Blackfoot in Blues Garage, Hannover

As my flight will be in Helsinki 23:30 tomorrow evening, I will miss Blackfoot (or what is left of it) at Tavastia. Luckily, I am currently in Munster, Germany. Only 200 kms from Hannover where they played today. So I took a small side trip.
It's great that showtime was at 21:00 so it's only 01:00 in the morning and I am back in my hotel in Munster. The average speed was 91 km/h for 400 kms. Not bad.
Anyway, here's the Blackfoot's set list from Hannover: Good morning, Wishing well, Morning dew, I got a line on you, instrumental blues by Bobby Barth, Baby blue, drum solo, bass solo, some song that Greg sang, Fox chase, Left turn on a red light, We'll see sunshine again, Born to lose, Rollin' and tumblin', Fly away, Highway song and Train, train. The gig was 1.5 hours and they had to catch a train (train) at 4 am and a flight to Helsinki through Copenhagen. So I have just seen all living original members within couple of weeks: Rickey in Kuopio with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Greg and Charlie with Blackfoot. Too bad that they were not all on the same stage. Possibly pictures will follow later.

Ingrid at the Islas del Rosario

The Bocagrande beach is not very nice with its hotels and touts. I decided to take a tour to Islas del Rosario which is a national park south of Cartagena. It was worth every peso. Although I accidentally selected Isla del Encantada (which is not even on the map of my Lonely Planet Colombia), the beach was excellent and snorkling was affordable. The day tour was 95 000 pesos (lunch and tax included, 29 euros). The snorkling trip, gear included with one hour of water time) was 30 000 pesos (9 euros). The fish at the lunch was _fresh_.


What I will remember most from this trip was Ingrid, the tour guide. She was just a lovely person with a great sense of humor. I think the best thing about Colombia are its people. Although I was the only non-Spanish speaking customer (maybe there was another one, but it felt like I was the only one) on the boat, Ingrid always found time to give me her presentation also in English. Ingrid promised to include me on her email list so I will be looking forward for her "funny" emails she promised to send me.

The only drawback on this day trip was that the touts were bothering us even when snorkling. Can you believe that?

Balconies and bougainvillea

Cartagena old town is about balconies and bougainvillea. This is what I expect from the caribbean. The old town of Cartagena is also one of the most beautiful places I have been. My friend Pekka was right and I don't regret coming here. Bocagrande, the place where my hotel is, is another story. I wouldn't know whether I'm in Miami Beach or here, except that Bocagrande doesn't have art deco.

This is also one of the safest places in Colombia. First of all, the old town is full of people.

I am staying in Bocagrande, which is about three minute taxi ride away from the old town. The hotel Capillar del Mar is nothing special but the staff is friendly and it is situated across the street from the beach. My balcony, however, is not towards the ocean but towards Bahia de Cartagena.
(How can I photoshop the helicopter blades off of the girl's head).
Finns, if you are planning a holiday in the Caribbean, consider Cartagena, Colombia! Where else a beer in the minibar costs 0.75 euros?

Caribbean rum and 30 degrees centigrade

I am on my way to Cartagena for some Caribbean atmosphere. Expecting to taste some local rums and finally take pictures of something else than manhole covers and political spray paintings. I'm expecting colonial architecture, Spanish fortresses and crystal clear waters but I may get Miami Beach with endless line of hotels and pushy trinket sellers.

Santa Fe de Bogota

It's been a long time since I've been to Colombia. Last time I was here, I sent postcards to everyone thinking that I will possibly not come here. Well, here I am again.
It was not because I didn't like Colombia. Actually I like it more than I like Brasil but it's difficult to say why. It must be the people. Bogota is definitely not a tourist destination but last time I was here I met the best taxi driver ever. Angél was the only English-speaking taxi driver at the Radisson hotel. I had a day-off back then and he was driving me around Bogota showing me the sights. He even took me to his home to meet his family. I remember him driving me to the hills above Bogota where I could see the panorama of the city drinking Aguila beer. Maybe it was five years ago. Maybe it's because of him that I like Colombia. And it has nothing to do with the fact that when I got back home, he called me and asked for an invitation letter for a visa...
It's been two days since I arrived and I still don't have my luggage. The luggage handlers at Charles de Gaulle are taking it easy. Maybe it has something to do with the closing of terminal 2F just before my plane left. I almost missed the flight becaue there was some incident in the terminal. The terminal was empty and there were some police doing some investigations.

As I will be flying back on Sunday, I am planning to visit the Caribbean shores before I leave. My first option was San Andres Island but I wasn't able to get a hotel so I decided to go to Cartagena, which is not bad either. I will fly to Cartagena on Friday and return on Sunday. Cartagena was recommended by my taxi driver Angel (he also recommended San Andres) and my friend Pekka who has lived and worked in Colombia as a scuba instructor. Hopefully Cartagena will be more photogenic than Bogota.