The time slowed down since we arrived in Colombia.  It has only been a week, but we already forgot all about the winter in Chicago.  It was 12 degrees F when we left for the O´Hare airport.  Here the outside temperature ranges from 80 to 90 degrees F.

We arrived at Cartagena International airport on January 23rd.  As soon as the plane engines stopped, the steam rushed inside.  We soon exited the plane through the back to form the line outside the immigration post, which was being partially renovated.  The smell of wet cement pleasantly surrounded us.  After passing the immigration and changing into the summer clothes in the airport bathroom, we were the last ones from our flight to officially enter the land of Colombia.





We hopped onto the bus toward historic center of Cartagena.  Through the open windows, a cool breeze was blowing in the sand from the beaches we were passing, while Dangis tried to figure out how to reach the hotel with the help of the guidebook and 3 spanish speaking ladies.  Already outside, we decided to take a cab the remaining distance.  We liked the hotel Familiar.  After seeing the room and agreeing on a price of 50,000 pesos ($28) for a night, we decided to stay there for at least a couple of days until we familiarize ourselves with surroundings.  Our room was small with a bed, a table, hooks on a wall, a ceiling fan, a lamp, a safe, and windows with curtains, but no glass.  The doors closed with a lock and a key from outside.  The bathroom and the kitchen were to be shared with other hotel guests and staff.  After delicious lunch and exchanging some money, it was time for a siesta.  The pleasant breeze and street noize put us right to sleep.







Our hotel smelled like clean laundry.  The maid washed sheets and towels and hanged them in the courtyard to dry. 







On our way to the beach, we saw a man, strapped by the rope, painting the building wall.  The other worker was sitting on a tree branch, cutting it with the hand saw.



The beaches were always full of business man and women, selling  sun glasses, hats, fruit, and beer, offering massages, pedicures, and to apply sunscreen.  You could live on a beach if you wanted- anything could be brought to you there for a price.

We quickly learned to take afternoons easy, since the heat can be exhausting.  My favorite time of the day is the evening so far.  The breeze is refreshing.  All the windows are always open.  It feels like you are always outside.  Perfection.



Emilly, Adam, and Colette, Cartagena, 01-27-2013



Our hotel in Cartagena had a lot of americans.  There was a married couple, travelling in their van from Los Angeles, with their 2 year old daughter Coco.  They were waiting for their car to arrive from Panama.  They were already on a road for 3 months.  They were planning to reach Argentina by April, before the beginning of winter there.  They were very pleasand people.  They gave some advice about travelling in Southern Africa. Their favorite country was Namibia, which felt to them like another planet.  We also got to celebrate little Coco´s birthday in the park with the local kids.  It was amazing to watch the little kids play together without common language. 

The french couple next door were also travelling with their daughter, who was going to be 4 in a couple of months.  They are also moving south, planning to reach Urugvay in July.  They started their trip in Montral, Canada, 4 months ago.  They really enjoyed New Orleans in US.

It was truly amazing that most people we met so far were on big trips, planning to travel for months and visit a lot of countries.  Almost all of them could speak Spanish besides their own language and English.  Knowing spanish here makes a huge difference, since locals here practically do not speak any English, even people in tourism.  

So far our communication tactics is asking multiple people the same question using a couple key words, until we somewhat understand the answer from gestures or few learned words.  Everyone is very helpful here and tries really hard to help us.