Cartagena: Day 1

We finally made it to Cartagena! After an accident early on delaying us for a couple hours and then further traffic and stops, our 21-hour journey turned into 26 hours. I was so happy when we finally got off the bus. We then jumped straight into a taxi which took almost an hour due to the Cartagena traffic. After getting dropped at The Clock Hostel, we rushed back out to catch the sunset on the walls of the old city at Baluarte de Santo Domingo. Next time we’ll get some beers and sit on the sea wall.

After the sun went down, we had quick showers and went back out to get some food and explore the city at night. Our hostel was pretty close to the Plaza de Reloj and Torre del Reloj, which are good landmarks for making our way around.

We did an our own walking tour through some of the main highlights and up to the castle/fort. We didn't go in to any of these places, but it was nice to make our way around and get a feel for Cartagena.

We stopped and walked through the following:
Getsemaní
Castillo San Felipe de Barajas
Centro de Convenciones Cartagena de Indias
Plaza de la Anduana
Monumento Cristobal Colón
Plaza San Pedro Claver
Santuario de San Pedro Claver (world’s first hospital for slaves)
Plaza de Bolívar
Monumento Simón Bolívar

Crossing the bridge to get to the Castillo was the only nerve racking time with lots of homeless people and people lurking in shadows under the bridges. But the Castillo was lit up and once we were there we had the little area to take pictures all to ourselves. Allan held my hand when we crossed the bridge to reassure me. He’s good with directions, so we can get from one place to the next without either of us needing to have our phones out.

The Clock Hostel was a big dorm and we had a mattress in a little box. The decor was dark blue and cold with lots of clocks. Some people were dicks about being quiet when it was quiet hours and time to sleep, but after that rough travel journey, I managed to fall asleep quicker than expected despite the noise.

The Clock Hostel & Suites
5/10
Facilities: 🙂
Comfort: 😕
Location: 😀
Cleanliness: 😀
Value for money: 😕
Staff: 🙂

Summary: Interesting dorm concept, poorly executed. If you want a decent sleep, this isn’t the place for you. Low bathroom to guest ratio.

Good: Great location in the centre of the walled city. Supermarket directly across the street for cheap water, beer, snacks, etc. Staff were pleasant.

Bad: Sofas in dorm. Sofas in the dorm encouraged other guests to socialise inside the dorm, despite there being ample common areas between the dorm and the suites and also downstairs. On our first night, two drunken girls sat chatting rubbish and watching nonsense on TikTok for hours, despite signs saying it was a quiet area from 23:00 and numerous requests in different languages from various guests to be quiet, leave, etc. Small double pods. If you’re a couple, go for two single pods. Two single pods are about the same price as a double pod, but you’ll get almost twice as much space (a double is only slightly bigger than a single). Bathrooms to guests ratio. Despite the dorm being only around 1/3 occupied (maybe a dozen guests), we had to wait for a shower each morning. I can only imagine what this would be like when the place was full. Dining space. Similar to bathrooms. Limited space at the dining table meant we had to wait for breakfast one morning.Read more