CARTAGENA I AM OBSESSED — Kellie Paxian

okay touching down on Colombian soil I just literally can’t believe I am here. Like can’t wrap my head around the reality of it.

I have done zero research aside from obsessively watching every season of Narcos, but every person I have talked to who has done South America says Colombia is their favourite country. I knew I was gonna love it, and it has been calling me this whole trip.

So I flew from Costa Rica via Panama, and landed in my new favourite colonial town: Cartagena.

You can compare it to Havana, Trinidad, even bits of Antigua or Granada, because it is colourful adorable buildings and old Spanish charm. I stayed at Selina in Getsemani, which is the trendy new area with a bunch of hostels, and I loved it but I don’t even know if I should recommend it because the old town is also freaking amazing with hostels like Republica and Viajero.

I loved the Selina location because you just head down one adorable floral-framed street and you’re at Plaza de la Trinidad, which is one of the most alive places I have ever seen in my life. I first went there for pizza and wine at dinner and was entertained by a group of breakdancers, some jazzy bead-wearing dancers, and a mime. I loved how traffic would stop so they could dance in the street, like YES ABSOLUTELY THAT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHEREVER YOU HAVE TO BE.

The old town is super touristy but absolutely adorable. Head over to the bell tower and all the shops around there, meander the streets, browse all the shops and vendors with pretty things laid out on the sidewalks. I got a new bracelet because this is my new favourite place and I want to be reminded of it every time I look at my wrist. I was also v tempted to get one of their beautiful floral flowy dresses sold on the street.

My first night I went to a cute hole-in-the-wall, authentic Cartagena meal of sopa caribe (caribbean soup) and jugo de corozo (corozo juice) at La Cocina de Pepina— shout out to Juan from BCIT for the reco!

Then it was straight off to Casa en el Agua: a house on the water. It’s an old vacation home converted into a hostel, it has no wifi or running water, and I slept in a hammock. That’s an experience in itself. It’s located a 2-hour boat ride from Cartagena, you book through Tranq it Easy and it’s p expensive — $36 USD both ways. Even my hammock was like $20 or $25.

At night I went snorkelling with bioluminscent plankton and it was amazing — water was so warm, only the stars for lights, and I felt like Harry Potter waving my arms and kicking my legs to create little sparks of glitter in the water.

I went for Halloween so expected a big party but it ended up being chill, it totally depends on your group. For me it was actually an amazing recharge because whenever I have wi-fi I wake up early and start pitter pattering, but here I just laid in my hammock watching the sunrise, snoozing on and off, reflecting on everything. I’m in such an amazing mindset right now, it’s nice to just think about all that’s happened and all I have planned. Life is beautiful.

Back in Cartagena, I got a Selina burger on the rooftop (biggest disappointment of my life, NOTHING like the Selina burger I was salivating over in Costa Rica) and went to meet Tiffany and Vanessa who I met at the Casa, and they were having dinner and drinks with 3 guys from Chile and then 2 girls from Barcelona. I was the only one who doesn’t really speak Spanish, but honestly I loved it cause I could follow along a little bit and it was such a funny and unique experience. Everyone was SUPER nice to me. We drank this disgusting Colombian alcohol that tastes like black licorice (which has made several appearances since) and went out dancing.

The next day I meant to chill and catch up on stuff, but badabing badaboom and I ended up going to a freaking mud volcano.

Located an hour from Cartagena, Volcan Totumo is filled with bubbling mud and it was one of the MOST BIZARRE EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE. I thought it was HILARIOUS. I got in first so had no idea what to expect, but the locals immediately reclined my body, covered me in mud, and started massaging me before sliding me over the surface for the next guy to pick up the massage. I was like WHAT IS HAPPENING. I DON’T EVEN LIKE MASSAGES. lolol

The mud is a crazy sensation, it’s so thick and you just kind of hover in it, it’s so hard to move, if you want to go deeper or all the way under (which some psychopaths did) the guy jumps up and shoves your shoulders down. No idea where the bottom is on that thing but you definitely can’t touch it. It’s such a funny experience being in such close proximity with a bunch of strangers getting massages in mud.

But the funniest part might have been the shower — you get led to the river, where a group of ladies are there to pour buckets of water on you, scrub your hair and in your ears, and wipe every part of your body. You’re sitting in shoulder-deep murky river water so no one can see anything, but they absolutely remove your bathing suit whether you like it or not and when i was standing up at the end there was some major shifting of my bottoms as more water got poured on me.

Definitely a hilarious and random experience! They make you pay $5,000 pesos for the massage, photos, and shower, regardless of whether you asked for it. (That’s like $2 CAD, Colombia is pretty cheap overall)

I would say my usual motto of “I don’t know anyone here,” but I met up with the Chicago/DC/Maine guys later and the next day so the thing is I do know people there lol.

At first I went to my pizza and wine dinner at Trinidad, then went for a DELISH cocktail at Alquimico (the downstairs bar is beautiful and it has a fun rooftop), then met with the guys at Trinidad. The square was still going off, street vendors are dancing and mixing up cocktails and I am practicing my broken Spanish as I tend to do when I’m tipsy.

Then we went to a rooftop bar close by, danced through the street into the walled city and went up to a rooftop bar with a lot of green neon lights. Colombia is so alive, everyone is dancing, the music is bumping, and everyone is freaking beautiful. I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

Then late-night I went to Havana, a salsa club that had like 3 couples dancing but a full-on 12-person band going hard. It was amazing.

The next day my new friends had rented a boat so I decided to postpone my departure, and had another hilariously random day with some random people at a crazy island party. Every boat is competing on who can play their music the loudest, couples are getting freaky in the water and children are floating on by, cocktails are ridic expensive and served in pineapples or coconuts, you get a big meal of snapper or pollo with plantains rice etc, the water is so questionable you guys.

It was not my scene but it was hilarious. I think my main takeaway from Cartagena is how amazingly RANDOM it is to be a solo traveller, like half of these things would not have happened if I was with someone else, but they all make for great stories.

My other takeaway was that I am obsessed with Cartagena and need to go back, for an extended period of time.

Was so hard to pull myself away but I only have 3 weeks to explore this amazing country and need to pack in as much as I can!!! Adios for now!!!