Becauseee the last few weeks have been ohh so rough (this statement is somewhat sarcastic but also a little bit true because CIUDAD PERDIDAD was hard!) my friends and I have been taking it easy in Cartagena for the past few days.
We've eaten a lot of foods at restaurants and street carts, did a little bit of shopping, took a tour of the Old City (complete with a free dance show by the Afro Caribbean peeps of Cartagena at Plaza Bolivar), and even jumped in some mud at Volcan de Lodo El Totumo... which resembled more of a hill TBH, but it was still really cool cus when else are you going to float around like a cork in a vat of mud??
It felt (and looked) a bit sacrilegious, like the opposite of a baptism (I suppose it's my right of passage into backpacking life hehe). Then you jump into the lake to get clean.
A few highlights:
- Lunch at La Mulata: Super hip restaurant with a really great ambiance... the servers were so nice & the food was amazing. I got soup, coconut fish with rice, avocados, potatoes, and a mango drink for less than $10
- Ceviche at La Cevicheria: If you know me, you know how much i love seafood, so this was basically heaven on earth. And unlike stingy New York restaurants, they give you huge chunks of delicious fish and shrimp and octopus and cover it in limey goodness, all for a reasonable price.. OH BABYYYYYY.
- Arepas & coffee from street vendors: Less than 50 cents for a filling arepa and a delicious cup of coffee. Screw you starBUCKS (emphasis on the BUCK$$$).. more bucks for me!
- Hanging out at Getsamani: apparently Getsamani is the suuuuuper cool area in Cartagena with a ton of bars & awesome restaurants...its a few blocks away from the Old City. As I mentioned in a previous post, i went to Calle Media Luna (which is in Getsamani) & drank at Plaza Trindad..plus I got to meet up with my friend Albert (he's been traveling around South America for the past few months.. check out his blog: NVLLING!
- Tour of the Old City: It would probably be sooo booooring if I reiterated everything our guide said/I cant remember most of it, but it was awesome to get more context about this incredible city.
I'm really sad to leave Cartegena tomorrow, but I'm off to Medellin! I've heard tons of great things about the city.. plus its like mid 60s which sounds great after 90+ humid days! Sorry if none of this makes sense, but its 3AM and i'm drunkkk and trying to stay awake so i wont be hungover on my flight tomorrow. WOOHOO.
Wine + ceviche = very happy me
LOOK AT ALL THOSE CHUNKS OF SEAFOOD. OH BABYYY
Lovely waitress at La Mulata
Fish, coconut rice, avocados, potatoes, yuca chip, and drink at La Mulata
Arepas from a street vendor
Dinner (arepa for 50 cents) and a (free) show
Sitting on the wall at the Old City
Going downnn
Yep.. getting the opposite of baptized
Coffee. MoreBUCKS cus it was less than 50cents
Friends for 5 years.., and 3 continents... @NVLLNG
Chicassss
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