Today we were supposed to be able to sleep in a bit but unfortunately our hostel is under construction so there were men yelling and using table saws from 7:00am on. We didn't have to check out of the hostel until 1:00 so we went to get breakfast at a place called "Gato Negro" that had gotten great reviews for their coffee. There seems to be a place called Gato Negro in every city we have visited; not sure why it's such a popular name. The coffee was much better there than we had gotten elsewhere and the prices were reasonable. I got a banana/Nutella crepe and Alyssa got yogurt and muesli which both included the coffee in their price of $8000 pesos ($4 USD).
After breakfast we decided to walk to the fort that is just over the river on the hill. We still have our student IDs from the U of A so we can get student pricing for tickets- awesome deal! I wonder how much longer people will believe I could be in my early 20's? The fort was really interesting. It had been built to protect the city across the river from invaders. There were tons of underground tunnels and hidden passages. Apparently the cut outs in the passages had been used by the soldiers to hide in and attack any enemies who found their way into the tunnels.
After overheating ourselves walking around the fort, we headed back to the mall which was built just across the street from the fort. I wanted to go back to the Target-like store to try and find a battery I need for my steripen (water purifier) which somehow ran out of battery in my bag and only takes this bizarre little 123 battery which no one has. Unfortunately they didn't have it, but we still enjoyed the a/c and walked down all of the aisles. I did buy some more toothpaste since I was about out- they only sell little tubes, not like in the states.
After spending some time in the upscale Target store, we decided to find the local market where the local people shop so we could price compare a few things. It was definitely a lot different in the local market but actually the prices were pretty much the same. We are on a search for more bug spray and sunscreen but it is so expensive we haven't given in yet (sunscreen is almost $20 USD!!). Outside the market a lady was selling something that looked to be a tamale. We purchased one for $1000 ($0.50) to give it a shot. There was nothing inside of the tamale which was a bit disappointing, it was basically just like a green corn tamale.
After hanging out at our hostel for a few hours to kill time, we ventured back into the old town to try and find Alyssa a hat. She tried many on, but we could never find one that she liked that she would also be able to squish up inside of her bag. After wandering for a while, we ended up back at El Balcon to get a drink. I had the same drink I had gotten before with the Aguardiente and Alyssa tried their version of a michelada which is a beer with lemon and salt.
We had to leave our hostel by 8:00 to catch a cab to the bus terminal which was at least 30 minutes away, so we at an early dinner back at Crepes and Waffles. This is really the only place in old town where you can order salads.
After dinner we collected our bags that the hostel had held for us and got a cab. Cartagena is full of cabs and it never takes more than walking outside the door for four cabs to stop and try and take you somewhere. This cab fare was a very reasonable $1500 ($7.50USD) for such a long ride. As we drove, we realized how much larger Cartagena is than we thought. It just kept going with malls and stadiums and stores for almost the entire 30 minute drive to the bus terminal.
We got to the terminal with plenty of time to spare which I prefer; I hate to be rushed or late. This bus was much nicer than any we'd been on so far. The seats recline pretty far back, there is a good amount of leg room and it is very clean. We knew however, that we would not be able to escape the cold factor. On the bus, I wore the following: work out capris, covertable pants, hooded t-shirt, running jacket, rain jacket, Toms shoes and a towel as blanket. We look like Eskimos but its really the only way to survive these trips. This bus wasn't the coldest one we had been on yet, so we were able to stay warm (we has brought more things we could have worn as well, lol). The bus left at 9:30pm and we were scheduled to arrive in Medellin, Colombia the following day at 10:30am. I didn't realize that the bus would make so many stops along the way. We stopped a few times to pick up other passengers, fill up with gas etc. Also, it seemed like the driver had played GTA a few too many times and was constantly slamming in the breaks or swerving, which made it tough to maintain a good sleeping position since you were always sliding around. I must have drifted off a few times but I have no idea how much I slept.
Posted with Blogsy
No comments:
Post a Comment