Cartegena and around
21.3.10
Click here for the photos
From Barranquilla we rode our bikes the 120+km to Cartegena. Fast and hot with a strong tail wind gave us an average speed of over 21km/h. We were schmokin'. The scenery was dry with the odd marsh land. Not the palm trees and beaches we were expecting. Even on the edge of Cartegena, the beaches were not spectacular by any stretch.
Cartegena is one of the first cities of the Spanish New World dating back to 1532? Today it is a favourite stop for Caribbean Cruise ships, tourists and the majority of pan American cycle tourists, hopping there from Panama as there is no road joining Central and North America to South America.
With plenty of old forts to protect the Spanish from marauding Johnny Depp pirate look-alikes, beautiful colonial buildings, and nearby sites we ended up staying for many days.
There were many highlights to our stay.
There was the Cafe del Mar, a groovy nightclub up on the northern walls of the fort with views to the sea and the modern highrises of Bocagrande. Drinks were ridiculously expensive on our budget but the "discovery" of Micheladas was worth the investment. Rim the glass with salt, pour in about 60ml of Lime juice, add a lager of your choice - Club Colombia is best here. Sip, savour and enjoy! The music was great, the breeze was cool and there were lots of "beautiful" people to watch. I managed to capture a shot of the most gorgeous girl ever while we were there. Not perfectly in focus but gorgeous none the less.
Cafe del Mar in the evening and wandering the streets of old Cartegena by day. Old Town is certainly its most romantic in the night time but by day many of the streets illustrate the care and time invested to make Cartegena a must see for any trip to Colombia.
The nearby Mud Volcano De Lodo El Totumo was .... unusual. After Cotopaxi, this must be one of the smallest volcanoes on the planet at 23m high. Instead of ash and molten lava the nearby lake and ground water has mixed with the ash to form a mud bath in the cone. Tourists climb the cone, drop into the mud, attempt to avoid massage, float, try to sink (impossible), get photos, carrouse, climb out, get washed off in the lake and head off.
We took a tour there - it was easy - but probably recommend going it alone by bus so that you can relax for longer in the natural day spa of Totumo. Brilliant!
Anita wanted to come to the coast to see the beach and the best beach nearby is La Playa Blanca - The White Beach. A taxi to Pasacaballo for 20,000 COPs, a 5 minute ferry ride for 1000COPs each and then a mototaxi for 10,000 COPs. It was a fast and relatively economical way of getting there. Less than 1.5 hours but it took some courage on the mototaxi on the dirt road.
Playa Blanca was pretty amazing. Idyllic with turquoise waters, smooth white sand, and palm trees hanging right over the water.
We caught a boat back to Cartegena. 10,000 COPs each and 2+ hours. Nice way to do the loop and a bit cheaper than the inclusive boat tour as you have to pay a "port" tax on the outbound leg. And you get less time at Playa Blanca.
From Cartegena we caught a bus into the wind to Santa Marta. We thought to ride the Barranquilla to Santa Marta leg but Anita wasn't well, it was super hot and there was a head wind. Bring on the bus!
Stuart and Anita
Posted byStuart Kane at 10:36 AM
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