Cartagena. We did consider other options in Columbia most of which involved a lot of travelling which means a lot of packing and unpacking and time in airports. Going to Cartagena gave us the option of staying in one place and taking day trips.
To get there we have to go to Guayquil first. We have never visited there before so it was a place we had to check off.
We finished our surgeries on Friday but Mary had to go in to the hospital for a couple of hours to look after the post-ops before we transferred those still in hospital to the local staff. Many of the mission left earlier in the morning for Quito to spend some time there before flying home on the red-eye.
Many years leaving Ceunca has been a frantic adventure with late buses, large groups and crowded airports. With just 3 of us this year and a 1430 departure we felt we had things in hand. Unfortunately in Cuenca it was Carnivale a yearly festival perhaps corresponding to Mardi Gras. Because of parades on Saturday, no taxi was able to get to our hotel. The hotel staff were very helpful and helped us carry our bags a few blocks away, and flag a taxi that would take us to the airport. We ended up arriving way to early and had to wait about an hour to check in but were eventually on our way to Guayquil.
Cuenca while near the Equator is at 8000 feet and is quite temperate. Guayaquil is at sea level and we were warned to expect hot and muggy conditions, which we found when we landed after a one hour flight. We got our bags and tried to get a taxi to our airport. In what seems to be an increasingly common event, the taxi driver did not know where our hotel was but I now expect this and had the address which also didn't seem to help him but he radioed and somebody gave him directions and so about 10 minutes later we were at the Marriott Courtyard. Some people may like authentic local hotels. I do too but we had an early flight out in a day and besides I knew that without air conditioning we wouldn't sleep much.
It was later in the afternoon when we arrived. In the humidity we were content to just chill in our room. I did go up to the pool on the roof which was quite small, fairly warm and had a couple making out at one end so I didn't stay long.
The hotel directed us to a Peruvian restaurant at an adjacent large shopping mall which was really good for supper.
We had a day to explore Guayaquil before flying to Cartagena. Based on advice from people who had been there before, we took a taxi to the Iguana Park. This is square adjacent to the Cathedral with... Iguanas. Lots of them. Walking around, climbing trees, sunning themselves. We spent a little time there then went off to look in the Cathedral which being Sunday was actually being used as a church, not as tourist attraction. Not as nice as the Cathedral in Cuenca.
We then walked a couple of blocks over to the Maracon which is a long walkway adjacent to the river. The river is in itself interesting just for the amount of vegetation floating slowly down it. The Maracon itself was a bit of a disappointment. Lots of fast food joints. A parade came by on the adjacent street which we watched for about 15 minutes.
We walked along it a km or so to Las Penas and then climbed the 400 steps getting a nice view of Guayquil from the top. We walked down, stopping for a cerveza on the way down before catching a taxi at the bottom back to our hotel.
Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday and so we just had pizza in our room and watched the somewhat dull game. We had an early flight the next day.
Monday morning we took the hotel shuttle to the airport. We found out that our flight to Cartagena was not direct but rather that we changed planes in Panama City. Confusing things was that both flights had the same number. The airport was not that busy with none of the bustle and confusion of many South American airports. We had an uneventful flight to Panama and after a brief stop flew to Cartagena.
Arriving in Cartagena we learned that Canadians have to pay what is called a reciprocity fee. That is a fee equivalent to what it costs for a Columbian to get a visa for Canada. The US also requires a visa for Columbians but their citizens don't have to pay this fee. Because we came from Panama they weren't expecting any Canadians and so had to get somebody from his siesta or lunch to process our payment.
We were met at the airport by Brian our guide. I have never met another Brian in Latin America. He and the driver drove us to the walled old city and then through the busy, crowded streets to our hotel.
The Ananda Boutique Hotel is one of those Died-and-went-to-heaven places. It is a hacienda style hotel with a courtyard pool at which I could have spent the entire visit and a rooftop patio with a refreshingly cool jacuzzi tub. Our room came with a rain-fall shower and a large tub as well as its own small balcony. The restaurant in the hotel is considered the best in Cartagena which is both good and bad. Good because it is close and bad because you need to make reservations. We couldn't get a reservation for the first night but the concierge got as one at a nearby restaurant.
We got out and walked the walls of Cartagena before venturing into the crowded streets. Like Cuenca Cartagena is a Spanish Colonial town only the architecture is slightly different. It is also quite flat. Finding our hotel again we had a dip in both pools before heading out to Alma a nearby restaurant for the first of several excellent dinners in Cartagena.
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