This was a rather uneventful travel day. But it was good to have a light schedule and to be able to catch our breath a bit. We didn't have to leave the eco-lodge until 10 a.m., which gave people time to sleep in or to eat a leisurely breakfast.
At 10, we drove a little over one hour to the airport at Pereira. We were still plenty early, but the plane was on time, so the wait wasn't terrible. Neither was the flight.
When the cabin door was opened at Cartagena (Car-teh-HAY-nah), there was so much humidity in the air that the plane's air conditioning vents began blasting water vapor. It looked like smoke. Temperature at our arrival was near 90 degrees.
We are at sea level here, on the Caribbean coast of Colombia -- the only country in South America to have coasts on both the Pacific and on the Caribbean.
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| Looking toward our room from the lobby |
The drive from the airport was not long. Our hotel is an old, colonial-era, Spanish mansion that has been expanded into a very nice hotel. Our room is not one of the fanciest, but still nice. However, since in overlooks the lobby, it's a little noisy.
After settling in, our tour leader took us for a brief orientation walk around the neighborhood. This is definitely a tourist town! The place is crawling with them, as well as with all of the street vendors, performers, hustlers, pick-pockets, and souvenir shops that prey on them.
We walked through the old city to the 17th century city wall. We were a little too early to see the sunset, but the crowds had gathered to wait for it.
Our walk ended at the restaurant for our evening meal, which was quite good. Walking back, we stopped in a few shops, as well as in a supermarket, just to look around.
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| Ceviche served in a cocktail glass with fried plantain |
Tomorrow we'll begin to really see the city.
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