1. The walled city is a UNESCO world heritage site and justifiably so. It is one of those places that has, in an odd twist of fate, benefited from years of poverty. The historic fortifications and colonial architecture were never subjected to the whims of modernization and thus remain in much the same state as they were in 16th and 17th century. It is still possible to walk along the walls and ramparts admiring, to one side, the Caribbean and to the other, the colorful historic town. When that gets old, one can visit museums dedicated to the gold or emerald trade, or less romantically, to the practices of the Inquisition. Or if museums are not to your liking, it is possible to simply stroll through the charming little lanes, knowing that in a town this small, the probability of getting lost (even for the directionally challenged, such as myself) is slim.
2. It is shockingly cheap. I was staying in Getsemani, a rough and tumble neighborhood that has traditionally been home to the city’s lower class. It is now in the process of becoming a happening restaurant and nightlife district, while somehow retaining its edge. My hostel, Casa Viena, located less than a ten minute walk from the touristy area, charged about $8 a night for a bed in a 3 person room or $20 for a two person private room.
Most prices that I saw in the area were similar. I considered splurging and staying in the historic district itself, which would have set me back around $35 a night, but preferred to stay and hang out with the friendly staff of Casa Viena. As long as you avoid the persistent emerald peddlers, you can easily live it up in Cartagena for no more than $60 a day.
3. They have the Rumba en Chiva. Simply put, this is a brightly painted old bus with wooden seats that, once the sun sets, becomes a rumbling, traveling party. There is a live band on board and each row of passengers is handed four things: plastic cups, an ice bucket, a liter of cola and a bottle of rum. If that proves insufficient, at every stop or red light, an eager group of salesmen materializes selling ice cold beer, sodas and in case you are hankering to join in with the band, pairs of maracas.
Initially, I thought this was a brilliant idea that should be exported throughout the tropical world. Then we started cruising around town, with the emcee insisting that first the men and then the women stand up on the wooden benches, rum drinks in hand and shake their asses...as, and I can’t stress this enough, the bus was speeding across town!!!
The next game involved swaying violently from left to right trying to knock the hapless soul located on the open right side of the bus into the street, again, this goes without saying…on a moving bus. I realized that were the rumba en chiva idea ever to make it to the US, all surrounding traffic would immediately be shut down by the endless caravan of personal injury lawyers following in its wake. Best to enjoy it in Colombia before the lawyers discover what a gold mine awaits.
4. They have a volcano full of mud and you are free to wallow in it. The mud volcano of Totumbo, about 45 minutes outside of Cartagena has become a novel tourist attraction. Rickety wooden stairs lead you up to the summit, where a group of men wait to relieve you of your camera and sunglasses. An identical set of stairs lead you down the other side into the thick gooey morass, where other men wait to push and pull you from one side to the other.
This is more necessary than it sounds since the density of the mud makes it impossible to either sink or gain enough traction to propel yourself in any given direction. At one end, the men give basic massages, making sure that not an inch of your person remains mud-free. Once done, they shove you to the other end to join the other mud people.
My newfound friend, Steve, and I happily played in the mud until our guide let us know our time was up. At that point, we went over to a nearby lagoon to be washed down by a group of women. Mine was a girl whose size seriously betrayed her strength. She was about ninety pounds of scrubbing fury and was armed with a plastic bowl she liberally used to dump water on my head.
As I was sitting in water submerged up to my neck, trying to catch my breath from bowlful after bowlful, I couldn't help but notice that my bikini top had been stripped away. This was followed by a demand for the matching bottom. As I handed over my only article of clothing and listened to Steve's woman demanding "Todo!", it struck me as to what a leap of faith the tourist is being asked to make here.
My purse and wallet were in a bus that could be on a ferry halfway to Panama. My camera, and the cameras of everyone on our tour, were in the hands of some guy who probably has an excellent seller rating on ebay. My sunglasses...well, I'm not even sure that kid was Colombian. And now, I am in a lagoon in the middle of nowhere, buck naked. It had all the makings of a bad travel horror film. But it was not to be, instead, we got everything back and ended up with both soft supple skin and mud remnants in every orifice for days to come.
5. At 2 1/2 hours, it is a short painless flight from the Miami/ Ft. Lauderdale area. I've spent more time sitting in traffic just trying to get home. Spirit, the low-cost, no-frills carrier has direct flights from FLL, so this also goes back to reason #2.
6. It is unlikely you will get killed. For years, Colombia has suffered from its (probably deserved) reputation as a deadly country to travel through. The times are finally changing and Cartagena, in particular, has become a safe place to visit. The historic district is very conspicuously patrolled and the effects of decades of paramilitary activity are not visible to the average tourist.
This is not to say you can go and down there and act the fool, such as the guy at my hostel who went to the home of someone known as "el jefe" to buy some blow and ran into problems when they could not agree on the terms, but with a modicum of common sense, you should not run into any difficulties.
7. Boats await to take you on a short ride to white-sand, crystal clear-water, postcard-worthy beaches on the Islas de Rosario. There, it is possible to rent a hammock, sit around a bonfire, buy food and beer from the local fishermen and generally spend the night leading the life of a satisfied beach bum. Or so I am told.
During the time I was there, the waters were consistently rough and appeared more conducive to vicious sea-sickness than to lazy days of snorkeling, so I skipped the whole thing. My one water-related excursion, was a canoe trip through the mangroves admiring a few pelicans, herons and egrets. No open ocean for me.
8. Cartagena does not fool around when it comes to partying. The clubs, with a booming mix of salsa, hip-hop and whatever else the deejay is in the mood for, go on all night. Young and old can be counted on to be dancing in the street and plazas and the joie de vive is contagious. Combine that with world class restaurants, such as La Vitrola, which the NY Times referred to as the kingpin of cuisine in a glowing review, and you have to work really hard to have a bad time. Incidentally, I went to La Vitrola, the finest place in town, for lunch and a glass of wine. The bill came out to less than $12 (again, see #2).
9. The magic that is the nispero shake. Google has taught me that the English name for this fruit is the "loquat". I still have no earthly idea what it is. All I know is that there are fruit stands dotted all over the city selling freshly made shakes that are so good you forget to mind the heat and humidity.
The woman at one of these stands was out of my familiar mango and recommended I try nispero instead. I was feeling bold and went for it. It was so sweet and creamy and yum. It was perfection in an icy glass. I now want a loquat tree and the recipe for that shake and I can die happy.
10. Let's say, hypothetically, that you are engaged in a competition with a number of friends as to who can visit the most countries and you have never been to Colombia. This could be, again hypothetically speaking, country #83. No? That one only works for me? Oh ok, sorry about that.
