Cartagena, Colombia
Crossed the divide
of The Americas ..
We have crossed another divide of sorts between Central
and South America. As we disembarked from our dingy, bikes
in tow, a sense of excitement and achievement enveloped
us as we took our first step on South American soil. It
felt like a real milestone. We were also in a country which
I personally never imagined I would venture into. Colombia,
synonymous with drugs, bombings, FARC, kidnappings and of
course the home of Gabriel García Márquez
is a country which has always captured my imagination and
was curious about but certainly never imagined I would be
cycling through. Yet here we were, passports stamped, with
our bikes, ready to take on a country the size of Spain,
France and Portugal combined.
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We sailed into Cartagena, the main entry
and exit point for visitors heading into and out of Colombia
by sea. It is like no other city we have visited on our
trip to date. It is exactly what I had been expecting –
a pulsating salsa party, hot, sticky, full of life music
and dance, colors emanating from all corners, scenes of
kids playing football in the grounds of a crumpling 16th
century church, a baseball game on the streets and older
folk playing chess.
Compared to Central America there is very
much a European vibe to the city. It is definitely a place
to throw away the guide book and just discover it for yourself
without distractions. It is a fusion of Florence with its
distinctive tiled roofs, balconies and flower-filled courtyards
and the dome of the cathedral and Prague with its cobble
stoned streets old-world style plazas and horse drawn carriages
ferrying tourists from sight to sight.
I did get a bit snap happy much to the
amusement of Martin who was getting slightly concerned with
the volume of pictures I was taking!
Cartagena is essentially two separate cities
representing the old and the new. The old town El Centro
is a step back, catapulting you into to a world of times
gone by with restored colonial mansions, ancient forts,
winding narrow streets, beautiful churches and numerous
plazas and has been declared a UNESCO heritage site. The
old city is a fortress completely surrounded by thick, 10
meter high walls built by the Spanish to protect the city.
The other side of the city is modern with sky scrapers looming
and not much to talk about.
Latino Vibe
Colombia is the home of salsa and even as we sailed in to
Cartagena, we caught sight of locals dancing on the street.
Music can be heard from every doorway and everyone from
shopkeepers to manual laborers are shaking their hips while
going about their daily chores. Stroll around the old town
at night and people are sitting in bars watching dancers
on the street. We decided to check out Havana Cafe one night,
as it seemed like this was where it was all at. From the
outside it was a crumpling 1920's art deco type building
but a whole new world opened up as you walked through the
doors. Photos of icons from days gone by lined the walls
and the central old style bar made it very atmospheric.
Havana Cafe is something of an institution in Cartagena
drawing well-heeled Latin American and European socialites.
The band came on stage and the place went
wild. No warm up needed, couples of all shapes and sizes
were girating their hips to the beats. We sat there for
hours observing the clientele whose dancing skills ranged
from spectacular to ‘just off the boat’ gringo
tourist with a beginners salsa lesson under their belt!
We were on the lower end of the spectrum!
One thing they all had in common was their
passion to dance. We had a fantastic night there and are
eager to find a similar place in Medellin. I could imagine
so many of my friends loving this place. We both really
felt that we had finally arrived in South America.
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