February 21, 2025 - Checking Out Neighborhoods

 JC and I headed out at 8 a.m. today, to run a few errands and check out a neighborhood along the way.  One of the reasons I came to Cartagena was to consider living here, either full or part time.  I'm still  contemplating, so today we checked out the Marbella neighborhood.  Here's my take...

The Old City/Getsemani - beautiful, unique and safe.  Also, expensive, no parking and FULL of tourists.

Bocagrande - Affordable, walkable with great views.  Also, lots of restaurants and grocery stores.

El Laguito - I like the area near the Hilton but not a fan of the rest of this small neighborhood.

Castillogrande - Great views, safe and very walkable.  But, expensive and restaurants are further than I care to walk.

Marbella - I love the area near the house where Rafael Nunez was born and died.  Great views, easily walkable to the Old City.  But, a few blocks further away are less safe and while they are close to the beach, you have to cross a freeway to get to them.  And the small fresh water lake is lovely, I hear it can smell at some times.

La Boquilla - Great views, quiet beaches and more affordable since it's a bit further from the Old City.  You'd need a car to live here.

Manga - Great views, older neighborhood, close to the Old City.  

I don't know that I'll ever move here but I'll be back, for sure.

Here are some photos.

Deditos de queso are made with yuca flour, flaky, savory and delicious.

Mr. Bono (called Senor Bono here) is kinda like Dunkin', if they did savory instead of donuts.  Tasty, fast and cheap.

Goodies at Mr. Bono.  They do have a few sweet options.

If I had a kid I'd take them to this place just so they could get a ride in this car/chair.

The barber shop.

Dang, I was hoping for a mango slushie but they were closed.

Who knew Payless was a thing in Colombia?

Driving past 400+ year old buildings hasn't gotten old.

I liked this building, just a block from the Rafael Nunez house and two blocks from the Old City.  

The small church across the street from the Nunez house.

The airport is named for Rafael Nunez, who was born and died in this house.

You can see La Serrezuela from the Nunez house.  It was originally a bull fighting ring and is now an upscale mall in the Old City.

Marbella has some lovely high rise buildings with great views of the sea.

And a couple hotels I wouldn't choose to stay in.

The main street in Marbella isn't very walkable.

This woman was juggling while riding a unicycle.  In traffic.  While stuck in traffic, it's not unusual to have food/coffee/drinks vendors along with guys who want to wash your windshield offering their services.  Years ago, while sitting in snow on Telegraph in rush hour traffic, I figured I could make a killing in a golf cart, selling coffee in the morning and beer at night.  Damn American laws.

Just driving through the Old City, early in the morning, is a treat.  By 10 a.m., the streets are generally packed, especially on days when there are 4 cruise ships docked.

I love giant wooden doors.

The door knockers are a bonus.

Words to live by at the Gabriel Garcia Marquez museum coffee shop.

January 19, 2025 - El Laguito and Bocagrande

 Aren't Sundays grand?  I slept in until 6:15 a.m.  Not late enough, given that I was up until midnight, watching the Lions fall apart.  My condolences to the long-suffering fans.   Anyway, it will be another "sea day" today - just chilling.

But, never fear, I have photos!  After walking in and around the Old City yesterday, Juan Carlos and I stopped at Ara (my new favorite grocery store - smaller but much less expensive than Carulla) to pick up water and some fruit.  Then, we took a tour of nearby El Laguito.  

Photos of the nearby El Laguito neighborhood are much more fun than if I took photos of how I'm spending my afternoon...studying Spanish grammar.  Subjunctive?  Indicative?  Imperative?  Imperfect/irregular?  I have a decent Spanish vocabulary but grammar is my Achille's heel.  Luckily, when I get stuck/frustrated, I just string together a bunch of infinitives and, bless his heart, Juan Carlos figures it out.

I hope you enjoy the photos.  

I was just buying water but we checked out the prices on the Johnny Walker, which is JC's favorite.  This was about $17 USD.  JC prefers his with a dash of water and squeeze of lime.

Rum and Tequila were less expensive. A popular local beer, Aguila, was less than $5 for a six pack.  When friends had it in a nice restaurant in Getsemani, it was more than $6 a can.

Apparently, Ara is known for its roasted chicken.  Less than $5 USD for a whole, cooked chicken.  I've been paying about $12 to have half a chicken delivered (with two roasted potatoes) and thought that was a bargain.  I'll be trying Ara's pollo next.

The Hyatt hotel near me also offers residences.  The one-bedroom apartments are about $441 per night.  I have the same view, am only two blocks away in a beautiful, safe building and am paying exponentially less.

I live about half-way down the Bocagrande peninsula on the northern coast. We drove down the peninsula then circled around the "hook" that is El Laguito.  Castillogrande is another nice neighborhood where I looked at a long-term rental.  It is less than two miles from my apartment to the Hilton Hotel in El Laguito.

As we drove past Playa Bocagrande yesterday, I spotted a cruise ship coming into port.

Bocagrande is a long, very skinny peninsula.  El Laguito is the neighborhood where the peninsula ends.  The beach at the tip of the peninsula is small, with limited parking.  And this restaurant.  It would be a spectacular (and crowded) place to watch the sunset.

There are more trees in the area than in nearby Bocagrande.

We followed the main road around El Laguito.  The area in front of the Hilton is lovely

, with a wide malecon (seawalk).

This area, on "the lake"  is very tranquil and much less crowded than the beaches.

It is not actually a lake but a small bay.  They have paddle boats you can rent.  JC assured me it is an excellent and very romantic thing to do at night.  I'll be sure to post photos when that romantic evening happens, ROFL.

That is Bocagrande, from El Laguito.

There were a handful of people exercising but otherwise it was very quiet.  As you might imagine, most of the shops/restaurants are in Bocagrande.  For a long term stay, I think I might prefer Castillogrande or El Laguito.  All the neighborhoods on this small peninsula are considered up-scale and safe.

Juan Carlos explained the meaning of this statue in front of a building in Bocagrande but I was so obsessed with the size of the feet I didn't listen.

In front of the InterContinental Hotel, the statue is (appropriately) called Big Foot and is bronze and resin, created by the artist Idan Zeleski.

I dispose of my trash across the hall, in the small trash room.  It has a pretty amazing view of the bay on the other side of the peninsula.

Here's what I got at Mr. Bono yesterday.  Two of the most popular snacks here.  The round one is called Pan de Bono.  The other is a cheese finger - Dedito de Queso.  Both are made with cassava flour and filled with a white, salty cheese.  Both were crispy, chewy and delicious. They're about $1 each.  Add a salad or bowl of soup and you have a meal.

The soft, chewy inside of the Pan de Bono.

Except for my first week there's been no rain.  And every night this is my view - the hot tub is full until it closes at 8.  The sky changes to dark within a few minutes.

I was excited to see lasers last night.

Later, the biggest/longest fireworks I've seen so far.  They started after the first Commanders touchdown.  I assume that was a coincidence and they had nothing to do with American football.

This was about 8:30 p.m. and it was about 78 out.  Perfect on the balcony.

I was out to walk by 7.  Streams of people were headed to the beach but my pool was empty until about 9:30, which seems typical.

Early morning bathers.

The beaches are busy (this was before 8 a.m.) but not nearly as crowded as earlier in the month.

Tourists are in the water and the vendors have their umbrellas and chairs ready.

The view from my couch isn't bad.