Más Cartagena
It's easy for beach vacations to go by too quickly because everyday is a blur of beach, reading, pool, and dinner. I've experienced this in Puerto Lopez, Carlsbad, Seignosse, and Alicante. Don't get me wrong, it's great. But it also feels like time is passing too quickly and you want it to slow down. So Sandra and I had a strategy of interspersing activities into each day so we could at least have memory mileposts to demarcate different days. Feel free to skip the table, it's really more for me to remember. I also did this technique when I was in Brazil for 3 months so I have a pretty good log of how I spent those 3 months, which I can still remember the details 9 years later when I read it.
Safety
Cartagena felt like any other large city in terms of safety. We took taxis at night from Bocagrande to the city center to avoid a poorly lit 20 minute walk, but other than that, it felt safe. We were careful with our wallets and phones at the public beach making sure to take turns with who was in the water. Colombia is no longer like it was in the days of Pablo Escobar. Cartagena and Bogota are well established on the backpacker's trail. The most dangerous parts of Colombia are on its borders with Venezuela, Panama, and Ecuador. If you are ever curious, you can always check the US Department of State Travel Advisories which lists Colombia as increased caution for the country in general, pretty typical for Latin America, with higher security risk limited to a few regions, which it lists.
World View. As you can see the red hot spots are Venezuela, Bolivia, parts of Mexico, Iran, Mali, Libya, Iran, Afghanistan, C.A.R., South Sudan, Somalia, and North Korea.
Mexico has everything from increased caution, reconsider travel, and Do Not Travel for three states. Luckily I will be traveling to yellow states in January.
Costs in Colombia
Colombia is pretty cheap as I mentioned in the previous post with things about 1/3 the price of the United States in the touristy areas. Here is a sample of typical price ranges:
Costs in Colombia
Colombia is pretty cheap as I mentioned in the previous post with things about 1/3 the price of the United States in the touristy areas. Here is a sample of typical price ranges:
- Beer: 6,000 - 12,000 COP, or USD$2-4
- 8-hour catamaran tour with lunch and snorkeling: 250,000 COP, or $75
- Dinner: 60,000 - 120,000, or $20 -$40
- Taxi: 8,000 - 10,000 COP, or $3
- 30 minute massage on the beach: 30,000 - 40,000 COP, or $10-13
- Beach chairs and umbrella on the beach all day: 20,000 - 30,000 COP, or $7-10
- 4-Star hotel: $100/night
- Tip to ferry man for crossing a street flooded during high tide $500 COP, or 20 cents. Wasn't really sure how much here, could probably have been 100-200 COP
- Coconut from kayak while on a catamaran 15,000 pesos or $5
The GDP per capita for Colombia is $6,300, compared to the United States where it is $59,500. We would bargain for prices with vendors because you have to, but we stopped even when we could have taken it lower because we felt like we should be giving the vendors liveable wages. It reminds me of the criticism of the backpacker with a $500 backpack haggling with a local over 50 cents.
You really do see capitalism at work in Cartagena. Everyone is trying to sell everything everywhere always. On the beach, beach vendors approach you about every 30 seconds trying to sell you stuff. At first you try to politely say "No gracias" but after a few hundred times of saying that, you stop responding and just shake your head no or ignore them completely. It feels cold but it's exhausting to always say "No gracias" and very challenging to read a book when you are interrupted so frequently. I was thinking about making a t-shirt that just says "No gracias" and just pointing at it whenever I was approached. The beach was about 95% Colombians and 5% foreign tourists, so when the vendors saw my pale skin, they thought $$$.
One of my favorite hustles was a group of rappers who walked around with a boom box playing a beat. The rappers would then improvise lyrics about whoever they were singing to usually in a flattering way to get a tip. Although we did hear them say to a larger couple "She's not fat, she's full of love", which I thought was a little too direct. They didn't get a tip. When they approached Sandra and I, I kept my eyes forward pretending to ignore them, which I had been practicing all day. Out of the corner of my eye I see Sandra smiling, making tons of eye contact, and practically singing along. At that point, I knew that I was going to have to give a tip, so I joined into the chorus of the rap "Feliz Navidad! Brah brah Feliz Navidad!", which surprised the rappers.
We also made good friends with the life guard at our pool. We realized that most guests ignored the lifeguard but we enjoyed exchanging pleasantries each day. After a few days, the life guard was helping us get the best pool lounge chairs and tables reserved. I find it very annoying how people will reserve pool lounge chairs very early each day by placing a single article of clothing on a lounge chair and never even sitting in it. Sandra and I approached this challenge in very different ways. My answer was "Well, I'll set my alarm to 6:00 AM so that I beat everyone to reserving the seat." Sandra's answer was "I'll make friends with the lifeguard and give him a $3 tip for reserving me a great spot." So we went with the latter.
Sandra and I also took a 1 hour Champeta class. Chapeta is the local dance style in Cartagena and is a mix of reggaeton, rap, and samba (interesting). Here's what it sounds and looks like (fast forward to 0:50 seconds):
Here's us in action, click to watch.
Just kidding it was a picture.
Anyway, great trip to Cartagena. We had such a great time that the debate is do you go back to a place where you had a great time because you know it's good, or do you explore new places you have never seen?
Happy New Year!
One of my favorite hustles was a group of rappers who walked around with a boom box playing a beat. The rappers would then improvise lyrics about whoever they were singing to usually in a flattering way to get a tip. Although we did hear them say to a larger couple "She's not fat, she's full of love", which I thought was a little too direct. They didn't get a tip. When they approached Sandra and I, I kept my eyes forward pretending to ignore them, which I had been practicing all day. Out of the corner of my eye I see Sandra smiling, making tons of eye contact, and practically singing along. At that point, I knew that I was going to have to give a tip, so I joined into the chorus of the rap "Feliz Navidad! Brah brah Feliz Navidad!", which surprised the rappers.
We also made good friends with the life guard at our pool. We realized that most guests ignored the lifeguard but we enjoyed exchanging pleasantries each day. After a few days, the life guard was helping us get the best pool lounge chairs and tables reserved. I find it very annoying how people will reserve pool lounge chairs very early each day by placing a single article of clothing on a lounge chair and never even sitting in it. Sandra and I approached this challenge in very different ways. My answer was "Well, I'll set my alarm to 6:00 AM so that I beat everyone to reserving the seat." Sandra's answer was "I'll make friends with the lifeguard and give him a $3 tip for reserving me a great spot." So we went with the latter.
Sandra and I also took a 1 hour Champeta class. Chapeta is the local dance style in Cartagena and is a mix of reggaeton, rap, and samba (interesting). Here's what it sounds and looks like (fast forward to 0:50 seconds):
Here's us in action, click to watch.
Anyway, great trip to Cartagena. We had such a great time that the debate is do you go back to a place where you had a great time because you know it's good, or do you explore new places you have never seen?
Happy New Year!
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