Cartegena is one hell of a place to start a South American adventure. Three days became four and five, and then it was a week. If it wasn't for the blistering and sweaty heat, I might have stayed forever.This town of islands and beaches is built around a beautiful colonial centre, even for a person jaded of such sights. Cobbled streets, lined with food vendors and imposing churches and plazas with musicians and dancers. All surrounded by 17th century battlements and the water. Sadly, a lot of the time I was merely hiding from the heat. Yet the things I did do were world-class. Bathing in a volcano of bubbling mud, taking an open-air party bus around town at dusk (complete with a live band, bottles of rum and dancing games), an outdoor concert by Placido Domingo no less, salsa dancing in Fidels (a legendary bar in the historic centre that I visited every night) and the imposing Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, with its scary underground cells and escape tunnels.
Overall, Colombia seems to really put the Latin into Latin America, with bustling street stalls, an obsession (rather than just passion) for football and a party spirit to envy. Which begs the question: why did I take so long to get here?
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