I’m definitely not a disciplined blogger. It’s June 2nd and the last time I posted a story was in late April and it was about an event that took place in February....oops.
To catch up - I left the wonderful friends I made at Vines of Mendoza in Vista Flores, Argentina in early May, and have since been to Easter Island, La Serena, Elqui Valley, and Santiago - all in Chile.
Fast forward to May 20th, where I receive an extremely hot & humid welcome to Cartagena, Colombia. Every day is the same - 90 degrees/90% humidity...the sun is blazing hot and the humidity sucks the energy right out of me.
The old walled city of Cartagena is a sight to see. It’s surrounded by an extremely thick wall with canons on top and inside the city are brightly colored Spanish Colonial buildings - blue, green, yellow, purple; some a little more subdued with ochre, amber, rose. All in various stages of being - newly remodeled to what could easily be condemned, right next door to each other. Full bloom bougainvilleas hang from balconies or intertwine in the narrow wooden lathed columns that provide security on the exterior of the windows.
The sounds of the city are non-stop...taxis honk to get your attention, street cart vendors shout out what they have for sale (mangos, avocados, ice cream, water, cigarettes, etc.), music is everywhere and at all hours..every. day. of. the. week.
Some vendors push their carts throughout the streets, so when you hear them hollering “mango”, you simply go outside and buy what you want. And you have to be careful to not hit your head when you go outside. Most houses have a door, then a smaller door inset into the larger door. You use the smaller door to enter/exit the house and if you’re any taller than me, you’ll probably hit your head if you don’t duck. It’s for privacy, but it doesn’t make sense to me because most people leave their windows wide open and you can see everything in their house. Why wide open? NO AC. If you have AC, it’s usually a unit in a BR. The house I’m in doesn’t have a 4th wall, so the kitchen & LR are completely exposed to the heat...there’s a roof, but no exterior wall, so no use having an AC unit in that area.
Kids are always playing soccer - many of them hang out in the various plazas. They have small, casual pickup games and they play bare-footed or in flip-flops. It’s amazing to see their footwork and skills, especially in flip flops - their feet move so fast!
If a car pulls over to let a passenger out and it blocks traffic, even for a few seconds, the other drivers are on their horns immediately. The police station across the street from me is almost within touching distance - that’s how narrow this street is. The smallest car you can think of would block traffic on this street. Well, the cops were loading a truck with gear, which blocked the street for about 10 minutes - almost every driver was on their horn....full on honking at the cops!!! It’s quite hilarious. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen people honk at the cops in the states.
I’m in a small B&B - the owner lives here and rents out 2 rooms. I’m pretty much a slug and don’t do anything other than go to Spanish class in the afternoon. It’s like living with somebody’s aunt and her housekeeper/cook...and the housekeeper’s brother, who does odd jobs around the house, provides security, and escorts the guests at night, if they want, to a restaurant or the club down the street. There was a huge fiesta in the main plaza one night and since I’m solo, he went with me and we hung out together.
Most days I also eat lunch with them - they’re teaching me to make some Colombian dishes and I’ve made Chinese and Italian food for them. Did I mention it’s blazing hot here - well, almost every day they eat some type of soup for lunch. I’d love a cold salad or sandwich, but no - soup...HOT SOUP! Or something fried - my face is breaking out like a teenager.
The more I travel, the smaller the world gets. While walking in the old city, I ran into two guys from Louisiana, who were also working at the winery in Argentina. Had no clue they’d be here and I haven’t seen or communicated with them since late March. Then I ran into them again at a fiesta, where there were ALOT of people. What are the odds?
Ahhhh, that’s life in Cartagena.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
