Cartagena,  Colombia

This past labor day weekend we wanted to visit a place where we could experience both beach and city and was close enough to avoid a major time difference but far enough for it not to be Canada or Mexico. We had already visited Canada and Mexico and wanted to discover a new country. When researching short trips from LAX, Canada and Mexico seemed to be the go to places. After a little more research we found that Cartagena, Colombia had a beautiful old city and also beaches nearby. Cartagena only had a two hour time difference from LA and was about an eight hour flight.

Little Charlie was nine months during the trip and we did not want to mess up his night time sleep schedule. He had been sleeping throughout the night since he was about two months old and we wanted to avoid jet lag for ourselves and trying to get a baby back on a sleep schedule on our return from the trip. The two hour time difference was perfect, however, the eight hour flight did worry us a bit since he was not only very aware of his surroundings now, his naps had become shorter. We decided on a red eye flight and kept him awake as long as we could prior to the flight and breastfed him to sleep as soon as the plane started catching speed for departure. 

We arrived early in the morning the next day and stepped out into Cartagena’s humid weather. At the airport exit there was a worker directing those who wanted to take a taxi to the next taxi. The airport worker mentioned a price from the airport to old town Cartagena city and when the taxi driver was loading our luggage, he mentioned a higher price for the ride. This did not sit well with me and neither with little Charlie seeing that as we took him out of his stroller the taxi driver points out that he had poo’d the stroller. As we held little Charlie in the air, we turn to the stroller seat and yes, Charlie had a blowout and completely soiled his back and the stroller. After 15 minutes of cleaning in a family restroom inside the airport, we went to the taxi area and there were no taxis and the airport worker was no longer there. Luckily we only waited a couple of minutes until the next taxi showed up and quoted us a cheaper price than what we were told on our first attempt to catch a taxi. It was about a five dollar taxi ride from the airport to our hotel Casa San Agustin inside old town Cartagena. 

During our visit in Old Town Cartagena, we enjoyed our stay at Hotel Casa San Agustin. The service was outstanding and definitely family friendly. At our check-in, we were greeted with complimentary drinks. The receptionist noted that little Charlie’s age was mistakenly input as 11 years old (he was nine months at the time). They quickly corrected his age in their system and had a crib ready in our room before we entered. The same morning of our arrival, we had breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant. As I attempted to serve myself at the buffet while holding Charlie in one arm, a waiter offered to serve me food as I chose what I wanted. That is how excellent the service was. They even learned our names! Here are a few pictures inside of the hotel. 

Once in Old Town Cartagena we decided to explore on foot and skip the taxi. The walled city has plenty of colorful colonial buildings great for capturing beautiful pictures. Because of the heat and humidity we ensured that little Charlie was well hydrated and made sure not to go over his feeding times. For this trip we chose to use the Babylon Yo-Yo+ stroller (which I will write about in another post), which I am glad we did because both Charlie and little Charlie would have suffered with the baby carrier. The streets are cobbled and did make it somewhat challenging to maneuver at times. We did take breaks from walking because of the heat. The best time to take pictures is before traffic that starts at 8 am. One morning we decided to wake up early to take pictures and Charlie was drenched in sweat because of the heat. 

Places we stopped at for a quick bite were Se Volvio Pris Pri coffee shop (tight sitting space) and a quiet french restaurant called La Brioche. During our stay in Old Town we ate dinner at the hotel’s restaurant Alma. A reservation is needed and recommend it even if you do not stay at hotel Casa San Agustin. 

If you want to satisfy your sweet tooth, we recommend stopping by La Esquina del Pandebono bakery for sweet bread. However, we definitely recommend not passing up a stop at Pasteleria Mila. There we ordered dessert and the famous Colombian hot chocolate with cheese. Delicious! 

We stayed mainly inside the wall of Old Town and were back at our hotel before sunset. Not that we did not feel safe, but the town squares become lively at night and we preferred a more quiet environment with time to hangout in the pool. 

One day we did walk to the Getsemani neighborhood. There is some nice street art. You’ll find more locals and backpackers in this area. We did not stay too long because of the heat. Here are some pictures of the street art in Getsamani.