Views, art, and beaches in Cartagena

Hola from somewhere in between Cartagena and Santa Marta! No, the bus doesn’t have Wi-Fi (not back at Google just yet….) but drafting this for later posting!

On Sunday, I flew a quick hour from Medellin to Cartagena, a totally different Colombia from the one I’d been living in during my time in Envigado. Cartagena is hot, beautiful, and packed with Colombian and international tourists. Usually I don’t love super touristy spots, but Cartagena is so pretty, you can’t help but be drawn in by its charm.

Beautiful buildings like this on every street in the historic center

I started by going to the wrong hostel. Mine was hostel Santo Domingo de Vidal, but I went to Hostal Santo Domingo. Apparently this happens all the time, and was easily resolved with a $3 cab ride. I had a nice private room, and the staff were friendly and helpful, but it wasn’t a super social hostel, so I didn’t make any new friends like I’d hoped to!

My first day I just kind of wandered around the historic center, which has photogenic buildings at every turn, and many cute boutiques to pop into. I had a drink at El Baron, a nice cocktail bar with seating on a main square, and then found a place for dinner. I don’t mind eating alone, and enjoy it when I’m traveling for work, but this ended up being a little awkward. The restaurant was super romantic, and I felt like I was eavesdropping on dates (I wasn’t….my Spanish isn’t that good). I also ordered WAY too much food and wasn’t even hungry when my entree came. Obviously I ate it anyway.

Lychee spritz, great end to a day of wandering around!

The second day, I didn’t really have a plan but ended up visiting a local market, Mercado de Barzuto. I read about it in my guidebook and quickly Googled a tour and managed to join one that morning (through Cartagena Connections). Local folks from Cartagena think the market is smelly and gross, and…I kind of have to agree. They sell everything from clothes and toiletries to fruits, veggies, fish, and all parts of various animals. Even though it’s not where I’d choose to do my grocery shopping, I really enjoyed seeing a part of Cartagena that wasn’t just for tourists, and it was worth the price of the tour because I don’t think I could have found my way around alone.

Our lunch at the market- fresh fried fish. It tasted better than it looks.

That evening, I met up with some people who were on my tour for a couple of drinks and mediocre pizza at Plaza de la Trinidad, a spot right by my hostel where everyone seems to converge at night, from locals to backpackers and performers like rappers and dancers (who ask for tips, of course!).

Coming to Cartagena, I knew that a popular day trip was go to nearby beaches by boat (the beaches in Cartagena itself are not very nice) but was not quite sure what the options were. I’d heard of Playa Blanca, but it sounded terrible- tons of visitors and harassment by people selling you stuff. What I learned while there is that many hotels on the islands have private beaches, and you can visit one of them on an easy boat ride. The market tour guide was super helpful in recommending and setting up such a visit for me. I went to the beach of Gente de Mar hotel on Isla Rosario. There were about 50 of us on the tour and the beach was private, calm, and beautiful, with towels and lunch included. I’m not much for a party scene so it was just perfect for me (cost was about $70 for the day). I also opted to do snorkeling from the beach (about $15) which was super worth it- saw a lot of interesting fish and coral reef.

Yay! The beach! (tan is still a work in progress)

After my beach trip I cleaned up and did some more wandering around the historic center. I ended up finding a cool little art house/courtyard where I was able to chill out a bit with my book. Then went to La Mulatta for a tasty seafood dinner.

My third and final day, I joined a free tour of the street art in the Gestemani neighborhood- there’s tons of vibrant murals with interesting history behind them (images below are a little slideshow you can click through if so inclined)

After that it was time to grab my bags and wait for the bus! I am taking the Marsol bus to Santa Marta (easily booked by my hostel)- should be about a 4-5 hour trip. So far it’s been 4 hours and 45 min and we aren’t there yet! [update: took almost 7 hours door to door. Whew!]

Cartagena is a great place to visit, but I’m not sure I’d put it at the top of my list for solo travelers. It’s kind of romantic so I think it draws many couples. Maybe it was just the hostel I was in which was not super social, but it was a bit hard to meet people there. Regardless, I enjoyed my time there!

Tomorrow I’m heading to Tayrona National Park, to hike to a beautiful beach and camp out (been a very long time since I've done that!)

First week in Medellín

I arrived in Medellin at about 11 PM last Saturday from Mexico City, and my awesome AirBnb host Marco picked me up from the airport for about an hour's drive to his apartment in Envigado, a neighborhood at the south end of Medellin. 

The next morning, I woke up, looked out the window, and the anxiety of being alone in a country where I know no one and don't speak the language really hit me. I considered curling up on the couch watching movies on my computer until Tuesday, when my Spanish school commences. 

But then I went to the kitchen to get some water, where I met Emil, the other guy staying in this AirBnb apartment. He is from Sweden, and has been traveling for THREE YEARS. He's been in Envigado on and off for something like 3 months, doing a lot of volunteer work. He offered to show me around town a bit and help me find a place to get some food. I was really glad to be with him, since he knows the area and speaks fluent Spanish. We stopped at a small place near the main plaza where I had a traditional Colombian lunch (soup, meat, rice, beans, plantain) and then he showed me some of the other main streets.

After our stroll around town, Emil was going with Marco and Marco's mom to Olaya Herrera, a very poor area of Medellin where Emil has been working to help build a house for a family there. They invited me to join them, and since I literally had nothing else to do, I decided to tag along. We took the subway and then a bus to get there (so I also got a primer on how to use the public transportation which is very clean and safe here), and it was a world away from Envigado.

Emil and Maria Ceclia walking to the site of the new home

The family Emil is helping is a young family; the mother is only 18 but has twins, and the father looked just as young. The homes in the neighborhood are all small shacks; a few are made from bricks, but many out of wood planks, with tin roofs.  We climbed down a muddy hill (among a bunch of chickens) to get to the site of the house, which is almost finished. It's smaller than my SF studio apartment for a family of four- talk about a great way to get some perspective on your life!

A neighbor girl shoved one of the twin babies into my arms and I spent the next 10 minutes hoping I wouldn't drop him, because the only thing worse than an awkward gringa is one who drops your baby on the ground. Since the cement was still wet, the group decided they should put the twins' footprints into the floor.

One of the twins leaving his mark! (That's Marco in the background with the other baby)

Happy with the progress on the house, Emil and Marco decided it was time to go. Maria Cecelia really wanted "fruits salad" so we headed back to Envigado to satisfy her craving. We went to the fruits salad place, and spent a long time trying to figure out the differences between the choices on the menu- there were about 20 different fruit drink/salad/ice cream things and in the end I just copied what Emil ordered. 

Turns out, "fruits salad" in Colombia is ice cream, with a little fruit. I'm not complaining!

Fruits Salad. Yes please!

To try and learn some basic Spanish before the rest of my trip, I'm doing classes at a Spanish language school, Colombia Immersion. The school is a bit of its own world here in Envigado. It has about 20-30 students across different levels of fluency and aside from us, there are no other tourists or foreigners in the town. In addition to 4 hours a day of classes and extra 1:1 coaching, the school organizes tons of activities, from local tours to movie nights and salsa lessons, so it's easy to spend all of your time wrapped up in activities with the school. The students are all different ages, many are in their 20s and traveling until their money runs out, without plans for when they'll go home or what they'll do when they get there. Then there are some older folks like me who are just taking a shorter break from real life :)

Our awesome teacher Sebastien

It's so different to be back in school again, and liberating to know it's not for a grade or paycheck, so I can put in exactly as much effort as I want to. I'm working hard at it, but it's hard to be confident enough to strike up a conversation with any local people. This weekend I took a bunch of Uber rides, and the drivers were always very chatty, so that was a good chance to pratice

 I took  a group class last week, but want to move a little more quickly than I think is possible in a group environment, so starting today I'm going to be doing 1:1 lessons so I can hopefully make faster progress.

I'm staying with a local woman on the same block as the school- my commute is one minute which is a nice change from the usual 1.5 hour bus ride to Google! Fatima is from Spain, has a huge smile, and is constantly smoking (as is pretty much everyone here, including most of the students in the school- not my favorite). The first night she took me and the other student in her home to play a game called "Tejo" which is a little bit like cornhole...but with low level explosives. You throw a heavy metal stone at a mud target that has two small explosive triangles in it. The goal is to explode the targets. Hard to describe- just watch the 5 second video below from our outing.

There's an amazing public track here which I'm trying to work into my routine to get a bit of exercise while I'm here. In the morning, the weather is perfect for a jog or a few pushups in the grass.

My local track (in the morning it's packed with locals taking laps around the field)

During the week I was so busy with school activities that I didn't ever leave Envigado to see any other parts of the city, so spent the weekend exploring a bit more. I went on the most popular tour in Medellin, the Real City Tour,  which took us to some sights in "El Centro" and provided some interesting background on the turbulent past of Medellin, and its recent transformation.

After the tour, I went to check out the botanical gardens, more like a big park than gardens, but a great place to relax with a book or have a picnic with friends (I only had a book, no friends, ha)

Part of the gardens where they sometime hold events.

I met a Swiss guy on the walking tour, so we decided to meet up for dinner in the neighborhood he's staying in, El Poblado, It's a very popular area for tourists to stay - so many people recommended I stay in this neighborhood. The streets are lined with TONS of restaurants, bars, and clubs, and on Saturday night it was totally insane. It definitely felt much more western than Envigado, and I can see how it would be a really fun area to stay in if you were visiting Medellin for a short time. The food and drinks selection was much better and much much more expensive than what we have in Envigado. I am glad I got to check out Poblado, but for my longer stay, happy to be in a more calm and local area.

Yesterday was a bit lazier, but in the evening I went to a hostel where one of the girls in my class works, where they had a great Colombian Irish band playing- who knew there was such a thing!

This week, I'm gearing up for more Spanish, and some more interesting activities with the school. Then it will be time to leave Medellin :( and to Cartagena and the caribbean coat for more exploring!

What we ate and drank in Mexico City

Mexico City has so many bars and restaurants, you could probably spend a lifetime there and not try them all- it reminded me of New York in that way. When I travel I always want to know good places to eat, so decided to make a whole blog post about what we ate and drank, in case any of you need recommendations for a future trip. 

The desert options at Hacienda de los Morales 

Restaurants

Moxie - Our first night my sister and I just wandered around in Condesa and picked one of the first places we saw. We didn't understand anything on the menu but it turned out to be delicious tostadas.

Marcelino Pan y Vino - Had a tasty lunch here on NYE, because almost everything else was closed! Not amazing, but friendly service and worked in a pinch.

Fonda Garufa - The nice English speaking chef at Marcelino recommended this place when we asked what would be open for lunch New Year's Day. Nice upstairs area with windows looking out on the street.  TBH I was so dead and hungover I think the food was good but can't say for sure.

Ordering pizza from Uber Eats - Yes, I am ashamed to admit it, but on New Year's Day we were so tired we decided to just order pizza in. My sister thought she was ordering pizza by the slice, but we ended up with three large pizzas, over an hour after placing our order. Not recommended.

Ivoire - French restaurant in Polanco. Not my favorite food, but was a nice place to people watch fancy Mexicans. 

Taqueria El Turix - Basically a taco truck, but in a small storefront. They have one kind of meat (pork?) and serve it in a few different ways - taco, torta, panucho (which is a tortilla stuffed with beans, fried, and with meat on top). Really f-ing delicious, without any atmosphere whatsoever.

El Moro Churrería - They have a few locations, but we went to the one inside the fancy department store El Palacio de Hierro and sat on the nice outdoor terrace. YUM.

Nueve 99 - Decided to try this place after failing at Camino Blanca (see below). Cool upscale indoor/outdoor space, and great food (we really liked the grilled artichoke). I think it's owned by the same group as Nobu.

Dulce Patria - A really beautiful restaurant in Polanco. Each dish was like a work of art. IMO the taste of the food itself didn't live up to the looks. Still, was a very nice dining experience for about $60 USD per person (for a meal that probably would run upwards of $150pp in SF)

Que Seria De Mi - Cute small brunch spot in Condesa, serving American and Mexican options.

Hacienda de los Morales - In a hotel in Polanco, more old school elegant than hip/cool. Huge portions, and a live band playing. Not sure it'd be my first choice to go back to, but was a nice place to go with parents.

Mercado Roma - Like Eataly in New York, a modern food court with many Mexican and international options and a nice patio.

Mercado Roma

Bars

Niuyorquina (pronounced like New York-ina) - A random first night find. A lively casual bar in Condesa where they were playing an interesting mix of super loud Mexican and 90s music. 

Balmori Roofbar - Really cool loungey spot in Roma (on a roof, but not a view) with tasty cocktails, many which, for unknown reasons, feature Hypnotiq. 

Licorería Limantour - Apparently one of the world's best 50 bars, so you don't need me to tell you it's good. We went to the Roma location. Cool vibe and great cocktails. 

Hotel Condesa DF terrace bar - I actually tried to come here last time i had a one-night layover in DF, but it was closed for an event. Glad I got to go this time; it's a nice terrace with cocktails, sushi and sort-of a view.

Gin Gin - Another trendy lounge spot in Polanco (they have another location in Roma too), big cocktails with a focus on gin, had a great DJ when we went on a Friday.

Miralto - Bar/Restaurant located on 41st floor of a Torre Latinoamericana the Reforma area. It's painfully touristy but it DOES have a great view of expansive Mexico City and makes a nice place to rest your feet if you've been sightseeing in the area. You can also pay to go to the 44th floor, but the lines for that are super long, and you get to cut them to go to the bar.

La Santa - Nightclub in Polanco that I went to for New Year's Eve. Lasers, DJ, American and Mexican music. This was the only time I went out, so I can't comment much on nightlife overall, but we got there at 4 AM, and when we left at 5:30 the party was still going strong.

Where we didn't eat:

Because they were closed (we were in Mexico City during the first week of Jan, where a lot of things are closed)

Rustic Kitchen - A totally random Italian place where I made a reservation on Open Table for NYE, and then we got there and it was closed. Not saying you should go there, but it makes the "What we didn't eat" list :)

Nudo Negro - Dinner place in Roma that looked great, but was closed

Huset - Dinner place in Roma, we were able to walk in and it was soooo cute, and I was really proud when I understood the guy who told me they were closed until January 10. Spanish lessons FTW!

Because we are weird

Blanco Calima - Restaurant in a cool old mansion where we really awkwardly walked in, sat down, and realized they only had 4 things on the menu. Fine with me but my sister doesn't like places like that so I tried to make up a lie in Spanish (I either said "She doesn't eat meat" or "She doesn't food meat")

Sud 777 - Where I made a reservation, but then we realized it would take 45 min to an hour in Uber, so we went somewhere closer

A week in Mexico city with dad and sis

Welcome to the blog! My goal with this blog is to document all the things I'm seeing and doing on my travels, so I my parents know I'm alive, so I remember them when I get back, and so if any of my friends visits places I've been, I can point them to some recommendations! This first post is probably way too long, so sorry to the five of you who may be reading it.

The TL;DR (too long, didn't read, for those of you who don't work in tech): Mexico City is an amazing place that is modern but with a deep and interesting history. We enjoyed a few of the 150+ museums the city has to offer, and ate some spectacular food, from both street trucks and trendy restaurants. We love it and all want to move here! But first we need to learn Spanish, because no one speaks English here!

The first stop on my 3-month sabbatical was Mexico City, joined by my dad and sister, Julia. The trip got off to a bit of a rocky start when, upon arriving to the airport, Dad realized his passport was expired, and couldn't get on our flight. Luckily he was able to get a same-day passport and join us a couple of days later. 

We got in to Mexico City late on Dec 30 and checked in to our AirBnb in Condesa. We headed out the main drag of the neighborhood for some food and drinks (see the next post for all the things we ate and drank!). 

Day 1

Julia and I went on what was SUPPOSED to be an amazing bike tour. It was literally the worst bike tour I've ever been on. I think because it was New Year's Eve, the good guides were off and they sent in the backup squad. It was fun to bike around the city, but we didn't get much information or enthusiasm out of the guide. 

After the tour, we had some lunch in our 'hood (Condesa), took naps, and then got ready for NYE partying.

Sweet vests so people don't run over the tourists on bikes. With sis in the botanical gardens.

We weren't into the idea of paying $150 USD for a NYE dinner, so I grabbed us an online reservation at a casual place in Condesa. When we got there, it was closed! Oops. We managed to find another place that was open and didn't have a prix fixe menu, delicious Italian that unfortunately I did not capture the name of. 

For NYE, I met up with my friend Danny, who I actually met LAST YEAR on New Year's Eve in Cabo. His family lives near Mexico City, so he was in town and invited me to hang out with him and his friends. We went to a party at a hotel called Downtown Mexico and then to La Santa, a club in Polanco, to dance the night away (though the night was already long gone by that point; we got there at 4 AM...Mexicans take their partying seriously!). 

Which one of us is not Mexican?

Day 2

Having gone to bed at around 6 AM the night before, Julia and I were way too dead to do much on New Year's Day, which was fine because everything is closed anyway! We managed to drag ourselves out for lunch(?) at 3 PM, and then came home to "do some trip planning" aka fell asleep on the couch for 3 hours. Our dad arrived later that evening, and we gave him a real taste of Mexico City by ordering in pizza from Uber Eats. 

Day 3

To  kick off our dad's visit and see some more of the city, we tried one of the big red hop on/hop off tourist busses that shows you around the city with some commentary via audio guide. The open topped bus was a cool way to see the city, but the audio was broken half the time so it wasn't the most informative.

We hopped off at the Palacio de Bellas Artes and walked our way towards Zócalo which is the heart of the city, with a cathedral, presidential palace, shops, and even Aztec ruins. It was insane and I have to confess I NOT like it. Our guide book said it should be on everyone's list to see; maybe if you had a live guide to tell you a bit about things and guide you through masses of people it would be more enjoyable. It was too much of a crowd for my taste, though.

Zócalo

We hopped back on with our fellow sightseers, and then hopped off near the Polanco neighborhood, for some lunch, ice cream, and a bit of a stroll through this upscale neighborhood where we scoped out some potential dinner and drinks spots for later in the week.  

Day 4

Today was a big highlight for me, because I love to eat, and we did an AWESOME food tour, through Eat Mexico. Our friendly, passionate guide Adrian took us to the San Juan gourmet market, where we sampled everything from crickets to Mexican cheeses and fruits. We we to a Pulquería, a bar where they serve Pulque, a probiotic alcoholic drink invented by the Aztecs. The place was covered in murals and most of the patrons covered in tattoos. My dad did not feel comfortable :) We also sampled street foods like tlacoyos, quesadillas, and of course, tacos.  If you're visiting Mexico City and like to eat, I'd 100% recommend this tour. I loved it!

Adrian in the San Juan market

Following the tour, we checked out the Diego Rivera Mural Museum which houses the mural "Dream of a Sunday afternoon" and also had an exhibit from a Mexican artist, Gerardo Cantú. I'm sure the museum is interesting, but the way we visited this museum is not my favorite. I knew nothing about any of the art, and there wasn't any posted info or guide, so can't say I got much out of it. If you go, I'd do some research on the mural so you have a better appreciation for it. It's a small museum so could be done in less than an hour.

Also of note, I definitely had strep throat and scarlet fever in full swing this day (no idea why I got an illness that usually only children and old timey people get). Scarlet fever sounds like a dramatic illness from Jane Eyre, but it's actually just a red rash on your chest and torso. Winning!

Day 5

Today we tackled the impressive Museo Nacional de Antropología, which has a huge collection of information and artifacts about Mexico's ancient and modern peoples and is housed in a beautiful building. Everyone told us you could spend several days here, and they were all right. The woman at the info desk recommended a few specific areas to focus on for our visit: Teotihuacan, Mexica, Maya, Gran Nayar, and Oaxaca. 

I wasn't sure if I'd be that interested in the museum, but it was incredible to see statues, jewelry, masks, and more that are literally thousands of years old, and to learn about the societies that came and went in Mexico (some right there in Mexico City). The United States seems like a young baby country in comparison!

One note if you go- some of the main info is translated to English, but most of the rest is not, and there aren't English audio guides. I found the picture-taking function of Google Translate to be really helpful to understand what I was seeing.

Aztec Sun Stone (not the Aztec calendar as it was previously mistaken to be)

We spent about 3 hours in the museum, then walked about 30 minutes to a great taco place that my sister had heard of, Tacos Turix. Basically a taco truck, but in a storefront, it was amazing. Being the fatties that we are, we then went in search of churros, setting our sights on Moro, which has a few locations around the city. We visited the location inside a super fancy mall, where I felt out of place with my backpack and hiking pants.

Day 6

Today we continued soaking up the ancient history of Mexico with a visit to Teotihuacán. We went on a tour that my dad booked through Viator. It was one of the less expensive options at about $50 per person, and I think partially because of the cheap price, they took us to a bunch shops where we could buy stuff (I'm assuming they get a kick back from those purchases). 

The pyramids themselves were really impressive, built way before Aztec times (we're talking 100 BC to 500 AD) as a place for worship of the gods. In those days, only the high priests were allowed to climb the pyramids, but today anyone can scale them- provided you like stairs! :) Getting to the top was easier than I thought, took about 30 min for the large Pyramid of the Sun, and maybe 5 min for the smaller Moon pyramid

On the Moon pyramid, with the Sun Pyramid in the background. You do not need to wear giant dorky boots to climb them :) 

After the pyramids we made another stop at the Shrine of Guadalupe, one of the most important religious sites for Mexicans, housing a cloak with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe the patron saint of Mexico. It's in a huge church that was build in the 70s. It was an interesting and relatively short stop, worth seeing on the way home from pyramids.

Overall we were happy with our tour experience, but if i did it again, I'd try and find a tour that gets to the pyramids earlier. We arrived to pyramids around noon, due to all the nonsense commercial stops along the way, and it was super crowded and also really hot (only 75 degrees but there is no shade and it felt way hotter- as everyone says, BRING A HAT- or you can buy one there).

Day 7

Today we slept in, had brunch, and headed over to the Frida Kahlo museum, which was another highlight for me. We bought tickets in advance, which you definitely need to do. It's a small and very popular museum. 

The museum is in the house where Frida grew up, and eventually moved back into with Diego Rivera. It has some of her art, but the real focus is on her life and work. Since she lived relatively recently, they had her clothes, painting materials, bed, and more, which brought her story to life (the exceptional audio guide also helped).

Frida's painting materials, just as she left them

After the museum, we went to Xochimilco, where you can rent a colorful boat and float down the river (I don't think it's actually a river, but it looks like one). It's about an hour from central Mexico City, only a $9 ride in an Uber. I am pretty sure we got ripped off, which left a really bad taste in my mouth for the whole experience. Everything I read online said that the boats cost 350 MXN per hour, no matter how many people. We got charged 350 per person for 40 minutes. I knew we were getting the gringo price, but unfortunately my Spanish is almost non existent (for now?) so I wasn't able to get us out of that situation.

You can buy food, drinks, mariachi bands, and trinkets along the way. We weren't really hungry so didn't partake in the extras, but this would be a fun place to spend a lazy afternoon eating, drinking, and partying on the water with a big group of friends (as long as you speak Spanish and don't get ripped off :)

Day 8

Last day in Mexico City :( Our dad left early in the morning, and Julia and I didn't have any set plans, but decided to check out Chapultepec Castle, in the middle of the huge and tranquil Chapultepec park. It ended up being one of our favorite places we visited! It's a history museum, but I was a little history-ed out by this point, but we enjoyed seeing some of the rooms as they looked in old-timey days and wandering around the beautiful gardens with great views of Mexico City.

After that we headed to Mercado Roma, which is like a Mexico City version of Eataly, tons of different food options and a nice outdoor patio where you can enjoy it all. And after THAT, I decided to try and get my hair blown out, because I love blowouts and suspected it would be super cheap. Mission Blowout was a success, got my hair done for only $7!

With my new straight hair, it was time to pack up and head to the airport to get on my way to Medellin, where I'll be staying for a couple of weeks attempting to learn Spanish. ¡Hasta luego!