La Costa Caribe

Trip Start Jul 27, 2004
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Trip End Dec 13, 2006


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Flag of Colombia  ,
Friday, September 15, 2006

After a good weekend in taganga celebrating my birthday I caught a bus 4hrs along the Caribbean coast to Cartagena. The old city of Cartagena is really well preserved with lots of churches, beautiful old buildings and cobbled streets. I stayed in a cheaper area nearby called Getsanami which still has beautiful buildings although most of them are pretty run/down. The people are just as colourful in this area with drug dealers and prostitutes on every corner, but they dont give any hassle to tourists like me and the area is safe until even very late at night. Had a good couple of nights out here - one night in the old city drinking rum and then another quieter night in a cool Cuban bar in Getsanami. The second night out was livened up by two women having a brief fight outside the bar (lots of scratching and hair pulling). As is usual when travelling I found a great place to eat on the day I left - a small restaurant on Plaza Bolivar in Getsanami - and after a big meal of soup, steak and veg with some juice I was on the move again. 01 Cartagena old City
01 Cartagena old City
 I took a 3hr bus ride Southeast to a small village called Tolu which had been recommended to me as a nice beach resort. When I arrived I struggled to find a place to stay as 3 hotels i checked were all closed... but more worryingly there was no sign of a beach either, just a 2ft strip of brown mud at the top of the water. Continuing my search for a place to stay I went into a building marked Costa Azul Hotel y Resedencias - it had a lively feel with lots of people around drinking in the courtyard. I asked the manager if he had any rooms but he explained that it was no longer a hotel.. it was then that I noticed the girls werent wearing much, apart from one girl wearing what looked like a very skimpy air-hostess outfit!!! The girls seemed keen for me to stay but I quickly made my escape and found a more conventional hotel nearby.. Tolu didnt have many gringos but it was obviously a tourist destination for Colombians (men) with money who knew what they wanted to spend it on (women) so I only stayed the one night and then caught a bus to Medellin where I am going to meet up with my friend Matty who I last saw in Bogota...
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