Ryan and I spent our last 2 days in Santa Marta taking in the sun and doing virtually nothing other than relaxing. I continued to work on my tan, taking breaks to drink smoothies, eat seafood, and learn a bit of Spanish. Prior to leaving Santa Marta, I wanted to make sure that I took in the whole of the city; sights, sounds and smells. Due to the intricate one way streets that run through the city, traffic is quite congested and the sounds of honking horns is constant. There is very little order on the roads in Colombia. As well, the streets are lined with people selling everything from tweezers (may have bought a pair!), to sandals, to arepa, to fresh mango. While walking through the streets of Santa Marta my nose was accosted by the smells of delicious food, followed by the smell of urine, all depending on which street you’re walking down. Santa Marta may have its fair share of fowl smelling, run down streets, yet I never felt unsafe there. In fact, I think I may have actually figured out my way around Santa Marta, something that is beyond unusual for me! Although Santa Marta was not beautiful, I quite enjoyed our time there, and was a little bit sad to leave Masaya Hostel. Living out of a backpack has its challenges, and being comfortable in a hostel wipes many of those away. Despite that, after watching the sun set over Santa Marta one more time, it was time to move on!
We took a “door to door” mini bus to Cartagena this afternoon. The comfort level of the bus was lower than the larger bus, although the size allowed us to move faster, and we made it to Cartagena in a little over 4 hours. Cartagena is another coastal town, a mere 200 km west of Santa Marta. We spent the whole drive with the Caribbean Ocean on our right, and the mountains on our left. There is little between Santa Marta and Baranquilla, aside from run down Colombian villages, so we got a taste of Colombian poverty, whizzing past homes made of little more than plywood and tarps; children running around in clothes much too small; paths through the water paved with used tires.
Approaching Cartagena reminded me of driving into Los Angeles; the medians draped with perfectly trimmed shrubbery and giant palm trees. Entering the old city of Cartagena, I felt as though I had been transported into Game of Thrones, or some other medieval fairy tale. Our hostel, El Viajero, is located in a colourful building down an adorable street with lights, flowers and hanging plants. After wandering the area for a short period of time, we found that many of streets are similar to this; European looking buildings in all colours of the rainbow, decorated with blossoming flowers. That, along with the horse drawn carriages that pull eager tourists through the street, makes for an almost magical experience. However, walking a few blocks in the opposite direction, we found ourselves caught amongst the endless line of locals selling various snacks, fruits, and vegetables. We decided to buy a pineapple for good measure! We have only had a sip of this beautiful city, and I’m looking forward to seeing what else it has to offer in the coming days.