When we left the sailboat that had brought us to Colombia we had to wait in an air conditioned supermarket with WIFI for Erwin. He went to immigration to get our passports stamped. Leaving Panama and getting into Panama was the first border crossing I didn't do myself. It felt kind of strange to hand someone our passport for this but on the other hand it was nice to know that you wouldn't need to bother with things like proof of onward travel or the yellow fever shot which you need for entering Colombia from Panama (I do have that shot but who knows what they would say at a border to my 2 chaotic vaccination certificates. We used the time in the supermarket researching hostels in Cartagena. Lara found this amazing hostel and even though it was a little over my budget I decided to join her going there to at least check it out. When we got there the girl from the reception showed us around and I knew that I had to stay. It was supernice with 2 pools, nice rooms and a chilled vibe.
The first thing we did was taking a really extensive shower - it felt good after 6 days on the boat with limited access to fresh water. The rest of the day I spend figuring out what to do the next days and weeks, finding someone new to sublet my apartment as my first choice had cancelled while I was on a boat between 2 countries and cleaning my backpack as it unfortunately got wet in the storage on the boat.
At night Lara and I met Hanna and Otto for dinner in a local restaurant. After that we walked around for a while looking for a nice bar to have another drink. When we finally sat down on this balcony what turned out to be quite a tourist trap I wanted to take my phone out of my backpack. The first thing I realized was that it was light inside my backpack. Suddenly I realized someone must have cut my backpack while I was walking! I couldn't believe my luck when I realized that everything was still there. I must have turned around or moved away before they had a chance to take anything out. It still felt pretty weird to know that someone had been on my backpack with a knife. I always knew that something like this might happen to me at some point. Still it made me feel more unsafe than usual for a few days.
The next 2 days I spend wandering around the streets of Cartagena. I mostly stayed within the old town but it was a similar contrast as in Panama City to see the skyline in the background. I still liked Cartagena with its old houses and balconies even though it is quite touristy. I went to visit the museo del oro. But to be honest I did it more to escape the heat and cool down in the air conditioned rooms than out of interest ;)
At night Lara and I went to Plaza Trinidad, had street food for dinner and watched the people hanging around here. I liked the place as it felt like a meeting point for backpackers, street artists and local families. One night there was a free Zumba class happening in the square which was quite impressive to watch!
After 3 nights I felt I had seen everything there is and continued to Santa Marta.Read more
Colombia
