Day 366 - Cartagena

May 1
(Ursula) Yesterday, Heinz and Gregor kept searching for a boat. Meanwhile, I went sightseeing with Doris.

I loved Cartagena's fortified city walls and the Colonial-style buildings of the old town. Unfortunately, most of the shops were closed, and we couldn't do any shopping.

At noon, we went to her hotel for lunch. Then we strolled along Bocagrande Beach and had an excellent ice cream. In the evening, Doris and Jean-Marie invited me to dinner for my 26th birthday. We had such a lovely time and chatted for a long time.

May 2
(Ursula) Today was an exciting day! By pure luck, Heinz & Gregor met the captain of the Caribe Freeze while having a beer at a bar. He agreed to take the 4 of us and the campers to Miami. The trip would be free of charge with the stipulation that Gregor works as an assistant to the ship's engineer and Heinz as the assistant to the onboard Electrician. We couldn't have worked out a better deal.

But there was one hitch: the vessel was set to leave the next day at 1:00 PM, leaving us little time to prepare, but we made it happen.

Heinz managed to obtain the necessary documents and paperwork at the port authority without hiring an agent (which is usually unheard of).

Oh yeah, there was one last hurdle with all the papers, stamps, and signatures for final approval. The clerk at the checkout insisted that the (officially displayed) fee of $350 would be $450 because today was Saturday. Heinz took a chance and slipped him a $10 bill under the table - case closed!

Although most travelers had warned us that it was a dangerous city, Cartagena has been good to us, and we never felt unsafe or in danger.Weiterlesen