South America Trip 2023/10/13 - Cartagena, Colombia ✈️

Morning: Woke up at 6:00 AM to quiet streets near my downtown Airbnb 🏡. The area had several casinos (zero interest in gambling now 🎰❌) and churches ⛪. Nearby was the Botero Museum 🎨—famous for exaggerated, plump figures (fun fact: many Colombian women actually resemble his art! 🍑😂). Grabbed breakfast from a street vendor selling "churros" (not as satisfying as Chinese fried dough sticks 🥖😕). Airport Transfer: My host helped arrange a taxi—100,000 COP?! 💸 (More expensive than airport taxis!). Instead, took the airport shuttle (14,000 COP, 10-min walk 🚌✔️). Flight: Smooth 1-hour hop to Cartagena! ✈️ Afternoon Adventures: 1️⃣ Castillo San Felipe de Barajas 🏰 Built in 1536 to fend off pirates—claimed to be Latin America's toughest fortress! 2️⃣ Convento La Popa de La Galera ⛪ Hilltop convent with panoramic city views 🌆 (Funny how the "mighty" castle looked tiny from up here! 😆) 3️⃣ Old Town Wander 🚶‍♂️ Colorful colonial buildings everywhere! 🌈 Stopped at Ábaco Libros y Café 📚☕—where García Márquez supposedly wrote Love in the Time of Cholera! Weather Report: Cartagena = hot + humid 🔥💦. Everyone in Bogotá warned me: "It's a sauna there!" Today was cloudy with evening rain 🌧️, so heat was bearable—but the stickiness? Unavoidable. 🙃 Final Thoughts: Botero art ✔️ Pirate forts ✔️ Márquez vibes ✔️ Sweaty clothes ✔️ #ColombiaTravel #Cartagena #HistoricWonders #StickyButPretty #NoPiratesJustHeat