In November (and part of December) 2022, Mark, Maya, and I found ourselves in Cartagena, Colombia, for only one reason: pick up our truck camper from the port and start our South American adventure. I’ve already written extensively about how to ship a vehicle between the two continents here and about what went wrong in our story here. Because of all the delays and mistakes made (by our UK agent IVSS), we ended up spending five weeks instead of one in this well-known Colombian City.
(As always, click on or hover over photos to read their captions.)
Old Town Cartagena or the “walled city” is a World Heritage Site that draws lots of visitors – nationally and internationally – and that is certainly worth a stop. For a couple of days. It’s picturesque, colorful, and historic, yet touristy, pricier than elsewhere in the country, busy, loud, and very hot and humid. Add to this that Mark and I already visited this city in 2011 by sailboat (check out my short posts about that here (mainly text) and here (mainly photos) and you will understand playing tourists in Cartagena was not high on the agenda.
Our five weeks here were spread over five different areas and Airbnb apartments in this massive city.
1. Manga
Our first week in Cartagena was booked ahead of time. We picked the Manga area, because the cost for accommodation, while relatively steep for Colombia, was much lower here than in the walled city, which was located within walking distance from our Airbnb rental. Price: US$43/night.
Notes: All prices mentioned include taxes and fees; cleaning fees are much lower than in the US; there is no hot water anywhere, so cold showers were the norm in our accommodation choices; we didn’t meet one English-speaking Colombian during our five weeks in Cartagena.
The apartment was sparse but adequate, with a little patio. Unfortunately, we never sat outside, because the traffic noise was too loud (honk, honk, honk) and it rained a big chunk of the time. The nicest – unexpected – feature of this location was the park across the street and a short riverfront path a block from us. This worked to let Maya out in the early morning and late afternoon.
We had planned some old town strolling and relaxing in the nearby parks during this first week, to decompress from months of preparation for this new adventure, but both Mark and I became sick for over a week. Did we finally contract Covid on the plane ride? We wore surgical masks, but in the frenzy of packing, organizing, and planning for this big move, we had forgotten to grab our “good” masks.
