TNT Travels

Getting to Cartagena

The journey from Madrid to Cartegena

A few days before we were due to leave, we bid for an upgrade from economy to business class with Avianca. We got it! Continuing the theme of 1sts for El Tel, it was the first time he had flown business and I’d thought he would be a bit more excited …

We changed planes at Bogotá which was very straightforward. My new obsession is one of my leaving presents from work. The Apple AirTag which tracks your luggage. I was constantly refreshing the app to see where they were. It took a while to update so for 20 mins I was convinced our bags were still in Madrid! Thankfully they weren’t! 😊

The connecting flight to Cartegena was only an hour. Taxis are everywhere and for the bargain price of £6 we got to our Airbnb. It should have been £4 but we listened to the guy at the airport who told us we could pay by card and it turns out you can’t! Cue extra 2min drive up the road to cashpoint.

A City of 2 Tales

A bit like a sandwich, we split the trip to Cartegena into 2 with an island filling. 1st couple of days in the newer part of town and then 2 days on Isla Grande. A carribean island 1hr boat trip away (more on that later) and then 2 days back in Cartegena in the historic old town. We split it because we had read stories of the boats not always running between Isla Grande and Cartagena , due to weather so didn’t want to risk missing a flight, hence building in a bit of buffer (credit. El Tel and his blog reading prowess).

The Newer Part of Town

The best description we could conjur up was Blackpool on speed meets a poor man’s Manhattan skyline.

There are taxis and lucky, lucky men selling bracelets, cigars, fridge magnets, hats, sunglasses etc. everywhere. To be fair this isn’t just in the El Laguito / Bocagrande area where we were staying. It’s all over Cartegena, you will get continually approached to buy some kind of Aladdin’s treasure. Other than the buildings and quality of restaurants, a notable difference between old and new Cartegena are the party buses that come through.

Tourists are packed in, plied with booze, the music is so loud you can hear the buses before you see them. They come with the frequency that is unheard of if you are used to the British transport system. You can get visually and audibly violated by people of all ages, a lot of who were similar ages to my parents gyrating and singing to South American pop music. It’s easy to get scarred for life from witnessing some of the moves. The outfits were something else to behold. People come in all shapes and sizes and it makes you realise it’s a great thing that neon coloured Lycra can stretch!

Our apartment in El Laguito was very good with views of the lake.

https://abnb.me/LhHxyNOPYGb (Airbnb)

It had everything you need bar a working safe. The one minor issue was when it’s windy you could hear the wind howling over the aircon. Nothing that a couple of ear plugs couldn’t solve. Check in was straightforward, with the help of my Spanglish. We were given wristbands like you get at an all inclusive. Might as well have a big neon sign saying tourist (if the milky white legs don’t already give that away)

Knowing what we know now. We would have only stayed in the Centro (historic old town) and skipped the newer part.

2 Days on Isla Grande

THE Boat trip. Think Log Flume meets scary fairground ride. The taxi driver told us the boats were cancelled the day before as port authorities advised not to travel due to weather conditions. Turns out the company we had booked, still went. The wind was less ‘aggressive’ the day we were travelling so all boat companies were running. It was an hour of white knuckle ride interjected by one of the crew asking everyone where they came from. For each country you had to give a round of applause if you could ungrip the metal hand rail you were hanging on to for long enough. The boat got airborne on numerous occasions. Would guess at about 40 passengers sharing the experience.

We managed to get airborne on multiple occasions. El Tel and I had a quick game of what would happens if someone throws up but we soon stopped that game when we realised that there would be no positive outcome. The boat stops at the jetties of the different hotels on the islands so literally door to door service.

I would say 50% of people got off looking like they had swam there. We got lucky with our seats with only slightly wet hair and salt water stained sun glasses. We had previously read stories on trip advisor of people feeling like their lower and upper jaws were smashing together and their backs jarring so much they had backache for several days. Totally get now that they weren’t exaggerating. There is definitely a gap in the market to be a chiropractor on Isla grande.

We stayed at the Rosario Eco Hotel. We weren’t sure what to expect as we booked it on the basis of booking.com reviews and price. A few weeks after booking we saw trip advisor reviews which made us reconsider what we’d booked. However it was non-refundable so we stuck with it. Highlights were our room and the location . We got given a better room because the lock was bust on our room.

I think you would describe the place as having rustic charm, i.e. has the potential to be better with some investment and decent management. There was a lack of lighting outside but an abundance of wooden floor boards that would have challenged an Olympic gymnast. The food was OK but once you are there you are stuck there unless you arrange boat trips to different places but there was a serious lack of info about what you could do. To be fair we could have made more of an effort finding out what we could do but after the boat trip over, 36hrs chillaxing sealed our fate.

On arrival, at reception, they asked you to scan a QR code which basically gave you their WhatsApp number. Apparently you could contact them for anything and speaking to other guests who used it, it was hit and miss if you got a response. Overall, the staff were friendly and google translate proved it’s worth.

The bathrooms were open air. The shower was simple to use as you only had one control – water on / off. No need to faff about getting the temp right 😀. We had an extra guest. The biggest butterfly/moth I have ever seen. The photo doesn’t do it justice.

The hotel has about 6 dogs. I befriended one

and then read online reviews about them having fleas and ticks so gave them a wide berth after that.

The views from the hotel were great but sadly the sunbeds were mouldy and damp. We made a faux par on the first night. We got to the restaurant at 20.40. It shut at 20.30. On the positive we stayed within our daily budget.

We heard there was a town in walking distance. You had to leave the hotel via a door that looked like something from a Will Smith sci-fi film. It left you wondering if you were going to enter another universe.

The town is a bit like a township in appearance, not a lot there and people sat outside in groups on plastic chairs chatting and looking at a pair of gringos passing by. We definitely stuck out like sore thumbs. We did feel a bit uncomfortable but that was our issue. It was not at all threatening. There are no cars on the island so the only way round is on foot via narrow dirt trails and the signs are limited to non existent so we headed back to the hotel instead.

The weather calmed down completely on our first full day there so we just chilled out by the beautiful aqua coloured sea. The return boat trip was pretty uneventful . We were due to leave at 1pm, which became 1.30, then 2 and finally 2.15 but apparently that’s standard.

In summary, we would recommend staying on the island. Just pick a hotel where you would be happy to spend most of your time as you can’t just wander to local beaches or other hotels. It may cost a bit more but totally worth it.

The historic old town

We LOVED this place. Our new Airbnb was 10mins walk from the port. Apartment was great. Fantastic location and well equipped. https://abnb.me/w06Uoqw4WGb

We spent our days wandering around the old town. Loads of boutiques and clothes shops. Stopped myself from buying this cheeky little number 😀. Considered going back for it but thought the hat was too much!

When visiting the old town, it’s well worth walking into neighbouring Getsemanie.

It sound a bit biblical but really colonial. Reminded me a bit of Cuba. Lots of colour and music.

Rappers walk round with speakers like something from the 80s. They seranade you at the table in return for money 🙊 singing raps with inspired lyrics like ‘you have an ass like Cameron Diaz’, ‘try and you won’t get near her, bet you can’t shake your hips like Shakira’

Some tips for the old town

◦ Don’t fall for choosing a drink before you have seen a menu. Even if you ask for just a beer, the chance is you won’t get the cheapest and same for water

◦ If you don’t speak Spanish I wouldn’t bother with visiting the Museo de La inquisicion (the museum is all to do with slave trade and how different cultures came together). All the signs at the entrance are in dual language but once you get inside about 90% of all the exhibits explanations are in Spanish and there wasn’t a lot to see as most of the rooms were closed off.

◦ It’s QR code crazy in bars and restaurants for menus. A legacy of covid. Particularly if you want them in English. Sometimes it’s easier to grab the menu and google translate. Our mobile Wi-Fi hotspot came in a treat for restaurants and directions in general. The bonus is most places take card payment.

◦ ATMs normally have a big queue as there aren’t many. There were several in a shopping centre called La Serrazuela Mall which is on 5 levels and air conditioned. The roof is like an arena. Think along the lines of Gladiator meets the theatre

◦ If you like wine you are generally looking at paying upwards of £35/£40 for a bottle

During the daytime the streets have lots of closed big wooden doors with spy hatches. By night it’s a different place. Loads of bars and restaurants. Big high ceilings, lights and music. The positive energy gives off a great buzz.

Restaurants

Recommend Vida, we didn’t plan to go there, we didn’t get in Cervichera, our first choice. Cervichera opens at 1 but doesn’t take reservations. We got there at 1.10pm but it was full and we didn’t want to wait. We tried again another day but it was closed for a refurb! Spoke to another couple who went and they said it was fantastic. Vida was great though.

Interesting design as there was a pond right outside the loo. Might result in a bigger splash than you were expecting.

Buena Vida was another great restaurant. It has a lovely little roof top bar so you can have a cocktail before dinner

Booked into Carmen for a late dinner on another night, lovely restaurant but we had little appetite because of the heat. As well as normal plates, they do 7 and 9 course tasting menus. Fish was fab, service and atmosphere were great.

Another lunchtime, we headed for a place an American couple recommended called Mistura. Asian/sushi and bloody lovely. Terry was too hot to drink anything alcohol based. I, on the otherhand find wine a great thirst quencher ☺️

If you want a cheap and tasty bar snack. Texas Resto Bar was good. You can get a bucket of 6 beers for a tenner. Obviously the 50:50 rule didn’t work in my favour.

One afternoon we sat in a small square. I was learning Spanish on Duo Lingo whilst Terry read. A guy selling playing cards and fridge magnets came over. He was in his 60s, bronzed and wrinkly. Told us he wants to be a tour guide, but it will take him 2 years to get the licence, hence selling his wares to make a living. He asked where we were from so we said Wales as we found they have less knowledge about there so disappear quicker. He said he knows 2 words about Wales and would we like to hear them. We are both thinking “yaki da” or some friendly greeting. Turns out those 2 anticipated words were “Sheep sh@gger.” I wasn’t sure where to take the conversation from there but needn’t have worried as he was on a role. He told us the Columbia equivalent is Donkey sh@gger! Every day’s a school day! Given we were in restaurant selling donkey style pasta, I wasn’t sure what to think. Fortunately we were just having drinks.

El tel got approached twice in the street and offered white coffee and was pretty sure the guys weren’t working for Starbucks!!

The last couple of days have been 31 degrees but it feels like 37. 74% humidity and frizzy hair!

On our last night. We went to watch the sunset at cafe del mar.

About 1000 other people had the same idea. Fortunately, there was a guy selling corona for £2 a bottle so you can sit on the city wall, listening to tunes from cafe del mar watching the sun set whilst people watching. You wouldn’t want to go to cafe del mar earlier to bag a seat because it’s roasting and there are no umbrellas.

I asked El Tel to take a photo of me sat on a cannon. I said I was channelling my inner Cher from her ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’ video. He said I was more like Cannon and Ball!

The locals make money in all kinds of ways. You can get a video done by a drone or my personal favourite……..

A lucky, lucky man tried to sell me a pastel pink bracelet. His sales pitch, “it will match the colour of your skin”. Not really a lot of call for that if no one will see it!

We rounded off the night visiting a few roof top terraces. Easy to locate which hotels they belong to and close to the main entrance of town.

Cartegena is steeped in history, contrary to perception it felt very safe and the food scene is on the up. There are lots of great quality restaurants to choose from at pretty reasonable prices. Cartagena is renowned for being one of the more expensive Columbian towns so we should start to get more bang for our buck as we travel about.

Next stop: Medellin, apparently prounced meda-zhin or maybe that’s after a few mega gins!