from Dublin to........Mirissa, Sri Lanka: Caribbean Cartagena

I’m very thankful that I organised a relatively early flight to Cartagena as it gave me more time to organise the mess that evolved when I arrived. I was forced to book a nice BnB the first two nights as everything in town was booked. Holiday season in Cartagena is unbelievable. It was literally packed to the rafters. Not a single bed in a hostel anywhere. People were camped out the front of hostels waiting for cancellations and no-shows at midnight or paying twice the price for a couch in the reception area.

So, I arrive at the correct address and ask whether it is Hotel Yolanda. She says no. I ask is this xxx address. She says yes. I’m confused. I am told this used to be Hotel Yolanda four months ago but is now Casa del Mango. She lets me in to discuss further. I ask why the old hotel is still taking bookings. No explanation. I find the telephone number of the hotel from the internet website. It is the same as the BnB I am standing in. Wtf is going on. I overhear two guys in the reception area that have had some kind of problem as well. They had booked through Hostelworld, paid their 10% deposit, and show up and there is no reservation for them. They are forced to pay for a very expensive room somewhere else. Again, wtf is going on here. It looks very nice inside but something is up. A German girl walks in after 15 minutes. She has the same problem as the two guys. Someone sitting by the pool had the same problem as well. This is seriously farked up. A Canadian women walks in. She has the same problem as me. The only six people in the hotel foyer and they all have farked up bookings and have all paid 10% for nothing. A bloody nightmare especially when it is really hard to find a bed anywhere in town.

The Canadian (Eda), German (Sabine) and myself decided to look elsewhere as sharing a room was going to be much more economical and probably slightly easier to find. Luckily, a really nice new guesthouse had just opened up the road and we snagged the last room. Thank our lucky stars for that. Back to the dodgy hotel to collect our stuff and vent our frustration.

So….NEVER BOOK HOTEL YOLANDA AS IT DOESN’T EXIST (thanks Lonely Planet for the recommendation – tops choice). THE HOTEL WEBSITE IS A SCAM. NEVER BOOK CASA DEL MANGO THROUGH HOSTELWORLD OR THE LIKE AS THEY WON’T GET YOUR RESERVATION. THE OWNER IS INCREDIBLY DODGY AND RIPS PEOPLE OFF COUNTLESS TIMES EVERY DAY WITH SHAM BOOKINGS AND STEALS YOUR DEPOSIT. FROM WHAT I CAN DEDUCE HE CHANGED THE NAME OF THE HOTEL FOUR MONTHS AGO (POSSIBLY BECAUSE OF BAD REVIEWS FOR RIPPING PEOPLE OFF) AND IS NOW DOING THE SAME THING UNER THE NEW NAME. HE DIDN’T EVEN ALLOW US TO WRITE DOWN THE BUSINESS DETAILS OF THE HOTEL. MFC!!!

The website is http://www.yolandahotelcartagena.com/ and address is Calle espiritu Santo # 29-101, Getsemini, Cartagena. DO NOT STAY HERE. I DO NOT RECOMMEND!!! If you are walking by, throw half a dozen eggs through the front door for me.

Aside from the #expletive# experience at Casa del Mango, Cartagena (referring to the Old Town here) is beautiful. An old colonial town surrounded by a wall (partially walkable) with around four main entrances. At the height of the peak season it is a bit of a zoo….horse and carts loaded with miserable rich Colombians whiz annoyingly through the streets creating unnecessary congestion and hazards(it’s just too much for the small one-way lanes – all non-foot propelled traffic should be banned during the high season). This aspect aside, it is an incredibly walkable city. Patios jutting out over the footpaths full of colourful plants, vibrantly painted exterior walls, Caribbean influenced music playing, plenty of restaurants (much more expensive than anywhere else), leafy green plazas to rest during the heat of the day (and it is hot in the Old Town), bars serving super strong cocktails and scantily clad women. Perfect. I managed to while away four days here quite easily. A trip to the “nearby” beach (only 6km away but around an hour on the bus) which is popular with kite-surfers, a visit to the ruins over the river (nothing special) and general wandering, eating and drinking. There was a classical music festival on but everything was sold out. The free concert one particular night was awful anyway. The highlight was obviously the sighting of the models. Outstanding.

I returned to Cartagena a few weeks later....less crowded and more pleasant and basically hung out with new friends and caught up with some others from Oz, ate good food and drank cocktails at sunset. Stayed one night out on Playa Blanca which is a 1.5hr bus/canoe/mototaxi ride away or an expensive boat. Great spot (just check out the photos) but best to stay overnight rather than visit as part of a tour as it can be quite busy for the short period the tourist boats land. It is quite primitive there so don't expect and luxuries....except an amazing view from your beach-side cabana and incredibly warm water. Very pleased I decided to stay the night....very last minute.

A few places to check out:

Cafe del Mar - Pricey but go here for a cocktail at sunset. Worth it.

La Cevicheria - A really nice restaurant with some great seafood. Good service and colourful inside. Not normally on the backpackers hit list.

El Bistro - If you are craving a steak and chips (well fried potatoes) then go here for a reasonably priced tasty hunk of steak. Thanks for the recommendation Lucia! All other food looked good too.

La Plaza de Trinidad - A gathering point for locals in the Getsemini area surrounded by road-side eateries and importantly a bottle shop. There seems to be some kind of activity conducted here every night for the locals to partake in. Very entertaining. Saw the local hip hop dance school doing their thing in front of the local and gringo crowd. Grab a burger or a tasty meat stick from Jimmy (right on the corner outside the bottle-shop.