Cartagena

May 19 - June 1, 2007

My apologies, this page is so un-finished it's not remotely funny.  Work got too busy, blah blah blah.  It'll get tweaked here and there over time.

In the meantime, take a look and then wander to the Cartagena gallery where you can see all the pictures.

It was time to head down to Cartagena for Andres and Luz Amalia's wedding.  Most of the pictures shown here were taken by Michael & Susan Harrison and are a small number of the total shots taken.

To see the full range of pictures head over to the Cartagena gallery which includes pictures taken by some of the other gringos.

Friday May 19, 2007

It was the beginning to a long day as we got up at 2:30 oh f*%k in the morning so we could get picked up by the shuttle and taken to the airport by 4am.  We swung by Andres' house to pick him up and were all met at the airport by Dave and Don.

The airport experience was nothing much to write about.  There was the typical anal probing as we went through the security checkpoint and confiscation of the explosives we were carrying (you know, water in bottles).

Once at the gate it was just a typical wait followed by an uneventful flight to Houston.  The flight to Panama was equally uneventful but longer and accompanied by watching part of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on my laptop.

Yes, I took my laptop on another vacation.  Once again it was worth it but that's getting ahead of myself.

We wandered the largely empty Panama airport and had a beer in the lonely little cafe there.  There were tons of electronics, clothing and candy shops which were largely empty.  Apparently Friday is a really slow day there.

Another hours flight and we were down in Cartagena and were met at the airport by Andres' mother, Luz Amalia, Raffe, Dimetrio and others whose names I've forgotten.

Raffe took Susan and I to Casa Le Fe in his car where we got our first views of the city.  Mostly quiet on the Friday evening.

After settling in for a bit were were hustled off to Andres' mothers apartment for some socializing (and drinking!).

Our first room at Casa La Fe

Gringos with Luz Amalia

Andres & Luz Amalia

Dimetrio, Luz Amalia, Raffe

After a few hours of joking around we headed off to Tu Candela for some dancing.  It seemed that everyone who came in while we were there knew Luz Amalia.  Quite the party animal. :-)

A few hours of that and we were wiped out and we headed back to Casa La Fe for some much needed sleep.

Saturday May 20, 2007

Unfortunately we weren't going to get as much sleep as we needed.  The room we started out in had this nice window that opened up over a courtyard that led directly to the kitchen.  At 6am the kitchen staff started getting ready for the morning breakfast rush and it was as if they were in the room with us.

Casa La Fe is a really nice place but if you get room 203 you'd better be a very deep sleeper.  Dead would help.

Andres met us gringos at the hotel and we started trekking about the city.

Irissari home

One of our stops was the Irissari home where Andres grew up.  It's since been sold off and is in the process of being gutted and we weren't able to see the inside.  We got there a year too late.

Twisted tower

We were also told the story of the twisted tower.  Apparently it had reached the skeletal stage of construction when a storm caused it to twist and bend.  It's been standing there ever since, waiting for the builders to decide what to do.

We did a lot of wandering about the city which was fairly quiet on this Saturday.

Chicken bus dancers

Sunday May 21, 2007

 

wharf fruit vendor

Drink choices on the island

Relaxing on the beach

Sleepy people on the boat back

Cartagena from the boat

Island gang!

Glowing cathedral at dusk

Cartagena street scene

Plaza Santa Domingo at night

Nobody enters the Spanish Inquisition!

Monday May 22, 2007

 

07/5/22 11:27 am
emeralds
$800/carat

book cartegena deindias en la olla? that's the one.
 

Tuesday May 23, 2007

07/05/23 9:29
just finished breakfast, it was good cheese and eggs with juice, coffee and toast.
Is it safe to let Susan wander the city alone? Is it safe for us to eat next door?

12:26 pm
waiting for Susan, buying slutty shirt.
or not

 

Wednesday May 24, 2007

07/5/24 12:21 pm.
?
 

Thursday May 25, 2007

07/5/25 3:33 pm
calle coliseo pizza & beer
 

Friday May 26, 2007

Saturday May 27, 2007

07/5/27 6:43 pm
sunset & crab in room
lobster man

 

Sunday May 28, 2007

07/5/28
rainy day
bad water?
Blue fishies in the night
mother nature gaseoso

 

Monday May 29, 2007

07/5/29
8:08 am
rain again
10:05 am
still raining

snorkeling

8:18 pm
grande mariposa at our table
 

Tuesday May 30, 2007

07/5/30 7:58 pm
2 losses at parcheesi


kitchen (speed up!)
cesar is nice
aesthetic of the rooms are nice
roaches are huge
sidewalks need work
lighting sucks
 

Wednesday May 31, 2007

07/5/31 8:04 am
hard morning rain
9:02 am
still raining

07/5/31 6:30
cafe del mar

07/5/31 7:31 pm
pacos
sangria
pasta
beef

 

Thursday June 1, 2007

07/6/1 7:33 am
drug check, frisk