Cartagena, Colombia - 3. Cafe Havana

At the hostel on Isla Rosario we met a Canadian girl, who is a big fan of salsa music and dancing. She invited us to go to Cafe Havana with her. The cafe opens at 8.30pm but the highlight starts at 11.30pm when their live band starts playing. I danced and sketched all night till 3am! I did more sketches than what is listed here. A couple of sketches were given away upon request. Those sketches got me drinks. A sketch for a drink, I think it was a pretty good deal!

One of the band members noticed me drawing and asked me to show him my sketch when I was leaving. He signed on my sketch!

Cartagena, Colombia - 2. Isla Rosario

We spent 3 nights on Isla Rosario. James spent 2 days diving so I had lots of time sketching! Most of these sketches were done sitting on the deck in front of our small hostel. This 4-room hostel is usually nice and quiet until lunch guests come to have lunch and take over the whole place with loud music :(

Xoana, the lady in the photo below is one of the lunch guests who visited the hostel. They were the nice guests and didn't play loud music to chase me away. I sketched Xoana and her friends having lunch. She asked if she could have the sketch and I agreed. Upon finishing the drawing, the wind picked up the paper and sent it to the sea! I jumped and Xoana screamed 'Por favor! Por favor!' Her boyfriend ran over and jumped into the water to rescue the paper. Luckily I was using pastel pencils and heavy drawing paper (I ran out of watercolour paper), the picture was fine and the colours didn't fade. Now the sketch is on its way to Spain. Xoana thanked me for letting her have the sketch. I thanked her for letting me have a story with a princess and her hero to tell :)

(to be continued)

Cartagena, Colombia - 1. El Centro

 James and I just came back from Cartagena, Colombia. People might think one week in Cartagena is too much, but we couldn't cover every bit of it. It was truly an interesting place.

Above is a sketch done on the rooftop of our airbnb located in a 9-story building. I like the mix of modern and old buildings in and around the old town Cartagena.

Ever since James got a haircut in Czech Republic in 2006 when we first met, it has become a tradition for us that he always gets a haircut when we visit a new country. This time he even got a shave- he said it was the smoothest shave he's ever had. While I was sketching, local men just came and went at this small barber shop. They walked in, had a shave/haircut, sat down and did some people watching or reading newspaper and left after a good handshake with all the barbers and regular customers. The music played in the shop was so charming that I went back to ask those friendly barbers what they were listening to on the day. It was a mission for us to communicate as I don't speak Spanish (I'm learning though!) and they spoke no English. Luckily an English-speaking customer was there to help me out. One of the barbers walked me to a local CD shop to pick up an album. Nice, huh?

Sometimes taking a photo is easier to capture the interesting things I see although it doesn't happen every often. These floor tiles are photos of all the Miss Colombia. Top two are the oldest, 1934-1947 and 1947-49. They also shared the same sir name. I wonder if they were mother and daughter.

El Centro is a UNESCO world heritage site. The town is just amazing with all the old buildings, towers and cathedrals. I spent my last morning in Cartagena sketching the Catedral. Unlike the often too busy afternoons, early morning in Cartagena is nice and peaceful. Street vendors were already out but not chasing tourists yet. I love the colors and energy they bring to the old town.

(to be continued)