Disneyland for Gringos

Just when the sun rose over the hills before the Caribbean coast, I woke up to see a much dryer and poorer part of Colombia. We met an Argentinian guy called Ivan at the bus station and went into Cartagena together, he was a great help asking for directions or prices in Spanish because he actually understood the answers! We found a cheap and nice hostel near the Walled City, took a shower and then strolled through the old quarter. It was nice and colorful indeed, but blame it on the heat or the many tourists, it wasn't for us! We had a fun time hanging out by the sea and eating bitter fruits in a shitty while shady place, but returned to our hostel after a couple of hours!

Tired travelers need some time to relax and then of course food! Somehow we craved pizza and found some at a square within the Walled City, seeing a wedding procession coming out of the church and some talented kids doing hip hop dance right from our seats, chewing on what they call pizza in Cartagena (or own fault!).
Back in the hostel we stayed up for quite a bit and drank way too much Aguila beer while watching people from the balcony. There was a woman trying to get into a door and she kept knocking so persistently, we made bets on when she would give up!
The next morning I felt dizzy and nauseous from the heat and the beer, the shower helped a little but the bus towards Santa Marta and the crazy driving didn't!

Anyways, we said goodbye to Ivan, and made our way back to the bus terminal and again I was impressed by the friendliness of the Colombians, pointing out the right ways and helping us catch the right bus! We reached Santa Marta after 4 hours and one horrible violent movie, had a snack and caught another bus to Palomino, dreaming about finally chilling out on a real beach and taking a dip the Caribbean Sea! It's supposed to be a cheap and beautiful getaway for backpackers, but little did we know that getting there wasn't as easy as we thought!