Just as we were going thru the maze of clearing in, another Swiss sailor told us the second time you see a country is often disappointing.
Well Cartagena is still pretty ,but now as you enter the old city ,hordes of people come after you.
It starts with the many women dressed in Colombian colors .They are everywhere ...looking good .But as soon as you fetch you're camera they want to see dollars!! As you walk around the beautiful cathedrals guys selling T-shirts , jewelry..."beer for you my friend" .
A lot of the t-shirts where red today ,so i felt like a bull in the arena...the red cape in front of me all the time ..no senior ...por favor , leave me alone , efff off !!
In the very center , half of the stores are now souvenir traps,and the local shops have gone. Where too?
The old city had a major facelift. Everything is in perfect condition, it looks almost too sterile almost like Switzerland . Its so perfect and the restoration is of the highest standards . But where did that money come from. The financial effort must have been HUGE.
I had to sit down in front of the Swiss consulate and eat my greasy Arepa . Amazing what you get here for 70 US cents .
As i eat , Carlos starts chatting with me. Somehow we got to talk about our old bones and that i should use Marijuana creme ..
We laugh a lot , the people are kind and FUNNY and , no he didn't want to sell anything!!
As my tired legs made it to the boat , i am happy to have my sacred 3pm SIESTA . But cronch ...PLONK , shatter , scratch . Our anchor is caught on something .No siesta . We try to lift our chain but the winch is struggling .Our bows get pushed into the water . I worry my cross beam breaks if a big wave comes.So we help with ropes and other winches and ...finally we pull up a mess of our chain , a medieval 100 kilo anchor ,a cement block with steel hooks holding the bridle and the chain ..oooh my of my!! Captn is stressed . First thing i do in this situation: I yell at the crew : " Hold here , not there , FASTER....!!! No , Danieeeelahh , I AM NOT STRESSED ."
We got to hold the mess with ropes, broke the boat hook and were able to slide my chain underneath...OOOOF new anchor spot 50 meters North. All is good .
As we "veggg" on the TV couch KKABOOM ,they start a 20 minute firework.We have the best spot.A bid to close , but the breeze blows it away. Loads of money up in the sky....where does it all come from ?
As a second bonus at 10pm , i get a life big band playing next to us .And its Vallenato , my favorite Colombian accordion music . I cant sleep with this , so i sit outside in the breeze and listen to : "Te amo mi corazon la la la la " hopping along with the beat...a huge crowd is dancing....life is good