Sep 28, 20183 min read

Carta, Carta genaaa

This beautiful colonial city is located on the Caribbean coast of Colombia and carries history from the 1500's.

I ventured off to Cartagena for my 28th birthday... I had always wanted to visit Colombia and figured my safest bet was to start with a major tourist destination.

I loved the convenience of having the airport be less than a 10 minute drive ( came super useful when one of my girlfriends lost her passport! ) from the Walled City - Centro Historico. You have two main areas to stay at in Colombia's 5th largest city...Boca Grande or Centro Historico

Boca Grande - more of a modern day neighborhood, beautiful tall buildings, rooftop penthouses with water view.

Centro Historico- if you love history, cobble stones, color, this neighborhood is for you! Not as fabulous and not nearly as modern Boca Grande but its architecture takes you back several hundreds of years.

We chose Centro Historico for our visit and had a lovely airbnb in the center of town, while one of my friends ventured off to a super cool hostel!

Prices were extremely reasonable ; less than $50 a night for most apartments.

Upon arriving from our overnight flight from NYC, we had booked a volcano adventure to Totumo Mud Volcan ! I was a bit skeptical about driving 1.5 hours out of the city to sit in mud...but we had a great time! It's definitely a man made volcano, actually it didn't even look much like volcano , however, that doesn't take away from the fact that we were able to float in the mud bath ( do not put your head down under...you will have bad hair days...for days! ) and "exfoliate". The adventure didn't stop there, after our bath, we were directed towards the river where locals literary bathe you! The mud doesn't stand a chance for these experts that throw you in the river and start scrubbing...of course for a tip :)

The restaurant scene in Cartagena is rather impressive, throughout our stay we had some 5 star meals at almost McDonald's prices.... below are some of my recommendations:

- Carmen

- Cafe Del Mar - go for the views at sunset and a great photo

- Restruarante 1621

- La Cevicheria

You cannot go to Cartagena without doing a day out on the water, and I don't mean the beaches as Cartagena doesn't really have a beach, but rather rent a boat! Renting a boat is inexpensive and a great way to discover the surrounding area. We pre-booked our boat through an airbnb like site for boats and we were met at Club Nautico Cartagena and escorted to a nearby grocery store for food & drinks. For 6 of us, we probably spent $50 each and had "supplies" for days.

The first 2 boats literary failed us...but the company made it right and got us a bigger boat to begin our adventures. Man was it beautiful, cruising through the Carribean coast, freaking out when cell service wasn't working and dropping pins incase of a kidnapping...haha

Our first stop was my favorite, Cholon- Colombia's party island...if you have been to Key Biscane in Miami, its similar, but better. Everyone pulls up their boat, parties in the water together, eats fresh caught lobster, oh and did I mention, the locals provide paid massages in the water and on land! Sneak peak of our feast is below :)

Next we went to Playa Blanca, which was nice too but had more of a touristy vibe with restaurants and water sports...we definitely took out the banana boat...and flipped it!

A quick warning about the waters around Cartagena, the waves are serious...and when the captain tells you you need to leave to avoid them...they are serious too, just ask my knee that still hurts from the impact!

More fun around town:

We took a traditional Chiva bus to sigh-see around town...so worth couple of dollars as it takes you from Centro Historico to Boca Grande to the hills of the city while checking out some of landmarks below:

Castillo San Felipe de Barajas - stunning views of the city , fascinating tunnels and rich history.

Los Zapatos Viejos- the old boots - refercing to the final line of a local poem whose writer Luis Carlos López, compares the love and sense of comfort he feels for his hometown of Cartagena to that which he feels for a pair of worn-in, but familiar and comfortable shoes

Convento Santa Cruz de la Popa - breathtaking views of the city and the highest point in Cartagena