Cartagena visit and then on to México

Saturday morning I began my journey to México by saying goodbye to Sincelejo and taking the 4 hour or so bus to Cartagena. The bus was stopped twice by the Colombian military, once requiring us all to get off the bus, doing a pat down of all the guys and searching through all our luggage. This is because the route from Sincelejo to Cartagena crosses some pretty active paramilitary and drug militia activity. Arriving to the Cartagena bus station I asked around, found a public bus and lugged my luggage on the bus to save about $5 and to have a bit of an adventure by taking a bus and hoping I could find where I was going and get on the right bus instead of the sure thing taxi. If there is one thing I have learned in my journeys in México and South America it is that asking questions is the key. I used to be shy about asking strangers, bus drivers and other people for directions or other needed information, but I have now learned to just ask away and not be proud about it, this has served me well and helped me to figure out many a transportation conundrum.
I arrived at a cheap hotel recommended by some Colombian friends and stayed in their $10/night room that is about the size of a bed and has a little bathroom. I can’t complain though as it is about a 3 minute walk to the beach and a minute from McDonald’s (ashamed to say I missed this in my time in Sincelejo, ate my first big Mac since I had one with Ariel in a bus station in Uruguay). Cartagena is a beautiful city, the beach is great, but truly impressive is the old historic center; it’s an old fort, surrounded by big walls and the ocean; it’s a huge area to be totally walled and is really pretty. I almost didn’t go as I sort of felt like I had seen all there was to see as far as Spanish cities, but really enjoyed Cartagena and think its one of the coolest places I’ve seen. It’s an interesting experience to see such a beautiful place without a camera or a traveling companion. It’s funny how we have this innate desire to share beauty with other people, it’s just not as enjoyable to see beauty and not be able to share it with anyone else. It made me miss my girlfriend, my friends and family (and my camera), but also reminded me of the grace of God to create woman and give man a life companion to share the beauty of creature with.
Tomorrow morning I will leave bright and early for the airport to fly to Miami, and then on to Mexico City, I’m hoping to visit the LAM office, hang out with my friend Jim who works there and maybe see my brother Pete there too. I have about 5 hours in Miami before my flight to Mexico City. I’m excited to get to Mexico, see old friends there, get started with Spearhead and hopefully to have some medical treatment on my back. I love you all and wish I could be sharing with you the beauty of the things I have seen and the people I have met and share in the beauty of your lives as well. I miss you all and hope all is well.