The Cartagena Cartel

I came to Cartagena to launch my new, highly enviable digital nomad lifestyle—or at least that’s what I told myself. Fresh start, clean slate, better decisions.

What I got instead was a nightmare with better weather.

It started with a woman I shouldn’t have trusted. It usually does. One drink later, I was drugged, robbed, and left completely broke in a city where being stupid isn’t just expensive—it’s dangerous.

I told myself I’d keep my head down and survive quietly. That didn’t last long.

Somehow, I ended up tangled with local criminals, corrupt cops, and a very real possibility that I had made the worst travel decision in human history.

Then Julianna appeared.

Smart, unpredictable, and impossible to read—she offered help when I had nothing left to lose. But I’m still stuck in a city where every favour comes with a price, every smile might be a warning, and survival depends on knowing who to trust—before it’s too late.

The Cartagena Cartel is a darkly comic travel adventure about bad decisions, worse timing, and the small chance that redemption sometimes shows up in the most dangerous places.