86 Countries and Still Counting: January 25, 2025

I have no idea why, but I've been wide awake since 4 a.m. Juan Carlos was picking me up at 7 to head for a walk in the Old City. At 6:30, I heard what sounded like a small explosion and the power went out. Hmmm. Do I walk down 7 flights of stairs and hope the elevator is working when I get home? Luckily, the power came back on in 10 minutes, so we left on time.

Enjoy the photos!

Pre-dawn view from the balcony. It was 75 then with a light breeze.

Too small for a cruise ship. Fishing boat?

Between 1573 and 1640, more than 78,400 slaves were sold in this building. It's now a popular tourist stop for local crafts.

The Spanish influence shows in the street signs. Bovedas means vaults.

I posted a photo of this building a couple of weeks ago when I visited the Portal de Las Dulces. That visit was much less pleasant since it was afternoon and the place was packed with tour busses and tourists.

I've now walked all 11 km of the wall around Cartagena. I told Juan Carlos that he had to pay me today since I was making sure he got his exercise.

It was about 7:15 a.m. when I took this. There were very few people walking the wall.

According to JC, the wall is original, but as it is damaged, repairs are made.

One of the many colleges in the Old City.

Dinner is typically late here, around 10 p.m. so we had the city to ourselves so early.

This police officer was doing a photo shoot with a couple of friends. She spoke English well and was very friendly. Many of the "tourist police" are women. All are very friendly and approachable.

We watched these guys fishing in small boats. Juan Carlos could probably hook me up with some fishing on one but it is a bit too risky for me. I read "438 Days at Sea" last year about a guy who went out in one of these boats and ended up in the South Pacific. That wouldn't happen to me, unless we also navigated the Panama Canal but still...

Every day here I'm struck by the beauty and dissonance of old and new so close together.

What a place for a morning walk.

Inside the walls are historical buildings. Many are private homes.

A bird like this visits my balcony most mornings. They have a bright yellow chest. JC told me the name in Spanish. I can't remember so now don't know the name in either language.

I like that the bird was perched near his own artwork.

We walked for about an hour and a half. Sometimes, JC would ask which direction back to the car. Most of the time I had no clue. With all the narrow streets it is easy to get turned around.

There's no barrier on the edge of the wall. And many of the stairs have no railings.

There are a lot of statues in Cartagena, which adds to the charm. This is one of my favorites.

Ok, so Shakira is now living in Mexico but also owns this house. With a private pool. She's originally from Baranquilla.

Private apartments. What a location. WAY outside my price range.

This "chiva" bus is used for tourists. It operates like the more modern Hop On, Hop Off double decker busses.

Between the ocean view and architecture, there's plenty to see.

We walked over one of the very narrow entrances to the city. Just wide enough for a car.

The wall is smooth and easy to walk on but does have a variety of changes in elevations. But not as much as the wall around Dubronik where I felt like I was climbing Everest.

People use these "windows" to sleep, hang out and apparently more. JC told me, laughing "Entran dose y salen tres." Two go in and three leave. Yes, they're used to having sex.

A door from the wall to the outside.

One of the many colleges.

I'm still obsessed with doors. This is part of the college.

Notice how clean everything is? Workers are out early, sweeping and washing the sidewalks.

Many of the streets look alike to me.

Notice how quiet it is? I saw few other tourists, this early. These quiet streets will be packed when the passengers get off the ships today. Yesterday there were four ships in port.

Many of the houses have balconies. What people watching that would be.

This looks like Antigua, Guatemala. The Spaniards got around.

A fancy jewelry store.

An antique store with a lot of items from Asia.

I was surprised to see this indoor parking building. Parking is a big issue in the Old City.

This luxury hotel currently has rooms for sale for only $1,700 a night, USD.

The vendors in the small parks are out early. Their first customers are workers on their way to work.

My excellent go-to guy Juan Carlos knows the name of all the statues and the history. I forget the names as soon as I hear them. I was more excited watching the guy making fresh OJ.

By 8 a.m., there were more people on the streets.

This is an entrance to a "mall".

Close to the mall in the photo above, was this large store of stuff for kids. I was looking for a notebook and got it!

I never had a back pack in school. They didn't exist in the 1950's.

This is the store for kids.

There are enough stores and restaurants to keep all us tourists happy.

This was the entrance to a Carulla Express - a smaller version of the Carulla near me.

This is what the well-dressed people are wearing.

The see-through look is popular.

We were going to stop at Ara for apples and avocados but in the Old City walked past Olympica, so I wanted to check it out. The Jumbo is JC's favorite candy bar.

I'm a big fan of trying new foods. I'm loving the tomate de arbol that I bought at D1 (that's pronounced Day Uno, by the way)

I really like this store. It had a good variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Yucca and cassava are both popular.

Holy crap, they have pomelo! I started eating it in Myanmar. So tasty but a pain in the neck to peel. They were about $1.40 a piece.

Lots of frozen chicken and meat but I didn't see much fresh stuff.

This tells me that the people here eat a lot of rice. One thing they don't eat? Jalapenos! I've looked and haven't found any, fresh or pickled. I didn't realize how many jalapenos I eat until I got here. Yes, they are a daily addition to my meals.

Spices are cheap and readily available. These bags of spices were less than $.50.

You can get 1/4 of a rotisserie chicken and a Coke for about $2.25.

These are examples of a type of bag that is made locally. Great news, Roland - the town known for making them is only 45 minutes away and we can go, if you want.

The plazas are great for shopping (lots of craft and food vendors) and sitting in the shade, people-watching.

Perfect for hauling stuff.

A brunch restaurant.

I'm a big fan of the door knockers.

I also love how they have lots of vegetation in small places.

JC (of course) knew where to buy these. We went to the plaza where the vendor sells them. I didn't buy one but probably will before I leave. The first price he gave me was $84. When I pointed at JC and asked "What's the price for him?" the vendor laughed and said $60. When I want to buy one, I'll send JC alone first to get the price. I'm happy to pay a bit more because I'm a tourist but also want a bargain.