Annie & Safe Go West

Day 50.  Last night it rained cats and dogs.  A tropical storm hit Cartagena and flooded the roads.  Our teacher arrived late because the transport had come to a standstill.  It’s good to know that it’s not just the UK which comes to a halt when the weather changes.

After class we tried to find a launderette.  We were convinced that the laundry was expensive at our casa (it seemed expensive for the three items of clothing we possess between us) so we went in search of a cheaper option.  This wasn’t as easy as it sounds.  We stopped to ask directions every 100m or so, and although we found a dry cleaners, we wandered for the best part of two hours through a maze of backstreet markets looking for a common or garden launderette.  We eventually found the tourist trap laundry only to find that it charged more than our casa!  Annie was not happy with all this walking.  Even though we’d left when it was cool, the rain had cleared the air so that the sun was bright and strong such that both Annie and her nylon top started to melt.  Our clothing is being washed back at the casa as we write.

Restaurants here are either cheap or expensive with not much in between.  We decided to go upmarket for lunch today because we felt we’d eaten enough chicken and rice for the time being.  Annie ordered the Hawaiian Special and ended up with chicken and rice with ham and pineapple.  We might go back to the cheaper option tomorrow!

Safe has been on the lookout for Michael Douglas in Romancing the Stone since he got here.  We think we’re getting close at this emerald jewellers:

Emerald Jeweller

On the way home from our evening jaunt, we checked out the main park, Parque Centenario, and found a girls speed roller-blading team practising in a purpose-built outdoor venue.  They must have been going pretty fast because our camera struggled to keep with them.  We tried to take a picture of the girls racing towards us but all we got was a picture of some ghostly bums!

Faster than the speed of light!