In
most tourist cities in the world there is an organisation called
Freewalkingtours.com. Cartagena has one and you can book a free
walking tour online with either a Spanish or English speaking guide.
The guides rely on our tips for their income and it is very well
organised. David and I had done one of the tours in Sydney led by a
student and thoroughly enjoyed it.
 |
| statue to Hernando |
We
opted for a 4pm tour on Saturday afternoon with the plan to stay in
town for dinner later.
An
afternoon tour also gave us time to visit one of the many local
pharmacies and to restock our medicines with antibiotics. In
Colombia anyone can buy almost anything without needing a
prescription and for very little money. We wanted to refill
Amoxycillin and ibuprofen, cold and cough treatments because I've had
a cold for the last five days, and sciatica medicine for David's back
which has been a problem since we were in Bonaire.
With
cold treated and back medicated we set out on our tour meeting by the
Clock Tower a little before 4 o'clock. Our delightful English
speaking and well informed guide took us from square to square within
the walls explaining the history of the city and the buildings
finishing on top of the wall just as the sun was setting. At the end
our guide passed around giving a small thread bracelet to everyone
and we put our tips in her conveniently placed bag. We gave her £5
each which is the same amount as the entrance fee to the Castille de
San Felipe and any of the museums. If you ever come this way we
highly recommend these tours.
Dinner
tonight was at a Tipico Colombian restaurant. When we arrived there
was a power cut in the area but they let us in and we had drinks on
the open air rooftop bar while the electricians worked outside to
restore the power. They did and we had an unadventurous, but tasty,
steak and chips. Of course, finishing dinner doesn't mean finishing
your evening out and we did more promenading stopping at the little
pastry shop for a caramel tart and coffee. David even managed a
Baileys ice cream as a digestif. I was much too full.
 |
| clock tower |
 |
| Naval museum |
 |
| largest and oldest hotel in the city |
 |
| David negotiates with street vendor |
 |
| zt the door of Frances Drake's house |
Dinner
tonight was at a Tipico Colombian restaurant. When we arrived there
was a power cut in the area but they let us in and we had drinks on
the open air rooftop bar while the electricians worked outside to
restore the power. They did and we had an unadventurous, but tasty,
steak and chips. Of course, finishing dinner doesn't mean finishing
your evening out and we did more promenading stopping at the little
pastry shop for a caramel tart and coffee. David even managed a
Baileys ice cream as a digestif. I was much too full.
No comments:
Post a Comment