Postcards from Cartagena— A Visual Story

Cartagena, Noviembre 2019.

The weekend from Nov 8th to 11th. (already a month ago, wow, time is flying by so quick) family and I booked a trip to Cartagena, we took advantage that my dad had started his vacations, and since it was a "long weekend" in here, we didn't think twice, not only did he need it, but all four of us needed it as well. I don't know where to begin, but I secretely longed for a trip just like this, a trip to forget about everything and anything and just enjoy it and have some sort of a family time, just the four of us. I have mentioned in some other previous posts that this year has been all about family and spending my time with them, again, I have had the most beautiful memories with them and 2019 has been the most special so far and I've been loving and enjoying every minute of it, even more now, that is getting closer to an end. Back to what I was saying, I longed for a trip like this, I have had the best time already and wanted to "close" 2019 with what could be a family trip, and it happened and I thank God for that he provided money and everything for us to go on this trip, there was zero last minute problems and everything turned out better than expected.

Whilst on the road, I was very emotional, I was probably shedding a tear or two as I couldn't believe it was all finally happening and it was my time to enjoy with them and have the most beautiful memories to remember. We left on Friday at around 1:30pm or 2pm or so and we arrived around 3pm, we did the check in around 3:30 almost 4pm, we then went to our room which was a Junior Suite, now that I write this, I still can't believe we all four stayed in the same room, like I would joke about it and tell my parents "hey, we're already 26 and 25, why sleep with us or why sleep with you two", haha but I guess that's what makes the bond stronger and also the pocket and wallet so friendly, lol.

Anyway, we left our things, and started strolling around the city, by 5:30pm I was having dinner, I had a sandwinch and my family wanted to have some Arepas rellenas with chicharron. After that, we grabbed a taxi and headed to the Downtown, especially the Walled City and went to this amazing place and had some drinks, I didn't as I was taking medicine. Forgot to mention I caught the flu the day after my bday and I was in that stage where it was just starting. So, medicine and water for me it was. By almost 9pm we were back in the hotel and I went straight to bed.

Day 2, more like Day 1 (Sat) Woke up super early, I really had a rough night, I couldn't even sleep that well, my throat was sore and since there was aircon that got me even worse, but I still was very positive about it, I took a quick bath and then put on my one piece swimsuit and we headed to have some breakfast. After that, we spent the morning at the beach. I gotta say that helped a lot with my flu, we have this saying that salty water, aka beach water I don't know how you call it, helps whenever you have the flu. So, I really had a good time, "so far" and got a little better.

By around 11am we left, and went to take a bath which oh, surprise, my period came (sorry if that's TMI) and I was feeling 79689 times worse than I already was, anyway we went to have our lunch. The plan for this day was to go on a Catamaran to watch the sun set and do something differet, since the budget didn't allow us to go to one of the many islands, we still wanted to try something  new. This was the high light of this trip, and it really deserves to be on a separate post, so stay tuned for that one. After trip was over, we headed to Downtown since we were literally close, just by crossing the street and had another stroll around the city by night. Truly magical!

Day 3 (Sun) Woke up, period cramps were stronger than ever, and couldn't plus didn't want to go swim again, and didn't feel like doing nothing, my mood this day was unbearable. We had breakfast and then headed to the beach. Mom and I stayed on the shade, whilst dad and brother went swimming until almost 11am, headed to our room, and they took a bath and for lunch, we met with one of my mom's friends and then after she invited us to have some coffee, we spent hours talking until she had to leave and once she's gone, we also grabbed another taxi and headed (again) to the downtown city, went to this new mall they have which is really beautiful architectonically, and then went to the supermarket to buy food for our dinner, and we were in the beggining of starting to wander around when it started raining, we immediately grabbed a taxi and headed to our hotel and din't went out again since it was pouring.

Day 4 (Mon) Check out was at 11am, we woke early, packed our things, had breakfast and by 9:30am we were on the road on the way back home. It felt very short, not gonna lie, specially since I couldn't enjoy this trip as much as I wanted to since I was sick and on top of that, got my period, so I really regret that, but I am sure there will be a next time, so I look forward to another trip there, hopefully it will be at least more than 5 days, so we can do and enjoy it more plus there are so many things left to do and see. 

But despite of me being sick, besides that I really had a beautiful time with my family and that's what mattered the most. It was truly perfect and magical, as it always feels like whenever I come back to this place. 

No matter what time of the year it is, Cartagena is always that very inviting place that will always welcome you with arms wide open, but every return is going to be always a different story, a different memory, one I could never forget but I will always remember. Until my next return.