Last Few Days in Colombia -- Cartagena

Well, things have been nice and calm the last few days.  I told Mike with a laugh, “First, we can’t find ANY place to rest for a day or two.  Now, we have 5-6 days in a row of near-total rest!”  We’ve been reading books because it’s too darn hot to MOVE if you don’t have to.

Met with our shipping agent on Tuesday, learned we have to buy more life insurance to go into the dock area.  Spent $90 on that foolishness.  Got papers signed and motorized in about half an hour Wed. Then Thursday. we pulled out of our spot and went after water for the camper before returning.

Tomorrow morning (Friday), we must, once again, move everything from the pickup cab to the camper, then we will deliver the rig to the dock, finally catching a cab back to a hotel.  Hopefully, on Saturday, not Sunday, we must go out for a drug inspection.  This means we take everything BACK out of the camper, put it on the ground, then put it all back after inspection.  Oh JOY! After that, we are free to MAKE our plane reservations!

We are camped in a parking lot where they told another couple from France that they couldn’t stay here all night?!?  Every RVer stays here! Fortunately, they haven’t chased us out.  Of course, we didn’t ask permission, either.  We are parked right across the road from the ocean and can watch the waves all day.  Nice shade trees for our lawn chairs  — but it’s still too darn hot.

Our parking spot in Cartagena for five days

View of the ocean from our camera

Love the orange and ochre colors of this building that
 we can see from our camper

We are within just a short block of “Old Town” Cartagena, the walled city.  There are two beautiful churches and many, many old buildings.  The Christmas lights are fabulous.  We’ve eaten out twice, but the prices are more than we like.  One meal was a nice shared salad, 2 small glasses of limeade and a tiny chicken kabob appetizer.  Cost $24.  Another was a small papaya smoothie, a roll, small glass of lemonade and two small slices of French toast — $15.

Old Town Cartegena

Some lovely metal sculptures in front of the church.

Saturday

We are now in a hotel, rather nice one for not too much more money than the first one.  The previous hotel was little more than a step-up from a hostel; very rustic.  Mike is on call this morning to go out to the dock for the tear-out of the camper for the drug inspection.  Because we had to leave it yesterday with the key, we had to remove all the stuff in the cab before taking it out there.

We bought life insurance for me, as well as Mike. which you must have to go into the dock area.  But now, I have an infection in the nail of my big toe (stubbed it) and I can’t wear shoes.  Long pants and closed-toes shoes are mandatory  And they probably wouldn’t have let me in anyway to help.  Women are pretty third rate around the docks and that whole of that side of town.

I went to the drogaria (not right spelling, farmacia in Mexico) to attempt to get some epsom salts to soak my toe in.  Took a bit, but the lady was very nice and patient.  Because of the soaking, my toe is much better.  It only hurts if it is directly touched, not while walking.  So while Mike is at the docks, I will go walking around.  We are in a much nicer part of town now.

We have plane tickets on Spirit (the worst record of all airlines) for tomorrow at 2:37 to Ft. Lauderdale, then on to Denver, supposedy arriving at 10:30 pm.  We’ll grab a hotel, then tomorrow take the bus from Denver to Poncha Springs, arriving at 5:30 — in theory.  This is 6 miles from home.  Then it will be a call to friends for a ride home!  Below is the view of the Cartegana skyline from our camper parking spot.