We ended our previous day earlier to pack our bags and get ready for the trip. I have booked a low cost airline (“Wingo”) to Cartagena from Bogota. My ticket price included only one personal item while we had 2 personal items and 2 carry-on bags. For the entire 5 month trip, both of us packed only 10 Kg. 7Kg in carry-on and 3Kg in a personal bag. Click here to know my travel essentials.

Since my ticket price had only personal items, I bought one carry-on additional and it included upto 12Kg. I was contemplating whether to buy one more, in fact I went on to purchase but somehow my card was getting declined on the airlines website. So we decided to take a chance to not buy another bag and adjust in 3 bags. We tried different combinations and packing and unpacking and finally managed to settle. We also decided to go to the airport early to check the dimensions.

I pre booked my cab on “Cabify”. Yes, I moved from Uber to Cabify. My Uber was not allowing me to use my Niyo card and I was getting an authentication error. I had to pay by cash for the rides and my cash is depleting, which means i will have to make another withdrawal which will cost me 500 INR as ATM withdrawal fee from Niyo. I wanted to avoid it, So I moved to another company. Luckily, Cabify gave me 60% discounts on the first 3 rides.

Next day, our cab driver was on time and we reached the airport by 6.30am. We went to the checkin desk, however there were no questions and no checking on the measurements, the bag I bought they changed this as a checkin bag at no additional cost. Yayy, it worked.

After finishing the check in formalities and security, we looked for lounge availability on my Diners Club card. I saw one in Domestic Terminal “The Lounge Bogota”. We went in and enquired about the lounge, and they allowed us to enter. One of my proud times of holding a Diners Club card as it has eligibility around the globe. Now it is time to eat our free breakfast as we had only bananas that we bought the previous day.

This lounge had an online ordering system, so I scanned the menu from my table. All we could see was Eggs and Toast. We ordered one for each, and went to the buffet area to check out the other spreads. There were juices, milkshakes and fruits, we grabbed a few, and finished our breakfast. We had a couple of hours so we called our friends and family and spoke for some time.

Time to board the flight, we went to our gate. It was delayed by 15 mins, and the flight journey was around 90 mins. Towards the end of our flight, there were claps all around, which we later figured out there were 2 brides in our flight and the cabin crew made an announcement to congratulate them.

As soon as we landed, we could feel the heat. We removed and packed our jackets, went outside and decided to book a cab. Airport was really small, so we walked out of the airport in 5 mins. I booked a “Yellow Taxi” in Cabify. (Yellow Taxis are the official taxis in Colombia). Uber is between a grey area, it is legal however it is not encouraged. So Uber, Cabify partnered with Yellow Taxis as well, this time we booked the Yellow Taxi through Cabify as it showed a considerably lower amount. And when you are taking an uber/cabify, the drivers ask you to sit in the front. It is a short distance and we paid 20,000 COP, I am not sure of the buses that go from here. But google maps can help you out as it is updated.

We reached our hostel in Cartagena. “Hostal Dorado Plazo Getsemani”. Since it was last minute I could not manage an Airbnb or a cheap private room with Kitchen. However it was like a private capsule. They allowed us to check in early. Since it was Friday, we wanted to pray Jummah, our Friday prayer. We already booked our hostel so that it was within walking distance to the mosque (or Mesquita in Spanish). We went to the “Mesquita de Muhammad”. It was a small one, open only on weekdays (2.00pm to 8.00pm) and on Fridays (11.00am to 8.00pm). This was quite a surprise to me, as the mosques are open for the prayers all the time and we pray 5 times (early in the morning till late in the night). And my wife was the only woman in the entire mosque

Next day we booked a walking tour through Guruwalk. They partnered with Nexeprience, a local tourist agency. Our tour started at 4pm, we started from our hostel around 1pm. We had our lunch in Getsemani next to our hostel at “Vive Restaurante”.

Vegetarian meal at Vive Restaurante

After lunch, we wandered around, spent some time in Parque Centenario. We saw sloths (it was not obvious though and needed to be lucky to spot it), squirrels and many types of birds. Also here we bought mangoes on the roadside for 4000 COP. After that, We reached the meeting point at 4pm, right outside of the park and started our walking tour. There were around 20 people on the tour and our guide's name was “Legaxy”.

It was a 3 hour tour around the walled city and Getsemani. During this tour, we explored various squares,Bolivar Square, Plaza de la Aduana, Plaza San Pedro square, and Parque Centenario. Walled city had two parts, one where the rich and important persons in the medieval period lived, and the other one is Getsemani, which was worker’s quarters. Getsemani wasn't a safe place due to drugs, prostitution but now it has become an artist's refuge since the government incorporated measures to improve the life of people over there. So they invited artists all around the world to come and paint, so you will find a lot of graffiti.

San Pedro Square

Bolivar Square

Plaza de la Aduana

Baluarte San Ignacio

View of Bocagrande and boats

Getsemani

After our long walk, we went back to the hostel and on the way back, we had taco and cone pizza (like ice cream) for dinner in Plaza Trinidad.

Vegetarian Taco

Cono Pizza

Day 3, we woke up early in the morning to explore the fort. We checked the timings the previous day and it opens at 7am. It was getting too hot after 10, so we wanted to skip the heat. It was a 10 minutes walk from where we stayed, and we reached the fort entrance. Entrance fee was 36,000 COP, which we paid by card. On the way, we crossed a bridge which was a little shady and was asked by a homeless person to give him something.

Inside the fort, there were less than 5 people, it was like we had the entire fort to ourselves. We wandered around the fort, saw the barracks, walls at our own time. There was a long tunnel from one side to the other, inside which was the soldiers rest area. Though it looks congested, the architecture was designed in such a way that it gets enough oxygen it seems. There was a big Colombian flag at the top of the fort, where we clicked pictures, and a small souvenir shop. We did not hire a guide, but there was one person who was checking if we needed a guide. Also there is a washroom facility inside the fort.

View of the fort from outside

Colombian Flag

View of the fort from outside

After spending the morning till 10am there, we came back to the hostel and rested. Our biggest question everyday in Colombia was to decide our food. Luckily, we were told by our tour guide that there was a good local restaurant called “Espiritu Santo”. So we decided to try it out. The place opens only from 11am till 3.30pm and it has two branches - one in walled city and the other in Getsemani. We tried the one in the walled city

We had a vegetarian meal, we had to choose our options for rice and fries. We ordered one coconut rice (brown one) and one white rice, and for fries we chose French fries and Yuca fries. The meal cost us 17000 COP each. But it was a wholesome and healthy meal

After a good meal, we decided to walk the walled city again but this time without a guide. We clicked some random pictures and spent some time soaking in the beautiful Bolivar park watching what the locals were doin

After a good one hour of roaming around, we decided to walk to bocagrande beach to watch the sunset. Since it was a 1 hour walk to the beach, we thought we would stop at any random beach on the way and watch the sunset. My first impression of walking along the beach road, it reminded me of Marine Drive in Mumbai. After walking along the beach road for sometime, we stopped at the one in front of the mall. We sat there for an hour waiting for the sunset to happen.

To be honest, it was neither a beautiful beach nor a sunset. But it was pleasant to watch the locals playing on the beach and having their family time. On our way back, we stopped at the Pedro church to watch the mass since it was Sunday and also saw the kick off of the Colombian carnival happening there.

San Pedro Chruch

Night View of Clock Tower