus awesome dark, humid tunnels that you can walk through...kinda creepy, but totally cool