The Dirt Cricket Abides

After our time in Tyrona we jumped another bussetta for the four-hour ride to Cartegena. The second we arrived in the city it was very impressive; the beautiful Spanish Colonial architecture is accented by the imposing 17^th & 16^th century stone Fortress of San Felipe, and an even older wall that circumnavigates the original old town. A quick scan of the skyline does make obvious that it also has an element of Miami and it is a big time city with real industry. As I understand it, Cartagena was the only city spared form the Narco Violencia that everyone associates with Colombia, and therefore has grown into a world-class town that even the wary vacationer should put on their list. It is so romantic it’s kinda sickening especially since I am solo, and frankly I do like it here but it is not what I am after on this trip. It’s too big of a city and I could be done with it in 48 hours. I want grit and reality or cities that are not 100% based on tourism, and certainly not Prada, Gucci, and Escada shops. It is stunningly beautiful, but this is for one who wants to bring their loved one for a coddled vacation with a mix of awesome culture. All the glitz that I am referring to is housed in the old city (the part of the city literally surrounded by a huge stone wall). As a side note it’s really fucking hot here and the sun just feels like it seers your flesh.

For those who do not know Caratagena has the massive rebuffs and fortresses b/c as the Spaniards were plundering South America’s riches, all the tonnage of silver and gold were sent to Cartagena before being sent by vessel to Spain. I have read a hypothesis that the country of Spain and the Spanish language may not exist today had the Spanish not sacked all of the Americas. Whether true or not, Spain’s actions did bring them fabulous wealth and their heritage is a courtesy of what they stole from Mexico through Peru.

One day we stumbled upon an awesome display of Afro-Colombian dance in the park of Simon Bolivar and I was blown away. To my friends who think they can dance…you can’t. Check this out and realize this same group was changing costumes and keeping this up for 4 HOURS!!!! We visited the Naval Museum which pretty much sucked except I did get this snappy shot of Greg holding a Bazooka…b/c Bazookas were common Naval weapons right? However, we loved the Museum of the Inquisition, which was bothersome but fascinating. Cartagena lends itself to just strolling through the streets. We did go out for a night of heavy drinking that ended at a place called Club Havana and I was amazed. Watching a group of older black salseros slam away on the horns, drums and microphone sent chills up my spine. The music was so damn good and infectious even my goofy ass had to dance until they stopped playing…I wondered if the Buena Vista Social Club had snuck out of Cuba and put on a performance for us. As I write this I must say I do dig the Afro-Colombian/Caribbean culture. What I also do like is that I get the sense that there is no marginalizing of the black community or any ethnicity in this city…maybe I am being naïve but it does give off a nice vibe.

Now the social dynamics of team McWangster and Fred hit a snag. We have separated hostels and are opposed to sharing a room again unless necessary. The crux of the problem seems to be Christie’s anxiety about returning to the real world, applying for schools and expecting too much in terms of creature comforts from Colombia. Greg and I lived together for 5 yrs and I think only once raised our voices at each other yet in this short period of time Christie and I have already toed off which has shocked me…I am not tolerant of any negativity (even if she has good reason to be stressed) in my world at this point and nor should I have to deal with “female needs” since I am single. Curling eyelashes and putting on makeup and general dragging of feet fucking drives me up a wall…we are living in hostels ferrr christ’s sake. Christie did admit to me she is a girlie girl so I suspect her needs for everything to be a bit more western may be real. Oh well I am single and have never been very good at dealing with the female creature and her idiosyncrasies. In the end we chatted it out and my earlier assumptions about the language were wrong but the external pressures of returning to the real life are wearing on her.

I do have to mention that the street food in Cratagena is over the top good. I am losing my mind over being able to eat well for less than $1.50. Some of the street food includes skewers of delicious meat, Arepas (corn meal fried around chicken, cheese, beef, pork, egg, or whatever are every where you look) and of course fruit everywhere you look.

Chirp Chirp….cannot stop sweating

This entry was posted on Monday, December 22nd, 2008 at 11:31 am and is filed under Colombia, South America, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.