Discovering Cartagena, Colombia

How did I decide to go to Cartagena?

I decided to go to Cartagena, Colombia, because of my friends. Over the years they've managed to convince me, and we were planning to go somewhere together outside of Mexico after all. We thought of many other places, from Miami, Cuba, and in all honesty I wanted to go to Chile, but the others didn't fancy that so much. So, in the end, they suggested going to Cartagena, Colombia.

The truth is, the first impression of Colombia is always the same, with things like drugs, trafficking, etc. because of what we see in the news, TV series, books, etc. Honestly, I was a little scared myself. But my friends had already decided to go, so they convinced me. We looked for accommodation, flights and after one week we had already paid for our trip to Cartagena.

When did you buy and how?

We booked the trip 9 months in advance so it would be cheaper:

• Flight there + flight back + 4 star hotel + airport transfers = $15, 000. 00

We booked it through the internet, so it was even cheaper than going through a travel agency. Very recommendable.

Our arrival

We flew from the city of León, Guanajuato, towards Mexico City. Our second flight had a layover in Bogotá, Colombia, and then finally we arrived in Cartagena, Colombia.

When we arrived at the airport and left the plane we felt the powerful heat from outside. We travelled during October, a time of the year we thought would be autumnal. I only say this because it was as hot as if it were summer.

It was up to us to take ourselves to the hotel; during the transfer the driver was giving us a general explanation about the city. We passed the sea, the hotel area, until arriving at our own hotel. The first impression wasn't one that impressed me. So far, I wasn't surprised.

What did we explore?

We decided to go on the famous tourbus to see all of the touristic places and so we could have a general view of the city. It's something that I recommend, because without it you'd miss out on some amazing locations.

We walked around the hotel area which is full of tall buildings, all white in colour with an incredible view of the sea. You can get lost in amongst so many buildings but it's beautiful to explore every one of its nooks and crannies.

One of my favourite places and the reason I fell in love with Cartagena, is the Walled City. This is the old part of the city which is walled in and inside these walls are houses of all different colours, all designed in the same style, but they are all different in their own way.

What makes this place special is the combination of colours, doors, balconies and the plants that hang over the balconies. There is a surprise waiting round every corner when you go walking through each of these streets. And suddenly, whilst you're walking, there are these plazas in the middle of the streets where people meet. There's art and magic all around.

Another one of the places we visited was the San Felipe de Barajas' Castle. On the inside, it's full of tunnels and passages and we went right down to the bottom of the castle, where it was really hot and dark. I wouldn't recommend it to those with claustrophobia because at a certain point you'll start to lose hope as you don't know where it ends. It's like a labyrinth down there.

The Barú Islands. To go here, you have to book it at least one day in advance as the tours are normally full up. There are loads of islands, and the hotel that sells you the tour, will host you as well. You'll spend the whole day on the island. We decided to go to one of the private islands, as we wanted to be as far away from the traders as possible.

The islands are one of the tours that you have to do as here, especially on the islands with turquoise water and white sand, it's paradise.

What didn't we like?

Like on all trips, there's always gonna be something that you don't like. In this case, it was the businesses that didn't leave tourists in peace. They were selling things every few steps, tours, restaurants, etc. They were really annoying and they never left you alone.

The weather was another thing that we didn't like as we went in autumn and honestly it was just too hot. It was unbearable. We had to go into shops just for the air conditioning.

Where to go on a night out?

During the night I would really recommend going for a walk or having dinner in some of the places in the Walled City. The atmosphere is different in there, there are carts that take you all over the city, and the light creates a warm and romantic feel.

For those who like to party, there's a tour called Chiva Rumbera which is a bus that plays current Colombian music, gives you drinks and a typical snack from the city. They give you a city tour and afterwards you go to a club.

One of the places that I liked the most was Café del Mar, which is a bar in the side of a wall, with a view of the sea. It's an ideal place to go and watch the sunset, there's a DJ and you can drink traditional beer, or whatever you want to drink.

Final comments

We spent a week in Cartagena, but I would recommend visiting other cities such as Bogotá, Medellín, etc. as Cartagena, because of the weather, can sometimes be very tiring and you can still get to know the city well in less time than we spent there. We were told that the public beaches in Cartagena were not very safe and to not leave our stuff there without anyone watching. But you always have to be alert around your belongings. The transport is bad, the transfers took so long, you have to bear that in mind.

But I would return without a shadow of a doubt.