Cartagena!
Tuesday afternoon, I flew to Cartagena for several days. I hadn’t been very far out of Cali for 8 months. There is a new airline, Vivacolombia, which offers cheap airfare. I decided to take addvantage of the fares and go to Cartagena and the beach. I hadn’t been to Cartagena for 3 years. It’s a beautiful and magical city. With the new airlines, the rates vary, though, on different days. It can be as low as 49,000 pesos or up to 129,000 pesos or more each way. This is a view out my airplane window as we approached the airport. The airlines was okay, but the space between the seats is small and the service was poor. I was not offered anything to drink, even though there was a charge for everything. We waited in Cali for about a half an hour because they couldn’t start the engines. Eventually, they got them going and they get going for the entire trip, thank God. At the airport, I took a bus to el centro, then connected with another bus to the area where I was to stay overnight. I had arranged for a couch with the group, Couchsurfing. There are members that offer a couch for a night or two for no charge. The woman and her two sons were nice and we talked before I went to bed. In the morning, I left early and went to my hotel, where I had reserved a room for the next four nights. It’s in a great location and has air conditioning. It costs about $18 a night I think. I decided I needed my privacy. I could have found a hostal and shared a dorm room with others for about $8 or $10 a night. The people here are very friendly and they have a continental breakfast in the mornings. Fresh orange juice, coffee, bread, cereal, yogurt and an arepa filled with egg.
Greg Ebersole 
Wow, now there’s a city at the mercy of the ocean.. Nice shot!