Caribbean Dreaming

Tropical Cartagena welcomed us hot and steamy - finally we are back in swim-wear-weather.
We got to the city in the late afternoon, picked up some food and were ready to go to bed really early that night - when we suddenly spotted some familiar faces in the room next door. Wibke and Renä, our friends from Buenos Aires, had just gotten here themselves and we had a happy reunion - the world gets smaller the further you go. 

We spent two great days walking around the old, walled part of Cartagena. Beautiful small alleyways lined with whitewashed little houses with flowery balconies, treeshaded plazas, grand colonial churches and palaces and the old wall with great views over the turqoise caribbean sea are enchanting enough - add the laid back carribean vibe that makes for very relaxed and welcoming people and you understand why most travellers get stuck here for quite some time. The Getsemani-quarter next to the old town is full of expats, backpackers and busy locals and makes a colorful and bustling place to wander around after nightfall and to get into the seaside-mood, you can choose from a large range of harbors and little beaches to explore and dig into all the seafood you can imagine. And the best thing about the hot weather: you can spent the lunchtime hours with a guilt-free siesta in an airconditioned cafe with an icecold bananashake and a good book. How much better does it get?

After two days in the city, we were ready to feel some sand between our toes and took a boat to the Playa Blanca. On a tour around the gorgeous Rosario Islands we went on a nice if short snorkeling trip and enjoyed beautiful fish, corals and crystal clear waters before landing on the beach. The stretch of white sand along a calm, turquoise sea is lined with little huts that offer food, drink and hammocks - we quickly found a place to stay for the next two nights. What followed was a seemingly endless string of swimming, sitting in the shade of a cocopalm-hut, taking a nap in the hammock, drinking the icy happy-hour-cocktails and enjoying simple but tasty candlelit dinners before all lights and music (and power in general) was turned off at 9pm. When it turned 5pm on the second day of our stay it also turned midnight in Germany at the same time - and we started celebrating Renä's birthday with the best and juiciest crumble-cake we ever had. The next morning, on his actual birthday, we left the beach very early, caught a moto-ferry-bus-combination and were back in Cartagena for an amazing breakfast at a German-owned cafe with great self-made bread and everything we longed for.
And now we are waiting for our next adventure: we will shortly embark on the 'Dolfin Solo', the sailboat that will take us to the San Blas Islands of Panama.

Our time in Colombia was short but very intense, and we enjoyed every bit of it a lot. The country's reputation is lightyears away from what we experienced and we can just highly recommend traveling in this amazingly diverse place - we promise that you'll enjoy it!