The Lows
Day 1 had some turbulence
I wanted to use that opportunity to get some groceries as well. So I got up early and made the trek into the walled city for an 8am start time.
Now anyone that knows me, knows I am religiously early. Since the tour says to arrive at least 10 minutes early and I am always 15 minutes early…that means I was 30 minutes early for the tour. I waited patiently until 7:50am and there was no guide in sight. When 8am rolled around and still no one arrived, naturally my Scorpio tendencies started to percolate. I waited until 8:10am and at that point, I was at a full fledged boiling point, so regardless if the tour guide arrived right then and there, I still knew that I needed to walk away.
This was not a great start to my day for sure. So, I looked up where the nearest grocery store was and stopped in on my way home.
The grocery store was super disappointing so I only grabbed a few essentials, plus I was about 1.5 km from my accommodations so I didn’t want to trek home with a ton of groceries in the heat.
Then I headed back to the apartment to hunker down for my first work day in Cartagena. All was great, until the internet cut out during a meeting. LOL but luckily that was just a fluke thing.
When I started to fade fast around 5pm (2pm PST) I had to call it a day and go out to find something for dinner. Plus my head was pounding ferociously by this point because it was day 2 with no caffeine and the withdrawal was setting in.
So, I headed out the door in search of the other Carulla Supermarket near my house. I headed to the seawall just a block away and walked along there a couple blocks down the street. Let me tell you…this was an epic supermarket. Gourmet everything, it reminded me of the Urban Fare in Olympic Village, so I stocked up on several things and then hit up the Shawarma place I passed on the way there.
All I have to say about that is…I probably should have gotten food poisoning and it was a terrible Shawarma. Regardless I ate it and I was fine. Glad I took the Typhoid vaccination pills before I left. HAHAHA
Now you Know!
The colourfully dressed Afro-Colombian women selling fruit in the main squares are one of Cartagena‘s most memorable sights. Thousands of tourists pose with them for souvenir photos, and the women adorn the covers of many magazines and guidebooks. But their history and of the village where they come from, San Basilio de Palenque: the first free slave town in the Americas.
Spaniards introduced kidnapped African slaves in South America. But some Africans escaped and set up Palenque de San Basilio, a town close to Cartagena. They tried to free all African slaves arriving at Cartagena and were quite successful. As a result of that, the Spanish Crown issued a Royal Decree, guaranteeing freedom to the Palenque de San Basilio Africans if they stopped welcoming new escapees.
The Euphoric Highs
Day 2 was truly epic
I had a slightly later start today. My walking tour for the Getsemani neighbhourhood didn’t start until 9am. The tour today was booked through Freetour.com but with a different company than yesterday and man alive was I impressed. If you are looking for a great tour in Cartagena, I highly recommend booking the Free Walking Tour of Getsemani Neighbourhood with Free Tour Cartagena Company
My tour guide was David, and he was all mine. LOL…meaning that it was just he and I on the tour. AND, as luck would have it, I am going on another tour tomorrow with him all to myself as well. He was superb and I have plenty of Free Walking Tours around the world under my belt to be able to say that with conviction.
He clearly loves his city and his job. His knowledge and enthusiasm was top notch and I was thoroughly engaged in his stories 100% of the time. I imagine that doing a one on one tour would add stress to the job and would require the tour guide to be top notch 100% of the time since literally all eyes were on him. He didn’t disappoint and he delivered a spectacular morning for me. I can NOT wait for tomorrow’s tour. David, you are the highlight of my trip so far…you and the thing that happened a little later in the day. You will have to keep reading to find out the icing on the cake for Day 2 in Cartagena.
But first a little about the tour. We started in the San Diego neighbourhood and weaved in and out of the streets into the Getsemani neighbourhood. Which if you know anything about Vancouver’s Downtown East Side…you know that gentrification has been happening for years…turning an otherwise head turning neighbourhood into a hip cool livable space. This is exactly what is happening here. Blocks of old houses are being purchased and turned into boutique hotels with some serious charm. While the neighbourhood once was rough inside and outside it is now one of the hippest hoods in town where street art is everything and portrays the heart and soul of its history. This area spoke to me…maybe it was the guide’s passion about it or maybe it was the vibe but regardless of what it was…I connected to these streets. Getsemani left me craving more so I will be back to explore.
After the tour I headed back to the apartment just in time to start my 9-5 PST work day. Yes, that’s right folks…by the time the Pacific Northwest was rolling out of bed, I had already walked 4km + the walking distance on the 2 hour tour and got back to my apartment before 9am PST (which was noon for me).
My airBnB host (who just lives on the ground floor) called me on Whatsapp to say…
“Hello Jackelyn, so you remember that you told me that you forgot your jacket in the taxi driver’s car when you arrived and I told you to make peace with saying goodbye to it. Well guess what, the taxi driver is here with your jacket and your car key.
Would you like to come downstairs and grab it? He is waiting here for you. Also, this is amazing because that never ever ever happens. I am sooo happy for you.”
To that I said:
“Oh my gosh, I can not believe this, this is incredible news. I am soooo happy. I will be right down.”
Of course I gave him a very healthy tip. While I said that it wasn’t the end of the world to have lost the jacket it was sad because I loved this jacket and it wasn’t cheap, it was an investment. Plus whatever the cost would have been to replace my car key when I got home. This taxi driver, what a seriously good soul he has and he definately just topped up his karma bucket with this good deed.
He gave me his number, well technically he gave it to the airBNB host because he doesn’t speak English, and she gave it to me and suggested that I use him when I need to take a cab back to the airport. That’s a no brainer, I will tell the world that Caesar from Cartagena, he is your guy, the cab driver you can trust whole heartedly.
Honestly, a large chunk of respect I lost for society was just restored single handedly by Caesar, the cabby with a genuine soul.
Have I said that I 
Cartagena?
You are making it very difficult to leave, I am so glad I still have two months with you. I am pretty confident I will feel terribly blue to leave you.
