Cartagena Colombia

Cathedral and a nice couple that I had a long conversation with.

As I lay here naked in my cell. I am contemplating many things. First off, the dark hue of my urine. The heat has sucked me dry. My Hinterland Amber colored pee this morning was an indication on water intake. Check. Try to hydrate. What I don't understand is, as I question my 2 and half days in the city with limited water, the locals seem to wake up, drink coffee, work, lunch, drink coca cola, work, dinner, beer, sleep.  Am I missing something?  

Yesterday, I switched hostels from the hip euro place to a more local, single bedroom with bathroom. Very nice choice. A few times yesterday I witnessed a power outage at my hostel. Not thinking much of it I left for a walk. On my return I see 4 men, must have been from the power company.  2 of them are looking up the pole at a transformer the other 2 have very long sticks. The long sticked men are trying to hook something back up but only seem to hit the transformer over and over.

After a few days of wondering the city with my camera I find myself sitting and soaking more then shooting.  I seem to enjoy taking it all in more then being a spectator and shooting every second.

 Streets of Cartagena

Man writing

Old fortress wall

I have noticed many similarity to other places I have travel. It feels much like Antigua Guatemala and Panama City's Casco Veijo.  A mix of the beautiful old city and the new.  There is also a strange romantic quality to the city which feels very much like Venice.  The flooded streets today probably helped that today. All in all a beautiful city.

Tomorrow I hope to go Northeast and get into a cooler climate, maybe climb into the Andes.

More soon...

Sweaty

So as many of you know I am to say the least, Thrifty. I get most of my clothes at thrift store, make things I should just buy and use stuff way past the point of broken. With that said I was on the interwebs less then a month ago and came across a ticket to Colombia for $232, without much thinking Capital One made the purchase.

As I drive through the snowfall down to Chicago I realize I really have no idea what I am going to do down there.  All I know is that 3 out of 5 Americans are kidnapped, 4 out 7 are robbed, 6 out 13 are sold into sex slavery and 8 out 11 are used as anal drug mules.  Well I am hopeful that I don't get robbed.  These stats might be a little off. Alright, back to the story. I reach the airport at 3:30 am and play the waiting game.  After a bit of time I am sitting in the plane listening to the King Hippo(Punchout) sound coming from the landing gear.  Away I go.....

I land in Cartagena, a beautifully old colonial city with canons still mounted on the walls. Everywhere I read, Cartagena was described as very hot and humid. Coming from the snow I thought that sounds nice, but it is hot really F-in hot. With sweat pouring down every part of my body I reach my hostel only to realize its hotter inside. A glass of lemonade and a kiss from the penguin shaped laundry lady makes it tolerable. Quick sticky nap.(Odd use of words after the last sentence)  A walk around the city shows the beauty of the people and urban landscape. With a country that as been through so much in recent history it seems to have gotten past it. After a bite to eat, an Aguila(beer), hammock time, and some water, I sleep.

When I awake I feel around 87 years old.  The bed or piece of foam did a poor job of comforting me last night. Back to hammock, kiss from penguin lady and cafe negro.  As with most countries that grow great coffee, the beans that stay in the country are not great. Tomorrow I find a good cup, I hope. Breakfast at Cafe Gate Negro was alright.  On the way back I stop in a hotel to check prices and bed comfort.  Hostel change has been made. I have come to conclude that I no longer enjoy the dorms and Europeans. Well at least the ones I encounter in hostels.  :)   Anyhow, I now have a single room with shower, Life is Good.  Heading out on a photo adventure.  Stay Tuned for to come...