Cartagena has sung to us.  A sweet lullaby or a siren song, enticing us to drop everything and move here.  So much so that we even (briefly) did some research on apartment options around here.  (Short answer:  they are cheap!).  Alas, it is not meant to be.  Tomorrow we depart for new adventures in Medellin.  But here are just a few of the things that have captured our hearts.

The ceviche (this is all Robert but I like it because it makes him so happy — just look at that smile):

Ceviche

The arepas con huevo served fresh from the deep fryer and so hot they burn our hands (although I admittedly pick around the yolk):

An arepa con huevo

The street beers:

Robert and his street beer

The colonial architecture:

The history surrounding the old castle/fort:

Lisa at the old fort

Robert at the old fort

Can you believe that the tourist guide actually makes clear, and I quote, that “Slaves worked to construct the walls, they were not construction materials.”  Yep, apparently a common myth around here is that the blood of slaves, and even their corpses, were used to construct the walls of the fort.

The fact that parts of the city are ultra modern:

View of the modern city from the fort

The curious birds that hang out around the fishermen, just hoping for a tidbit or two:

More birds on the beach

Birds at the beach

The cocktail bar we found last night.  It was the first time Robert has had a fancy cocktail since leaving Chicago (neither mojitos nor gin & tonics count as “fancy” cocktails).  The entire place only had about 15 seats.  And the cocktails were outrageously priced.  But, Robert enjoyed his cocktails and I enjoyed a nice glass of white wine, stored properly and served at the appropriate temperature (yes, that is exceedingly rare here).

At a fancy cocktail bar

And the street art:

Playing chess with the pigeons

Street art

The weird-ass fans that look like they belong on an episode of Dr. Who:

Yep, this is a fan

The rum (again, this is another Robert thing, but boy does it make him happy…):

Robert sipping a rum — this one was called Dictador

The candy row with the super-sweet coconut candies:

Some kind of coconut candy

And, did I mention the popsicles????

Popsicles!

Lisa with a watermelon popsicle

Or the gelato:

Lisa with cookies and cream gelato (although the watermelon was the best)

Bottom line, we love it here and can’t wait to come back someday…