Where I Am Living in Cartagena

So I have mentioned that for almost four weeks I am staying with a Colombian family in Cartagena. They live in an apartment in a middle class barrio called Campestre. I stayed with them for two nights in their old place, but they have since moved to a bigger and better place a few blocks away. This post is about where I am living in Cartagena Colombia.

Overview of where I am living in Cartagena

This is by no means the lap of luxury. Part of my plan in coming here to volunteer was immersion, and living with a family was better for that than living with other foreigners or by myself. This is a simple home with enough amenities but not everything we are accustomed to having. I realize everyday here how spoiled we are at home and how little we actually do need to get by. I am not saying I am thriving in this environment because I’m having some internal struggles being a spoiled brat. But it’s going OK so far, and the people are so great it helps a lot! Still, there have been a few times I’ve dreamed of checking in to a hotel for a night – with AC of course, including a search I did on hotwire a few hours ago!

I took some photos of the common areas and my room so you can see where I am living in Cartagena.

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Cartagena City Tour

Cartagena is a city with a rich history and a lot of sights to see.  Since I only have my weekends to be a tourist, I did a Cartagena city tour yesterday to maximize time. The city tour was going to hit at least two of the Cartagena must sees which would have been difficult to get to on my own. City tours are a great introduction to a new place, and especially good for a solo traveler!

Booking the tour

I booked the 65000 peso (approx $28 CDN) tour through a hostel in the old town, El Viajero. I met the tour guide at the clock tower at 1:30 pm. The plan was to see a couple of the big sights and get a ride around the city to boot.

I didn’t know until the morning of the tour that the barrio was going to have a party that day. It turned out to be a good time to leave though because the sound system was blaring from 10am and was still going when I got home and then some! I wore ear plugs from 10a-12noon when I left for the tour.

Slow Down

So this is the Caribbean and nothing moves fast.  About 12 of us loaded into the bus and waited.  Then we drove around for a bit and returned to the clock tower to pick up some latecomers. Then we drove around some more and picked up other tourists. Most of those were in Bocagrande, a big tourist section on the beach. Bocagrande has a lot of big hotels and fast food restaurants and I am glad I got to see it on the ride because it confirmed what I thought: I don’t need to hang out there.

Cartagena City Tour Bus
Our bus for the city tour
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Diving Rosario Islands 

Four days of working/volunteering in the heat demands a fun weekend. As I am in the Caribbean, it makes sense to go scuba diving. I found a well-reviewed dive shop, Diving Planet, and booked a two-dive day. Here’s what it was like for me diving Rosario Islands Colombia.

Rosario Islands: Where the Reefs Are

The majority of the reefs around here are around the Rosario Islands, which are approximately a 30 minute boat ride from the mainland. Far enough that it feels like a getaway from the city.

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Roll with it 

It’s been a little crazy the last 2 days because my host family just moved. Yes, I know! I got to their place on Monday night, stayed two nights and then was moved to another family’s house to stay while the first family moved. It sounds complicated.  Maybe it is. Either way I am trying to roll with it as it happens.

So Wednesday night I stayed with the volunteer coordinator, Libary, and her family. Then last night we were told the new place my family moved to still didn’t have air conditioning so could I stay another night? Roll with it Melinda!

Self Improvement

This is my new mantra to myself. Part of my reason for coming here was to hopefully change some things about myself, even a little. One of those is my lack of patience. Another is my need to be in control. So here we go! I tend to like having a plan and sticking to it. haha. Roll with it. This isn’t that bad.

So I am now in the new house but it doesn’t have wifi. So short post now via my phone and my local data plan. I also can’t take a shower because my towel is at Libary’s house with some of my other things since I stayed there for 2 nights. Trying to figure out the transportation from a new location is tricky too!

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Getting Around Cartagena

So I mentioned yesterday that the bus rides in Cartagena are an experience. They are certainly affordable. Every bus costs 2,000 pesos, which translates to approximately 65 US cents, or 84 Canadian cents. Pretty cheap. But, is it worth it? It depends. Here’s what I’ve experienced getting around Cartagena on public transit and taxi.

Getting Around Cartagena by Bus

I took three buses on different routes yesterday. Two of them I would take again in a heartbeat, the other, probably not.

The First Bus From Campestre

First bus – from my home to the foundation (work). My home is in the “Campestre” barrio or neighborhood. I love that they are called barrios, it makes me feel like I’m in the L.A. of Sanford & Son or something. So retro sounding. But really it’s just a Spanish word for neighborhood.

Campestre map getting around Cartagena Colombia
Campestre location in Cartagena Colombia

Anyway, the Campestre barrio is inland – it’s a middle class area kind of far from the tourist parts of town (on the map above, that’s the area along the ocean from Bocagrande – sort of like the South Beach – to Getsemani and beyond to Old Town).

My bus ride today (which I successfully completed on my own) was really easy. I catch the bus at the corner 2 blocks down the street and take it about 20 minutes and walk about 5 minutes from the stop. All for 84 cents. I will do that every morning. No problem.

getting around Cartagena Bus
The bus I take to work in the morning

Bus To Cartagena’s Tourist Area

The second bus took me from the stop near work to the old city. I will definitely take this bus again. It took about 15 minutes, had some great views along the way, and stopped right outside the old city, which is GORGEOUS! As you can see in the map below, the foundation is pretty close to the ocean.

Map of Foundation Granitos de Paz Cartagena
Where I work in Cartagena
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