A Rainstorm, Empanadas and the Old City

The day began early.  I have my own private balcony at the apartment so I get tons of sunlight into my room in the morning.  Consequently I woke up at 7:30am thinking it had to be close to 9am.  With the cool sea breeze and some extra time, I went out for a jog.  I was looking for a paseo that my dad told me was safe to run along, as many people got up early to run there.  On my way out the door I asked the security guards where the paseo to run was and he laughed at me and said "los calles".  Well, ok...off I go then.  Instead of running on los calles where I was sure to be run over by a rouge motorist I went around the corner of the building and ran along the beach for about 3 miles.

I had managed to get in my run, a shower and a cup of coffee before my dad even got out of bed.  The rest of the morning was lazy.  We cooked breakfast and had some fresh squeezed guava juice.

Around lunchtime we took to the streets.  There are these islands called Islas de Rosario that are about a 45 min boat ride and supposed to have some very pretty beaches.  You know, white sand, clear waters, etc.  The beaches here in town are surprisingly clean and pretty.  No white sand, but the water is blue and clean.  So, we walked to the travel agency checked some prices for a two night stay then headed to find some lunch.  Originally we were going to eat at some nice Arabic restaurant but instead we found an empanada stand :) Suited me just fine.... I like me some South American street food!


I had decided around this point that it was entirely too hot to be walking on the streets and made my way to the sidewalk along the beach that was only a block down.  The way I figure, if I'm going to be hot and miserable, I'm going to be hot and miserable on a beach.  It makes it all the much more bearable, I think.









Having nothing better to do with our day dad and I had decided we should go change into our suits and rent a tent on the beach for the afternoon.  That plan was hindered by a gigantic rainstorm.  It is, after all, the rainy season down by the equator. Supposedly it rains every afternoon.  So instead I spent the first 30 minutes or so sitting on the porch watching the rainstorm with a glass of wine.  Living in Texas this past year has cursed me with a current infatuation with wet stuff that falls from the sky.  So, instead we sat around and watched a movie while it rained.


In case anyone is wondering, the movie Rango reminds me of Lubbock.

That night we went into what they call the "Old Town" to eat dinner.  Cartagena is filled with some really awesome restaurants.  I can't wait to visit the Old Town during the day, it looked majestic at night.  Lots of old Spanish buildings and plazas.  It was beautiful.



We ate at a restaurant called Don Juan.  It was a really great place.  White tablecloths, denim (yes, thats right) napkins and had the Old City feel to it but the ambiance was fairly casual.  The food was wonderful.  The rest of the night was spent playing cards and drinking wine until about 1am.  Typical Holt family behavior.  :)