Cartagena Old Town

🐧 update! Sorry for the delay.

✨️ I will split pictures into 2 posts, this one for pics of cartagena, then another one for medellin pics ✨️

After Minca we went to Cartagena to stay for four nights. We were staying in a hostel which wasn't the nicest spot and not very social, but we made do. By far my favourite part of the city was the old walled port town. Filled with loads of colourful buildings and colonial style architecture - great spot for photos! One of our days we did a walking tour through this part which was very interesting. A lot of the old buildings are very fancy inside, and loads of them have been converted to luxury airbnbs. Also some interesting connections between Cartagena and some famous people like the author Gabriel Garcia Marquez and the artist Fernando Botero. We also learned a lot about the history of the culture which is a mix of Spanish and African.

There were some really nice parks around this area as well, in one of then you can see some wild sloths and monkeys and then some salsa dancers in others. Also some great food options around this area and nice bars along the coast to watch the sunset.

Outside of the old town, we didn't explore a huge amount but have heard that the old town is deifnitley the nicest. What I did see outside the old town I wasn't a huge fan of. The other issue was the humidity, very sweaty alot of the time so pretty much can't go outside anywhere in the peak of the afternoon without being drenched in sweat. Also a lot of people trying to sell you things in the more touristy areas and people coming up to sing and rap for you for money.

After Cartagena, we got a long bus down to Medellin. We spent 4 nights here, in an area called poblado which is actually very nice. Surrounded by loads of trees and nice cafes and bars. Jodie and I both did quite a bit of work in Medellin, but we also explored the city. They have a really good metro which is the heart of the city, we learned how it being built completely changed how the city was connected and allowed the people from the further out areas to get to the centr (also learned how Fernando Botero helped with this, his artwork is everywhere in the city). Medellin is in a valley so they have even built cable cars to connect the metro to the places which are higher up in the valley. We did another walking tour in Medellin and learned a lot about the past 100 years of history and the more recent history around Pablo Escobar. They don't like to say his name in the city, but there are still a lot of people selling tshirts and other souvenirs etc with his mugshot. Our tour guide was also warning us about some of the more dangerous areas, and telling us about a Spanish phrase 'No de papaya' which literally translates to don't give papaya but means not to make yourself a target for muggers and pickpockets. There are certain areas that even a lot of the locals never go. I even had a couple of random people come up to me and tell me to put away my phone at certain points.. But the guide also said that if anything was to happen somewhere publically, you just need to shout ladrón and the public will take him down. They rely a lot on tourism so the people hate thiefs and the cartel/narcos messing with tourists. Still, I have been very careful with getting my camera out in busy spots and we are both keeping our phones out of sight when we can.

The walking tour really showed how much the city had transformed in the past 50 years, especially in a place called Comuna 13 which used to be the hotspot for cartel drug traficking but has now been transofrmed into a safe spot for tourism. It was interesting to see but very loud and busy. I also went to a museum which showed the timeline of homicides in the city and how much they have decreased over the years.

That's all for now! We have just been in Cali which is the Salsa capital of colombia 🕺 and have now arrived in Salento.

Next🐧 coming soon...Read more