Cartagena, Colombia, South America

I got to see some of Cartagena today, and it is really nice. The old town here is much more beautiful than the old town in Santa Marta. I walked around the city for a few hours and got to see a lot of the sights including some old churches, nice squares, and a walk along the city walls. I even got to stop and have lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Hard Rock Cafe. It was a really nice meal, but I feel like I’ve been eating pretty well in Colombia anyway, so I wasn’t as desperate for good food as I have been in the past.

I checked out a few different dive shops to try to get a spot for tomorrow morning, but none of the companies had an open spot. I was really bummed, because tomorrow is my last day I can dive. I’m planning on getting a bus down to Medellin on Saturday night, and because of the change of altitude to Medellin, I am not allowed to dive in the morning. I only thought that applied to flying, but apparently not. There’s one place near my hostel that I’m going to go back to tomorrow morning and hope for a cancellation that opens up a spot. Fingers crossed I get lucky with that.

I was walking back to the hostel when I was coerced into going into a Cuban bar for a mojito. It’s a Jamaican-American guy (Donald) who runs the place, and he sits outside trying to drum up business. It worked on me and I ended up staying there and chilling for one mojito and four beers. It was really good. By the end of the night there were five of us chatting over a few drinks and it turned into a good night. I couldn’t stay out too late, just in case I do get to go diving in the morning. I can’t be hungover. I can’t imagine anything worse than diving while hungover. No thanks.