It was an early wake up. One of those where your stomach hurts all morning and it has kind of continual rocky turning. Everything went smoothly getting to the airport. 10 minutes from boarding, Matt went to find a notebook. He came back with no notebook, but instead a vacuum-sealed block of Colby jack cheese. My Frenchman :D
Did some last minute (and I guess also 'first minute') studying of common Spanish phrases aboard the plane to Cartagena. If an aggressive vendor tries to sell you women or cocaine, simply say 'No quiero nada.' Thanks, Lonely Planet!!!
Rough trip to the ATM when we landed in Cartagena. Card wouldn't withdrawal money. Matt was able to spot me.
On bus to "centro" (same as they call city center in Brasil!), this guy came on shouting "OWA! OWA OWA!" Got a little nervous at first because he was drawing attention to himself in an otherwise calm public space. Turns out he was selling these little sleeves of cold water pouches for about 10 cents each (translated in American dollars). OWA=AGUA. Way cool. A bunch of people got them, and then he exited the bus before it started moving to the next stop.
We got off in centro and it was wild and awesome. There was a boy sitting at a kiosk with some old flip phones tied up to the little cart (like they do with pens at the bank), and he was selling calls for CP$200 (about 20 cents).
We did a bit walking around and the city is really beautiful. There is "graffiti" everywhere which is sort of comparable to the murals around Philly but has a more organic feel. It's actually totally different. The artwork is truly beautiful. I wish I could show pictures but they're all on the gopro. I'll need to take some with my phone to give you all a taste of this Colombian paradise.
Hitting the hay early tonight. Matt isn't feeling too swell, but we think it's just due to exhaustion. A cold shower and a good night's sleep should help. PS we'really staying in a hostel called Hostel Viena in Getsemaní.
Big things planned tomorrow :) will update when I can.
