The shuttle bus from Palomino to Cartagena was a stop start affair as we visited every hotel in the region to collect visitors (this is what happens when you travel posh).

We arrived in our final Colombian destination just over 7 hours after we boarded the bus and were glad to be dropped near to Hostal 1811:

Abi’s Rating: 8/10 – Not much room but it was cutesie. Nice terrace.

Mike’s Rating: 8/10 – Excellent location in the middle of Getsemani. Air Con was excellent which is essential in the unwavering humidity of the city.

We only had a day or so to get a little flavour of the place before we set off for Christmas on Isla de Rosario. We meandered around with no real plan apart from picking up supplies for our 4 days and getting our bearings…we would return to Cartagena for a week over New Year.

Just enough time to eat some great food and get in the Christmas spirit.

Los Erizos

On the morning of 23rd December we took the short walk from our hostel to the small marina located on the edge of the Old Town. Even though it was before 9 it was sweltering! We had secured our passage the day before and were ushered through the barriers before having to wait an hour for the boat to arrive.

Abi had read reviews (shock) about passengers “fearing for their own mortality” on the crossing and there were a couple of hairy moments as the boat took flight. All in all though the trip there wasn’t too bad and I was quick to chastise the doomsayers on trip advisor.

We dropped off at a couple of ghastly looking resort type places and I was sweating a little as the boat stopped outside a quaint little place in a lovely little bay:

Abi’s Rating: 7.3/10 – Floors were dirty even when they cleaned. Mosquito net was good…lovely location, food and lounging area

Mike’s Rating: 9/10 – A great pick that had everything we needed. Food was really good. Only downside was that a rat was spotted running along the beams in our room…he actually looked quite cute though!

It wasn’t your archetypal Christmas but it was highly relaxing. We spent our days lounging on the decking and throwing (or rolling) ourselves into the ocean when the heat got too much.

This was a first outing for our Decathlon goggles and we got to see a variety of fish in the clear blue waters.

We did get a little bit burnt but in general I thought that we did pretty well.

The hostel had its own little trapdoor and one of the workers would dive down to retrieve lobsters…pretty cool!

On a couple of the days a boat arrived and played some loud music or brought a few tourists to our place for lunch. But they were not around for long and it was so peaceful and relaxing.

The only other guests were an Argentine family (complete with cute but bossy 5 year old who had everyone wrapped around her little finger) and a moody daughter and mother combo who didn’t interact.

As mentioned above the food was pretty good with the fish unsurprisingly the best choice. Having said this they did a mean salad and there was much more variety than we expected. It wasn’t turkey, roasties and brussels…but we can’t complain.

Another little Christmas treat was a bar of Cadbury brought by Father in October. It had melted and solidified on a number of occasions but still tasted the same!

There was no wifi until the last day but we had got some data packages that worked intermittently which allowed us to call the Wirral and MK. This meant that we were part of the celebrations back home which were in full swing by the time we called!

Our main Christmas Day activity was kayaking and it was eventful! We had done quite well to start with and had made it around the corner of the island before disaster struck. I was attempting to change positions in the boat and unfortunately we capsized. Abigail was not a happy bunny but I found it all rather amusing.

We lugged the boat to the shore and eventually managed to empty most of the water (after a lot of complaining and a huffy face).

The rest of the activity passed without drama although we were hot, tired and a bit red skinned by the time we made it back!

My attempts to get the next door hotel to fix their tv fell on deaf ears so I had to do without Liverpool’s trouncing of Leicester (only the second game I have missed in 4 months which is pretty good going!) Scrabble instead!

Overall it was a very different Christmas to what we are used to but the first time that Abi and I got to spend it together. We loved every minute and would like to say a huge thank you to the McCue’s as this was their wedding gift to us!

Now remember when I laughed at those trip advisor scaremongers with regard to the boat. On the boat back it is safe to say we feared for our own mortality. We spent a large part of the trip in the air and Abi got absolutely soaked. The wind was picking up and the waves were crashing against the side of the boat. Scary stuff but the captain was a pro. His response when pulling into Cartagena with a boat full of scarred, drenched but relieved tourists…”Blame the president, he needs to pay for a new motorway!”.

Cartagena

The port city of Cartagena de Indias was founded in 1533 and spent the first 300 years of its existent under almost constant attack. Its strategic position made it a key city on the trade route to Europe.

Today the Old Town is a Unesco Heritage site and it retains much of its colonial charm with cobbled streets enclosed by the well maintained city walls.

We stayed in the touristy area of Getsemani just outside the Old Town and it was a great location.

David was our host in his little guest house Casa de las Americas:

Abi’s Rating: 9/10 – Could do with an outside window…extremely clean, spacious with good facilities. David loves to say Abigail Ruth.

Mike’s Rating: 9/10 – David was lovely and extremely attentive. Occasionally this came across as over bearing (hence the minus point) but his heart was certainly in the right place. Also the everyday room clean was a tad excessive. Perfect Air Con, wifi and location.

This is Colombia’s crown jewel and we absolutely loved our week long stay here. Much of the time was spent simply wandering around the streets of the walled city and admiring the stylish houses. Horse drawn carts are offered as a tourist attraction but we politely declined…our legs were fine!

The city is beautiful but the humidity is high and the heat is pretty unrelenting. We were forced to seek out air conditioned establishments on a regular basis to cool down!

Despite its clear modernisation, Castillo San Felipe de Barajas still commands an important place on the edge of Getsamani. This is the greatest fort ever built by the Spaniards in any of its Colonies and it provides some great views of the city. We managed to get in fairly early one morning to avoid the crowds and the heat!

A five minute taxi ride along the coast from the Old Town and you have entered another world. Boca grande is home to 5* beach front hotels and large shopping malls. Not really our style (maybe because of the price) but I persuaded Abi that we had to go and see star wars.

She didn’t hate it but was not too enamoured with the fact it was in 3D (I also dislike 3D to be fair). I found the film very good and much better than the previous two instalments!

A huge treat afterwards was this wonderful little cookie shop. The best sense mr cheney (high praise indeed) and as you can see I was a happy camper.

We were keen to do something a bit different on New Year’s Eve and make sure that we had a memorable evening. We did some research and decided to buy tickets to a roof top event overlooking the clock tower just inside the walled city.

Mirador Gastrobar were out hosts and it was a cracking night. The views were spectacular and the buffet was actually very good (although the dessert was a little lacking). The mash potato was the best on offer in South America!

As midnight approached the festivities reached fever pitch and we were treated to some live music and a collection of surprises in our little party bag. The countdown began and we entered 2020 in some style. (The only negative was the obscured view of the fireworks but we still got a fair few).

All that remained of our time in Cartagena was to do some housekeeping ahead of our 5 day sailing trip to San Blas Islands and Panama. Lots of money withdrawn and changed to dollars, sea sickness pills purchased and reviews googled.

We attended a meeting with our fellow travellers and the captain seems like a very experienced chap while the Australian cook has a great reputation. The other guests are all pretty young with a mixture of Australians, Germans and Dutch so it looks promising!

It sounds clichéd but 2019 was without a doubt the best year yet. The highlight was a magical day in July shared with all our friends and family but there have been many standout moments.

A fantastic trip down memory lane in Newcastle with my Grandad, some great Saturdays with Kingsley, a great six months in Hartford and three of the best sporting days in my lifetime as a Liverpool and England cricket fan.

These, plus the most amazing travel experiences over the last 4 months have made this year one to truly remember.

2020 offers the prospect of a new job and new home which is very exciting indeed. However before all the serious stuff starts, there is just enough time to visit seven new countries and see what else the world has in store for us.

Next stop: Panama on the Sovereign Grace

Happy New Year to all with lots of love from Mr & Mrs Yeates x