Romancing the Stone

Cartagena is the jewel of Colombia for its cobblestone streets, old Spanish style homes painted in various colors and the massive wall that entrenches the beauty of the city. Cartagena often saw its city attacked by pirates and therefore the Spanish built forts and walls to protect their land. The beauty and timelessness of the city still stands and the city is now listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

I spent an entire day getting lost in the narrow streets while enjoying the romanticism the city exudes. At night, I even took a horse drawn carriage with Lucy, a Brit at my hostel. Although, often my enjoyment would be interrupted by a tout trying to sell me something. Cartagena is different from most Colombian cities in that tourism has flourished and the authenticity of the city has taken a toll. Hat, sunglass, CD sellers crowd the streets and bother tourists all day long. I'd close my eyes and imagine what the city must have been like before the touts took over and during the 16th century in its heyday. I then drift away in my imagination only to return to find I am being followed by a line of different sellers.

To escape the touts, I went to visit the Volcan de Lodo El Totumo where the crater is filled with mud that is suppose to provide health benefits for the skin due to the numerous minerals. I walked up a steep set of stairs to get to the top of the crater in order to jump into my waiting mud bath. Due to the consistency of the mud, I floated in the bath along with numerous others crammed into a jacuzzi sized crater. All my numerous mosquito bites stung from the mud and I am still waiting to see the health benefits in action.

The next day, I went out to what I thought would be a hole in the wall bar near my hostel in the poor area of town outside the city walls. Strangely enough, a beauty queen with title sash, the recent ex soccer coach for Colombia, and German Varga Lleras who might very well be Colombia's next President showed up at different points in the night. Of course, I had to meet German and he insisted on a cheek to cheek picture, which I happily obliged. ;-)

German is the grandson of a former Colombian president, popular with the people and is second to the President in the government as I am told.
Surprisingly, he didn't seem to have a bodyguard with him even though an assassination attempt was made on his life last year. People tell me that he is the only person to stand up to President Uribe who is known to take down his enemies. I always had a positive image of Uribe, but locals tell me that he is corrupt and hopes that German will run for President. German seemed very personable and during the night, locals often went up to him to tell them what they thought of the government and German easily engaged in conversation and made time for everyone. I can't imagine this same scene in the US.