A 13-hour overnight bus got us to Cartagena. After having flown to Medellin, all three of us thought it would be an experience to take the bus. First I should mention we all managed to catch some real sleep. No idea how that happened but happy. The road was very curvy and green. As I expected, some villages along the way and plenty of stops to drop off passengers or packages.
Cartagena’s historic centre is stunning. A grid of colourful colonial buildings with balconies jutting into the street. Bougainvillea and palm trees crowding out the space. Lots of stuff being sold in both shops and on the sidewalks. 
For our time here, we mostly walked around and took it all in. The old centre is surrounded by defense walls that are over 400 years old. Built by the Spanish who invaded around that time and wanted to keep others out. 
Cartagena was also the place where resistance against the Spanish was first successful. Earlier in the week there was a holiday celebrating Colombian independence. Of the few Colombians we asked about the holiday, they all had to think saying there are so many holidays in Colombia it’s hard to remember.
Compared to Bogota and Medellin – where we slept with extra blankets and a space heater – it’s hot here! Sunscreen finally came out. And daiquiris. Not a sunburn, red reflection from the umbrella:)
Our final day we left the historic centre for Bocagrande, a Miami Brach like peninsula just south. Our hotel, Cartagena Dubai, was exactly as expected with meals included buffet style. This area is a getaway for Colombians, like DR is for Canadians. So we beached it.
Our hotel was massive with 8 or 10 floors. A little rundown, but great service and right downtown. We had a great walk about in our first hours here and eventually found a shopping street, and a Bata store to take cover in when it poured in the late afternoon. 
The poverty we saw was fairly immense. A lot of street venders selling a ton of stuff, some with stalls and some just walking around with candy or souvenirs. Others looking somewhat disheveled.
The Botanical Garden was three metro stops away. The metro the only one in Colombia and has just two lines – N&S; E&W. Familiar? – why yes! It was unexpectedly high standard and easy to navigate. The Garden was free and made me think of Allen Gardens – a beautiful escape in a big concrete, very busy city. 
After the Botanical Garden, we walked to the nearby Cemetery Museum, really an intricate graveyard that was equally quiet and peaceful – initially it was smaller than today as it expands outward in concentric circles. Lots of fresh (and artificial) flowers. 
In the afternoon, another museum tour to check out more Botero works – they are stunning and he’s quite famous in Colombia! En route, we waited out the afternoon thunder shower in a large mall that looked like a church. It’s the rainy season here, so in the south there’re thunder showers every afternoon. When stuck, get an ice cream!
Closest to the entrance are recesses with carvings to depict the stations of the cross. The above is #2 (Jesus picks up the cross) and #4 (Jesus meets his mother). Then there’s a huge cavern with an altar and alcoves for prayer and reflection. Above are numerous salt chandeliers (with led lights). A service is held every Sunday while below the cathedral salt is still extracted from the mine. 
The entire tour was through a company and our guide, Francisco, told us about his coming back to Colombia 10 years ago, positive changes over the past 15 years and how similar his mother is to Anne-Marie. The average person would not have been directly affected by the ongoing guerrilla/drugs war, but Francisco also told us his own father was kidnapped 20 years ago and his family had to pay a ransom. It was this that prompted them to leave for the US.
Day ended with dinner at Andres Carne de Res restaurant, a cross between Honest Ed’s and the Vegas strip with a little Old Spaghetti Factory thrown in. The menu is 75 pages – took us a while to order. 
The weather was already looking dodgy, so we legged it to the base of Monserrate, a hill overlooking Bogota, to take a cable car to the top. What a view! We went into the church and then shopped in a local market before sitting down for lunch. Anne-Marie and Marleen tried intestines – not a big hit. I settled for scrambled eggs and potatoes, which ended up being the most expensive item we ordered. Who knew they’re imported?
At the end of lunch, we walked back to the hill’s edge and found we were totally, utterly fogged out. So we went back down. And found it totally, uttering pouring. We first tried to madly dash back to our hotel. After 15 minutes of that, three exceedingly soggy ladies jumped into a taxi.
Next stop was a variety of museums and shopping areas. This time we brought umbrellas and my raincoat. While dark clouds rolled in and looked threatening, that’s all they did. Of course 😉 
Later on, Anne-Marie tried a local drink called chicha, fermented alcohol from maize. Intriguing for sure, but it tasted about about good as you think it did. Marleen and I opted for beers. Bogota was a crowded place – apparently there are more than 20 universities with many students about. 
A couple of funny sights as we walked – bread delivery (we saw loafs in bags tied to doors) – and a coke delivery in the middle of nowhere when a van pulled over to a group of pilgrims and threw open its doors to them.
After contemplating the significance of it all, we headed to the Pilgrim Office to get our compostelas. There was a huge line. Here we started to see people we recognized, and watched other happy reunions. With our documents, and Don’s satisfaction with having completed something so meaningful, we bought bread and manchego cheese for lunch and ate in a sunny corner of the square.
In the middle of the photo is the incense burner or butofumerio. We got to see and smell as it was lit and swung during our mass – which was a surprise as there apparently needs to be enough donations for that to happen. It was swung very high up and filled the space with a smoky frankincense. Eight men operated the butafumerio, which weighs something like 60kilos!
Walking 318km over two weeks is tough. You quickly notice every body part that isn’t working perfectly. But the things you see and experience are extraordinary. And the sense of accomplishment makes you feel powerful.
The terrain was pretty similar to the last few days. It was so misty that felt like we were being aerated. Trees were also dropping so much dew I thought it was raining. I kept my gloves on til noon, and welcomed the cooler temperature. 
Many roosters let us know of their presence, but not all went to the same yodelling school – Don pointed out some were vastly inferior in their calls.
The initial walking was under cloud cover on paths with oak and pine trees. At lot of needles and leaves had fallen, making it smell like fall. I wore my gloves as we kept entering patches of cold air. We could even see our breathe from time to time.
Our highlight was hitting this marker and then seeing a vending machine with a Camino design. When you look at the numbers on the market, you’ll see they are not even in any way. All the markers – and there are plenty! – have odd numbers. Don thinks that’s cool as he loves odd numbering. We gave some serious thought to buying a coke.
Just when we thought we couldn’t push on, we saw palm trees and beautiful gardens. That convinced us an accommodation must be close by. Yes, that’s Don’s boot on my pack – I’m that awesome when it comes to shin splints – he changed into sandals and carried the other one.
We kept going for another 3 or 4km and took the first thing we found – 300m off track was perfectly fine. It’s 6pm and still 31 degrees. We’ll need sunscreen just to have a beer 😉
Thankfully Don read somewhere that we need 2 stamps a day in the last 100km – so all covered there.
We crossed two old stone bridges and walked by these dancing pilgrims.
A lovely morning, mainly because it was cloudy. Soon the sun peeked out and it became very hot. Melide’s main church – in the heat of day few people about.
As we walked through this very small town, I looked everywhere for ice-cream and it was not to be found. Sometimes the days go like that. We did eventually score some of the good chocolate stuff about 4kms away. I was happy since I saw the sign for ice-cream and the place we stopped had exactly what I wanted. Sometimes that’s all you need.
It was dark and foggy because we again were walking in the mist above the clouds. 
Most of the day we walked along minor roads and trails nearby. A little rugged uphill but easier than yesterday. The big difference is the volume of people on the way. At one point, a woman exclaimed that Don had such a big backpack, giving herself away as a Camino tourist = in for 4-5 days of walking ie a long weekend with bags brought ahead to reserved accommodation and lunches prepared at cafes en route. Sheesh, without a backpack Don and I could run the Camino 😉
As we reached our destination, for the first time on this trip we were told an accommodation was full. Not once but twice. Both times we could see suitcases stacked by the reception, so we shouldn’t have been surprised but somehow we were and also a little offended I must say (me not Don) that Camino tourists were taking up our spaces. Ah well.
In the evening, we wandered by the main church just as a service was getting out – good people watching opportunities. 
We saw Martin – the Aussie who’d met a lovely woman on Camino last year and they’d met up to walk it again, plus loads of day trippers (you can tell from the dress), a fellow we’d seen a few times who seemed to know everyone, a family singing so badly we’d run ahead to avoid them (yes it was that bad!) and others we didn’t know with whom we nodded.
We’d been warned that the last 100km into Santiago is busy and less friendly, and based on what we saw today that is accurate. We had coffee after the first two and a half kms. By this point we’d observed taxis trawling for – we assumed – stranded/tired/passed out pilgrims like tow trucks trawl the 401.
We’re still finding many people we recognize on the trail, which makes us happy 🙂 And we are still drinking plenty of coffee along the way. 
As we dozed after a long day, it rained so we got up to watch from our balcony – the best viewpoint. Later we walked around the town to investigate dinner options. We dropped into the church, which was fairly busy with mostly pilgrims. We saw the Spanish who shared our room on the first night and a few others we knew. 
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