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 vessel "Caribe Freeze" while drinking beer at a bar, who agreed to take the 4 of us and the campers to Miami. The trip would be free of charge under the stipulation that Gregor works as an assistant to the ship Engineer and Heinz as the assistant to the onboard Electrician.

They agreed to this fantastic deal!!! However, the vessel was set to leave the next day at 1:00 PM.

This didn't leave us much time to prepare, but we made it happen.

Heinz managed to do the necessary paperwork at the port authority without hiring an agent.

There was one last hurdle when he went to the accounting office with all the papers, stamps, and signatures for final approval. The clerk insisted that the (officially displayed) fee of $350 would be $450 because it was a Saturday.

Heinz took a chance and slipped him a $10 bill under the table. Case closed!

Ultimately, we had spent several days in this supposedly dangerous port city and never felt unsafe or in danger at any moment.Read more