Other than Bogotá, Cartagena is Colombia's most popular and well-known travel destination, and is certainly much more touristy and has a safer feel to it than the capital or Medellin. There is something for everyone in Cartagena from the hugely impressive city walls/fortresses and colonial architecture to the nearby Caribbean beaches and constant glorious weather. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and could have stayed much longer if time nor money were an issue. The only problem I had with Cartagena was the constant hassle from the locals in the street... easily the most amount of harassment I have had of all the places on this trip, which is really saying something!

After a little while away from cities and civilisation in general it was quite nice to arrive to Cartagena which has everything you would expect from any modern city. I was also hoping that I would lose the mosquitoes, but they continued to follow me and did not give me a break. The heat was also pretty intense and finding a dorm room with air conditioning was definitely a blessing. On the trusty old Gringo Trail Grapevine I had heard the best place to stay is Media Luna Hostel, however it is ridiculously hot and overcrowded there and quite a lot more expensive than other hostels so I gave that a miss. I did however frequent their bar a couple of times and can report that they make the worst cocktails I have ever tasted.

Cartagena was to be the place where I departed the South American continent and made my way by boat to Panamá - my gateway to Central America. I found a boat that I thought looked pretty nice, met the Captain who seemed fine and booked myself the last place available on La Esmarelda as part of an all female crew. I then had to wait for the departure date, and spent a few days lingering around in the beautiful city of Cartagena.

I randomly bumped into quite a few different people that I had met along the way over the past few months, so I was never without company during my stay in Cartagena and pretty much avoided the inevitable conversation of: "Where have you been?", "How long are you away for?", "Where are you going next?", "Who are you travelling with?"... which I have to endure on a far too regular basis when meeting new people, so that was nice! Although even this tiresome conversation would be preferable to the onslaught of verbal sexual harassment waiting for me outside!

I spent most of my days just relaxing and taking a rest from constantly moving around as it was just too hot to do anything in the peak heat of the day. In the afternoons I wandered around the old city and admired the buildings there. I also saw a beautiful sunset from Cafe del Mar which is located up on the top of one of the cannon-lined old city walls. I also visited Castillo de San Felipe de Baraja, which boasts a network of tunnels and is one of the forts built to protect the city of Cartagena. This was very impressive and offered great views of the city and the harbour area.

I thoroughly enjoyed Cartagena and would definitely recommend it for anyone who wants to get a taste of Colombia and the Caribbean, but does not feel brave enough to jump in at the deep end, or similarly any women who need a self-esteem boost!