Carnival mood in the streets

The streets of Barranquilla were all gearing up for the carnival and we could see the carnival decorations everywhere.
The main characters of Carnaval are la Negrita Puloy (black women wearing redLue lisää
Around Barranquilla

8th of Feb was the first day of main carnival days. This is the day when the Queen of the Carnival is officially crowned and then performs for almost an hour, but the program was at 8 in the eveningLue lisää
Start of the party time

Back at the hostel, I was preparing to sleep when Brian our 24 year old owner of the hostel came over and offered to take me along with the rest of the people at the hostel to a club where they wereLue lisää
Reconnaissance for the Carnival

After settling the stay issue, we decided to go to Via 40, the main road where the carnival was supposed to take place starting the next day. We just wanted to have a feel of things, just to get anLue lisää
Cartagena to Barranquilla

Our checkin at the hostel in Barranquilla was after 2 pm so we were not in a particular hurry to get there. We woke up late and had a nice breakfast nearby. After that, we took a taxi to the BerlinasLue lisää
Exotic fruits

Walking in the Centro, we had an idea. We decided to go in to one of the supermarket and buy one or two pieces of all the exotic fruits we could find there. The plan being we would get to know how itLue lisää
Centro, Old town Cartagena

The beautiful colorful houses from the San Diego area continued over into the Centro area. It was a fantastic evening walk.
San Diego to Centro

After we finished our lunch, we walked the beautiful streets with their quaint lovely houses towards the Centro, the center of the old town.
Plaza de San Diego

Plaza de San Diego remains a lasting relic of the city's wealth, acquired at the peak of the gold, sugar, and slave trade. The plaza is a popular place for dining out. There were many restaurantsLue lisää
San Diego area

From Las Bovedas, we walked nearby to the San Diego neighborhood. The main place to converge in this area is the San Diego plaza. The plaza is surrounded by brightly painted houses with floweringLue lisää
Las Bovedas

From Marbella area we walked back to the old town of Cartagena. This time we walked in from an area we had not been in before. The first place we went to was Las Bovedas.
Las Bóvedas (The Vaults)Lue lisää
Buses to Barranquilla

We had been used to the infrequent bus services in Patagonia, off late, so we decided to go to the bus terminal and find out about the bus frequency to Barranquilla which we intended to take the nextLue lisää
A lazy morning

It was 6th Feb and our booking in Barranquilla for the carnival was from 7th Feb. So, we had one more day to spend in Cartagena and nothing planned for the day. We had checked out the various optionsLue lisää
With the port police

By the time we finished our walk around the fortress, the rest in the group had finished their lunch and were returning to the beach where the boats were. After a while, we started our journey back. ALue lisää
Bocachica fortress

Inside the fortress, we could also go to the roof along the ramparts and in the basement.
Fort San Luis de Bocachica

Our boat took us to Bocachica. Here, the rest of the passengers were taken to the lunch place, while we went to look around the castle.
The Castle of San Luis de Bocachica, was a military fortressLue lisää
Back to Playa Blanca

When we came back, we realized that almost everyone from our boat had already left. They all had lunch included in their package and had been waiting patiently till almost 1:30 pm. The lunch was onLue lisää
Snorkeling at Isla Rosario

We snorkeled for about an hour near Oceanario. It was a mindblowing experience once again. There were beautiful colorful fish of all different sizes and shapes. It was a totally different world belowLue lisää
Oceanario Isla del Rosario

The Islas del Rosario (Rosario Islands), also referred to as Corales Islas del Rosario (Coral Islands of Rosario), is an archipelagolocated off the coast of Colombia, approximately 100Lue lisää
Isla Grande

The next stop was at Isla Grande. Here again, they stopped to pick more people going to Isla Rosario. Some of our fellow passengers now blew their top at the boat driver. We too wanted to join theLue lisää
Playa Blanca

Playa Blanca (White Beach) was our first official stop for the day. The boat was supposed to stop here to drop off people who had paid for a full day's outing at Playa Blanca and then continue withLue lisää
Fort San Fernando de Bocachica

As soon as we reached the open sea, the pilot opened up the throttle and let both the engines loose. The boat literally flew across the water. We would be in the air every few seconds for quite a fewLue lisää
Chaos at the harbor

We reached the harbor slightly before 9 am. The boat was supposed to leave around 9 am. We were allowed to go inside the harbor after inspection of our tickets. Inside, its a small place where peopleLue lisää
Night at Getsemani

Back at the hostel, we showered and cleaned up. It was around 8:30 pm by the time we were done. We decided to go to the food kiosks near the old town to have something for the night. After having aLue lisää
Around Getsemani

Even this part of Getsemani was beautiful with lovely colorful houses with bougainvillea and other ivy covering the facades of some of them. Peiple sitting out on the roads enjoying the weather andLue lisää
Back to Cartagena

After the dip in the lake we went back to the shack where they had our stuff in the lockers. Here, we were supposed to have a shower to wash off the last of the muck from us but the shower was just aLue lisää
Matkaaja
Looks as if the whole city is in colourful,celebrating mood.
The Craze for Travelling
Yup 😎😎