Getsemani

Carnaval blog post update:
*The elephant looking thingy is called "La Marimonda" it is indeed the "mascot/symbol" of the carnaval
*Men dress as women to symbolize the many widows Joselito left behind - they cry to get money, so the more they cry/whoever puts a better show the more money they get, which means they can get more RUMMMM and the party can go on.

Today was a late start after a late night. I went to a party at another hostel with some random travellers/friends I hit it off with at my hostel. I did not end up making it out to the fluorescent lake, or else I wouldn't be updating my blog today. It was just too early of a start to make it out there. It would have involved taking a bus or taxi to the marina, haggling with a ship captain to take me to the main tourist island. Then from there, I'd have to haggle with the fisherman to take me to the other island with the bioluminescent plankton. I was just not up for a 7am wake up. There will be other lakes. 

Before the party I went to get dinner. I had this dessert called Salame Chocolate. It is chocolate with almonds which is formed into a cylinder then sliced into rounds. They then put chantilly whipped cream, sliced mint leaves, maraschino cherries and a lime reduction sauce on it. It is a very interesting flavour combo and there is something for everyone in this dish. I would not order it again, but it is very creative.

I got up in the heat of the day to go find some lunch, I have a personal sized face towel that I use solely to wipe the sweat from my brow. That's right...my brow. It's usually soaked after 30 minutes or so of walking because it is really really hot here. I really can't stress that enough. :)

Look at that sunshine :)

I'm staying in Getsemani. Remember yesterday I said that there's and old walled city and a new walled city...well Getsemani is the new walled city. The pictures below show the wall around the entrance to this part of Cartagena. I just decided to go for a long walk today. Nothing special or exciting, but I did see a massive fortress among other things.

I was watching these guys fish in the same river as the photo above. It's actually a bay. But it's all just semantics anyway. I was just aimlessly wandering and found this lovely garden which has a path that leads to the street which leads to...

...the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas. It is a massive fortress built on the highest hill. From here, the Spanish would be able to see any potential enemies or intruders and be able to withstand any assaults. There is a complex of tunnels underneath the fortress which lead to the outside which would assist with getting supplies or evacuation if necessary.

While walking, a Colombian lady flagged down this tourist bus and started going OFF in Spanish to some of the passengers. She was making a huge scene so I think the tourists just paid her off. Or maybe they took something from her without paying. Who knows? What I want to know is how she knew where these people were and how to get the driver to stop for her. He was pulling away and ready to go. Ah, sweet mystery of life.

Walking back to my hostel, the sun was setting over Getsemani, so I whipped out my camera and took some these. You can see the rays of the sun and the different colours of the sky. This rivals the Sunset Lounge in Miami. Except, Miami was better for other reasons.

This is the store in front of my hostel. In Canada, we'd call this a condemned building. It looks like it's about to cave in any second. The door is not crooked, the house is just sagging in the middle. This is one of my favourite pictures I've taken so far. I don't know what it is...I just like it.

Tomorrow I'm going to a mud volcano. For real this time.