Saturday, February 07, 2009
Eating through Cartagena de Indias
OK, so, yes, it has been quite a long time since the blog has been updated. In the next few weeks, I'll be back blogging in full force. I promise to put up more regular updates; twice a year and a whole blog filled with thoughts on Siena, Italian in Italy, etc. just isn't cutting it with my AdWords! I really wish that I could say that the book deal was keeping me up nights, but there really were no excuses, and, well, no book deal either. At least not yet.
Back to the task at hand though, I'm currently in Cartagena de Indias. I have to use the full name to avoid any confusion with Cartagena, Spain, but it's probably better just to say that I'm in Cartagena, Colombia, South America. I'm pretty excited about being here because once I get back from this trip, I will be able to cross off another continent from my list. This means that only two remain: Africa (this will likely get rememdied this year) and then Antarctica, which I'm not totally sure exactly when that will get crossed off the list. I haven't checked Travelocity yet for any last minute or "totally planned out" deals yet. Maybe I can use my Westin points? The Heavenly Shower in Anarctica sounds pretty great. I wonder if JetBlue or American Airlines would consider adding it to their routes?
Before leaving for this trip, I can't tell you the number of people that joked about it. All kinds of jokes about, well, probably shouldn't repeat them. Suffice it to say, these folks haven't seen the Travel Channel lately, or they have and forgot about all the episodes (I do that sometimes too, perhaps it's time for Ginko treatments...?). First off, the country is a lot safer than it used to be. Yes, there was at one time about five or six years ago, a lot of violence and crime. It's been cleaned up significantly from those days. It isn't the safest city in the world, but it's possible to enjoy the beautiful sights, incredible food, and distinct culture of a country that produces amazing coffee and gave us Shakira. Of course, you can't act stupidly; otherwise, well, you will get what you are asking for.
Speaking of that culture, it's pretty interesting and quite distinct. The people here have ethnic influences from the native Indian cultures, Spanish, African, French, English. It's an interesting Caribbean mix of cultures. This, in turn, influences the cuisine found here. In particular, I'm talking about Cartagena. I'm eating my way through the country so far and trying just about everything in sight. I'm also doing my best to document the experience and posting pictures to my Cartagena by iPhone gallery. I'll post the link soon. In the meantime, if you are my Facebook friend, you will see all my uploads there.
Have to get to bed right now (it's now 1 AM), but will post again very soon with more updates. By the way, this city is like one big non-stop party but not in the American party sense; it's more like a bunch of people hanging out and having fun (not drunk). I'm writing while my neighbors are totally rocking out to some Caribbean/Colombian music...
Back to the task at hand though, I'm currently in Cartagena de Indias. I have to use the full name to avoid any confusion with Cartagena, Spain, but it's probably better just to say that I'm in Cartagena, Colombia, South America. I'm pretty excited about being here because once I get back from this trip, I will be able to cross off another continent from my list. This means that only two remain: Africa (this will likely get rememdied this year) and then Antarctica, which I'm not totally sure exactly when that will get crossed off the list. I haven't checked Travelocity yet for any last minute or "totally planned out" deals yet. Maybe I can use my Westin points? The Heavenly Shower in Anarctica sounds pretty great. I wonder if JetBlue or American Airlines would consider adding it to their routes?
Before leaving for this trip, I can't tell you the number of people that joked about it. All kinds of jokes about, well, probably shouldn't repeat them. Suffice it to say, these folks haven't seen the Travel Channel lately, or they have and forgot about all the episodes (I do that sometimes too, perhaps it's time for Ginko treatments...?). First off, the country is a lot safer than it used to be. Yes, there was at one time about five or six years ago, a lot of violence and crime. It's been cleaned up significantly from those days. It isn't the safest city in the world, but it's possible to enjoy the beautiful sights, incredible food, and distinct culture of a country that produces amazing coffee and gave us Shakira. Of course, you can't act stupidly; otherwise, well, you will get what you are asking for.
Speaking of that culture, it's pretty interesting and quite distinct. The people here have ethnic influences from the native Indian cultures, Spanish, African, French, English. It's an interesting Caribbean mix of cultures. This, in turn, influences the cuisine found here. In particular, I'm talking about Cartagena. I'm eating my way through the country so far and trying just about everything in sight. I'm also doing my best to document the experience and posting pictures to my Cartagena by iPhone gallery. I'll post the link soon. In the meantime, if you are my Facebook friend, you will see all my uploads there.
Have to get to bed right now (it's now 1 AM), but will post again very soon with more updates. By the way, this city is like one big non-stop party but not in the American party sense; it's more like a bunch of people hanging out and having fun (not drunk). I'm writing while my neighbors are totally rocking out to some Caribbean/Colombian music...
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