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Misery and Magic. How can today be both miserable and magical all at once? It’s certainly not what I had planned. How about I start at the beginning.
After spending 6 longs hours locked in my bedroom (afraid that the common house #gecko was going to get me), I woke up feeling ready to shower, hydrate and start my day. I had everything planned out. I would wear my breezy grey dress, my comfy #NewBalance walking shoes, pack my mini umbrella (because rain was on the forecast), my portable chargers, my Mini fan and two bottles of water. I was ready! (SpongeBob voice).
If only someone would have told me that it was going to take me 3000 hours to catch a taxi or an Uber. My Beyond Colombia Tour was supposed to start at 10am, with instructions to arrive at least 15 minutes early. Again! I had everything planned. Let me tell you, I wasn’t able to secure a ride until 9:47…. not to mention traffic was crazy, making my commute a whopping 45 minutes. I can’t be too upset. I purposely wanted to live among the locals and explore what life was like in el barrio. My gosh! I wasn’t thinking. Luckily, I knew my excursions would be overwhelming, so I scheduled them for every other day. Thank God I did. I can’t even begin to imagine waking up to the commuter madness again.
Any who! As the rain pours down my terrace, I can’t help but to think about the enormous amount of sweat that was dripping off my face, neck and back. Hahaha. Gross right! The humidity truly kicked my butt. I thought that since I survived Puerto Rico, Maui, and Galveston TX, that I would be prepared. However, this July humidity was no joke. Right before this trip I went on a natural defendant kick, and by midday I was at the pharmacy buying some Dove. Are you visualizing the misery now? Since I missed my three-hour walking tour, I decided to have brunch and a cocktail at a very American brunch spot. This gave me enough time to eat and plan out the rest of my afternoon. I ended up walking through the historic Parque Del Centenario. Thankfully, a local vender saw me gushing over three giant #iguanas (I used to have a few when I was littler) and was kind enough to show me 7 of the most enormous #sloths I’ve ever seen. I felt like a little kid again, especially since I am still a sucker for the Zoo today. By the way, have you been to the zoon in Calgary? I LOVE IT
There's no way you can have brunch without Whiskey...forget a mimosa!
My VERY American avocado toast w/ scrambled egg
Back To My Day...
After the vendor and I exchanged pleasantries in #Spanglish, I headed towards the walled city to revisit a few spots that I hadn’t seen in years. It was amazing for me to see how much Cartagena had changed since 2016. The clanking of hammers and the buzz of a saw echoed throughout the streets. New buildings were being constructed, the roads were being repaired and walls were going from a dull dusty white to a vibrant red and yellow. Slowly, a smile began to slide come across my face. I was so happy that I even decided to get an ice cream from a street vendor (I think they are called Billos here). You can tell it was made in someone’s kitchen by the way it was wrapped and tied in plastic. But I didn’t care! I was happy to be supporting local businesses, and plus, the teenage girl was so happy to see my face as I asked her in Spanglish what her favorite flavor was. Chocolate of course! If you can’t tell by now, this is where my day is transitioned from miserable to magical.
Enjoying a cool chocolate ice cream while a combination of makeup and sweat runs down my face.
A few murals that I thought were absolutely beautiful!
This is Where the Magic Happens
After examining my budget, I decided that I could spend $40 on a last-minute tour since I missed the one from this morning. I checked Viator and TripAdvisor, but none were available for the time and price point that I needed. That’s when I decided to stick to usual and hop onto Airbnb Experiences to find something quick. I AM SO HAPPY that I came across Isaac’s tour on the Castle of San Felipe. Not only did he allow me to book my tour just two hours before, but essentially it was a private tour for a regular price. He and I spent an hour exploring the castle walls, secret hide outs and discussing the military strategy used by the Spaniards. In case you can’t tell, military history is one of my favs (food history first of course). I felt even more special since he offered to take photos and videos of me for my blog at no extra cost (The man earned is tip even without the photos).
Exploring Castel of San Felipe and all of its breathtaking views.
After exploring the castle, I quickly hopped into a taxi to start my final activity of the night. I signed up to take an authentic Colombian cooking class. You would think that with all my trips to Colombia, I would have already taken a cooking class.. But I haven’t …and this was SOOOOO EXCITING! Chef Tiffany and Chef Jose were absolutely incredible. They managed to create most educational, yet intimate and fun environment in a kitchen. There were jokes, salsa dancing, food history and real hands-on learning. If you haven’t checked out my vlog, head over to my Instagram account to see! It was definitely the BEST 2 hours I have spent so far on this trip. I learned how to cook Coconut rice, #patacones (or #tostones), empanadas and Mojarra roja al papillon (the juiciest red snapper you’ll ever taste). Y’all, know I love my fish…again, don’t believe me, check out the vlogs from my Instagram account.
Me, Cheff Tiffany and all the amazing food we made/ate. Vlog on my Instagram
Overall, today was crazy and fun! I mean the fact that it is raining now is symbolic. After every rough storm, there a beautiful rainbow that manages to make it's through. Today I am grateful. Now I am shutting the laptop off before the mosquitoes come out to place!
Your friend,
BrookeLynn the friendly blogger
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