I spend the days wandering the streets of the historical parts of Cartagena and am captivated by the unique atmosphere of this colonial gem. I turn left and right whenever I see something that sparks my interest. This must be one of the most photogenic cities on earth! I reach the former storage chambers in the fortifications, which now house several souvenir shops. Most souvenirs seem to cater for the domestic tourist - rosaries in the national colours, crufixes with "Cartagena - Colombia" written on a plaque and the like. Other shops however sell really classy (and really expensive) things. Pity, no postcards and no souvenirs...
Cartagena is as expensive as it is photogenic and if, just for one hour, I bought from every street vendor offering Cuban cigars, T-Shirts, necklaces, paintings, fruits, food, sweets, ice-cream, cold drinks, you name it, I´d soon go overdraft (even more so ;-) ). Still, most vendors are pleasant and accept a "no, gracias" with a smile and a witty comment.
Upon returning to my hostel´s pool for siesta I hear somebody hammering away for a long time. When I leave again I see a middle-aged man, his naked back glistening in the sun. He´s hammering and chiseling on a piece of tin, but I can´t quite make out what it is he´s doing, so I approach him and ask. His name is César and he is a sculptor. He produces all sorts of marine creatures by cutting their shapes out of a tin panel and then shaping it with hammer and other improvised tools. Fascinating. And seeing him work in the hot afternoon sun makes me sweat.
After this interesting encounter I head back to the heart of the Old Town, but I can´t quite forget César and his fish. I have a stroll catching the breeze on the city wall facing the open sea. There are hundreds of kites in the air. What a sight! It´s time for another sundowner on the fortifications and then dinner and coconut candy as dessert. I just love Cartagena any time of the day! But it´s certainly not an authentic Colombian city, at least not in the centre.
The next morning I first take to the pool, then get on the internet. I see César working on the sidewalk opposite my hostel again and I go and say "hello" (or rather "hola") and ask him if he had a little fish he could sell me. He doesn´t - he´s only got a barracuda left, which is far too big to carry to Germany. But he proposes to make me one to order for a couple of Euros. I agree and then go to the supermarket to buy some provisions for tomorrow´s trip to the small town of Mompós. When I come back César is about to start the work on my fish. I join him and watch every step of the procedure. Very interesting. It takes him about 45 minutes.
We talk a lot and I ask him if he knew a cheap but good fish restaurant and of course he does and decides to join me. I pay my debt, take a shower and get ready, then we walk to the Old Town, all the while talking. I decide to invite him for dinner - which is not accepted easily, but after a while he agrees under the condition to get us some beers and he wants to make a second fish just like the one he has made, so that the two halves could be welded together. He insists on it (and won´t receive money for that!) and so we carry all the tools to the harbour where there´s more light and he begins to work at 9 pm. We meet a lot of friends of César´s and he introduces me. Soon we are a big party of artists, hookers, vendors and policemen. Very entertaining. When, after a couple of more beers, we decide to leave we bump into yet another of César´s friends, an Argentinian who is about to open a restaurant in the neighbourhood. He invites us to have a look at his restaurant and we have more beers and more conversations until well after midnight. Then it really is time for me to go back to the hostel, pack my bags and go to bed as my shuttle service to Mompós is going to pick me up at 4:30 am! When I reach my room I find hundreds of ants that have begun to make a home for themselves in my bag and backpack. I spend another hour and 3/4 of my bottle of repellent to convince them otherwise and finally succeed. Then I go to bed, although there´s lesst than 90 minutes left before the alarm goes off...
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