Cartagena - Between History, Modernity and Alcohol

After five days on San Andrés, we fly to Cartagena, a large port city on the Caribbean coast. We arrive in the late afternoon and stay in the same hostel as the kobold (Marcus). On the way there, both Max and I have a good feeling about this city. We drive past the old city wall dating back to colonial times. When we arrive at the hostel, we join a colorful group of backpackers from all over the world, whom Maggi had already met the night before. We head to a restaurant that seems to be located on one of the towers of the old city wall. Here we have a cozy beer while enjoying the sunset, which we can observe from here. The sun sets behind the skyscrapers of Cartagena in the sea. We have an amazing view of the large Castelliano (fortress), the skyline, and the beautiful old town of Cartagena. That evening, we decide to join a tour to Playa Blanca, a highly recommended beach near Cartagena. As planned, the next day we leave at eight in the morning by minibus. After about an hour's drive, we reach Playa Blanca. As feared, this beach is very touristy. Hundreds of wooden huts line up one after another, and there are maybe only two meters of beach left between the sea and the front of the houses. The rest is built up. As soon as we get off the bus, we are surrounded by hundreds of persistent vendors who want to sell us all sorts of things. Even when we walk, trying to get as far away as possible from the touristy part of the beach, they ignore our "no" and continue to follow us. After about 20 minutes of walking, we reach a small spot among the endless beach huts where we sit down with the group. For the first two hours, we are still bombarded by countless vendors, who even don't hesitate to wake us up. After two hours, most of them seem to understand that there's not much to gain from us, and some peace finally settles in. The built-up frustrations slowly fade away, and we can finally enjoy the beautiful beach and the crystal-clear turquoise water, if only it wasn't so crowded. At 3 p.m., after a nice day at the beach, we take the bus back to the hostel. When we arrive there, a power nap is necessary. At the beach, we met Chip, an American, and Rhys, a dangerously-looking but very kind Australian. Both of them have given up everything, even selling their house, to travel. Respect! In the evening, we sit together with our newly made friends and have interesting conversations and stories. The next day, I separate from Max as I go diving with the Herzog (Marcus). You can find Max's day at the end of the text. After about an hour's boat ride, we reach Isla Rossario, where we are equipped. There's no wetsuit here, so for the first time in my life, I get to dive in 30°C warm turquoise water wearing only swimming trunks. The first dive takes place in the south of the island. Unfortunately, the water is still a bit disturbed by Hurricane Matthew, but we still see some beautiful corals and a few scattered parrotfish, as well as huge lobsters! After a short break, we go directly to the second dive site in the north of the island. The visibility is much better here, and we dive deep into the Caribbean again. Here, a spectacle of different corals unfolds. Huge round coral towers rise more than two meters out of the reef, and there are many colorful fish to see. In the end, I discover a large pufferfish under a cliff, and our guide finds a well-camouflaged frogfish. Despite the bait laid out, unfortunately, we couldn't see any sharks. In the evening, we meet Max again, and the kobold leaves us towards Santa Marta. In the evening, we unpack the jungle schnapps and drink several beers with Chip and Rhys. We use the next day to relax and pack, because in the evening we are already going to Santa Marta. The next morning, we take a leisurely tour through the beautiful old town of Cartagena, and at the recommendation of Max, I also visit the large Castelliano, which he treated himself to the day before. This fortress is huge and has catacombs. You can really get lost inside and quickly lose your orientation, which must have frustrated attackers in the past. Afterwards, the day is spent chilling in the hostel before taking the bus to Santa Marta at 5 p.m. It takes us five hours to reach Santa Marta. Cartagena was a beautiful city with an amazing atmosphere and a great mix of old and new. We felt very comfortable here. The streets were full in the evening, there is great food, and everyone sits together, drinks, talks, and laughs. The only thing that can make you exhausted (especially with a hangover) is the humid and brutal heat!

Max's private day in Cartagena:

After Marcus and Marius started their diving tour, I started my day with a hearty breakfast, two pancakes with nothing on them, and then took a walk along the city wall of the old town of Cartagena. Wonderful, restored, colorful colonial houses, well-kept market squares with lots of art and statues, as well as narrow alleys that were characteristic of the old town, opened up to me. The city wall is mostly walkable, and I spent most of the time on it, between old cast-iron cannons that presumably served for defense at the time. After a good two hours of walking and a complete circle around the wall, I decided to escape the midday heat and went back to the hostel. There, I took a two-hour siesta before I started writing about my recent experiences. Around 3 p.m., after finishing my "work," I went on one last march to the fortress/Castelliano of the city, which was located on a mountain a bit further inland. An impressive edifice that had numerous weapons, platforms, and tunnel systems. The tunnel systems even extended beyond the fortress walls into the front lines, where explosive devices were positioned to inflict significant damage on the attacking enemy. A clever technique that made the fortress almost impregnable at the time. On the platforms, you had a wonderful 360° panoramic view of the entire old town, the new town with its countless skyscrapers, and the surrounding countryside with countless transmission and reception towers. After exploring the fortress, I went back to the hostel, or rather to the laundromat to pick up my laundry, which I had dropped off in the morning before exploring the old town. The laundry service here is really fast and cheap! I highly recommend it to everyone! After arriving at the hostel, I was even able to quickly pick up my two divers as well.

Now we deserve a relaxing day in Santa Marta, which we spend in our hostel, an old drug lord's estate, by the pool and on the numerous terraces with a view.

See you soon, Max and Marius