Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Another travel day. Got up at 7:15 to have breakfast at the hostel, but even though I ordered at 7:45, I didn’t get my food (scrambled eggs, bread, jam, hot chocolate) until 8:10, five minutes before the taxi was coming to pick me up. Julia and I ate together as I scarfed down my food to get going. The taxi driver didn’t mind though and I’d given myself plenty of time. As soon as I got to the bus station, I was offered a minibus to Tunja. Easy peasy.
Having downloaded the second and third books in The Hunger Games trilogy, I was set for the day in terms of entertainment, and since I’d already done the same bus journey, I didn’t feel guilty making only quick glances out the window. Plus, I was sitting on the wrong side of the bus for pictures. After an hour, we pulled into Tunja and I was quickly shuffled to the next bus departing for Bogota. Another easy transfer.
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| Bus ride from Tunja to Bogota |
I spent the entire ride reading and made it to Bogota with great time, arriving at the bus station around 1pm. There were taxis waiting at the station, so it took no time to get one for the airport. After checking in for my Avianca flight to Cartagena, I stopped at Subway for lunch. My stomach wasn’t feeling great but I knew I should eat and that Subway would be a safe bet. I sat in the main terminal while waiting for my flight but eventually went to find the other terminal, which was much smaller. My gate wasn’t posted but a girl I was sitting next to got all stressed about me getting to the gate. I tried to explain that the flight wasn’t for another hour and finally got the message across. Nice of her to care though.
Before boarding the plane, I met three Australian girls traveling in South America for three months. Reminded me of the women in my book The Lost Girls. I sat next to a guy on the plane who lives in LA but wasn’t very interested in having a long conversation with him since his English wasn’t great and he didn’t seem to understand my Spanish. The hour flight passed quickly with Catching Fire.
Disembarking into the heat of Cartagena was incredible. So nice to feel warm again. I couldn’t find anyone to share a taxi with, so I got in one alone and headed into the city. The taxi drove along the Caribbean coast; can’t believe I’m so far north. When I checked into El Viajero, I realized I was in a mixed dorm, not a female, and went about making plans to change rooms tomorrow. Bit of a hassle, but the other room is closer to the bathrooms. Entering the mixed dorm room, I was instantly greeted by an enthusiastic hello. I looked at the girl curiously when she exclaimed, “Its Brie!” I had been so wrapped up in my book that I’d forgotten that Brie and Pamela (the girls from Bogota) were in Cartagena (and I’d told them where I was staying so that we could meet up). Once I’d taken a second to connect the dots I gave Brie, my new bunkmate, a huge hug.
It was only 5pm and Brie wanted to relax a bit before heading for dinner. Suited me just fine as I wanted to continue reading (bad thing when I get into a book because I can’t put it down). Eventually we left the hostel to find a restaurant for dinner. I was craving pizza, but the well-known place on the nearby square sold only pizza and Brie wanted a fruit juice. We strolled down some quiet streets and came upon an ok looking place with three tables of solo travelers. It felt so nice to have company. My pizza margarita was ok, but Brie was highly satisfied with her juice. By the time we came back to the hostel it was past 10pm and I read a bit more before taking a cold shower (apparently there’s no hot water here since it is so hot during the day, but I didn’t know that) and going to bed.
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| Brie and me at dinner in Cartagena |
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