cartagena's caffeine fix at 2 am
i woke up to the smell of motor oil and salsa last night and decided to chase that weird mix of diesel and garlic through the cobblestones. turns out there’s a tiny café on calle luna that serves espresso in vintage thermos jars. not fancy, but the barista insists it’s the same beans as the 1990s. if you get bored, the beach is a 10-minute drive, but honestly, i was too wired from three iced mate teas to care
found one pic of a guy balancing a coffee cup on his head on unsplash.
someone told me that the hotel down the hill charges $15 for a cup of cold brew. i walked in and asked for a DIY iced americano with a side of existential dread. the guy just handed it to me. no receipt. no question. i paid with a flip phone and a napkin. that’s the vibe here
the weather’s been stuck at 25.29°C for days. i just checked and it’s like… there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. it’s the kind of heat that makes you sweat through your denim and wonder if yourflip-flops are still good. humidity’s at 73%, which is basically a tropical mug fest
neighbors? there’s a retired tailor who sells frayed socks by the strand outside his shack. he asked me if i wanted to join his mixtape of mariachi covers. i said no. asked if he’d seen a lost cat. he said no. asked if he’d heard about the new vegan taco truck. he said yes. and charged me $2 for the info. i still don’t know if it’s real
i heard that the local market’s ceviche was had by a crab and a tourist who cried. someone else whispered that the beach vendors steal your sunglasses and sell them as ‘authentic karma.’ i didn’t believe them until i saw a guy wearing a store-bought pair of sunglasses 30 feet from the shore. it was me, obviously
for the coffee snobs out there: [yelp-review-link] is a must-read. also, [tripadvisor-dive-spot] if you want to trade your latte for a coral reef. and don’t miss [local-news-site] if you care about whether or not the mangoes are still in season
p.s. tried to take a photo of the moon last night. it was too bright. i just drank the espresso and pretended it was a full moon. worked. mostly.
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