Holiday in Colombia (9): Medellin to Cartagena
Essentially today (Monday) was another travelling day as we transferred from Medellin to Cartagena. The day started very early with an alarm at 5.15 am and departure from our hotel at 7 am. It was only a 45 minute flight from Medellin to Cartagena where we were met by our third guide of the trip, a black Colombian called Julio.
As we have travelled from one location to another in Colombia, the weather has become warmer and then hotter and Cartagena, which is on the Caribbean coast, was 30C (86F) with a humidity of around 80% (it is the rainy season here).
It was only a short drive to our fifth hotel of the trip, a place in the old town inside the city walls. Hotel Kartaxa only has 26 rooms and a good deal of atmosphere with rooms and communal areas designed by local artists and a roof terrace with views of the city and the sea.
Once our guide was sure that we were booked into the hotel, we were left for the day. After unpacking, Silva and I had first little look around the old town which is a UNESCO world heritage site and had a pleasant lunch in a seafood establishment called “La Cevicheria” before returning to to the hotel to escape the heat and have a rest.
Silvia and I started the evening by walking to the western end of the old city where the “Cafe del Mar” has a huge terrace overlooking the sea where people go to have cocktails and watch the sun set. In fact, this evening cloud obscured the sunset, but at least we enjoyed our mojitos and people watching. Afterwards we found a quiet restaurant – we were the only customers – called “Anacarcos” where we had a good meal (the coffee was especially delicious).
Everywhere and everybody in the old town – every hotel, every shop, every hawker, every entertainer – is focused on the tourist and the evening is as bustling as the day, but the area is large enough and old enough to retain its colonial charm in spite of all this commercialism.