The City of Cartagena, Colombia
December 8-19, 2023
Ohhhh Cartagena....The heat and humidity in Cartagena is unlike anything we've experienced! When people say its hot, its HOT! How those Colombian women manage to wear heels and a gown in this heat we'll never know! The city is charismatic yet very chaotic with traffic, visitors and touts. But its also uniquely Colombian, bursting with color and its historic stone walled city has some amazing colonial architecture. You can always find amazing fresh fruit juice, menu del dia's and cafe's on almost every corner. You can also find streets pumping out music, high end restaurants and luxurious shopping plaza's. It has something for everyone! We really enjoyed our time here to end our Colombian adventures.
Our Accommodations
Our first Airbnb Apartment was located within the old city wall. And we so appreciated that it was tucked away down a quiet street but just seconds away from all the action. It was comfortable and cozy and the AC was a god-send!
For our last few days in Cartagena we stayed at a kind of homestay within the area of Getsemani (we didn't love this stay but it did the trick and was fine for just a few days).
Around Cartagena
The Rosario Islands
There seemed to be a lot of hype on blogs about visiting the Rosario Islands - a group of islands located just 45 minutes by boat from Cartagena. The islands are definitely touristy and have a party vibe with day trippers and tours. They have very little beach and mostly are mangrove islands. What beaches do exist are private for some of the more expensive hotels. We decided to take a day tour to visit one of the hotels called IslaBela. We got to lounge on chairs, have lunch on the beach and swim in the water. We didn't love our tour but it was certainly an ok way to spend a day and escape the heat of Cartagena.