We were brought down to earth with a bump as we didn't have premium economy on this flight. In fact, this airline was so budget, we had to pay extra to have indoor toilets on the plane! OK, I may be joking (only slightly) but seriously, Viva Colombia make Ryanair look like Concorde!
As there were no allocated seat numbers there was a rugby scrum at check in, another as we went through to get on the transfer bus to take us to the plane (the bus journey was 10-15 minutes, no joke, I thought we were driving to Cartegena!) then a final scrum at the steps to the plane!
It was stressful to say the least, especially as South Americans don't queue. When I say they don't queue, I mean, you could be standing waiting to be served in a shop for 5 minutes and a local will walk in the door, march to the front, push in front of you and get served quite happily before you. Both customer and server are completely oblivious!
So, at the airport, I knew I wanted to sit next to Lauren on the plane so I decided to become a South American for the day. If you can't beat them, join them!
Safe to say, we got our seats together and a few locals are probably nursing a few bruised ribs rather than the other way around for a change! Lauren however just took it easy, was the last on the bus and last on the plane as she was too embarrassed to stand with me or fight her own way!!
Our one hour flight eventually took off an hour late as they only had one bus to ferry a few hundred passengers from the airport terminal to the plane which genuinely was 10-15 minutes drive away & only took about 40 people at a time! Seriously, how do these companies get aviation licenses?!
We arrived in Cartegena (pronounced CartaHayna) and as we got off the plane the sun was shining and it was about 30 degrees! At last, some sunshine!!
A taxi took us to our hotel (Allure Chocolat) and fortunately our room was ready (it was only about midday) so we settled in.
Nearly a year ago my friend Simon was considering moving out to Cartagena so we'd had plans that, if he was still out there when we arrived, we'd meet up.
Well, he was still in Cartagena so at 1:30pm, Simon and his girlfriend Carolina came and met us and we headed out to explore what the city had to offer.
First we stopped at one of Simon's favourite restaurants for lunch.
The place mats were mini chalk boards and Lauren wasted no time in writing a "humorous" message on it....
Again, If you can't beat them, join them....
Simon then took us on a small tour of the local area.
Cartegena is on the northern coast of South America and is classed as part of the Caribbean.
Its population of around a million people are a mixture of Colombians and people from the Caribbean islands. This gives a truly different flavour to the city. Very different from anywhere else we've been to in S.A.
The city was founded on June 1st 1533, and named after Cartagena in Spain. However, settlement in this region around Cartagena Bay by various indigenous people dates back to 4000 BC. During the colonial period Cartagena served a key role in administration and expansion of the Spanish empire. It was a center of political and economic activity due to the presence of royalty and wealthy people. In 1984 Cartagena's colonial walled city and fortress were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
As we walked through the streets it was easy to see why so many South Americans see Cartagena as THE holiday destination of South America. Every street was like a postcard picture. Brightly coloured buildings, stunning architecture, cobbled streets, beautiful flowers adorning walls, buildings with balconies, flower beds and pots, horse drawn carriages and an ancient wall surrounding the city which just topped off this jewel of a city.
We took a walk along the city wall. The sun was shining and life was great!
We stopped for a few drinks at Cafe Del Mar, a bar on the wall overlooking the Caribbean sea and watched the sunset.
We then walked back through the city square where an impromptu band were playing and dancers dancing.
There were lights hanging from trees, buildings and lamp posts which just made the whole city seem completely magical (& romantic according to Lauren!). It turns out they had just not got around to removing their Christmas lights yet but we weren't complaining!!
After dinner in a typical Colombian restaurant we walked back to our hotel and went our separate ways.
Picture of sign outside our chosen restaurant:
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Thursday night was spent coughing my guts up as a chest infection set in.
Friday morning I woke feeling like death so Lauren headed out and met Simon and Carolina for lunch in Boccagrande, the next area of Cartegena along from Getsamanie, where we're staying.
After lunch and a trip to a beauty salon she came back to check on her poorly soldier and brought me some antibiotics she'd bought from the pharmacy.
We'd planned to go out on the evening with Simon & Carolina to Trinidad Square and I had spent all day in bed to save up the energy. On Friday and Saturday nights, this is where the locals hang out, drink beer, eat street food, play music and watch performances from each other.
Still feeling rough, at 7:30pm I got up and the four of us, along with 2 of Carolina's friends, made our way to Trinidad Square.
It was already buzzing when we got there and we found ourselves an area to stand whilst Simon went and bought beers from the local corner shop for 55p each!
We chatted and then went and bought some street food from a famous street vendor who'd recently been filmed for a documentary.
It looked like nothing I'd ever seen before. Almost like a plate sized tray of Christmas dinner leftovers thrown together, heated up, and covered in cheese and crispy noodles on the top.
I asked Simon what it was and he replied, "I don't really know. It's just layer after layer of loveliness!"
He was right, it was delicious & Lauren and I polished our shared plate of sliced potato, shredded meat, salad, Crispy noodles and melted cheese in minutes!
By this point the square was heaving and jugglers were performing alongside fire eaters. However, I was feeling rough again and we soon made our way back to the hotel to rest.
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Saturday I felt much the same. After another coughing filled night we decided to have an easy day and after breakfast we spent some time by the rooftop pool at our hotel.
We stayed until sunset and then decided on street food, layers of loveliness, again for dinner.
This time we got photos of the stall and the food!!
Layers of loveliness on the left
After eating, we headed off to the hotel & stumbled across a wedding en route! It was about 9pm and the bride and groom were just saying their vows! It's about the only time of day in Cartegena that is nearly cool enough to have such a ceremony but was still strange seeing a wedding so late at night! With all the fairy lights everywhere, I could see Lauren was thinking this was the most romantic city in the world!
It was then straight to bed again, hoping I'd feel better the next day.
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Sunday morning I woke full of cold but with a slightly better chest infection. I was gutted to be ill for a third day in such an amazing city.
After breakfast we wandered to the rooftop pool and stayed there all morning until Lauren said she was feeling nauseous.
She went back to our room and around 1pm started being sick and by 9pm hadn't stopped so I called our medical insurance company who sent an emergency doctor out to us. He gave Lauren an anti sickness injection and she dropped off to sleep.
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After the panic of the night before I was really worried about Lauren but Monday morning she woke feeling much, much better.
We had been toying with a 5 day trip to the San Blas islands (365 beautiful Caribbean islands just off the coast of Panama) and through both of our illnesses, we'd been calculating costs and checking availability.
When Lauren awoke we chatted it through and decided we'd go to San Blas as we were both feeling better and we'd been offered a really reduced price.
So, up we got and walked to the travel agent's to make our booking which was due to leave Cartegena on Tuesday.
After some fun and games booking return flights from Panama (always clear your cache when booking with budget airlines, we managed to save $70) we headed out to see as much of Cartegena as possible in the remaining time we had.
Fruit and veg carts are all over the city selling the freshest, juiciest products and ridiculously cheap prices.
Giant Avocados anyone?!!
We stumbled across a beautiful flower market.
We went for some lunch then wandered around some shops where I found this plus size model standing in a doorway. I couldn't resist a photo!
After a brief FaceTime chat with Lauren's parents we made our way out again to buy suntan lotion and other bits needed for San Blas.
We saw a large crowd gathered in the old town centre & when we pushed through there was a guy showing off his miniature Poodle's skills! He had her weaving in and out of cones and jumping over mini hurdles. It was hilarious! She was tiny and he'd painted her nails pink!
Another 'plus size' model but in a different way! Colombia is known for its plastic surgery. I'm pretty sure these are fake....;-)
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We walked through the walled city again and once more there were dancers in the main square.
Lauren forced me (it was romantic she said)
We ended up in a Russian bar for a quick drink whilst we decided on a restaurant for our last night in beautiful Cartegena. There were bands playing outside and horse drawn carriages occasionally passing by.
We eventually decided on Aqua De Mar (number 6 out of over 300 on Trip Advisor) and it was lovely.
Its specialty is Gin and Tonics! They had a specific Gin and Tonic menu with dozens upon dozens of options and once we'd chosen a Gin and a Tonic the waiter came and poured the tonic into our huge glasses down a long twisted silver spoon! Whether it did anything to the taste or was just a bit of theatre, it looked great!
We ate some of their tapas and then headed out into the warm night.
Lauren had really wanted to have a ride in a horse and carriage and when we passed this white horse, I couldn't resist and off we went.
Those that know how I proposed to Lauren will know why, when I saw a real white horse, not a black and white spotted one, I had to go with it!!
The driver (do you call him a jockey?!) gave us a tour of the city explaining where we were and what certain buildings were. Unfortunately, his accent was so strong that we couldn't understand him so we just nodded politely and enjoyed our amazing, romantic journey.
It was pretty bumpy hence the poor pictures but we'll remember that night forever.
Then this happened!
2 Colombian guitarists jumped on board & started serenading us!
Even though they'd not been invited and didn't announce a fee, we knew this was going to cost us but we were in a perfect moment & sometimes you just have to go with the flow, so we let them sing us 4-5 songs.
Video showing the serenading and the beautiful lights in the square. A magical moment:
They then asked us if we knew a Gunz & Roses song called, "Knocking on Heaven's Door". I replied that I knew of Bob Dylan's song, yes. "No, Gunz & Roses - Knocking on Heaven's Door, do you know it?"
"Bob Dylan, yes". I decided to leave it there as we were in danger of the romance leaving the carriage!
"In English or Spanish?" We were offered. Clearly it was easier for them in Spanish.
"English please". And off they started with a disclaimer about their English....
To be fair, I'm glad we got the disclaimer as what was supposed to be,
"Knock knock knocking on Heaven's door"
Was actually,
"Na na nonin... heans oar"
But it's the thought that counts!
Once I'd added in an overpowering third harmony, they upped their game and we're now deciding on our group name for 2015 Colombian Idol ;-)
When our 30 minute trip was over we stepped out of the carriage alongside the Colombian Proclaimers and made our way back to our hotel.
What an amazing city.
Lauren's Thoughts:
DISCLAIMER: this waa written before I read Gareth's, so a little bit of repetition.
Ahhh, Cartagena! Columbia has been redeemed! It has to be up there with some off the world's most romantic cities and certainly the most romantic place I have ever been to.
We were greeted by sweltering heat and beautiful palm trees as we stepped off the plane. The beach wasn't what I expected from the Caribbean coast line, it was as little drab and the sea wasn't this crystal clear color I expected BUT the walled city had me at hello. We entered through the main entrance where the clock tower stood and every which way we turned we were greeted by beautiful cobbled streets with balconies laced with over growing flowers. And then came the evening. We happened to be in Cartagena just after Christmas which meant Cartagena was covered in FAIRY LIGHTS. At night, this already romantic city was further lit up by stunning fairy lights, everywhere! (Girly squeal).
We were both really gutted to have between laid up in bed for 3 of our 5 days here but thankfully we were well enough to top the romance off by taking a horse drawn carriage around the walled city and then to be serenaded by two Columbian guitarists, perfect.
Cartagena, you've won my heart!
