February 17, 2025 - Shopping!

 I don't do a lot of shopping when I travel, preferring to blow my money on experiences, like food, massages and sightseeing.  But I have been looking around to see if there was anything I needed to take home as a momento.  

I decided on two things.  First, a brass door knocker.  Because I'm obsessed with the giant wooden doors here, most of which have large brass door knockers.  The most common shape is an iguana, which are believed to be good luck.

The second thing I wanted was a Botero sculpture.  He's an artist from Medellin who has a famous statue in the Old City, called La Gorda.  

In Cartagena, as in many tourist cities (including Orlando), stuff tends to cost more for tourists than locals.  Juan Carlos and I had a plan.  We'd looked at the types of things I wanted to get earlier on walks in the Old City.  Today, I waited in the car.  He sent photos and negotiated.  Did I save money over the first price quoted when we window shopped?  You bet.  Did he get a kick back?  Possibly, but since I still got a better price, I don't care.  Plus, I felt like we were playing "spies", with me in the car so the vendors couldn't see me.  And I paid less than I expected and got goodies I love.

We stopped at Olimpica for a few things and also had a chuckle over the Bimbo truck.  In Latin America, Bimbo is a large brand of breads.  In the USA, it's a less than complimentary term for women.  JC thought that was pretty funny.

After shopping, I celebrated with a massage.  Not a bad way to start the week.

And now, a few photos.

My view while waiting for the Botero sculptures.

The streets in the Old City are narrow. While waiting for the iguana purchase, I watched this van go over the curb trying to make it around this corner.

It is brass, almost a foot wide, and cost less than $100.  It weighs a ton and I'll be using it as decor, rather than a door knocker.  

This looks like breadfruit but the sign says soursop.  Any ideas?

They are what we call limes.  I haven't seen lemons here.

Juanita finishes each massage with me in the chair.  With this view.  

I love the iguana!

I got two ceramic Botero statues (knock offs). Less than $30 for both.

He's about 8 inches tall and 10-12 inches long.

I relate to La Gorda.

She's a longosta, too.  All the meat is in the tail.  She's about a foot long.