Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

We hadn't especially planned to go to Colombia, this year…  the US state Department travel advisory is not hugely positive (“terrorist activity remains a threat…,” “marked increase in violent crime…,” US officials are forbidden to travel by city or regional bus, etc.) But Cartagena sounded interesting and the national tourism board has been hitting the South American media heavily with their current advertising mantra: “The [only] risk is that you’ll want to stay.”

So… in mid March we flew from Santiago to Bogotá in about 5 hours, then to Cartagena, another 40 minutes or so.  The airport is close to the city, and we were soon in our hotel, Puertas de Cartagena, in the Old City center.

Cartagena is a city of about 1.2 million on Colombia’s northern Caribbean coast.  Founded in 1533, it has had a long, rich and occasionally violent history.  As one of the major ports for shipping South American gold and silver to Spain, it was a tempting target for pirates and Spain’s European enemies.  It was attacked by French corsairs in 1544 and in 1559, by English in 1568 and 1572 (Francis Drake), again by French in 1698 and by the English in 1741. Spain responded by spending millions (trillions in today’s dollars) on surrounding the old city with walls (length 11 km, up to 15 m. thick) and building fortifications, “castillos” (castles), “fuertes” (forts), and “baterias” (batteries), at all strategic points.

Today Cartagena is Colombia’s 5^th largest city, with a population 10 times that of the 1950s.  The main city and near-by industrial zone of Mamonal are crowded, bustling, energetic third-world mixtures of wealth and poverty; exciting and dynamic but of little interest to foreign tourists.  The city’s tourism is concentrated in the walled Old City; modern Bocagrande with its beaches, hotels and apartment towers; and the Islands of Rosario (bottom left of map.)

The old city, where strict rules maintain the colonial and republican period (post 1810) architecture, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Our hotel, Puertas de Cartagena (H on the map, left) near the plaza Fernandez de Madrid, was a republican era building with a lovely interior patio where breakfast was served.

 

We spent most days in the old city, walking the streets, admiring the architecture, seeing the attractions, shopping, eating and drinking (see “Eating Caribbean” on my other blog).

Leaving our hotel, we walked past the shady Plaza de Madrid….

 And down the bustling Calle de Carretas…..

toward the Plaza de la Aduana and the main gate to the old city. 

A few blocks north is the leafy Plaza de Bolivar, with abundant vendors and…

 …a  free lending library!

                                                         

The city’s major attractions are the Museum of the Inquisition, housed in a magnificent colonial era mansion. The major displays (of minimal interest) are replicas of inquisition instruments of torture and execution, with labels noting “not used in Cartagena," but the upstairs displays provide a reasonably good overview of the city’s history. The nearby Gold Museum is better, with artifacts from Colombia’s gold-working Zenú culture. There is also a modern art museum and an emerald museum. 




 But the most interesting, for the historically inclined, is the Naval Museum, with displays of the city’s history, fortifications and naval battles. 

And it has great views looking toward the town center,

and toward the Caribbean and the wall.

One of the best experiences of the trip was a history and architectural tour by José Ramón.  We met José at the Restaurant Alex, across from the Plaza de Madrid where his day job as a greeter is a great match for his friendly, outgoing personality.  And as it turned out, he is an avid student of Cartagena’s history and architecture.

Colonial door decorations indicate the wealth and occupation of the owner.  Here the door knocker (aldaba) below the iguana is a lion, representing a teacher. The iguana is simply a symbol for the knocker, from the Arabic dabbah, “lizard.”

  

He also took us to the Cartagena library, with its vivid stained glass windows.

And to the famous statue of La Gorda, by Colombian artist Fernando Botero.

And of course to Calle Stuart, said to be named after a colonial period merchant; though how a (presumably) English merchant came to be an honored citizen of Cartagena is a mystery.[1]

Outside the walled old city a few blocks to the south is the largest Spanish fort in the Americas, the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, begun in 1536, which we visited on a city tour by chiva, an open air bus.

La Chiva  

Above the Castillo is La Popa (the stern), rising 150 m. above the city and topped by a convent with a lovely interior patio.

In spite of the haze the view to the north, including the old city (center) and Bocagrande (left), was worth the visit.    

Looking south, the teeming contemporary city.

And of course, Alejandra made a variety of friends on the city tour.

With these girls...

...and this sloth.

She also made friends in the city, here with Doña Angelina, a Palenquera (woman form Palenque, an Afro-Colombian community south of Cartagena) fruit vendor/photography model.  She is available for photos, for a reasonable tip, and sells fruit salads. We chose a fruit salad.

As a tourist center and port of call for Caribbean cruses, Cartagena has plenty of tour guides and vendors, not all as pleasant as Doña Angelina.  The constant approach of vendors of cigars (here), T shirts, jewelry, nick-knacks, prints, Panama hats, marimbas, etc., can be a bit tiring, and if you show the slightest sign of interest the sales pitch is unremitting, but a courteous “gracias” and show of disinterest will usually suffice.

The other Cartagena barrio that attracts tourists is Bocagrande, “Big mouth,” in reference to the wide shallow opening to the bay to the west.  With its apartment towers and multi-story tourist hotels, Bocagrande is Cartagena’s upper class and international tourist neighborhood.  The hotels, restaurants, clubs and souvenir shops are just like the ones in Can Cun, Punta del Este, and all the other beach resort cities., but it's probably a pleasant place to live.

   

 Bocagrande’s main boulevard.

  

Bocagrande from the bay side.

The beach is great for sunbathing and massages (see the tables?), but the sand is a bit silty and the water tends to be dingy from the river’s outflow. 

We had massages.  That was not our intent, but the charming palenqueras were so insistent that Alejandra was literally dragged to a chair where she was slathered with cream and massaged.  So I let them take me too, and didn't spoil the fun by asking how much this was going to cost us.

 

Ten or fifteen amusing minutes later, banter and massage over, came the sticker shock:  160 – or maybe it was 320 - Colombian Bolivars, $80 or $160 US.  And of course our charming masseuses were a bit less charming when it came to the money.  I offered 32 Bolivars, which is what I had in my wallet, and eventually paid 62 ($31 US) after being accompanied to the ATM machine. I didn’t feel threatened – speaking Spanish and knowing what I was in for – but one might.  Don’t let the nice ladies give you a massage unless you know the price in advance.  And if you really want a massage, go to the folks down on the waterfront with the massage tables. 

The other obligatory tourist excursion from Cartagena is to the Islas del Rosario, 35 km to the SE, a Colombian national park of 35 coral islands.  Day trips from Cartagena take you to one or another of the islands for a day of swimming and lounging on the beach or by the pool.  

We went to a resort called Hotel Cocoliso, with a pleasant swimming area,

 and a large pool.

  

Snorkeling, canoe tours of the mangroves and trips to the islands’ aquarium and dolphin show are also available and lunch is included on most tours.

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1.  As it turns out, Santiago Stuart was among nine martyrs for Colombian Independence executed in Cartagena Feb. 19, 1816 for disloyalty to the king of Spain and high treason.  See Independencia de Cartagena in Spanish language Wilipedia.