We decided to stay in Santa Marta until noon to enjoy the beach for a bit. Because it was Sunday, a lot of people were out ... and a few casualties from the fun last night ... a few people, and dogs, still sleeping around in the sand everywhere. I guess the dogs here also have fun all night.
We swam in the ocean and pool, had lunch in Santa Marta's historic center and headed to Cartagena. Great drive by the ocean with a few great inland detours ... so green, and humid, and wet, with flooded low lands (swamps?) everywhere ... Amazonian at times.
We crossed the Magdalena river right as it plunges into the ocean ... what a massive river ... the whole up river trade to Honda now takes a whole new meaning ... a wide and fast moving natural highway.
As we rode through Barranquilla, we could see in the distance the stadium were Colombia qualified for the World Cup two nights before ... huge.
We finally made it to beautiful Cartagena de Indias. We rode into the city with the ocean on our right and the hotels and the great walled city founded in 1533 on our left. We even took a little ride on the sand for a sunset picture with the bikes close to the ocean.
The walled city of Cartagena is a true wonder with hundreds of buildings, plazas, churches, stores, hotels, restaurants inside it ... we walked around for a bit at night and had dinner outside in one of the plazas ... and, yes, it is official, I am addicted to "limonada con coco".
It is amazing what a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation does for a place ... economically, socially, culturally ... a great idea indeed that has changed, and continues to change, the world.
Tomorrow, we will spend the day exploring the walled city - no riding : )
No comments:
Post a Comment