Delirio Hotel Cartagena

... the action. This time we were not disappointed, the parade was huge, probably the best part of it was that everyone was buying large cans of foam and shooting anyone that looked clean. There was also paint, flour and water flying all arouund as well. Obviously gringos are there favourite target. Jemma got straight into the swing of things and started a running battle with a guy and his daughter, after getting coated at least 5 times we eventually made our first Colombian ...

... for the equivalent of five pounds each, got some food and crashed out under the fans.

Taganga is a real tourist hotspot. It's got a strip down by the sea front full of restaurants and bars and shops selling touristy stuff. It was full of travellers just like us. We spent the next few days on the beach hiding from the sun and the heat. The beach we were on was a little cove in between two cliffs. Absolutly ...

... walls of the old town. It was certainly very pretty, and the cool evening breeze mad a big difference to the hot humid daytime. A few couples were out making the most of the horse drawn carriages, I guess it is quite a romantic place. As we headed back to our apartment cutting across the city we passed by the big church. It was open for a service and there was a wonderful choir in full song as we passed by. After a poor start, Cartagena was kind of growing on us.

... maze of traps designed to catch the enemy!

The weather has been humid and generally stormy everyday, but you soon get used to getting wet and then drying off whilst sitting in one of the many plazas and watching the world go by. I really like it here but will very soon have to move on again to ensure I make the most of my time.

Colombia overall is so laid back and the ...

... that spouts deep metaphysical tones in e-minor just like an enormous organ in a gothic church, why not, they want to cut off the breath of their own public, strangulate their readers with their words. And in the end they say it's all meaningless. Well, write about meaningless butterflies and meaningless hummingbirds then, instead of our meaningless lives. I have to elaborate this kind of stuff more, but I'm tired. I need better metaphores to describe the character of that writer so you ...

... and occupation.


If you are an international spy, someone who craves privacy or just an idiot you can end up writing all manner of things in this space over the course of a 3 month trip. Pierpaolo and I have so far been logged as astronauts, hand models and jockeys depending on our mood at the time of check in. But perhaps the finest one I heard was British lad who was going around South America, his trip funded by his excellent work as a cigarette lighter repairman.

Cartagena, Colombia barneyandpier

... erinnert hat...schicke Hochhäuser direkt am Strand auf nem Peninsular...Sind im alten Zentrum geblieben! Habe mir eine Weile die Stadt angeschaut, bin zum Strand gegangen und bin dann mit nem Boot zum Playa Blanca (weißer Strand) gefahren. Ein richtig Typischer Karibikstrand wie man sich das so vorstellt! Sehr sehr schön! Nur war die Fahrt dort hin recht wild da der Motor alle 2 Minuten ausgefallen ist und wie wie ne ...

Opted to take our chances without an official Holland America shore excursion. There were lots of vendors, taxi and bus drivers & tour guides. After a one-armed guy negotiated a deal for $15 each, we joined his group and off we went. First to the Fort... Vendors of all kinds descended upon us. I bought a straw hat; Buffy bought some postcards for a buck.

... only about the shopping. He never did take us to the old city and didn't speak any English so we couldn't tell him where we wanted to go. So it was a short day and in retrospect maybe not a bad thing because we heard from others that the old city was very crowded today. The HAL Westerdam was tied up beside us and it's a bigger boat than the Sun. There were literally dozens of tour buses taking people to the old city, so I think I'm glad we missed that scene after all. Speaking ...

... over again! Not really my cup of tea but what the hell - everybody was going through the same and I wasn't gonna act like a fool. After this mud and water wash, everybody got dried up and paid their tips to the workers who had helped you in the mudpit, taken photos, given massage and washed you. Then it was the bus back to Cartagena.

My third day in Cartagena was just for relaxing. I had to send $230 USD to Guatemala to pay for Yeimi's (My sponsored girl ...