I´ve got used to getting up early, but today it´s just too early - the cell phone alarm goes off at 5:45 (AM that is!) and there´s no way around getting up as quickly as possible - absolutely no mercy today as I have to get to Medellín´s international airport, which is unconveniently 20 miles from the city and thus making the transfer either expensive or difficult. I want to save my precious pesos and decide against the easy and relatively quick option of ordering a cab. So I jump under the shower, get dressed and throw the remaining few bits and pieces into my bulky and heavy bag (that´s going to be interesting later at the airport - to excess luggage or not to excess luggage, that´s the eternal question). I call a cab to take me to the place where the cheaper taxi colectivos leave and get there after we battle the frantic rush hour traffic. I find a colectivo right away and wait for more passengers to arrive. Good thing I already did web check-in yesterday, this buys me precious time. But even that is about to run out and still no other passengers around... I can´t wait longer and pay for the empty seats as well (so in the end I saved about 3 Euros - wow!). It turns out that my driver is trying to become Colombia´s next #1 formula 1 pilot... and so I arrive at the airport with plenty of time. Check in is no problem and after a Donut and a coffee it´s time to pass security and board the plane. The first leg of the journey takes me to Bogotá in no time at all. Then I spend the next 1 1/2 hours reading and walking from one end of the terminal to the other. Finally it´s time to board and I'm off to Cartagena. Just before landing the gaps between the clouds become bigger and I can see the endless swamp areas and last but not least the historic city of Cartagena.
My bag arrives quickly and after a quick taxi ride I arrive at my nice hostal in the historic part of the town. The room is decent and quite clean. The first thing I do is to swap my jeans for shorts and my sneakers for flip-flops. It´s 33°C and very humid. I´m back in the tropics - I guess the jacket and the sweaters can stay in the bag until I return to Bogotá.
Then it´s high time to explore the colonial gem, the pearl of the Caribbean. The colonial part of the city has been named World heritage by the UNESCO, and very rightly so. I don´t think I´ve been to many cities prettier and more atmospheric than this one! I stroll through the alleys and plazas with no aim at all. And I enjoy every minute - camera always at hand.
Just before dusk I walk up the fortifications of the walled city. The clouds and the evening sky are absolutely stunning. I decide to have a sundowner (a Tequila Sunrise of all drinks - a bit absurd, isn´t it?) and then a beer because I simply don´t want to leave this spot. The view is magnificent.
After a while I can´t help noticing that the alcohol is not without effect and I leave in search for food. The restaurants in the area are quite pricey - even by European standards and I don´t want Pasta or Pizza. What I want is fish and coconut rice. The effectfully lit streets and buildings delay my search a bit - I stop often to take pictures...but finally I find just the right place and order my fish a la plancha. While I´m waiting it starts to rain, nay, to pour with rain and within minutes all streets are flooded. And the fish tastes a bit fishy, too - not quite what I had hoped for. I guess I´m spoilt since I tasted the food at El Cantil...
Walking back home in this tropical rain is out of the question and so I hail a cab and drive home. There I transfer my photos, switch on the a/c (it´s still around 30°C - and it´s 11:30 pm!) and write the blog. And then it´s time for bed!
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