a Denny's at 2 in the morning

...is how I would describe the smell of the large man sitting next to me on the (non-air-conditioned) bus from Cartagena back to Santa Marta. Part of the way back. One of the four buses we were on over the course of our journey back to Santa Marta, actually.

All you really need to know is this: when a man with a gold tooth approaches you in the bus station and offers you a fare that is only 4,000 pesos (approximately $2) less than the fare offered at the "official" ticket windows - even if you manage to haggle him down to 6,000 pesos less - and even if he promises you that his bus has a bathroom and a DVD player - do not trust him. And if he then leads you out of the bus station and toward a bus parked in a nearby gas station that does not have air conditioning and is clearly full of misery - run. Run fast. Back to the bus station and to the official ticket windows with the officially air conditioned buses.

Otherwise:

Sheer misery on a bus ride

But enough about terrible bus rides and fat men that smell like waffles. This post is really supposed to be about Cartagena, where Lach and I spent Saturday through Tuesday.

Cartagena is kind of like a utopia... in that according to many people's definitions, a "utopia" is a paradise. However, the actual word "utopia" translates from the Greek as "no place". Not a place. Not a real place. That's what Cartagena is like... paradise according to some, but... not real.

Lonely Planet describes it as a "fairy tale city of romance" or something like that. Picture cobblestoned streets, balconies with long green flowering vines draping off them, colorful Caribbean buildings and crumbly old stone walls surrounding the whole thing.

It was one of the first cities in the Americas, a bustling port that saw many a treasure-filled galleon during its glory days, and was famous for being attacked by the English pirate Sir Francis Drake in the 1500's (hence the necessity for the stone walls that are now crumbly). I learned these things in the city's Caribbean Naval History Museum!

These days, Cartagena has traded in the gold dubloons for fancy cafés and high-end boutique shops. We saw many a woman with a tiny dog in her tote bag.

Still, the city is beautiful and the architecture gorgeous enough to take your breath away. Here are some choice shots...

"Las Murallas", the great stone walls that surround the city:

Couple more sunset shots (walking along the top of the wall):

What you get when you order a "café con un poquito de leche" in Mila, a snooty café full of shoulder-bag-dog ladies:

Coffee, frothy milk, brownie square, and a little shot of mint water to clean your mouth after.

Sweet-ass display of sailor knots at the Caribbean Naval History Museum:

The naval history museum also had a couple of teeny turtles in its courtyard, and I got to test out my turtle face in comparison with the pros...

Clearly I did not spend the ENTIRE weekend sitting in fancy cafés being snooty.

It was a lovely few days, but I'm happy to be back in Santa Marta... definitely more my speed.

More to come soon!