Woke up on Tuesday to another day of sunshine, double espresso at the corner cafe and made a decision to go to a local fishing village where there was a good beach for swimming and relaxing without being too hassled by the many entrepreneurs that seem to find tourists within a minute of arriving on the beach. La Boquilla was described in our Lonely Planet guide book as a small fishing village and kitesurfing haven 7km north of Cartagena and we thought it would be good to get outside of the city. Because there are four of us it is easier and cheaper to take a taxi rather than the local bus and we already had that experience which we were not keen to repeat. So when the taxi arrives we ask how much it will cost to take us to La Boquilla because we have learned that if you don’t want to be ripped off you ask the price in advance. We all agreed the price was reasonable so off we go! The taxi driver was great and once we arrived at the beach at around 10:45 am we were very aware that we were going to be the only gringos on this long beach and some of us were feeling a little uncomfortable……..but I won’t mention any names! So we all get out of the taxi and head for one of the many empty outdoor little restaurants on the beach that has tables and chairs and hammocks and we begin to feel a little more at ease because the restaurant owner is obviously keeping an eye on us for his protection and ours. Over the next couple of hours we swim, chat and have a cerveza and remind ourselves how lucky we are for having found this neat little spot. In the meantime the owner comes forward with a platter of fresh fish asking us to pick out what we want for lunch……..no problem as it all looks good! We were rarely hassled by local ‘entrepreneurs’ but when we were the waiter would shoo them off and we would be on our own again. As I said earlier we were the only tourists there and we were quite enjoying ourselves. Before too long lunch arrived……the fresh fish we had ordered with fried plantains, coconut rice and salad…….delicious! After lunch we again went into the warm Carribean waters enjoying it completely and an hour later realized our taxi would soon be returning so we better pay the bill. We all guessed what the bill might be but none of us were prepared for ‘double the amount’ and then realized that not one of us had asked what things cost and our hosts decided to take full advantage of our mistake. We could have refused their exorbitant(Caribbean) prices as we had been in ColOmbia long enough to know the cost of a cervaza and a fish dinner. But all of us realized that we had left ourselves wide open to be taken advantage of and although it left a sour taste in our mouth it wasn’t going to break us financially but was just going to piss us off. Our hosts could see our dismay and offered us all a free beer but there was no going back on what was an absolute rip off. We got our taxi as quickly as we could and he and our hostel owner seemed completely disgusted that we had been ripped off. However, once you acknowledge your part to play in the scam it’s important to let it go and get on with things, which we did. We went back to our hostel for a swim, shower and siesta and then went for a walk in the old part of town. Unfortunately we could not get money from a bank machine and we were getting low because we had not been in a few days, and of course we had also just paid twice what we were expecting for lunch. In addition to this you are limited in what you can get out at one time. So we decided to go to our rooftop suite and have a takeout supper which was quite economical…….and of course to try and make up for our extravagant lunch! Live and learn is the motto of the day and we crashed early so as to be up and out early the following morning. It arrived early and after a great coffee at our local cafe we decided to spend the morning walking around the old town again because it does not get tiring and there’s always a street or two or ten that you previously missed. In the afternoon we decided to take a tour so as to get a sense of this amazing city. The population of Cartagena is approximately a million people and yet only about 50,000 live in and around the old city so that makes one wonder where do all the others live? The city tour enlightened us and we saw what a large city it was as well as some of the very poor areas where many of its citizens live. There were two main features of the tour that stood out for me. The first was the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas which is the greatest and strongest fort ever built by the Spaniards in any of their colonies. It was a bit of an engineering marvel in those days at least, and for those quirky, albeit wonderful, engineers who are reading this blog, and you know who you are, you can just google it to find out more…….all I can say is that it was impressive! The other tourist site was the Convent de la Popa which is on the highest point in the city and was founded by the Augustine fathers in 1607. It takes almost a half hour to get to the chapel on a switch back road and you’re just praying that the breaks on the rickety bus are good. A few pictures below may give you an idea of its beauty.
journeywithmadonna 