The dark sand that I mentioned gives the beach a dirty appearance, but that is not the case at all. We noticed that every day the tractors with sweepers attached harvest all of the previous day's litter that has not been deposited in the litter bins. The parts that the tractors cannot reach are cleaned by locals, we also saw schoolchildren who had volunteered to keep a section of a particular beach clean.

There was a swimming competition being held this morning, already the contestants were stroking steadily through the calm waters. There was quite a crowd gathering and the local radio station was there. We would have lingered but there was more of Bocagrande to explore. I was just thinking how nice it was with no vendors pestering us on playa Castillogrande when lo and behold one appeared from nowhere, Ninjas don't have anything on these guys, one minute I was looking out to sea and the next I was looking into the smiling face of a vendor. He was offering us trips to isla Tierra Bomba in a small boat. I was very glad to meet a vendor selling bags of ice cold water though. In fact it was so steamy that a few blocks later we stopped at a little shop for some more water, then we stopped at Carulla for some more water. By this time I looked like I had just taken a shower, Maria said I looked like I had just run a marathon in a sauna.

We decided to head back to the hotel for a shower, I didn't care that the hot water wasn't working either! I cranked the AC down to about 70 degrees F, and took a nap until 2:30. My stomach was telling me it was lunchtime and I was determined to have a bowl of sancocho de gallina before leaving Colombia. So we headed to a restaurant that we had spotted on one of our previous walks. This time I was not to be disappointed, the food was delicious. One of the things in Colombia that it is hard to get used to is the sight of poor beggar children, whilst we were enjoying our food a woman with 3 or 4 young children stood a few feet away and stared pitifully at us eating. Maria had her back to them, but I had to try and swallow my sancocho looking at those sad faces. Finally seeing that they weren't getting any of my sancocho they wandered off to find someone else. After our meal we again went for a long walk to burn off a few calories; thank goodness for comfy sandals!

After dark we walked over to the front of Hotel el Caribe to catch a coche for a romantic ride through the old part of town. The girl at the front desk at Hotel da Pietro told us to pay about 20,000 pesos for a ride. So we went up to the first guy in the row and asked how much for a ride to the old part of the city and back, he said 45,000 pesos, we shook our heads so he said the best he could do was 35,000; so Maria offered him 20,000 and he had a good laugh. So we went to the second guy in line who gladly took 20,000. Our driver was an older gentleman about 70 years old but powerfully built with fair hair and lots of freckles, nicknamed el mono because of his once blond hair. The horse also appeared to be about 70 years old! 

The tour is beautiful at night, the sound of the unseen waves lapping at the shore, the swaying of the coconut palms, the steady clip clop of the horse's hooves, the smell of the warm tropical air combined with the occasional waft of lechon or some other equally tantalizing dish, the lamps on the coche lit by candles...it is easy to drift back to another era as you hold your loved one close. Trust me if you do just one thing in Cartagena, this is it! It is magical.

With the sea to one side and the modern hotels of Bocagrande to the other we make slow progress towards old Cartagena. The old city is beautiful at night, the cathedral and the clock tower are tastefully illuminated. All around you there are young couples out on the town strolling arm in arm, what a romantic city. The clip clop of the horse's hooves on the narrow cobble streets echoes off the ancient walls. Around each corner another magical vista. We come upon a group of young men and women in traditional garb practicing a folkloric dance. Everywhere there is something happening. Sadly our journey through the old city soon comes to an end and we are slowly trotting back along the seafront the way we came. 

We tipped el mono 10,000 pesos, I highly recommend his services, please seek him out and tip him nicely when you are finished. 

We couldn't leave Cartagena without stopping in to Mimos for a paletta and to say goodbye to our friend from Medellin. Before bed we packed for San Andres.

 All content copyright © 2004 Jim Thompson

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