It was Monday, the office was back to work and I was hoping to get rid of another 25 kilogram or why not just all the 75 kilogram I had left. I was very optimistic because it was Monday. The center was very quiet on this Monday morning, shops and commercial malls were all closed and no tourists were around exploring the historical center, my favorite juice stand was not there again, no traffic noise, instead a strange silence over the center, it was Monday, was it? Yes, it was Monday but something was wrong, definitely wrong. I asked at the next juice stand and the man confirmed, yes, it was Monday. But this Monday, the Monday that I had been waiting for, my Monday was suddenly a national holiday. I could not blame anybody, not even the Monday himself. The Colombian government had changed the ‘Holy Three Kings’ holiday from last week Wednesday to this Monday, my Monday.
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I walked the center one more, one last time and waited at the supermarket opposite the cyber until 10:00 hours hoping that Frank would show up but he did not. I did not want to wait another day; I could not wait another day; I wanted to move forward; I had to move forward. I would find another cyber in the next city.
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I had been in Cartagena de Indias long enough. I did not have to think, I did not have to make up my mind, the project Rio 2016 and the adventure had to move forward; I had to move forward. My friend the car was at the Volkswagen dealer in Boa Vista, I had to move forward hitchhiking and walking but first I took the bus back to the airport.
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The airport was located on the eastern outskirts of the city and I started walking on the road that connected Cartagena de Indias with Barranquilla. I passed the end of the runway and waited the 5 minutes to see the Avianca plane take off right above me. I passed the various hotel complexes and newly built apartment complexes painted in white on the beachside.
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The beach side, the left side of the street was another luxurious area of Cartagena de Indias whereas the mangrove side, the right side of the street was the extreme, extreme opposite, a very poor area. It was hot, I had been walking already for more than 5 kilometers and I had a drink at a kiosk on the mangrove side. I had to get out of town, away from the local traffic to catch a car going to Barranquilla. The holiday weekend was over and lots of cars were leaving Cartagena de Indias. One of them would take the Gringo hitchhiker.
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I walked for another 5 kilometers and made another stop at a gas station to have another drink. I was hoping to speak to someone with license plates from Barranquilla but no luck, so I went back to the motorway and to the bus stop that offered shade. A girl was already there hitchhiking and it took her 10 minutes to get a lift. Now it was my turn, no more walking, I was at the right place and I just had to wait. I had to wait 15 minutes before Mateo took me for the next 5 kilometers to the next gas station. My first lift, only 5 kilometers, a slow start, a very slow start but I was happy. I was not sure though if I would make it to Barranquilla today.
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Suddenly my luck changed and a car with 3 men stopped and took me for another 35 kilometers but then again, they left me kind of in the desert, in the middle of nowhere. A moto stopped immediately and took me another 5 kilometers to the next city and to the gas station. The sun started to set and I had made only half the way. I continued, thumbs up and my luck continued and the same car with the same 3 men from 1 hour ago stopped again. Now this time they took me all the way to Barranquilla. It was 19:00 hours, it was dark. I stopped a moto taxi and he took me to the airport. What a Monday, what an interesting Monday.
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For a small understanding of the days travel, I have included a Google Earth map. The red pins mark the locations I have stopped and taken pictures. At the bottom of the page you will find a link for all the pictures I have taken. The link will open in a Google+ Album.
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See map and distances / Siehe Karte und Entfernungen / Ver mapa e distâncias / Ver mapa y distancias
0 km Cartagena de Indias
50 km Loma de Arena
100 km Barranquilla
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