What you Can't Find:
One of the joys of cruising is finding new and interesting items to eat, use for cleaning or cooking. But there are also things you just want because they work and you're familiar with them. One item I can't find is Crisco. I use it to make pie crusts, English muffins and bread and just can't find it anywhere here in Colombia!
Luckily they have lots of wonderful fresh vegetables here but when you need to re-supply your canned goods for a trip to San Blas, don't count on variety here! You can get canned peas, corn or mixed veggies and that's it.
Snacks are different and favorites like peanuts are expensive. Corn chips are impossible to find. Though corn flour is abundant here – easier to find than wheat flour -but you can't find corn chips. All these great fresh and inexpensive avocados for guacamole don't have chips to dip.
Wine and alcohol are relatively expensive here – probably due to high taxes placed on them. The beer prices here are much higher than Panama – but thanks to new rules in Kuna Yala, we'll have to stock up here.
Hydrogen peroxide is another thing that seems to be in short supply. And, thanks to the illegal drug trade, you can't buy ammonia in Colombia. And some stateside over the counter drugs are available only in pharmacies – like eye drops. You don't need prescriptions, but they are more expensive in some cases.
Street Food:
It's wonderful to be in a country where you can get fresh fruit by the piece or cupful. Just about everywhere, there are carts selling wonderful fresh fruit like mangoes, papayas, bananas and watermelon. You can buy these all whole or beautifully sliced in plastic cups. Zapotes, a personal favorite of Dr. Sorkin, our eye doc, are just getting into season and you see them being sold on the street as well. We bought one, but our carpenter told us it wasn't quite ripe yet, so we'll try it later. You can also get fresh avocados, tomatoes or other veggies from carts. Coconuts are plentiful (probably the ones the boats buy from the Kuna Indians in Panama) and the top gets sliced off so you get a drink of fresh coco juice. Plus there are lots of juice vendors selling freshly squeezed limeade, orange juice or a fruit punch made up of watermelon, papaya and other fruits. They sell these juices out of giant aquariums filled with ice and they keep adding freshly squeezed juice to the mix. They are tasty and cost about 50 cents for a large cup.
So you have all these fresh healthy things – and then you also have all the "fried dough" items. There are a large variety of shapes, sizes and fillings of fried dough treats readily available all day. They are long ones and round ones and empanada shaped ones. Some are just corn dough others are filled with eggs, butter or a variety of meats or veggies. They usually cost less than a dollar and are popular items.
Then you have the shaved ice vendors and ice cream sellers. The shaved ices are personal favorites. They pour sweetened milk on the top and it is particularly wonderful.
Parties:
These people like to party and it seems every week there is some type of holiday or excuse to celebrate. Last weekend there was a wedding in a nearby fort (one of the giant pirate ships was docked alongside and tents were set up in the fort area.) They partied until 4:30 in the morning with loud music and dancing. The other night it looked like a 15th birthday celebration was taking place in one of the high rises. Even birthday parties become big events.
There are these open air buses that go around the city that are filled with party riders. As they drive by they all are singing, yelling, and simply enjoying themselves (we think that the rum served on these buses may have something to do with the festive nature of the riders).
There are also the pirate boats that are not only for tourists, but locals also use them for night parties. They ply the bay with live bands or DJs most nights and lots of party-goers.
Fireworks are also a common occurrence here. Last Sunday there were a few displays – so Colombians are a country of party-goers.
Workers:
The country has some wonderful craftspeople and hard workers. Labor is still relatively inexpensive here. Some friends hired a worker to clean the hull and polish stainless and he charged 60,000 pesos a day (about $30). Our arch and carpentry project pwere expertly done at a reasonable price.
Lunches:
One of the things that we loved back in 2001 while here was the daily "comida corriente" (literally common meal, but it's the lunch special). For a few dollars you get a complete meal including a hearty soup, rice, meat or fish, salad and veggie or beans. The price has gone up a bit since 2001 (what hasn't?) but it's still a deal. We always look for places near colleges – because students always know the best prices for the most food!
Water rules:
Water taxis abound here along with a lot of other boating and fishing. And these boats love to go very fast through the anchorage. The bigger the wake the better. They also run at night without any lights. But the water taxis do require life jackets on all the riders! The anchorage is patrolled by the Coast Guard as well – and they are quite friendly.
Fishing:
The netters are fun to watch. Usually there are two (sometimes three) people in open cayucas (large carved canoes) with an outboard motor. They are very speedy as they let out their net, which is similar to a gill net – a long rather narrow net with weights on the bottom and floats on the top. They drop it in a large circle – often surrounding several sailboats in the anchorage. Then, they sneak the boat into the circle and drive around it quite fast with one of the fisherman slapping a large pole into the water. This makes big splashes and he also hits it on the side of the boat to make noise. This action is intended to scare the fish into the net. Then, they wait about five minutes and start to pull in the net going in a circle as one guy pulls in the weighted side and the other pulls in the float side. They seem to average about a dozen fish with each net placement. They are ambitious and once they are pulled in, they move to another location and repeat.
Floating Islands:
Its rainy season and when it rains it is in heavy downpours. This obviously stirs up not only the garbage, fuel and dirt from the streets that then run into the bay – but also the rivers and islands. Large "islands" of vegetation come floating by regularly. These are made up of grass and plants that have broken free from somewhere and start to float picking up additional bits and pieces along the way. Some of these islands are easily 10 to 15 feet long, often catching on anchor chain.
Transportation:
Besides being a great town to walk around – there are many ways to get around Cartagena.
There are water taxis for water routes. There are lots of small yellow cabs (many run on compressed natural gas) that are reasonably priced. You better know Spanish though! The motos (motorcycle cabs) are also everywhere. The drivers all have to wear these numbered safety vests and provide a helmet to the rider. They are less expensive than the cabs and you do take your life in your hands watching them drive about. You can also hop in the back of a bicycle rickshaw. It can handle two people and are sort of covered to protect from rain (when they seem busiest!). City buses are available as well and seem to weave in and out of traffic. The doors and windows are wide open and they always seem pretty packed. Horse drawn carriages are also seen – though these seem to be more of a tourist draw rather than a mode of transport.
In order to cut down on traffic congestion and pollution, the city does limit who can drive on what days. The license plate number indicates what day you can drive. Its an odd / even thing. Odd can drive on odd dated days and even on even dated days. Not certain if this is just for rush hour or for all day.
The country is a wonderful place and people seem genuinely friendly and helpful. You can always tell the folks who are studying English, as they love to practice on you.
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