If you've ever read anything by Gabriel García Márquez, Cartagena is just how you'd picture the places in his stories to be: hot, sultry, and charming as can be. For starters, there's the colonial, sometimes crumbling Spanish buildings crammed into narrow, winding streets, all painted vibrant shades of blues, greens, purples, whites and pinks. Then there's the sounds of salsa and champata emanating from the buildings, mixed with the cries of children playing, the shouts of fruit vendors, and the occasional car honking its horn as it tries to make its way through the mix of tourists and locals meandering by. It's sultry but relaxed, vibrant but not overwhelming.
It is the perfect place to start one's vacation.
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