Good morning, Cartagena! Today we decided to take it more leisurely and not put a set time on our departure from the apartment. Our main plan is to check out the Getsemani neighborhood, which is famous for all of its street art, and to revisit some places in the walled city we didn’t get to yesterday.
Getsemani was a funky, colorful little place. We got dropped off at the far end of it, and we just started walking and exploring the side streets covered in murals. There were a few streets that were decorated with flags, umbrellas, and even kites! We had fun taking pictures and getting in each other’s way when framing the perfect shot haha.
We even got a nice view of the castle, but we decided to focus our energies on what was right in front of us for now. Maybe later we’ll be up for a castle visit. After getting our fill of Getsemani, we walked back towards the walled city to finish what we started yesterday. We had another mission to find the perfect shot of the cathedral from a rooftop. This was inspired by a photograph in our apartment that Hayden fell in love with. He wanted to have his very own picture of the same angle, requiring a rooftop photo-op. We went to one that had great reviews, but they didn’t open until noon. It was only 10am hehe. Now what?
Smoothie time! Hayden finds the second best smoothie place in the city, as the first best was temporarily closed, and we were on our way! We get there, and this place looks fabulous! But, the woman behind the counter told us all they had were prepared eparfaits, no smoothies. Bummer! We all agree we really want a smoothie, so we duck out of there and find another option. All the way back across town haha. We make our way back, still soaking in all the colors and flowery balconies that we’re passing. Hayden and I are trigger happy with the photos, and Dana begs Hayden not to take any more pictures, as she’s the one who has to go through them and delete and edit them later.
We get to the new smoothie place, and we’re in luck! They do have smoothies, and a whole bunch of different ones! We each order and have a seat, grateful to be sheltered from the sun and drinking a refreshing fruit cocktail. We created a game plan for the rest of the afternoon, which included walking along the wall and passing by the Gabriel Garcia Marquez house, and “las bovedas,” which used to be dungeons, but are now souvenir shops. I was especially interested to see the house because I read one GGM’s books, Love in the Time of Cholera, in Spanish, with two of my best friends. We started a little book club during covid, and we would read a chapter or so at a time and talk about it. The Spanish was difficult for me to understand at times, and the genre being magical realism sometimes threw me for a loop, hehe. But I loved the challenge of reading such an iconic Spanish Literature piece, and I hope to tackle more in the future.
The house came up quickly, and I took a good look at it from the wall, but it didn’t look like something I wanted or needed to get closer to. Maybe I would’ve taken a tour or paid an entry fee, if such a thing existed, but I didn’t feel the draw as much as I thought I would’ve. Maybe it was the pounding heat getting to me, hehe. So we continued on towards “las bovedas.”
We arrive there, and we spot our dreaded enemy: the cruise ship busses. Oh no. This place is packed like sardines! But, it’s a neat building, and Dana requires a Colombia patch. We muster what little strength and gumption we have left and begin our search. The first store we went to, we found a super cool and unique patch! Hooray! But, Hayden suggests we look at some other stores before deciding on which patch to buy. Dana is up to going to 3 more shops, but by the time we were leaving the 3rd shop, we were committed, lol. We walked the whole length and went inside nearly every souvenir shop that looked like it might have a patch. At the end, we all felt that the first patch was THE patch.
So back we go! Thanks to Dana and Hayden, I’ve now learned that when purchasing a patch, it’s always good to double check the spelling of the country, and to check the quality. So we sift through all the patches, but as it turns out, the first patch on the pile, in the first store we went in, was THE patch. Sweet! Totally meant to be. I also found an adorable little coin purse I had been keeping my out for since Guatemala. I guess I was meant to find one here :). Hayden also scored a little treat. Earlier in the day, I bought some typical sweets, and was given a 1.000 peso coin in change. It was soooooo neat! Hayden and I both like to collect currency, so he saw it and needed to have one too. So when Dana bought her patch, she received 2-500 peso coins, and Hayden asked her to see if they could exchange it for a 1000 coin. She lovingly told him to ask, and because I would want one if the roles were reversed, I went and asked on Hayden’s behalf. Score! One of the women working there had one right in her pocket :). So a trade was made, and a happy camper was born. Your welcome, Hayden!
We’re about to head back to the apartment, but after a quick check-in with everyone, we realize Hayden is still hankering for that perfect rooftop shot of the cathedral. Awesome! Let’s do this. So we go back to the first rooftop bar, since they’re now open, and climb up an incalculable amount of stairs. We get to the top, out of breath and begin checking out the view. Well, it IS nice, of the clock tower, but the cathedral is barely peeking around another big building between us and the church. Haha. Womp Womp. Back to the drawing board.
I ask one of the servers where we can find a rooftop that would have the view we’re looking for, and she gives me a name. Excellent! Off we go! We get there, I check to make sure they have a rooftop restaurant, and they say yes, but they don’t open it until 4pm! Haha what? It’s 1pm and we’re about as dead as can be, and most definitely won’t be making it until 4. Dang! I guess that perfect shot was not destined for us.
So we walked back across town. Again. At this point, we feel we’ve covered each street at least a couple of times, haha. We grab some supplies at our favorite grocery store that looks like a target, complete with clothes, electronics, and groceries. We buy a baguette, mozzarella cheese slices, and a few other things. We’re making chicken parm, a la backpacker style! Hayden cooked some frozen chicken nuggets, and then cut the baguette into 3 sections, divided the cheese amongst the thirds, and then we added the nuggets into the sandwiches. And we had leftover ketchup from last night’s chicken nugget dinner, so we added that as our marinara sauce. Buen Provecho! Haha And welcome to a full-time traveler’s budget lifestyle! Hehe
After dinner, we showered and did a final load of laundry. This apartment has been amazing. Hot water, working washer and dryer, and just a really nice, clean, modern feel to it. It will be missed.
Tomorrow we’re off on another jet plane to Medellin! Chau!
Taking Off With Amelia 