Cartagena: an enchanted introduction to Columbia

Rested after our first night on firm ground since Gus, Ido and us left Panama, we enjoyed a nice breakfast together with delicious cafe con leche. After that started the waiting game for Dennis to come along and give us an update about our immigration status. At 10am, he showed up at our hostel and told us that our passports would be processed today. He would meet us back the next day at 8am and then we would take care of the bike importation papers. Good, not only did he show up as planned, which was a relieve for all of us, but we also now had the whole day to enjoy the city.

Wandering in the streets of old town

Our first thought was to go right away to old town, a five minute walk but the heat was making it such an effort that we all decided to wait until later in the day, when it would be cooler. In the meantime, we could catch up on emails and other things. Later, Gus joined us for the walk, while Ido decided to ride around the city and find a motorcycle store for parts he needed. As we approached the fortified gate, we could see all the colorful church domes protecting the city. Behind the fortification, bright restored houses with beautiful wooden balconies were lining the streets. Horse carriages were strolling on the pavement, transporting tourists on a romantic discovery tour. We walked in the city for quite a while, marveled by all the churches, squares, cute parks and amazing houses everywhere. This city was so enchanting we hardly talked when walking, taking in its unique beauty. We reached the fortified wall facing the ocean and sat there to watch the sunset. The breeze then started to cool the streets and we went to treat ourselves to a nice dinner: we went to an Argentinian steakhouse and ordered their best cut of meat with a glass of red wine. The chef was cutting and grilling the meat right in front of us and we each got our stake the way we like it. It was the perfect gastronomical ending to our first day in Colombia.

As anticipated but an hour late, Captain D. showed up the next morning with our passports stamped. We could now go to the customs but he said he had no time to go with us and help. After begging and pleading, he finally agreed to wait five minutes for us to get our bikes and follow his taxi to the customs building. Thank God he did because it would have been quite hard to find it. Once there, we were all introduced to Sandra who would take care of us. Caroline was put in charge for the group as she spoke the most Spanish and coordinated the paperwork photocopying and submission for the four bikes. At noon, we were told that it was all ready but that the supervisor went to lunch and his signature was needed. We would have to come back at 2pm to get our permits.

Running our errands before continuing the journey

Since we all had different things to do now that we were in a big town, we split for the afternoon. Gus and Ido went their ways as we headed for lunch. Once our stomachs full, we went to wash our bikes. This is the very first time we had them washed since we left for the trip (we always thought we looked tougher if they were dirty:). With their journey on the boat, we wanted to make sure that all salt water would be thoroughly removed to avoid rusting or electronic problem. We found a places right across the customs and told the guys we had two bikes, got a quote of $2 per bikes and when we came back with the beasts, their eyes were wide open with surprise: these motorcycles were huge! They admired them for a while and started the work. Now keep in mind it was blazing hot that day: the four young guys were splashing each other while chasing each other. They were laughing, joking around, splashing some more and at the same time working hard on the bikes: we were just watching them, sitting in the shade. Looked like these guys had the best job in the world, happy as a clam in the heat of the afternoon. They did an incredible job: wash, rinse, degrease, wash some more, rinse, dry and wax, all by hand and very meticulously. Their worked on them at least 45 minutes and we now have the cleanest bikes in South America!

Back at the customs, we got our papers right away. We were now all set to travel legally within Colombia and still had the rest of the afternoon to run more errands. Since our chains rusted a little, we went to look for kerosene to clean them. We went many places but without luck, except to bump into Gus and Ido at the Suzuki shop. This is where we split again in a different way: Chad went to look for the chain cleaner, Ido for a control panel and Gus and Caroline went to get a haircut. This last part was the most fun: they both went back to old town and Caroline got her hair short again, as when she left for the trip, which was a brilliant idea with the heat here. The woman cutting her hair did a really great job: can't beat that $1.50 haircut! We all regrouped at the hostel to have dinner together: tomorrow, Gus and us would continue towards Santa Marta and Ido would stay a few more days in Cartagena. We were tempted to stay a little longer as well since there is so much to love about this city but there was also so much more to see in Colombia. That night, we also were able to Skype our friends Bayron and Mayte who gave us a lot of good tips for our visit here since Mayte is Colombian and they also happened to get married in Cartagena last June. Thanks again for your time:) We will put your advice to good use in the next couple of weeks.

The next morning, as we were loading our bikes, there was a lot of hustle and bustle in front of the hotel next door, with the TV there as well as the police. After asking questions, we found out that the hotel had been robbed in the middle of the night: guys came in and forced open four rooms were people were sleeping and stole everything there was: money, passport and electronics. No one was hurt but these guys lost everything. It was a little scary that it happened so close! Maybe a sign that it was really time to leave... Before taking off, we made one more important purchase: security vests with our plate numbers on it. The police had told us to buy them as it is required in Colombia: we look so cool now with our bright orange reflective vests on top of our jackets, personalized with our plate number. We were now definitively ready to hit the Colombian roads.