June 21: Rest Day in Cartagena

June 21, 2022

We had a number of chores to complete that necessitated a rest day in Cartagena. The most pressing need was laundry, so we rounded up our rank, salty clothing and had our hostel clean them for the next leg of our journey. I also needed to find a Colombian SIM card for more reliable internet access outside of WiFi. The last item on my list was to visit a bike shop to get my bottom bracket looked at, as mine has been creaking and clicking ever since the deluges we experienced in Panama. It would likely be fine until Medellín, but part of touring is being preventative to minimize mechanical issues down the road.

Of course, all of those tasks were slread over an entire day, so much of my morning and afternoon was spent strolling the vibrant streets of Cartagena Vieja.

I enjoyed many cups of Colombia's finest coffee at several different cafes throughout the day.

Every corner brings with it a different, gorgeous view of the city. In many ways it reminds me of Campeche, Mérida, and Havana all rolled into one.

As the day wore on I started to develop a bit of a stomachache, so I chose to lay low, hydrate, and rest up in the hotel. I have antibiotics if needed, but I'd prefer to reserve them if needed while riding. I took this time to edit some photos and update the blog.

Later in the evening, feeling much more rested, I ventured back into the heat where I ran into Ignacio, the Argentinian motorcyclist who was also on the Ave Maria. I joined him and his fellow Argentineans for drinks in a beautiful plaza. It was a nice reminder that my Spanish is good enough to understand and hold an animated conversation with native speakers.

This street looked like something out of an old Italian film.

Brian came back in the evening after running his own errands. He struck gold at a bike shop when the owner sat down with him and mapped out a day-by-day route that would get us safely to Medellín in 7 days. The route would keep us on quiet paved backroads and would have us ending in towns with lodging options every day. He shared that camping in this region of Colombia is not particularly common and that it would be best to stay at hospedajes or hotels until Medellín. We will obviously heed that advice and feel out our options every day, but I do hope that we will have the chance to use our tents and sleeping bags at some point soon!

In the evening we got together for dinner one last time with the passengers from the Ave Maria, a great way to conclude our time here in Cartagena. Tomorrow we will likely be taking a half day in the city depending on how I'm feeling. Our hope is to at least ride out of the city limits to start making progress towards Medellín.

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