Day 2 Thursday – Jeans aren’t cool in Cartagena

Have a big breakfast at the hotel: eggs, fresh fruit, toast, juice and coffee.

We walk around the city some more. It’s overcast, but still really hot and humid. Unfortunately my checked suitcase didn’t arrive in Cartagena with me, so the only clothes I have are the tank top and jeans I wore on the plane flight down. So I stop by a little boutique to buy a skirt. This is quite possibly the best money I spent on the trip.

We have lunch at El Bistro. Soup, salad, main course, bottled water and coffee costs less than $5 per person.

We want to try a certain seafood restaurant on Plaza San Diego for dinner but accidentally wind up at an Italian place with the same name across the square (they’re owned by the same guy). Food is not that great, but we’re sitting outside so we get to see some Colombian dancers that are performing in the plaza.

After dinner we stop by Hotel Santa Clara for drinks in its bar, El Coro. The Santa Clara used to be a convent but is now a luxury hotel. The bar is done up to look like an old library, but somehow it’s still quite tropical-chic. The caipirinhas are amazing, there’s a Cuban band: is it wrong to be whooping it up dancing and boozing in a convent?


Residences in Old Town.