Greetings from Colombia!

                                       GREETINGS FROM CARTAGENA!

If anybody's wondering what the hell I'm doing in South America, it's possible you don't know me as well as you thought. 😂 I'm here for numerous reasons but the official explanation is that I prefer tropical weather. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I arrived here on January 15 and will return to Texas on February 15. I rented a three bedroom condo and am expecting a couple of friends for two weeks starting this Wednesday. It's been interesting so far. Colombia is definitely a second world country but it's much cleaner than I expected. My condo isn't fancy but the building is modern, well kept and has 24 hour security.

There is a nice balcony with a view over the Caribbean in one direction and a view into the city the other way. The balcony faces northeast so becomes shady about 10:00 am. I can sit out there almost all day and stay out of the sun. The weather has been perfect. No rain is expected the entire time I'm here.

Nice!

 

There is little air-conditioning in Cartagena including my condo. I don't mind because, as mentioned, I prefer warmer temperatures. Especially considering what will occur in Texas this week. There's also no hot water so the showers are poco refrescante.  I don't mind that either. 

The most different thing is that there are no street signs and few buildings are numbered. This makes getting around a challenge because GPS is not reliable here. I try to walk but often end up lost. People try to be friendly when I ask for directions but a lot of them have no idea where anything is. More about this later.

The most reliable way to get around is taxi. Even still, I've had three taxi rides where the driver got lost and asked me for directions. These were older drivers who didn't have cell phones. The most frustrating thing is that I always give them the final destination before I get in the cab. The good news is that taxi rides don't cost more than $3.00 regardless of how lost we get. Taxis from the airport cost $7.00.

Traffic on the streets is the most crazy I've ever seen and I've been to lots of places. The drivers are both homicidal and suicidal. There are more motorcycles than cars. Pedestrians are not respected even in the few zebra crossings. Walking across a street is as stressful as anything I've ever done. The streets are in pretty good shape but the sidewalks are a mess. That's another reason I'm taking taxis when I can.

I haven't eaten out much but plan to do more when my buddies get here. The Colombians don't eat spicey food like the Central Americans. The food styles are more European or North American. By luck, I've met a delightful young woman who runs a two table restaurant in her living room. The food is good and her three year-old son likes to attack and then hug me as I'm waiting. It's very much like a home cooked meal.

Laurie this morning in her living/dining area. What a sweetheart!

The supermarkets closest are pretty ghetto in style. You can keep from starving but the selection is not good. They do have a lot of fruit and vegetables. I finally found what's known as the Walmart of Colombia. It's called Exito (Spanish for success) and is well stocked. It's a ten minute taxi ride away but worth every peso. 

Mangoes are available everywhere but papayas are harder to find.

Papaya and mango together. Breakfast of champions!

Trying to find a post office has been a challenge. The national postal service was privatized in 2009. It's now a company known as 4-72. I went on the internet and found several locations. I took four taxi rides and discovered they were all non-existent. Even the locals had no idea of what I was talking about. After more internet research, I found what is definitely the worst corporate score I've ever seen. They're rated at 1.2 stars. I asked my lawyer/landlord about it and he swore he's never once used 4-72. FedEx, UPS and DHL do business here but all want $70.00USA to send a birthday card to Texas. Looks like my friend is going to get her card a few days late. 😇  

The last office I looked for was in a fancy/touristy part of town. There was a young woman on the sidewalk who invited me into a restaurant. I asked her about the postal office. She looked it up on her phone and offered to walk me there. It took about ten minutes to get to a place where the office had been closed for more than a year. Stephanie spoke English and is now at university studying languages, So far she has Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.

Saint Stephanie. Patroness of Lost Causes.

Don't worry! I'm looking for a barber shop.