Cool Times in Cartagena

South along the coast from Santa Marta to Cartagena

​In our first season on ITIKI in 2018 we spent a few days exploring the coastal Spanish town of Cartagena. Now here we are some 4.5 years on and we are visiting its namesake in Columbia. Who woulda thought!?

Cartagena (pronounced KAR-tə-HAY-nə), or Cartagena de Indias, is one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia, bordering the Caribbean sea. Historically it provided an important link to the West Indies critical for world exploration and as a stop on the great commercial maritime routes. Cartagena was a key port for the export of Bolivian silver to Spain, for the import of enslaved Africans and for trade between Spain and its overseas empire, establishing its importance by the early 1540s.

Entrance to the walled city

We had originally planned to visit Cartagena in ITIKI and spend Christmas here, but given the favourable monthly marina rate at Santa Marta, the friends and fellow cruisers who were staying there as well, combined with the challenges of the anchorage at Cartagena, we decided to stay put and do a road trip instead. We opted for an air-conditioned mini-bus, packed our back-packs again and set off, weaving our way up over the hills behind Santa Marta and down again to the adjacent coastal town of high rise resorts. The road travels along the western coast via a narrow spit of land with the ocean on our right and a huge lagoon and wetlands on the left as we head south. These wetlands are host to numerous shanty towns and the main streets are lined with small shops and local food stalls. The town of Baranquilla, at the entrance to the Magdalena River is our next stop and we crawl through traffic in the backstreets for another drop off before finally getting underway again.

​Arriving in Cartagena about 2:30pm, we decided to walk to the hotel to stretch our legs. I had a timely reminder that we are not in Kansas anymore, Toto. Almost had my phone snatched out of my hand by a guy on a motorbike as I was Google navigating! Fortunately I had a good grip on it!
 
There are many parts to the sprawling city of Cartagena and we base ourselves inside the old, walled part of the town which these days is gentrified, colourful and lively and very European in its style. There are numerous Spanish style plazas and the colonial architecture is well preserved. The streets, many of which are car-free, are lined with colourfully painted homes, shops, restaurants, bars and hotels.

Colourful houses on Cala Hobo

Our Hotel “3 Banderras” on Cala Hobo (!) is an oasis of calm with an internal, leafy courtyard and a rooftop plunge pool. Coincidentally we are three doors down from our friend Shane’s old place. He lived here for 5 years, and has now moved to Panama, where we will eventually catch up - he gave us lots of great tips on where to go and what to see and do. It’s been a long time since we were in such a big, modern city and we spend a lot of time just wandering around, soaking up the vibe, stopping to eat and drink and people watch.

Enjoying the Plazas of Cartagena

As we often do in a “big” city, we started out visit with a “free walking tour”. These are a great way to get orientated and start to learn a little of the history of the place, from a knowledgeable and passionate local. The walls of the old town run along the western coast facing to the sea, wrap around the south of the town facing the Boca Grande (aka Miami) and the main port which houses the marinas, anchorages, cruise ship and commercial ports. Walls also protect the eastern, inland side of the town. The main entrance to the old town, Clock Tower Square, is where we start our tour. Here we find a Sculpture of Don Pedro de Heredia, Spanish conquistador, explorer, founder of Cartagena de Indias.

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Captivating Bolero Sculpture

We find Plaza Santa Domingo with its voluptuous Bolero sculpture lounging provocatively outside a cathedral. We dropped into the Inquisition Museum, where hundreds lost their lives thanks to dubious allegations of sorcery. Also pass by the former home of the privateer Sir Frances Drake, which is painted a lovely shade of orange. Along the way we sample some local sweets (hmm), fried street food and drink fresh coconut water from the shell whilst watching some clever street artists at work.

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​Later in the evening we wandered around looking for dinner and ended up at San Diego square. Throughout dinner we were “treated” to a constant stream of very loud and colourful street performers and buskers who came and went, one after the other. Some of them were actually quite talented but the novelty wore off after the first couple.

Sir Francis Drake's House

Early the next morning we visited the Castle San Felipe de Barajas which lies outside the city walls. We walk along the lagoons and past the impressive statue Monumento India Catalina, the legendary indigenous women who became a translator and intermediary for the Spanish conquerors. Not surprisingly the fort sits up high above the town, its all stone and concrete so it was quite hot. Numerous tunnels run through the fort, which we gladly explore as these are nice and cool. We weave our way to the top for a great view over the city, looking down to the newest part of town, the Boca Grande, with its Miami-esqe skyline, it occupies the peninsula on the western side of the port of Cartagena.

Castle San Felipe de Barajas

​The bohemian neighbourhood of Getsemani also lies outside city walls and we enjoyed several visits here at different times of the day. It’s a little less touristy than the walled city, definitely not on the cruise ship itinerary, but fairly lively with lots of street art, galleries and colourful decorations in the car free streets. We find one street decorated with umbrellas hanging and another with flags of all nations. At every turn in the narrow streets and laneways we see colourful street art and murals decorating the walls. Our favourite street art was a painting of the famous Columbian author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez sitting at a table, with the yellow butterflies of his famous character from "100 Years of Solitude", Mauricio Bibliano circling overhead. A small seat strategically placed allows you to join Marquez at the table for a chat.

Keith chatting with Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The central square of Getsemani, Plaza de la Trinidad, hosts a church and small square surrounded by bars and street vendors. Ladies dressed up in red, yellow and blue costumes (Columbian national colours) will pose for photos with bowls of fruit on their heads, looking very Carmen Miranda. In between gigs they sit around looking bored, chatting with each other or staring at their phones. I liked those photos better! Of an evening the plaza is buzzing with people out and about, checking out the Christmas decorations around the church. We brave some street food of arepas (a kind of mini burrito) and enjoy watching families and friends socialising until quite late. The Spanish culture of “siesta” has been adopted here so it’s common to see young children out and about quite late with their families, having had a sleep in the middle of the day. As much as we try to fit in, even after an afternoon nap, we still struggle to stay up past 10pm!

Cotton Topped Tamarin

​Parque Centenario, just outside the main entrance to the walled city, was another spot we visited several times. Its huge, leafy trees offer welcome shade and unexpectedly it also houses some interesting wildlife. On our first visit here we spotted a huge iguana and also a cotton-top tamarin (a kind of small monkey). Someone was feeding him a banana and we stopped to watch. He gave some to Keith to feed to the tamarin! as well - magic. He is a little timid (the tamarin that is) but bold enough to come down, grab the banana and run back up to a higher branch to eat it. The next time we drop through we manage to find a sloth. A small walking tour group had spotted it and we heard from the guide that this was a female sloth who had recently lost a baby. I guess that means there is a male sloth around here somewhere too. Somehow, slowly, they have found each other. She was not only awake, she was actually feeding on leaves, munching and moving very slowly. How amazing to see this in the centre of such a big city.

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Go big or go home! Christmas decorations in Cartagena

​Well it is Christmas time (Feliz Navidad!) and it seems the Columbians love big, gaudy, colourful decorations. If we thought Santa Marta was pretty amazing, the Christmas decorations in Cartagena are really over the top. Inside the city walls one plaza is completely overtaken by a replica of Bethlehem, and biblical scenes but with a decidedly winter theme, with snow, skiers and ice skaters as well as and gingerbread men featuring – just over the top! Just outside the city walls by the port area there are giant Christmas trees and a enormous Barbie doll (Frozen?!). Its selfie heaven! Meanwhile in Getsemani, Santa Claus seems to regularly sneak in to the manger scene as the 4th “wise man”..

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​On our last day in Cartagena before heading back to Santa Marta, we walked along the ocean shoreline to Boca Grande, which is the Miami of Cartagena. Went to a multi-storied, air conditioned shopping mall that could have been anywhere in the world, but it was a strange novelty to be in such a place after so much time in relatively primitive places. Had coffee at Juan Valdez, which is Columbia’s answer to Starbucks, but with good coffee (according to Keith). It wasn’t long before we found ourselves gravitating back to the Getsemani neighbourhood for lunch and a final visit to this funky neighbourhood.

Sunset on the city walls

As the city cools down in the afternoon the people come out again and so do the street vendors, selling souvenirs, hats, food, clothes and even aphrodisiacs made from bee pollen! A favourite activity in Cartagena is to take an evening stroll along the town walls and bastions facing the sea, and watch the sunset, and we do this each evening. Here we  find the famous Café del Mar, with its long queue of wannabes waiting to get in and buy expensive cocktails. We much preferred to buy a $1 Corona from the local vendors and find a spot on the wall to watch the sun set over the water. A lovely way to end a day of sightseeing and to say our fond farewells to this vibrant city!