Another 5.5 hour coach ride from Sante Marta, Cartegena is a the tourist capital of Northern Colombia. Even street traders speak English in Cartegena.
The old town is extremely photogenic. Colourful spanisheque architecture is everywhere within its walled confines.
Filling the coach
Cartegena is not that far from Sante Marta, but it seems the coach drivers trawl the streets as they leave a town, touting for additional passengers. It can take up to an hour to get on the open road.
Fellow travelers
Hostels are a social oasis, where you can meet and exchange advice with other travelers: “when did you get here? what have you done here ? what is there to do? " In Cartegena we met a [structural engineer] from the east coast of the USA who, like me, had left his job of 7 years but unlike me, was spending many months travelling the whole of South America. It was his first day.
In Sante Marta we had dinner with a German [fund manager] who traveled up on the same bus from San Gil. He was mainly here to do some serious hiking. Many like him were travelling alone. We met a guy from Hungary on the Cocoa Valley hike, who had not been home for 3 years and was running so low on funds he could no longer afford beer.
Below: The old town
Below: The old town
Below: The old town
Below: The old town
Below: The old town
Below: The old town
Below: Sculpture by Fernando Botero in a hotel courtyard, Cartegena old town