Cartagena (round 2), Colombia – July 4th – 5th, 2017

Strangely, the public bus from Palomino went out of the way to drop us off at a private bus station outside of town. From there, we paid the inflated rate from Santa Marta back to Cartagena, because, well… it was a Monday and according to the bus office staff the rates are higher on Mondays and Tuesdays (obviously). The first thing we did after checking into our hotel in Cartagena, was go back to our favorite gelato place and indulge in the silky sweet goodness of ice cream! Then we took a salsa class, something we’ve been wanting to do since arriving in Colombia over 1 month earlier. It was so much fun and we had a good laugh over how terrible we are at dancing sexy. All three of us solidified the accuracy of the stereotype that white nerdy people have no dancing skills whatsoever. It was still a blast though! After salsa, we did some last minute souvenir shopping, ate a delicious meal of potato soup, and returned to the hotel to pack, shower, and sleep. With over 3-weeks without hot water, it was not surprisingly that we did not break our cold shower streak in Cartagena. You’d think you would get used to it, but you don’t, especially not in an air-conditioned room. Yup, riddle me that, AC, but no hot water.

Saying goodbye to Colombia. Mom's sad face is not intended to imitate Elvis... or Trump. 

After a pleasant breakfast at the hotel, we caught a taxi to the airport, checked in, and soaked up our last few minutes with Mom. Eventually, it was time to say “Hasta luego momacita!” It had been an incredible trip and even though there were some serious hiccups along the way, Colombia was of our favorite countries so far. We absolutely loved the scenery and genuine energetic people – we can’t wait to come back!