We are now in Cartagena de Indias, a beautiful fortified city on the Caribbean sea. We have retrieved our vehicle from the claws of Colombian bureaucracy; it took us two days, running from one office to the other trying to get various forms, signatures and inspections, but we finally made it. We were so knackered that we went to sleep at 9pm afterwards… I want to stress that we did not have to pay any bribe, nobody even asked for anything, it is just the process that is awfully complicated. So once again, what about building this highway, at long last???
Our vehicle is now in the shop for a complete revision and fixing of suspensions before we continue our journey down south. I am myself surprised that we made it that far, with only minor issues on the way, all things considered. We have gone a long long way, you can just check this on the map on the blog. When we left Denver, four months ago, I was not thinking we would reach South America, really. But the journey goes on and this is great.
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So Colombia is not what most people think it is. First of all, we have not seen any people shooting at each other on the streets. That was a long time ago, and things have improved dramatically since. Even though the country is still technically in a civil war, it does not feel like it. Or is it really a civil war? Or shall we call this internal troubles or civil unrest? My former colleagues from the ICRC might know more about this. Secondly, the streets are not packed with drug dealers, nobody proposed us any drugs, maybe we do not have the right profile, although we look Gringas enough. Of course, we will be careful: staying on highways, driving during the day as we always do anyway and avoid the troubled areas. So everything should be fine. We plan to stay one month in this country, as there is so much to see and we are on schedule. I reckon Colombia has the potential to become one of the world top tourist destination, once it gets rid of this bad reputation. So let’s visit before mass tourism comes!!!
Avant la dernière guerre mondiale la Colombie était très prisée par la haute société europeenne.. Le grand-père de Loulou de la Falaise, égérie d'Yves St-Laurent, morte prématument il y a 3 ans, épousa une héritière colombienne très riche, la Reine du Café, et une vie mondaine et intellectuelle et artistique se créa entre les deux pays. Le dernier bal que donna la Marquise Emita de la Falaise dans son immense appartement de Neuilly donnant sur le Bois de Boulogne fut une soirée mémorable où les invités étaient tous déguisés en indiens dans une forêt de palmiers et de fleurs crée par un grand fleuriste parisien...
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