La Playa – Cartagena

As we made our final approach toward Rafael Nunez International Airport, the view from the window told us this place would be different from any we’ve visited on this adventure.  The land is flat and the vegetation is primarily brown.  As we departed the plane onto the tarmac, a brisk wind, blinding sunlight and intense heat hit us like running into a wall.

UBER operates well here and within minutes of placing the order for our trip, we were at our apartmento.  It is on the beach but our apartment faces a bay.  In order to access the apartment, the security staff checked our credentials against those the owner had submitted on our behalf.  It took a while.  Like being admitted to a water park, we were given green wristbands that we will wear for the next two weeks.  Finally, security hit the magic button and beamed us in.  Everything is white.  The exterior of the building is white, the huge, open-air foyer is white marble; it looks out over brilliant blue pools facing the beach.  Stan and I looked at each other and said, “This looks like a resort on the Mexican Riviera – except there is no restaurant, free entertainment, or free drinks.” Actually, it is very pretty and our apartment although only a one-bedroom, is roomy, well air-conditioned and is very attractive.  Think white.

Having grown accustomed to cheap, delicious places for lunch and nearby shopping for wine and necessities, we realize we are in a resort area.  We will pay beach prices here.

Yesterday was our 47^th wedding anniversary.  We thank you for all the notes of congratulations and well wishes.  We appreciate hearing from our friends and family!  We celebrated by lugging our bags, six of them in varying sizes if you count backpacks, through the airport in Medellin and again here in Cartagena.  After this warm-weather city stay, we plan to discard nearly all our clothing designed for summer.  They are worn out.  After yesterday, we swore we will never take this much stuff again.  A few years ago, we spent 3 weeks in Europe with only a single carry-on each.  I think that because we knew we’d be in hot weather, rainy weather, and also cool weather, we felt we’d need layers and gear.  We just brought too much.  And for whatever reason, I brought too many shoes.  I truly know better but when planning a 6-month trip it is hard to keep the head on straight.

We also celebrated our special day with martinis and a lovely seafood dinner at the restaurant next door.  On our way home, we detoured and explored a little and found two tiny groceries but I’m not sure they will work for us.  We prefer a grand store where we can choose from a selection of items and be assured of good, fresh vegetables.  It looks like we have a bit of research to do.

The next morning, we did find more stores but so far, they are all small, so shopping at two or three will be necessary for us to find all the items we need.

We really goofed today.  We walked the beach for maybe 1.5 miles in one direction and of course, 1.5 miles back.  We watched professional parasurfers zoom across the waves and do long slow flips in the air.  Experts filed the sky with brilliant colored rainbow-shaped sails in the sky.  They zoomed and flipped.  They jumped waves five feet high, hit the water again, and sped on.

We watched perfectly fit young people take lessons and then try their hand at the sport.  It looks similar to waterskiing on a slalom, jumping wakes behind a fast boat on a lake.  The ski looks similar but is shorter.   The difference is that wind in the sail is the power and it must be controlled so that it takes you where and how you want to go, all while staying atop the waves.  Now this is why I won’t try parasurfing.  Some newbies we saw today could keep the sail air born but just couldn’t catch air strong enough to pull them out of the water for a ride.  Others let their sail crash into the water and then had to figure out how to get it lifted and in the air again.  Some sails looked like a big ball of fabric flouncing around in the waves.  Some students let their sails turn inside out, then the rider, far out in the ocean struggled to get it righted and in the air again – that would be me . . . waves, crashing in my face, me sputtering, coughing and pulling with all my might far out in the water with my wet sail all a mess.  I’m sure I would imagine myself drowning.

We stopped at a cart on the beach and had two fresh fruity drinks made for us.  One was in a coconut:  coco loco.  The other was in a pineapple:  pina loco. We watched the guys make them starting with a whole fresh pineapple and a green coconut.  When the drinks were finished they were decorated with pineapple leaf spears, rings of the pineapple we saw just cut, and the necessary umbrella with a cherry.

We had Stan’s camera today and took a lot of photos.  Later at the apartment, we discovered it had no memory card inside. It was still in my laptop from the last download.  Oh no!  What a surprise.  I wish I had those photos of today and will probably get a chance to snap the parasurfers again.  I’m sorry, though but I’m not having another one of those drinks just so I can get a photo.  I was doing so well, eating in a very healthy manner then we had those drinks.  They had rum, sweetened condensed milk, pineapple juice, crème de coconut, and a little ice. They were delicious and refreshing but I think I have sugar poisoning.