Well I made it back from Cartagena in Colombia without getting mugged, kidnapped or killed!

Actually this joke isn’t very fair to Cartagena, because the “Old City” tourist district is VERY safe indeed, with Policia Turistico on almost every street corner — they are going to considerable lengths to build up Cartagena’s reputation as a safe tourist destination, and the city deserves credit for doing an excellent job.

The rest of my stay was a lot of fun (as evidenced by the lack of blog posts); after the other members of Stuart’s party arrived, we chartered a speedboat to take us to Baru Island (a secluded Caribbean beach paradise), and took good advantage of Cartagena’s wide selection of restaurants, bars and clubs.

I can definitely recommend both Cartagena and the Monterrey Hotel for anyone looking to investigate Colombia’s potential as a tourist destination.