Cartagena

We left Salento on Monday morning 7:30 with sunshine after a rainy afternoon, evening and night. The first trip was one hour by small bus to Perera a large town with a big bus terminal, there we changed to a van which toke us to Medellin (a 5 hour trip). In Medellin we waited one Hour until 4:30 PM and toke a bus to Cartagana, a 14 hour overnight trip. This bus was very comfortable with reclining seats and air conditioning and did not make frequent stops to pick up passengers as we are used to with other buses. At 6:00AM on Tuesday morning we arrived at the terminal in Cartagena. Went by taxi to our hotel (hostel) and walked the beautiful old section of the city. It is hot around 85 here but windy so it feels OK.
Wednesday we decided to stay in town and go to the beach in Bocagrande, fresh fish right on the beah taste great. Will be here three nights then to Togonga to the beach.
This is no longer the Colombia we have seen in the South, what a change!
You are at the Caribbean and it shows, everything is even more colorful, poorer (what we see), and the poeple look and act different.

Our place: http://hosteltrail.com/hostalreal/
It looks MUCH MUCH better than it is, the hostel Casa Viena where we wanted to stay was full. Seija and specially Rocio would NOT stay here.

Cartagena is an unforgettable city which was once the main Spanish port in South America. Surrounded by a wall built to keep out pirates seeking native treasures snatched from the Indians to carry back to Spain, Cartagena looks every bit the part of the fairytale. Protected within the walls of the old city is a maze of cobbled streets and grand colonial houses as well as former slave markets, plazas and churches. It's exciting and colourful history is well documented not only through the sights of the town, but in the excellent museums in the old city. From: http://hosteltrail.com/colombia/cartagena/index.shtm